Barton Park Primary School

Inspection of Barton Park Primary School Barton Fields Road, Oxford OX3 9WN

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 7 and 8 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This new school is calm and harmonious. It is a growing community. Leaders have prioritised building positive relationships right from the start. Pupils, including those in the early years, are friendly. They enjoy each other’s company. Pupils know and follow the school’s golden rules of: ‘Be respectful. Be safe. Be ready.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and are safe. Pupils behave well because adults model the high expectations they have for pupils’ behaviour. Teachers reward pupils when they show one of the school’s six values of ‘equality, respect, responsibility, curiosity, perseverance and kindness’. Bullying is not a problem here. Pupils know that if they have a worry, or if bullying were to happen, adults will help to sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy learning. This is because leaders bring learning to life through well-thought-out trips, visits and experiences. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 talked animatedly about an upcoming trip to Oxford Castle, and those in Year 4 talked about a visit to a local secondary school. Pupils are enthusiastic about the annual ‘Big Science’ competition. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can and do take part.

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better?

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum for the pupils in this growing school. For most subjects, leaders have thought about the exact knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn and the order they should be learned in. However, leaders are still refining the curriculum in a minority of subjects. They have also not yet fully checked that the curriculum is being implemented as planned in all subjects. This means pupils’ learning across the curriculum is not yet secure in every subject.

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better?

Leaders have selected teaching materials to support the delivery of the curriculum. Teachers use these materials to break learning down into small steps to help pupils remember the things they learn. This is especially true in the early years. Adults plan activities so that children, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, develop the skills they need to move successfully into key stage 1. This is based on leaders’ proactive actions to identify barriers to learning for any pupils who may have additional needs. This means pupils get the right support at the right time. As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress.

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better?

Learning to read and developing new vocabulary have the highest priority. This starts in the early years, through carefully chosen books and songs. Pupils enjoy listening to the stories teachers read. This learning of unfamiliar words continues into key stage 2, where pupils learn Latin. Most pupils are fluent, confident readers by the end of key stage 1. Right from the very start of early years, pupils learn new sounds and how they link to make words. Adults regularly check the sounds pupils can remember. If they fall behind, pupils are given support to catch up quickly, and they do. 7 and 8 June 2023

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Children in Reception build on their knowledge of number from Nursery. They can count and recognise groups of objects. Pupils continue to develop their fluency with numbers into key stage 1. In most mathematics lessons, teachers check what pupils understand and identify what they need to learn next. In some other subjects, teachers are not yet checking how much pupils know and remember. This means some pupils in key stage 2, including some who have joined from other schools, have some gaps in their learning.

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Learning is rarely disrupted because pupils know how to manage their own emotions and feelings. They recognise that some pupils need more support to do this than others. Pupils understand that everyone is different. One pupil told an inspector, ‘Learning about others’ differences helps us to be better people ourselves.’

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Although few in number, pupils enjoy attending the after-school clubs that are available. Pupils also enjoy the opportunities for responsibility, such as the newly created librarian roles. Pupils are looking forward to more opportunities in the future.

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The multi-academy trust has provided appropriate support and oversight for leaders. Local governance is new and still evolving. Despite this, the governing body members understand their role and have first-hand knowledge of the strengths and challenges of this school. They are aware of leaders’ workload and seek practical solutions to support this. Members of staff are excited by the journey the school is on and feel well supported by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are trained well to spot the signs and symptoms of harm. They know how to report or escalate a concern, whether this be about a pupil or the conduct of an adult in school.

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Safeguarding

Pupils and families who need support are identified quickly. Recently updated procedures in school mean the safeguarding team works smartly to identify and follow up on concerns raised.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and offline. They understand what bullying is. They know about keeping their bodies physically healthy. They also know they can use the ‘calm corner’ to support their own emotional health.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders are still refining the curriculum in a minority of subjects. Pupils’ learning across the curriculum is therefore variable in these subjects. Leaders should continue to implement the development of the curriculum as planned. 7 and 8 June 2023

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 Leaders’ oversight of the curriculum in some subjects is not yet fully developed. This means that leaders do not know how well the curriculum is being implemented. Leaders should ensure that they check that the curriculum is being implemented as planned.  In some subjects, teachers do not routinely check what pupils have learned and remembered. This means that teachers are not able to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders need to ensure that all staff consistently identify and address weaknesses and gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 7 and 8 June 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school opened in September 2020. The number of pupils on roll is continuing to grow until the school reaches capacity. At the time of the inspection, the school did not have any pupils in Years 5 and 6.  The school is part of the River Learning Trust.  The school has a breakfast club.  The school has a Nursery class for two- and three-year-old children.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 7 and 8 June 2023

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, members of staff, a representative from the River Learning Trust and four members of the governing body. An inspector also held a telephone discussion with the chair of the board of trustees from the River Learning Trust.  Inspectors considered the 20 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and parents’ written responses.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at pupils’ books, reviewed curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  Inspectors looked at the school’s own evaluation and development plans.  Inspectors spoke to parents and staff about the school’s work to keep pupils safe.

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They also met with pupils and considered a range of safeguarding documentation.

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Inspection team

Clare Haines, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lynn Martin Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 June 2023

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