Badby School

Inspection of a good school: Badby School School Lane, Badby, Northamptonshire NN11 3AJ

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Outcome

Badby School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Badby School. This small village school is at the heart of the community. Pupils enjoy opportunities to perform dances for local people on ‘Rose day’, for example. They do lots of sport and spend much time outdoors learning about nature. Such activities help them to be healthy and resilient.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s motto, ‘Work hard, be kind, seek adventure’, inspires pupils to do their best and treat each other well. One explained, ‘We look out for each other at Badby.’ Pupils know that if they had any worries or concerns, adults would help them. They know that bullying, should it happen, would quickly be stopped.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) thrive at this school. They are fully included in all aspects of school life. Leaders and staff have high expectations of what pupils with SEND can achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In class and around school, pupils behave well. They have lovely manners, holding the door open for each other and adults. Pupils focus well on their work. They take delight in learning new things.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers appreciate the school’s family ethos. The comment ‘Badby School is everything we could wish for’ summed up the views of many.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have high expectations. They know what they want pupils to achieve and the type of people they want them to become. They have designed a curriculum that shapes pupils’ learning, their values and characters. The curriculum is successful in meeting leaders’ aims. From the early years upwards, pupils’ delight in learning new things is palpable. 20 and 21 June 2023

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The curriculum is designed so that pupils build their knowledge gradually. In the early years, children enjoy playing number games. Staff encourage them to use the right words, such as ‘more than’ and ‘less than’. Children visit the local woods and learn the names of the plants that grow there. They watch their sunflowers grow against the fence, learning the parts of the flower. This work prepares them well for Year 1.

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Through repeated practice, pupils develop the confidence and resilience to complete complex tasks. They described how they get lots of opportunities to practise in mathematics, for example. Pupils enjoy the challenge work they get in mathematics. Teachers ensure that pupils know the facts and methods that they need to complete these challenges. Occasionally, pupils need more opportunities to revisit their previous learning. This is especially the case in those subjects that they do not learn every day.

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Staff teach reading with skill and enthusiasm. Children begin learning to read as soon as they start in Reception. They take great joy in using their skills to sound out new words. Staff skilfully support pupils with SEND, as well as those who struggle with reading. Staff spot quickly when pupils are not keeping up. They pinpoint the exact sounds and words that pupils need to practise. They make sure that pupils do not miss out on important learning when they catch up. As pupils progress through the school, they become confident, enthusiastic and fluent readers. They love talking about the books they are reading and swapping books with each other and their teachers.

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Teachers make sure that pupils notice what is important. For example, they bring pupils’ attention to key words. They show pupils the meanings of words and how they relate to other words. Teachers call out new words, such as ‘aerodynamic’, and get pupils to repeat them. These techniques help pupils to remember their learning in the long term. This practice is common, especially in English and mathematics, but not routine in all subjects.

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The experiences pupils have at school inspire pupils’ wonder. Pupils learn to appreciate the natural world. Almost all pupils, including those with SEND, take part in sports. They and the staff are proud of their sporting successes. These opportunities help pupils to develop positive mental health. Lots of parents talk about how their children quickly become ‘part of the Badby family’. Pupils enjoy the many ways they can develop their talents and interests, whether as science ambassadors, well-being warriors, member of the Book Squad or the school council. Such experiences help pupils to know what it is to be a ‘true Badbarian’ – kind, adventurous and hardworking.

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Staff love working at Badby. Leaders support them well and they, in turn, support each other, for example through their ‘well-being walks’ at lunchtime.

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Trustees and governors work well together to ensure that leaders focus on the right things to help the school keep improving.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 20 and 21 June 2023

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Leaders and staff know pupils and their families well. Parents and carers speak highly of the support they have had from staff when they have faced difficult personal circumstances. The members of the safeguarding team meet regularly. They keep under close review any pupils about whom they have concerns.

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Leaders have created a healthy safeguarding culture. They question and challenge each other to check that they have made the right decisions. Staff know that they can do this, too. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil, or should the actions of other adults cause them unease.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum in many subjects allows pupils to revisit their learning. This is not the case in all subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects enables pupils to revise what they have done previously.  At times, pupils come across new words that they do not understand. A knowledge gap builds up as pupils struggle to fully understand the activities they are completing. Leaders should ensure that teaching routinely helps pupils to practise saying, spelling and learning vocabulary so that such knowledge becomes sticky.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 20 and 21 June 2023

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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. 20 and 21 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10240816 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 June 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up his post in April 2019.  The school is a member of Innovate Multi-Academy Trust.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, who is also the school’s coordinator for special educational needs and/or disabilities, other leaders and members of staff.  The inspector spoke with several groups of pupils.  The inspector met two members of the local governing body, including the chair, trustees, and representatives of the trust, including the chief executive officer. 20 and 21 June 2023

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 The inspector took account of responses to the Ofsted Parent View free-text service, the online questionnaire, as well as the staff and pupil surveys.  The inspector considered information on pupils’ behaviour, attendance, personal development, safeguarding and child protection.  The inspector visited the school’s before-school club and its pre-school provision.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, the inspector 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. The inspector also listened to pupils reading.

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Inspection team

Deirdre Duignan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 June 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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