Bladon Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Bladon Church of England Primary School Park Street, Bladon, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1RW

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Outcome

Bladon Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every morning, pupils walk excitedly through the school gates, bringing with them a tangible anticipation of what the day will hold. They look forward to learning in this safe and nurturing environment. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and congenial. Unkindness is not tolerated here. Adults deal with pupils’ worries straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations. The school’s values of ‘respect, responsibility, compassion, friendship, perseverance and equality’ are lived and breathed by adults and pupils alike. Pupils are proud of the jobs they do and relish taking on responsibilities such as house captain, members of the worship team, school council representatives and as playground leaders. They appreciate that their voice matters. For instance, pupils have chosen the new playground equipment and agreed the lunchtime menu.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk animatedly about their assemblies and the termly performances, where they showcase their creative talents to their parents and carers. They are equally thrilled to demonstrate their sporting skills by participating in local and county tournaments. Pupils bring joy to the village by taking an active part in special celebration at the nearby church. Through trips to places such as Blenheim Palace, the Woodstock Museum and Hill End, pupils learn about their local heritage.

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

Staff are unequivocally proud to work here. They talk about the strong team spirit. Staff agree that leaders value their views and are supportive of their workload and well-being. Highly skilled governors understand their responsibilities well. They play their part effectively and provide leaders with the right balance of support and challenge. Governors know exactly what needs to improve further in the quality of education.

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

There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons. Pupils are polite to others. They follow instructions with thought and care. Pupils routinely invite feedback from their peers to help them improve their work. Equally, children in early years have high levels of 18 July 2023

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engagement. They work harmoniously with their friends and develop crucial skills for learning, such as curiosity, independence and resilience.

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The curriculum is interesting and ambitious. Recently, in many subjects, leaders have made well-considered changes to make sure the curriculum is well defined. Consequently, the most important knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which it should be taught is clearly set out. This helps teachers know exactly what pupils need to learn and remember well. However, in a few subjects, the curriculum is not as well crafted. Where this is the case, pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders are addressing this.

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Teachers are well trained. Overall, they check what pupils have learned and, if necessary, adapt resources so that pupils learn well. Teachers routinely provide opportunities for pupils to recall and revisit previous learning. This helps pupils make links with their work. Leaders and staff identify the needs of pupils with special education and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. Staff make sure that pupils with SEND get the tailored support they need. This enables these pupils to produce high-quality work.

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Leaders rightly want every pupil to be a successful reader. They nurture pupils’ love of reading. Pupils take great pleasure in listening to the stories staff read and discuss. They cannot wait to visit the library and choose books to take home and share with their families. Pupils are avid, confident and fluent readers. This is because staff use their expert training to skilfully check and make sure that all pupils learn their phonics well. Children in early years are introduced to letters and sounds from the very start. The books pupils read help them practise the sounds they learn. The right support is in place for those who fall behind to help them get back on track quickly. As a Year 1 pupil explained: ‘Our teachers don’t rush us to learn our phonics. We like that we keep going back to practise the sounds till they are locked in our heads.’

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Leaders place great emphasis on pupils’ personal development. Popular after-school clubs, such as the science club, musical theatre, football, karate and multi-sports, add to pupils’ enjoyment. Pupils learn about different religions, celebrations and cultures. This helps prepare them for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and positive relationships. They debate topics including childhood poverty, sexism, racism and homelessness with empathy and consideration. Pupils express mature views, such as ‘We do good by others because that is the right thing to do and not because we are looking for rewards.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of vigilance at this school. All staff receive appropriate and regular training on how to keep pupils safe from potential harm. Staff identify and report any concerns promptly. Leaders follow up on all concerns effectively. They work closely with outside agencies to get the help pupils and their families need. Leaders have comprehensive systems to check adults’ suitability to work with children. 18 July 2023

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Governors make regular checks on the school’s safeguarding procedures. Consequently, they have robust knowledge of how well leaders’ work helps to keep pupils safe.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. This includes potential risks they may face online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum in a few foundation subjects is not well structured. Leaders have not identified the important knowledge that all pupils should learn step by step. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders should make sure that the curriculum in all subjects is well sequenced and coherent.

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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 April 2018.

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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.

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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. 18 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is designated as having a religious character. Its last Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place in July 2019, when it received a good judgement overall.  The school does not use any 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and two members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also spoke on the telephone with a representative of the local authority and a representative of the Diocese of Oxfordshire.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about 18 July 2023

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their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also considered other curriculum areas, including science and history.  During the inspection, inspectors met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to them informally during social times. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online pupils’ survey.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised a wide range of information, including a selection of the school’s records. They spoke to staff and pupils about safeguarding and looked at how pupils learn to keep themselves safe. An inspector spoke to the safeguarding leader about the recording and reporting of safeguarding incidents.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. The inspection team considered the responses to the confidential staff survey and spoke to a wide range of staff about their views of the school.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self-evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and the school development plan.

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Inspection team

Shazia Akram, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ailis Drysdale Ofsted Inspector 18 July 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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