Edgebury Primary School

Inspection of Edgebury Primary School Belmont Lane, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6BL

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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 Previous inspection grade Good 4 and 5 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy here. They enjoy coming to school. Typically, parents and carers described the school as a ‘friendly’ community. They appreciate leaders’ efforts to be visible and stay in contact with families.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a broad curriculum. Leaders have high ambitions for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work hard to identify and tackle any potential barriers to learning. Leaders support pupils in their learning, and pupils achieve well. The school rightly prioritises early reading. Pupils enjoy reading, and this underpins the wider curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils to ‘be safe, be respectful, be ready’. Adults promote respectful working relationships. If any bullying occurs, the school takes action to work with pupils. The school reinforces and continually teaches its expectations for pupils’ behaviour. As such, typically, behaviour is calm and sensible.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide meaningful opportunities for pupils to contribute to wider society. For example, pupils talked with pride about the trees planted by the eco-council in the school’s grounds. Extra–curricular clubs, such as piano tuition and sports clubs, are well used by pupils. As pupils move up through the years, residential trips aim to help pupils to develop their personal and social skills, including their independence and resilience.

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better?

The school provides a broad curriculum that matches the aims of the national curriculum. Leaders have driven rapid curriculum developments. The governing body is knowledgeable and understands the priorities of the school. Leaders have ensured that staff have received training to help them to develop the subject curriculum further. Leaders take into consideration the workload and well-being of staff when making decisions. Curriculum thinking starts in the early years. For example, leaders help children to start thinking about numerical patterns through purposeful play in Reception. This supports pupils’ early understanding of number bonds in Year 1.

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better?

When designing the curriculum, leaders take into account the needs of pupils with SEND. They make sure that appropriate activities and resources support pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. If pupils with SEND require additional time or support from adults to understand key concepts, they receive this help in the classroom. Leaders carefully review the impact of this personalised support.

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better?

Generally, subjects are planned and sequenced well so that pupils build their understanding of key knowledge and concepts over time. For example, in Reception, children are taught concepts such as ‘under’ and ‘over’ through listening to familiar stories. This directional language acts as an essential foundation to pupils’ more 4 and 5 October 2023

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complex learning in geography in later years when they start to use maps and compass directions. However, sometimes, curriculum thinking is not as well thought through to enable pupils to expand and deepen their knowledge as securely over time.

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There is a sharp focus on early reading. Staff are well trained in the school’s chosen phonics programme, and children start the process of learning to read in Reception. Books sent home closely match the sounds that pupils are learning in school. Leaders encourage pupils to practise reading at home. Teachers make careful checks of pupils’ understanding of early reading. This means that any gaps are quickly identified. If any pupils require additional support to help them to keep up, then interventions and support in class are promptly provided. Pupils enjoy visiting the school library, and leaders promote the habit of reading.

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Teachers are knowledgeable. They promote pupils’ use of subject-specific vocabulary through helpful classroom resources. Teachers provide pupils with useful opportunities to discuss any new subject content. Typically, they revise what pupils have learned previously so that pupils have the chance to embed key knowledge. However, sometimes, teachers’ checks on pupils’ understanding of subject-specific knowledge are not refined or purposeful, and teachers do not have as full a picture of what pupils know and understand from the curriculum.

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Leaders and staff continually promote and make clear their expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. In lessons, teachers positively reinforce these high standards. Leaders reward pupils for their positive conduct. School assemblies collectively celebrate pupils’ appropriate behaviour. Learning mostly proceeds uninterrupted.

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The school encourages pupils to understand and respect different cultures and backgrounds to their own. The student council raises funds for charity. External visits, such as outings to museums, enhance pupils’ understanding of key topics.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, curriculum thinking is not equally well developed across all areas of the curriculum to enable pupils to expand and deepen their knowledge to the same extent across all subjects. The school should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects is designed and sequenced so that pupils build and retain key knowledge cumulatively and securely over time.  Sometimes, teachers’ checks on pupils’ understanding of subject-specific knowledge are not refined or purposeful. Consequently, teachers do not have a 4 and 5 October 2023

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full picture of what pupils know and understand. The school should ensure that staff routinely check pupils’ recall of subject-specific knowledge and act swiftly to address any misconceptions.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 4 and 5 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in September 2021.  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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID 19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the course of the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher, leaders with responsibility for safeguarding, SEND, early years, behaviour and attendance, and personal development. 4 and 5 October 2023

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 Inspectors also met with a representative from the local authority and member of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors also evaluated behaviour through visiting lessons and observing breaktimes.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, pupils and

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Inspection team

Lucy Bruce, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton His Majesty’s Inspector 4 and 5 October 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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