Buckminster Primary School

Inspection of Buckminster Primary School School Lane, Buckminster, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG33 5RZ

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Inadequate 24 and 25 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This small school plays an important part in the local community. Pupils enjoy attending. They are happy and safe here. The school has been through significant changes and is proud of the improvements that have been made.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The expectations of what pupils will learn, and when, have increased, following guidance and training for staff. The curriculum is beginning to enable pupils to make better progress. However, many of these curriculum changes are at an early stage. Parts of the curriculum are not fully embedded and there is variability in how it is being implemented.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They model the school values of being responsible, respectful and reflective. Pupils learn without distraction and have positive relationships with one another. They feel confident that should they have any worries, they could share them with a trusted adult, who would support them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the positions of responsibility that they hold in school. The sports ambassadors enjoy leading activities during ‘workout Wednesdays’. Pupils love the opportunities to play games, exercise and socialise. They take part in after-school clubs such as film nights, choir and rugby.

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better?

There have been some very positive improvements to the education of pupils at Buckminster in a short space of time. However, the improved curriculum has only recently been introduced in some subjects. It will take time for pupils to close gaps in their knowledge. Some subjects are further developed than others. In some subjects, the school has not considered fully how pupils in mixed-age classes can build on their prior learning. At times, this can mean that the curriculum is not always ambitious enough.

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better?

Pupils learn across a broad range of subjects. They are keen to take part in enjoyable activities. However, the precise knowledge that pupils will learn over time is not always clear. This includes the curriculum in the early years. Consequently, children and pupils are not always able to explore different concepts in depth.

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better?

The school’s approach to the teaching of reading is developing. As soon as they start school in Reception, children practise saying the sounds that they are learning. Across the school, staff keep a close eye on pupils who are not keeping up with the pace of the programme. They put support in place so that these pupils can catch up. However, there is more work to do to ensure that all staff use appropriate strategies when supporting pupils in their reading. This inconsistency means that some less confident readers struggle to sound out the words that they encounter. This prevents them from developing into fluent readers quickly. 24 and 25 October 2023

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support to access the curriculum and make progress. The school identifies barriers to the learning of pupils with SEND and works well to resolve these. Pupils’ individual targets are more precise and relevant to their needs. The school has put in place suitable intervention strategies to support pupils’ needs. Pupils with SEND are happy and confident learners.

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Pupils behave well across the school. Staff make their expectations clear, and pupils enjoy meeting these. Pupils treat each other with kindness. They show maturity in their interactions. Older pupils enjoy being role models for younger children. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. However, they do not have a secure understanding of some key knowledge that will prepare them for later life. Their knowledge of different faiths and cultures is limited.

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The personal, social and health education curriculum is coherently organised. However, this is very new. The school has a clear plan to develop pupils’ wider knowledge of life in modern Britain. This includes visits to different places of worship and learning from people in the community, such as the police and paramedics. The school provides opportunities for pupils to understand the importance of being active in their community. Singing at events and raising money for charities prepare pupils to be good citizens.

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The school has wasted no time in addressing previously significant areas of concern. Many staff are new to the school. They are determined to continue to make positive changes to life in school. Staff feel proud to work at this school. They all want to do their best for the community that they serve. This is a forward-thinking school that is working tirelessly to provide the best that they can for all of its pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not ensured that the curriculum is planned and taught consistently well in some subjects. The curriculum is not modified well enough to meet the needs and abilities of pupils in mixed-age classes. As a result, some pupils do not build and retain important knowledge and skills as well as they might. The school needs to ensure that the curriculum sets out the precise knowledge that pupils will learn, and that staff have the subject expertise to deliver the curriculum, so that pupils can achieve as well as they could.  The curriculum in early years has not been broken down into a precise enough sequence. As a result, children do not build their knowledge and skills systematically in all areas of learning. The school should review the early years 24 and 25 October 2023

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curriculum, ensuring that children build their knowledge and skills step by step, in readiness for the next stages of their education.  The support for pupils who need help with reading is inconsistent. Books that pupils read do not always match the sounds that they know. This means that some pupils are not becoming fluent readers as quickly as they could. The school should ensure that the books pupils read match the sounds they know. It should also ensure that all staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to provide effective support, so that pupils quickly become fluent and accurate readers.  There have not been sufficient opportunities for pupils to engage with other cultures, faiths and lifestyles. Pupils do not have deep understanding of the breadth of different cultures in modern Britain. The school should ensure that through the curriculum and well-planned wider experiences, there are effective

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opportunities to broaden pupils’ experiences and develop their knowledge of diversity and difference in British society.

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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). 24 and 25 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority Interim executive board

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 31 January to 2 February 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been several changes in staffing since the last inspection. The headteacher took up their post in August 2023.  An interim executive board has delegated responsibilities for the quality of education and safety of pupils at this school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a graded (section 5) inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of the school’s education provision. 24 and 25 October 2023

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, the senior teacher and a range of staff.  The inspectors met with the interim executive board, including the chair of the interim executive board. The inspector spoke with representatives from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, music and computing. For each deep dive, the 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. The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school and at lunchtime. The inspectors spoke with pupils about their views of the school and their learning, behaviour and safety.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspectors met with groups of staff and pupils and considered responses to Ofsted’s staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Moira Dales Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 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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