Sebert Wood Community Primary School

Inspection of Sebert Wood Community Primary School Sebert Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7EG

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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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 Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since June 2009. 14 and 15 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a popular, happy and successful school, where relationships are warm and friendly. Adults have high aspirations for pupils, and pupils work hard to meet these. Parents value the care the school provides for their children. Pupils access support from the pastoral team, which provides valuable help for pupils who need support to manage their feelings and emotions. Pupils who attend the breakfast club or after- school childcare enjoy the activities staff provide.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful and kind to one another. They play and socialise well together. They treat one another with kindness. Pupils talk positively about the school’s values of ‘respect, resilience, and readiness’. They understand the importance of these in building an effective school community. Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly manner. They are keen to get into lessons and learn. Pupils say they feel safe and secure at school. They know that adults will always act quickly if they are worried about anything.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take up opportunities to fulfil responsibilities. They serve as librarians, well- being champions or eco-leaders. Pupils also enjoy and benefit from a range of clubs, including the yoga and mindfulness club, guitar, dance and a range of sports.

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better?

The school has planned a curriculum that clearly outlines the key knowledge that pupils must know and understand. Staff are knowledgeable and present information clearly in lessons. Teachers are well trained to identify pupils who need extra help. Teachers adapt their teaching so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are able to access the same learning as their peers. However, the school does not do enough to keep parents of pupils with SEND fully updated about the support pupils are receiving.

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better?

The school’s curriculum includes opportunities for local studies, such as visits to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse and Hedingham Castle. This brings learning to life and helps pupils make links across different subjects. Nevertheless, the school has not been rigorous enough in checking that the curriculum is implemented consistently well in every subject.

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better?

Teachers carefully check pupils’ understanding in lessons, providing timely support for pupils who struggle to understand certain content. The school has introduced a system to check that pupils have understood and remembered their learning over time. However, in some subjects, this is new and not fully developed. This means that staff do not always have a complete picture of how much information pupils have retained. As a result, there are gaps in how effectively some pupils have remembered key knowledge in some subjects.

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better?

Starting in the early years, staff are effective in teaching what pupils need to know to be able to read fluently. Staff are quick to identify and provide support for any 14 and 15 November 2023

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pupils who need extra help with reading. This means that, by the end of key stage 1, the vast majority of pupils read fluently and confidently. Pupils enjoy reading. They love visiting their school library to read quietly and choose new books.

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The school’s embedded routines and ethos ensure that pupils are attentive in class and motivated to do their best. Pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtime contribute to the school’s positive and supportive culture.

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Children in Nursery and Reception get off to a good start. Children learn about the routines that make for successful school life, and staff demonstrate these expectations and put systems in place from the very beginning. Children form friendships and play happily together. They enjoy the learning activities that staff provide for them. Adults ensure that children’s talking, listening and explaining are prioritised. One child, arranging the toy dinosaurs, was confidently telling her friends, ‘I am sorting them into small, middle-sized and large.’

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The school has ensured that there are plenty of opportunities for pupils to develop personally. Staff teach pupils the importance of relationships and how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Assemblies offer pupils the chance to think about the importance of respect, kindness and making the right choices. Pupils embrace these and understand the impact their own conduct has on others.

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Governors have a secure understanding of the school and provide high-quality advice and support. This has supported the school to develop and flourish.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders to manage their workload. Staff say that leaders positively promote their well-being at work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Procedures for monitoring the implementation of the curriculum, including using assessment information, are not fully developed. This means that there are some inconsistencies in how thoroughly and effectively the curriculum is taught in some subjects. The school should give a high priority to improving arrangements for evaluating the quality of the delivery of the curriculum.  The school has not forged strong partnerships with parents of pupils with SEND. As a result, some parents do not feel they are given enough information about support for their child. Consequently, parents are not informed well enough to know how to support pupils at home. The school needs to ensure that it communicates consistently well the effective work it does with all parents of 14 and 15 November 2023

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pupils with SEND, including keeping them up to date with information about the help their child is receiving.

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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). 14 and 15 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 June 2009

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  Wraparound care is provided for pupils and is managed by those responsible for governance.

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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.  The inspection team held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers, support staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority. 14 and 15 November 2023

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 The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, computing and geography. 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. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to adults they knew.  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.  The inspection team took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and governor minutes. They also considered reports of the school from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experience of the school. They took

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account of parent, carer and staff views through conversations and responses to Ofsted’s surveys. Additionally, the lead inspector considered two letters from parents and spoke on the telephone with a parent at the start of the second day of inspection.

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Inspection team

Nick Rudman, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Hemmings Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 November 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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