Colston Bassett School Limited

Inspection of Colston Bassett School Limited School Lane, Colston Bassett, Nottingham NG12 3FD

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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 Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at school each morning with enthusiasm for the day ahead. They appreciate the family feel of their small school and say it is a special place. Older pupils care for younger pupils. When new pupils join the school, everyone works together to make them feel welcome. Warm and caring relationships are firmly established between pupils and staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are ready to learn. There are clear and simple rules that they know well. Pupils say that the rules help to make their school a safe and happy place. In lessons, pupils listen well and work hard. At social times, they enjoy fun activities in their large outside space.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious that every pupil will have the skills and attributes they need as they move to the next stage of their education. Pupils develop confidence and pride in what they do. Younger pupils talk about their roles in the nativity play with excitement. Every pupil performs their part in this important end-of-term event with delight.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are unanimously positive about the school. One parent described the school as, ‘A truly wonderful school with empathetic, dedicated staff who put the children at the heart of everything.’

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better?

The school and the proprietor have a strong moral purpose to get the education of every pupil right. Pupils are known as individuals. Staff know exactly where each pupil has strengths and talents and where they need extra help to be the best that they can be. They are ambitious that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), will experience success during their time at the school.

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better?

Pupils study a broad range of subjects. Since the previous inspection, the school has worked hard to improve the curriculum. Current curriculum plans make it clear what pupils need to learn, and when. The curriculum is organised so that pupils build their knowledge over time. The content of the curriculum is delivered clearly to pupils. Pupils discuss their learning with interest and recall what they have learned previously. Younger pupils use the mathematical vocabulary, for example ‘vertices’ and ‘faces’, to talk about their work on three dimensional shapes. Sometimes, pupils are not provided with sufficient challenge in their lessons and their learning does not move on quickly enough. On these occasions, pupils find work too easy.

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better?

Teachers carry out checks to assure themselves that pupils have learned the intended curriculum. In English and mathematics, these checks are used to address gaps in pupils’ learning or where they have misconceptions. However, in the wider curriculum, there is no consistent approach to confirm that pupils’ knowledge is secure before moving on to new learning. 6 to 8 December 2023 Reading is promoted in lessons and in a weekly reading assembly. Pupils are enthusiastic readers. They name their favourite authors as Enid Blyton, Eoin Colfer and J R R Tolkien. The teaching of phonics is prioritised. In the early years, children enjoy singing songs to help them to remember the sounds they have been taught. Pupils at an early stage of reading use their phonic knowledge well to decode words in reading books that are chosen to match the sounds they already know.

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better?

Vocabulary development is prioritised. Pupils are encouraged to give their ideas and opinions. This work starts in the early years. Children use ambitious vocabulary to describe their observations as they watch a potato rot in the class ‘curiosity cube’.

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better?

The needs of pupils with SEND are identified. There are clear systems in place to support pupils so that they can access the same curriculum as their peers. Each pupil with SEND is set targets to support their progress. Staff, parents and pupils review and set new targets regularly. The school draws on the expertise of external agencies when needed.

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better?

The school offers pupils a wide range of opportunities to support their personal development. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum underpins this work. Pupils learn how to look after themselves physically and mentally. They learn to become responsible citizens in their school through their roles as head boy, head girl, sports leaders and fruit monitors. They participate in local community events. They help to organise the village duck race and run a stall at the Christmas market. Pupils also raise funds for a charity working with children in Uganda. Pupils learn about the cultures and beliefs of modern Britain. They have the opportunity to visit a mosque. Pupils learn to celebrate difference. One pupil said, ‘If we were all the same, it would be boring.’

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better?

Healthy competition is encouraged. Pupils look forward to their annual sports day. They are proud of the houses they belong to - eagles, kestrels and falcons. They are thrilled when they earn a point for their house. They eagerly anticipate the end-of- term treat for the winning house, chosen by the school council.

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better?

The school works closely with the proprietor to ensure that the independent school standards (the standards) are consistently met. The school pays due regard to its responsibility to safeguard pupils and to fulfil its duties required by the Equality Act 2010, including in relation to schedule 10 of that act.

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better?

There is determination that the school will not rest on its laurels and continue to improve. The school actively seeks support and collaboration with others beyond the school’s setting. Although leaders identify areas of the school where further improvements are required, this work is not yet precise enough.

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better?

Staff agree that they feel well supported working at the school and say that their workload is considered. They are proud to be part of the school. 6 to 8 December 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, the learning activities that pupils complete are not well matched to their needs. Sometimes the work given to pupils is too easy and they do not move on to more challenging work quickly enough. The school must ensure that expectations for all pupils are high enough and that the curriculum is suitably demanding.  The school does not have a formal approach to assessment in the foundation subjects. Gaps in pupils’ learning or misconceptions are not consistently identified in these subjects. The school should ensure that, without significantly adding to staff workload, an effective approach is in place to check pupils’ progress in the wider curriculum.  The school’s monitoring arrangements are not fully successful. The school does not always identify with sufficient precision where key improvements need to be made. The school must ensure that effective systems are in place to evaluate

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

accurately the impact of the work to improve the school.

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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. 6 to 8 December 2023

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School details

Unique reference number 135366 DfE registration number 891/6031

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Inspection number 10299200 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Proprietor Colston Bassett School Limited

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School details

Email address colstonbassettschool@live.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 to 21 November 2019 6 to 8 December 2023

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Information about this school

 Colston Bassett School Limited is an independent day school for pupils aged four to 11 years.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school's suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. They also met with the two directors of the proprietorial body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, religious education and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, reviewed curriculum plans, visited lessons, met with teachers, met with pupils to discuss their learning, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a member of staff.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

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 observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at social times. The lead inspector attended part of the school nativity play.  Inspectors considered responses to the Ofsted survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses, and spoke to parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors met with staff and reviewed responses to the staff survey.  The lead inspector reviewed the school’s website, toured the school premises, examined policies and associated documentation and spoke to staff to consider if the school meets the standards.

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Inspection team

6 to 8 December 2023 Caroline Poole, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff His Majesty's Inspector 6 to 8 December 2023 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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