Billingham South Community Primary School

Inspection of Billingham South Community Primary School Belasis Avenue, Billingham TS23 1BE

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 December 2023

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 13 and 14 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Billingham South Community Primary School is a highly inclusive school. It is characterised by warm relationships between staff and pupils. All pupils benefit from the excellent quality of education and plentiful opportunities for their personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s catchphrase is ‘hearts in Billingham, eyes on the world.’ This reflects the importance that staff place on preparing pupils for the next steps in their education. The school has a much higher than average number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is an important and celebrated characteristic of the school. Pupils with SEND, and those pupils who are disadvantaged, achieve exceptionally well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe and very happy at school. Pupils are highly supportive of one another. This is especially evident when pupils work supportively together with their peers from the specialist SEND provision. Leaders have high expectations of pupils. Pupils rise to meet these expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders carefully plan the way that school clubs, trips and visits enhance pupils’ well-being and broaden their range of experiences. The school cycling club uses adapted bikes for pupils with mobility difficulties. Pupils learn about community responsibility through litter picking and tree planting. Leaders are successful in their aim to ‘give parents every opportunity to enjoy the achievements of their children.’

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better?

Pupils benefit from a high-quality curriculum that enables pupils to acquire deep knowledge and skills across a range of subjects. For example, in computing and in physical education, pupils have a very effective grasp of the technical vocabulary that supports them to learn the ambitious curriculum. The foundations of this curriculum are established extremely well in the early years. Pupils with SEND are exceptionally well supported by the curriculum.

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better?

The school provides pupils with an ambitious and engaging mathematics curriculum. This begins in the early years, where staff expertly support children to understand number and measure. Throughout the school, teachers routinely check what pupils know and remember. Misconceptions are quickly corrected. Pupils remember important mathematical knowledge and use this to choose the best methods to solve problems. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they are well prepared for mathematics in secondary school.

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better?

The school teaches and promotes reading very effectively. Leaders have made phonics and early reading a high priority. The reading programme is adapted particularly well for pupils with SEND. Some of these pupils find reading more difficult. Teachers have a very precise understanding of the additional support needed to help them. The highly effective support for pupils with SEND extends into 13 and 14 December 2023

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all areas of the curriculum. Teachers deftly use additional resources, including technology, to enable pupils with SEND to play and learn alongside their peers.

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Pupils of all ages are very enthusiastic about the books they read. In the early years, pupils engage enthusiastically with songs and rhymes. As they progress through the school, pupils read with perception, gleaning important information and insights from the texts that they read. In all year groups, pupils speak with confidence about different authors and genres. Pupils passionately debate their favourite books. They write book reviews for a local literary competition.

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The depth and scope of the curriculum for personal development is exceptional. School leaders have ensured that personal development is at the heart of the formal curriculum and supported by a wide range of additional opportunities. For example, the history club adds depth to the history curriculum, which is further enriched by artefacts brought in from the British Museum. These planned connections give pupils a rich cultural experience that brings their learning to life. Residential visits are ambitious. There is very high participation in the wealth of sporting opportunities on offer, along with success in tournaments and competitions.

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The school develops the character and resilience of the pupils in extremely impressive ways. Among numerous leadership opportunities, pupils are digital leaders. In this role, they deliver news bulletins that are streamed into classrooms on a YouTube channel. Pupils’ knowledge of the digital environment and e-safety is exceptional. The excellent conduct and behaviour in school are founded in the school values and embedded through developing a sense of responsibility in pupils.

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Community engagement is a further strength of the school. The annual ‘Glaston- Billy’ music and arts festival engages parents and the local community. Parents are exceptionally supportive and proud of the school. One parent summed up the views of many others by saying that, ‘The staff go above and beyond in all that they do for the children.’

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Staff at the school feel extremely well supported. They have high-quality training that enables them to teach the curriculum exceptionally well. Staff know that their workload is well managed and that their well-being is a priority. Governors have strong links with the local community. They know the school very well. Governors reflect the high ambition and exceptional inclusion that makes the school so effective.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 December 2023

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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). 13 and 14 December 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 July 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school is an enhanced mainstream school for pupils with cognitive and learning difficulties and physical and medical needs.  The school offers wraparound provision, with a breakfast club and after-school club.  The school does not 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. 13 and 14 December 2023

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 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, senior leaders, middle leaders and a range of teachers and other staff. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English, computing and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors studied a variety of documents. These included the school’s development plan, minutes of governing body meetings, attendance information and safeguarding records.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online for staff.  Inspectors considered the views of parents through Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and by meeting with parents at the end of the school day.

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Inspection team

Carl Sugden, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Georgina Chinaka His Majesty’s Inspector 13 and 14 December 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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