Broadwindsor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of Broadwindsor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Drimpton Road, Broadwindsor, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3QL

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good School 14 and 15 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils enjoy attending school. Everyone is welcome. The school prioritises pupils’ mental well-being effectively. Pupils pay close attention during assembly and value the sense of unity as ‘one big school family’. Older pupils become great debaters. They enjoy thinking about how their actions can make a difference in the world. There are many opportunities to work with the local community and beyond, such as performing poems at the Remembrance service and raising money for various charities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take pride in representing the school at sporting events. Dedicated staff offer a variety of clubs, such as woodworking or running. Older pupils develop leadership skills by taking on additional roles like eco-leaders and school councillors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and children in the early years build strong relationships. Here, the curriculum meets children’s needs very well. They get off to a great start in Reception. Elsewhere, while many pupils learn the basic knowledge year on year with a degree of proficiency, some pupils underachieve because teaching is not ambitious enough for what pupils could learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

While most pupils pay attention in class, some struggle to concentrate when the expectations of them are not high enough. This slows some pupils’ learning.

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better?

Leaders and governors have thorough plans in place to address many of the remaining weaknesses in the school. The impact of these plans is already beginning to show. The reworking of the curriculums in history and geography is having a positive impact. Pupils are learning much more in these subjects. Nonetheless, the school is still in the process of designing some other subject curriculums so that they include the exact knowledge that pupils need to know and remember each term, such as in English, art, and design and technology.

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better?

The curriculum in the early years is successful. In Reception, children learn to extend their speaking to full sentences. They learn to read, form letters and write words and sentences very well. In key stage 1, pupils continue to build their reading knowledge steadily. However, a minority of pupils have gaps in their phonics knowledge. In English, pupils do not secure the most complex subject content over time because it is given too little weighting in the curriculum. When this happens, pupils fall behind in their writing development. This creates difficulties for pupils later on.

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better?

The school has a range of systems in place to assess what pupils know and remember. Staff keep track of the progress pupils make over time. However, teaching does not routinely address pupils’ gaps in knowledge or misconceptions sufficiently well. When pupils get stuck in mathematics, they do not always receive help swiftly, which hinders the learning of some pupils. School 14 and 15 November 2023

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The school provides caring support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, teaching for these pupils is not always precise enough to ensure that they learn well across the curriculum. Governors ensure that the school reviews pupils’ education, health and care plans on time. However, some other pupils’ targets are not up to date. At times, these pupils do not get the help and support they need across sequences of work.

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Incidents of poor behaviour in class are lessening markedly because of the new approaches being put into place. Nonetheless, there remain occasions when pupils finish their work early and go off task.

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The curriculum teaches pupils about being a good citizen and not to discriminate. Pupils learn how to make decisions about personal safety in a range of situations, including online. Pupils learn how to be a good friend. Most pupils get along well. However, the school does not have sufficient oversight of behaviour incidents at social times. Some go unreported. This means it takes too long to resolve issues. There are effective systems in place to challenge poor attendance. As a result, there is very little persistent absence.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subject curriculums do not include the necessary knowledge pupils need to learn next. Pupils do not learn the depth of knowledge they should. The school must ensure that curriculum goals are ambitious in every subject and that pupils gain the depth of knowledge they need.  There are weaknesses in the implementation of the English curriculum. Teaching does not build on prior learning sufficiently well. Some pupils underachieve. The school must ensure it implements an English curriculum that supports all pupils to learn English consistently well.  Teaching does not always build the strong subject knowledge that is required for pupils to learn well. Some pupils have gaps in knowledge, or their misconceptions go unaddressed. The school must ensure that staff use all the information they have to plan and deliver sequences of work that meet pupils’ needs well, including for pupils with SEND.  There is not enough oversight of the implementation of the curriculum and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school-wide policies. Some agreed expectations are not implemented consistently. Staff can be slow to recognise when pupils need help and support in lessons or at social times when there are fallings out. Governors must ensure that the school implements school policies consistently well so that pupils’ learning time is maximised and their experiences of social times are consistently strong. School 14 and 15 November 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). School 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 25 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There are four classes. A Reception class and mixed-age classes for Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6.  The school is a voluntary controlled Church of England school in the Diocese of Salisbury. The previous section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in May 2019.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  A breakfast club is run by the school and was part of this inspection.

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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. School 14 and 15 November 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other school staff. An inspector also met with representatives of the governing body and a representative of Dorset local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. An inspector also met with the headteacher and pupils to discuss other curriculum subjects, including modern foreign languages, English, design and technology and art.  An inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.

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 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 inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  The inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how leaders support their workload and well-being.  An inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. An inspector also considered the responses to the staff and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Julie Carrington, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Michelle Williamson Ofsted Inspector School 14 and 15 November 2023

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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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