Bream Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Bream Church of England Primary School High Street, Bream, Lydney, Gloucestershire GL15 6JW

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Nicola Brice. This school is part of Severn Federation Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Rachel Dare, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Louisa Davies. 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Bream Church of England Primary School. Staff create a safe space to learn. This gives pupils the confidence to talk about their feelings with adults. Staff foster strong relationships with parents and the local community. Parents enthuse about the school and the journey of improvement. Many describe the school as a place where children blossom and thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has significantly improved pupils’ behaviour. Staff insist on high standards. Pupils do not let them down. They respond well to the structures and routines that are in place. This helps to develop aspects of their character, such as care and respect for others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is determined that all pupils will experience success. It has markedly improved the curriculum and teaching so that pupils learn, remember and can do more over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud advocates for the school. They enjoy taking on responsibilities as digital leaders and library monitors. Pupils get the chance to attend a range of clubs. These develop their interests and talents, such as choir, den building, computing and sports. Disadvantaged pupils benefit equally from these extra opportunities. This contributes to an inclusive culture at the school.

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better?

Since joining the trust in 2021, determined leadership has transformed all aspects of the school’s work. Leaders, trustees and local governors have high aspirations for all pupils. They are united in their drive and ambition for children to flourish and develop into confident and responsible members of the community.

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better?

Reading is given the highest priority, starting in early years. Children get off to a secure start. They learn to read and write the sounds they have been taught. Staff take quick and effective action if anyone falls behind. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This increases their confidence and fluency. The school has well-chosen books that interest pupils and develop a love of reading. Pupils enjoy visiting the library and earning raffle tickets to celebrate their reading achievements.

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better?

The drive for continued improvement is why the school has overhauled the curriculum subject by subject. It has mapped out what pupils will learn from Reception to Year 6. Pupils’ knowledge progresses in well-defined steps. For example, younger pupils use their coding skills in computing to create simple programs. When pupils are in Year 6, they can debug complicated codes and control variables. However, in a minority of subjects, the school’s work is at an earlier stage of development. As a result, pupils do not have the same depth of knowledge across all subjects. 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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Ongoing assessment helps teachers identify pupils with any gaps in their knowledge. Teachers use quizzes and recaps to help embed important knowledge and skills. Despite this effective work, the school is still working to overcome a legacy of weaker past practice. Published outcomes of the latest key stage 2 mathematics results do not fully reflect the quality of education pupils receive. The school is rightly focusing on closing gaps in older pupils’ knowledge.

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The school prides itself on its inclusive culture. It has an increasing number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Clear systems are in place to identify pupils’ individual needs. Staff know pupils well. They adapt their teaching and use bespoke approaches and resources that work. Pupils with SEND experience success and learn the curriculum alongside their peers.

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Pupils learn without disruption. Working hard in lessons is the norm. The tone is set in early years, where children listen carefully and follow instructions well. Across the school, well-trained staff provide the right support to meet pupils’ social and emotional needs.

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Attendance has historically been an issue. It has, however, improved rapidly and is now above the national average. This is because staff work closely with families to break down barriers to attendance.

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The school strives for pupils to be the best they can be. Pupils have many opportunities to broaden their understanding of the world around them. For example, they take part in singing concerts and visit places of interest such as the Houses of Parliament. Pupils develop strategies for dealing with various situations, including negative thoughts and friendships. The school works closely with local police to promote the importance of staying safe online and in the community. Pupils play their part in promoting equality and accepting differences. All of this prepares pupils well for their next stages of learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A legacy of weaknesses remains for some groups of pupils in upper key stage 2, particularly in mathematics. As a result, these pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The trust should continue to build on its curriculum improvements and eradicate the legacy of underachievement so that pupils achieve consistently well in all areas.  Improvements to the curriculum in a few subjects are more recent and need time to embed fully. In these subjects, pupils do not gain the same depth of knowledge as they do in others. The trust needs to ensure that pupils have the 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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same depth of knowledge across all subjects.

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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). 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Bream Church of England Primary School became an academy school in February 2021. When its predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate overall.  The school is part of Severn Federation Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust of six primary schools in Gloucestershire. The headteacher was appointed in February 2021.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school is in the Diocese of Gloucester. It has not yet received a section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character.

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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 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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education provision.  Very occasionally, Ofsted’s quality assurance process may suggest there are gaps in the inspection evidence base, which will cause Ofsted to conclude that the inspection is incomplete. This happened at Bream Church of England Primary School. Two of His Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school on 25 January 2024 to gather additional information to secure the evidence base. In such cases, the inspection report is not published until Ofsted is satisfied that the inspection is secure.  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 held discussions with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator and other staff. Inspectors met with representatives from the trust board, the local governing board and the

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chief executive officer.  An inspector held a telephone call with the school improvement partner.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with the school, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, including history, computing and personal, social and health education.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors met the designated safeguarding lead, checked the single central record of adults working in the school, took account of the views of staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding

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that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during breaktime and lunchtime. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how the school supports their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Neil Lankester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough His Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 November 2023, and 25 January 2024

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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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