Buckland Brewer Primary School

Inspection of Buckland Brewer Primary School Buckland Brewer, Bideford, Devon EX39 5LX

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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 Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 5 and 6 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to succeed. Since the previous inspection, the school has made changes to the curriculum to promote high expectations for all pupils. These actions are making a difference. However, it is still early days. The curriculum does not yet support pupils to build their knowledge well enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Buckland Brewer Primary School. This is reflected in their high attendance. Staff create a positive learning environment where successes are celebrated. Pupils are respectful and treat others equally. Pupils feel safe. They know that adults will always help them if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ personal development is a strength. Trips enrich the curriculum. For example, pupils learn about the industrial revolution through their trip to Morwellham Quay. There are a variety of clubs that pupils are involved in. Interschool sport competitions across the federation, such as football, are enjoyed by pupils. Pupils value their leadership roles. For example, ‘family captains’ are elected to lead the ‘stingray, tiger shark and seahorse’ families. All pupils take part in an annual production to help build confidence.

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better?

The school has worked to improve the design of the curriculum. Subject experts from across the federation have identified and sequenced the knowledge pupils need to know and remember. Some subjects are further ahead than others. For subjects in their infancy, staff receive support to teach the curriculum well. This is strengthening the effectiveness. However, some staff do not have the subject expertise they need to teach the curriculum successfully. They are not yet clear how to adapt the curriculum to close identified gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This stalls progress through the curriculum for pupils.

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better?

The school checks how well pupils are learning the curriculum. From this, weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum are identified. However, identified improvements lack precision and are not acted upon quickly enough. As a result, the curriculum does not yet support pupils to learn well.

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better?

Teachers adapt learning to help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the curriculum. The school has worked on improving provision to help these pupils catch up. However, the school has not identified the support some pupils need with enough precision. Therefore, the adaptations made do not meet pupils’ needs well enough. This inhibits pupils’ learning.

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better?

Pupils are taught how to read from the start of Reception. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This helps them to read confidently. A love of reading is promoted in the school. This starts in the early years where children experience carefully considered texts, such as traditional tales. 5 and 6 March 2024

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The school has developed the early years curriculum to support children building their knowledge more securely. The curriculum now identifies the knowledge children need to know and remember to prepare them for key stage 1. For example, pupils are taught successfully how to decode and blend while learning to read. Warm relationships in early years mean children settle well. They are able to maintain focus on activities. For example, in the mud kitchen, children took pleasure in preparing ‘cups of tea and chips’ for visitors. The school’s actions to develop the provision in early years are beginning to make a difference. However, it is still early days.

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The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave well. The school’s learning behaviours are promoted across all classes. Pupils know how these help them to be successful, such as ‘the working together bumble bee’.

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The school provides a range of opportunities to develop pupils’ knowledge of the wider world. Pupils attend residentials with pupils from other schools in the federation to expand their social group. A visit to the Houses of Parliament in London helps pupils’ understanding of democracy. They enjoy the outdoor learning area. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe while exploring the outdoors. They are supported to be active citizens. For example, those pupils running ‘tasty tuck’ have raised money to invest in new headphones for the school.

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Staff value the support of colleagues from the federation to teach the curriculum. This includes shared training to develop subject knowledge. Governors know the school well. They understand the school’s priorities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some staff do not have the subject knowledge they need to deliver the new curriculum effectively. As a result, some pupils do not build their knowledge well. The school must ensure that all staff develop their subject knowledge and expertise to deliver the new curriculum effectively across all subjects.  Some pupils with SEND do not have their needs met well enough. This is because the school has not identified with enough precision the support required. This prevents some pupils from building their knowledge securely over time. The school must ensure that precise support for pupils with SEND is identified and put in place so these pupils can learn the curriculum well.  Some identified weaknesses in the teaching of the curriculum are not addressed quickly enough. This is because the school does not check the implementation of the curriculum with enough precision. As a result, some pupils have unaddressed

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

gaps in their knowledge. The school needs to ensure that improvements are 5 and 6 March 2024

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accurately identified and followed up with rigour to enable all pupils to learn the curriculum well.

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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). 5 and 6 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 January 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Buckland Brewer Primary School is part of the Atlantic Coast Co-Operative Trust. In April 2022, the school joined two other local village primary schools to create the Village Schools Partnership.  The headteacher, appointed in April 2022, is the headteacher of all three schools in the Village Schools Partnership.  This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. Pupils are organised into three mixed-age classes.  The school’s nursery is registered for two-, three- and four-year-olds. At the point of this inspection, there were no two-year-olds on roll.  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. 5 and 6 March 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke with school leaders, subject leaders, parents, pupils, governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. Inspectors also spoke to leaders and pupils about the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a trusted adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspectors spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents. The inspectors considered comments made by parents online during the inspection and met with some parents at the start of the second day. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Esther Best, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Craig Hayes Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 March 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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