Scott Primary School & Nursery

Inspection of a good school: Scott Primary School Hawk Drive, Brickhill, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK41 7JA

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Outcome

Scott Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Scott Primary School happily live by the four school rules. Therefore, they are kind and polite, smile at each other and try their best in everything. Pupils show respect for each other and staff through, for example, holding doors open when moving around the school. They welcome new pupils. They do their best to help them settle.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make good use of the school’s well-equipped grounds at breaktimes. They enjoy socialising with each other or playing games with adults and trained pupil ‘playground pals.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take their own and each other’s safety seriously. Older pupils are ‘digital leaders’ to ensure others know how to keep themselves safe when online. Pupils know that staff care for them. Pupils are confident to approach staff if they are worried.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well-motivated learners. They strive to meet teachers’ high expectations that they will concentrate and progress well through the curriculum. Older pupils take pride in becoming diligent ambassadors for subjects such as reading, science and languages.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils enthusiastically participate in a well-planned programme of enrichment experiences. These include an array of lunchtime and after-school clubs, including sports, music and science.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school cares deeply for pupils and knows their needs well. It regularly reviews the curriculum to make sure it meets pupils’ needs effectively. The curriculum is ambitious, teaching pupils to think and talk like experts across a wide range of subjects. Leaders ensure that the curriculum specifies the new words pupils must learn to help them access new ideas. This starts in the Nursery. 18 and 19 June 2024

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In most subjects, the curriculum is broken down into small, clear steps. This enables pupils to access more complex learning over time and make secure progress through the curriculum. However, in a few subjects, curriculum plans have not been broken down into small enough building blocks. This causes teaching to move too quickly. Therefore, pupils do not build the deep understanding they should. As a result, they do not always remember what they have been taught in these subjects.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They plan purposeful lessons which focus on what they want pupils to learn. Teachers use a range of teaching strategies to interest pupils and help them concentrate. They provide regular opportunities for pupils to practise and reinforce their knowledge. They constantly question pupils to check for misconceptions. They provide extra support straight away if pupils are not keeping up. The school clearly identifies the needs of pupils with SEND. Staff are well-trained to adapt learning activities so that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum. Consequently, pupils with SEND are progressing well.

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A love of reading is a core priority from the moment children join Nursery. All pupils, including those with SEND, follow a rich reading curriculum based on high-quality texts. The school has invested in maintaining two well-resourced libraries, which pupils love to visit regularly. Pupils enjoy listening to school adults reading to them. The well-planned Nursery curriculum ensures that most children are ready to learn phonics when they enter the Reception Year. Well-trained staff ensure that younger pupils progress rapidly through the phonics programme so that they develop fluency and understanding. If pupils fall behind, they receive effective extra practice and support to catch up with their peers.

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Early years pupils get off to a strong start. The learning environment is calm, purposeful and well-resourced. Children are settled, happy and intent on learning. They are ready for the rigours of the Year 1 curriculum.

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Pupils concentrate in lessons and work hard. They are keen to learn. Pupils willingly engage with the school’s insistence on respectful, considerate conduct in class and around the school. They behave well.

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The school supports pupils’ broader development effectively. Pupils learn to empathise with the experiences other people may be going through. They like to offer help when they can. They widen their horizons through a range of well-planned cultural experiences. They are taught to understand their responsibilities as members of the school and as future citizens.

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Staff are proud to be part of the school’s strong team. They value the support that leaders give them in carrying out their roles effectively, such as with their workload and well- being. Parents welcome the dedication and approachability of staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 and 19 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school has not broken down the curriculum into precise enough building blocks. This causes teaching to go too fast, without pupils building the complex knowledge they should. This in turn leads to pupils not remembering what they are taught. The school should review and develop curriculum documents in these subjects so that pupils consistently build and remember more complex knowledge over time.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2019.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 30 and 31 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs its own before- and after-school clubs and some holiday clubs.  The school currently uses one unregistered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with representatives of the local governing board  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, staff and pupils, visited a sample of lessons and reviewed samples of pupils’ work. 18 and 19 June 2024

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 The inspector reviewed pupils’ work and curriculum documents in a further range of subjects.  The inspector met with pupils to understand their views about the school.  The inspector held discussions with the acting special educational needs coordinator and school SEND team to consider the school’s support for pupils with SEND.  The inspector observed the behaviour of pupils during lesson visits, around the school and in the playground. The inspector looked at leaders’ analysis of behaviour, bullying attendance and suspension records.  The inspector reviewed school documentation, including school development plans.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.

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 The inspector considered 83 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, and 75 free-text comments. The inspector also considered the 48 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and 94 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Judith Sumner, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 June 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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