The Albert Pye Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: The Albert Pye Community Primary School Frederick’s Road, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9UL

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Outcome

The Albert Pye Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The head of school is Louise Creed. This school is part of The Active Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Lynsey Holzer, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Claire Heald. There is also an executive headteacher, Rae Aldous, who is responsible for this school and four others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They are polite and well behaved. They talk with pride about how everyone is welcome at their school. Older pupils learn the importance of responsibility through supporting younger pupils. For example, they run games at lunchtimes and read to others in the well-stocked reading sheds. They are proud of these responsibilities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has raised expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils are keen to work towards these aspirations and try hard in class. They really enjoy their learning and talk with enthusiasm about the different activities they have taken part in. They benefit from a well-planned programme of trips and visitors that helps enhance their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe and well cared for. The relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils develop positive attitudes to learning, sharing, and playing with peers, right from the start as a result of clear expectations and routines.

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

The school has revised its curriculum. Leaders have identified and organised important knowledge logically. There has been a high focus on making sure this learning builds right from the very beginning of Nursery. Teachers are clear about what they should be teaching and when. The school ensures that staff have high-quality training from experts. Knowledgeable subject leaders offer guidance to teachers on how to teach the curriculum. Staff work closely together to plan and teach. Staff have become more confident and 11 and 12 June 2024

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knowledgeable about the precise steps pupils need to undertake to learn. This all leads to high-quality learning across subjects.

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Until recently, the curriculum taught was not as detailed or rich as it is now. The school has identified that as a result some pupils have gaps in previous learning, where their knowledge is not as deep it should be. Pupils’ achievement in national tests and assessments is generally in line with national expectations. However, the school is clear that pupils should be securing a deeper understanding of the whole curriculum. This includes those pupils who are vulnerable or disadvantaged.

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Staff teach reading using a precise and consistent approach. As a result, pupils quickly learn to read. The school strongly promotes a love of reading. There is an extremely wide range of books placed all around the school that pupils enjoy reading. These include classic picture books that are well loved by the youngest children, along with modern and diverse texts that challenge the oldest.

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Pupils who need help to catch up get it. Those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from detailed and clear plans that identify the specific help they need. Careful adaptations mean that pupils with SEND can access the same learning as others. Some parents and carers of pupils with SEND have not felt well communicated with in the past. The school has invested in increasing the capacity of staff to work with these parents and their children. This team is working with support staff to further develop their skills in offering effective interventions.

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Pupils learn about lots of different ways of life and other cultures. They read books that help them understand this. They enjoy discussing and debating questions and contributing to whole-class pieces of work that reflect this. As pupils get older, the school ensures that they have experiences that go beyond the local area.

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Pupils attend school regularly. The school works closely with families of pupils who need additional support to increase attendance.

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Pupils behave well. The school is a calm and happy place. Children in the early years are happy and motivated to learn. The school has thought carefully about what is available at lunchtimes. There are many different things for pupils to do to keep busy and active. They enjoy scootering, climbing, building obstacle courses, reading and much more. Older pupils organise tennis, football and help the youngest play games.

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The school is well led. Staff appreciate the way the new leadership team has built on the existing strengths of the school, but also refreshed thinking around teaching and learning. Staff have had lots of opportunities to work with colleagues to improve the quality of pupils’ education. They value how leaders consider their workload. Subject leaders have benefited from working with experts and colleagues from across the multi-academy trust.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 11 and 12 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 As a result of the limitations of the way the curriculum was taught in the past, some pupils have gaps where they have not retained previous knowledge. This makes it harder for them to deepen their knowledge when introduced to new learning. The school needs to ensure that long-term teaching ensures that all pupils have deeper understanding of what they are taught, so that even more pupils meet or exceed expected standards across all subjects.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, of the same name, to be good in June 2013.

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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 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). 11 and 12 June 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is federated with another, much smaller, local school. The federation is called The Albert Pye Primary School and Ravensmere Infant School Federation. The two schools share a leadership team.  The school is part of The Active Learning Trust.  The headteacher is also executive headteacher for two other schools within the same multi-academy trust.  The school uses two unregistered and one registered alternative provider.  The school provides a breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this inspection under section 8 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. 11 and 12 June 2024

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 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 the executive headteacher, the head of school, leaders from across the federation and trust, and teachers. She spoke to the chief executive officer and representatives from the trustees and local governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, design and technology, and mathematics. For each subject, she discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, looked at pupils’ work and spoke with teachers and pupils.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector took into account the responses to Ofsted Parent View alongside responses to Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Tessa Holledge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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