Bobbing Village School

Inspection of Bobbing Village School Sheppey Way, Bobbing, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8PL

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Tim Harwood. This school is part of Bourne Alliance Multi 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 (CEO), Diane Browning, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Neil Peterson.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 seven years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. The school received an ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Act on 21 and 22 February 2023. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 18 and 19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this warm and happy village school. They are welcoming, polite and respectful. They are encouraged to look out for and care for one another. There is a strong sense of community across the school and areas like the ‘zen den’ support pupils’ well-being.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Currently, the behaviour of pupils is not always good. Recently, a new behaviour policy is starting to ensure that staff and pupils know and understand the school’s rules and expectations. The impact of this new approach is yet to be seen. Some pupils continue to disrupt learning and the day-to-day life of the school and staff are not always consistent in addressing this. Action has been taken to ensure that pupils’ positive behaviour is praised through the giving of reward points in line with the school’s values. Pupils value this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are benefiting from the actions leaders have taken to improve the quality of education. The new ‘discovery’ curriculum is already helping pupils to learn and make important links in their knowledge across most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. They learn about life beyond their immediate environment. They enjoy finding out about other cultures and faiths. Pupils believe in themselves and have aspirations to be successful. They take pride in their roles of responsibility such as reading and ‘restorative justice’ ambassadors.

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better?

The school has established an ambitious and interesting curriculum. It has worked hard to improve the quality of education with the support of the trust. The school has ensured that the new curriculum is well organised and outlines what pupils need to know at each stage of their learning. This curriculum is currently being embedded and is mostly being taught effectively. In mathematics, for example, pupils build their mathematical understanding effectively. Children in Reception recognise and use numbers confidently when counting. Older pupils use their understanding of terms to solve more complex multiplication problems.

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better?

In some subject areas of the curriculum, however, teachers do not routinely check well enough what pupils know before moving on to new learning. Assessment is not yet fully effective across all subjects and classes. Teachers sometimes move on too quickly before pupils have secured the necessary knowledge and understanding. There are plans in place to address this as the curriculum continues to be refined.

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better?

Staff provide pupils with thoughtful support. Important information is shared about the identified needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Ongoing professional development ensures that staff have up-to-date expertise to meet differing needs through their teaching and specific support. 18 and 19 June 2024

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The school promotes a love of reading. Pupils enjoy listening to, and reading, a range of texts. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. They confidently learn and remember new sounds and words. If pupils find learning to read more difficult, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly.

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In the early years, adults develop children’s learning with skill. Children have frequent opportunities to use their developing literacy and numeracy skills. They engage readily with books, rhymes and songs. They learn to take turns, ask questions and listen to each other’s ideas. Numerous opportunities encourage children to be creative and use their imagination. Children have strong relationships with adults and play happily with their peers.

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Pupils enjoy learning, but this is disrupted at times. Some staff do not always demonstrate consistently high enough expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They do not ensure that pupils follow appropriate routines consistently enough. Some pupils present challenging behaviours that are not addressed effectively and disrupt the learning of others. Leaders have begun to work on a consistent approach to managing behaviour, but the impact of this is yet to be seen.

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The school is working closely with parents and pupils to highlight the importance of attending school and to identify any barriers to good attendance. As a result, the attendance of the majority of pupils is high. There are, however, a small number of pupils who are persistently absent. The school are continuing to support these individuals to help them attend more regularly.

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The recently implemented programme for pupils’ personal development is helping pupils to develop their knowledge of the wider world. Pupils understand why tolerance and respect matter. They keenly describe what actions they can take to stay safe, fit and healthy. Staff take time to help pupils explore concepts such as democracy and healthy relationships with maturity.

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Leaders and governors are committed to their roles and to working together to make the necessary improvements to the school. However, they do not always have sufficient oversight of different aspects of the school’s provision. Consequently, they are not always clear about what is working well and where further changes need to be swiftly implemented.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not consistently use appropriate checks to see if pupils are secure in their knowledge before moving on to new learning. As a 18 and 19 June 2024

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result, some lesson activities are not always adapted carefully enough to help pupils achieve as highly as they can. The school should continue to ensure that pupils’ understanding is checked so that any gaps can be quickly identified and addressed.  The behaviour of pupils is not always managed consistently. As a result, the behaviour of some pupils disrupts the learning of others. The school should continue with the work it has begun to ensure that there are clear behaviour policies and procedures in place that all staff follow consistently.  Leaders, including those responsible for governance, do not always have a clear and sharp oversight of the school. They do not use information well enough to inform planned improvements. The school must make sure that all leaders and those responsible for governance have the expertise they need to make the necessary improvements to the school.

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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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 February 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Bobbing Village Primary School is part of the Bourne Alliance Multi Academy Trust.  There have been recent changes to the school leadership and the current headteacher has been in post since September 2023.  The school runs its own before- and after-school clubs.  Currently, no pupils use 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 18 and 19 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 leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held a range of meetings with the headteacher, the CEO, school leaders, and teaching and support staff.  The inspector met with members of the local governing board and trustees.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, design technology and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector heard pupils read aloud to a known adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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 inspector took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and trust board minutes.  The inspector considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text comments that were submitted. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Numera Anwar, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kirstine Boon 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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