Bandon Hill Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Bandon Hill Primary School Sandy Lane South, Wallington, Surrey SM6 9QU

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Outcome

Bandon Hill Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Robert Hopkins. This school is part of the Greenshaw 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, William Smith, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anne Spackman.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy school where pupils enjoy learning and get along well together. Pupils benefit from nurturing professional relationships with staff. In turn, pupils treat one another with kindness and respect. Pupils assume responsibility for supporting their peers, including as well-being ambassadors who ensure that others are included in the playground.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the early years, children typically achieve well, particularly in reading and mathematics. Leaders have taken action to improve the curriculum further in a number of areas to deepen pupils’ knowledge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Clear routines and expectations support pupils to behave well. Children in the early years learn to listen with attention to their teachers. Older pupils know how to respond to others’ views considerately. This supports pupils to learn without interruption.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take up a range of opportunities that extend their experience and develop their interests. For example, they represent their school in a range of sports within the local area. Educational visits such as to museums build on pupils’ knowledge of the curriculum, for example to examine Ancient Greek artefacts. In Year 6, pupils engage in new activities such as abseiling and obstacle courses on a rural residential visit. Popular clubs include football, netball and henna.

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

The school has high ambition for pupils’ achievement across all subjects. Recently, leaders 26 and 27 June 2024

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have made a number of changes to the curriculum, including in the early years, to ensure that all the knowledge pupils should learn is precisely defined. The teaching of key concepts is carefully sequenced to support pupils in building on what they have previously learned. For example, in the early years, children are taught number bonds securely so that they are ready to understand addition, subtraction and place value in Year 1. In history, pupils in Year 4 learn about the advantages that Vikings gained through raiding monasteries and trading with locals. This prepares them to learn about the Sikh Empire in the 19th century and how it was strengthened through trade.

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Leaders provide well-focused training, support and resources which develop teachers’ subject knowledge and expertise, including in the early years. Staff typically present information clearly and extend pupils’ thinking. Staff know the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and provide for them suitably, including by making adaptations to resources and teaching the curriculum so that pupils can learn new content well. Teaching revisits important content regularly, which supports pupils to remember key ideas that will support their learning later.

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Staff are still becoming familiar with some subject content introduced recently. Sometimes, teachers do not systematically check pupils’ learning and identify and address gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge. When this occurs, pupils’ knowledge is less secure. This is particularly the case for older pupils who did not experience in previous years some aspects of the curriculum in the way that leaders now intend. As a result, sometimes pupils are not as well prepared to understand more complex concepts which they encounter later in the curriculum.

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Pupils benefit from reading a range of well-chosen texts that expand their vocabulary and knowledge, including whole novels and poetry. The school’s book corners and library are well used by pupils who talk with enthusiasm about their favourite stories. Pupils enjoy visits by authors.

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There is a well-devised curriculum for pupils at the early stages of reading who are systematically taught the phonics knowledge they need to be able to decode new words. Regular practice using books that are well matched to their phonics knowledge helps them to apply what they have learned. The school has identified those who need additional help to read well and provides suitable support.

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Classrooms are settled, focused environments where pupils work hard. Where pupils need extra help to improve their self-control and behaviour, the school puts in place comprehensive and thoughtful support. The school has high expectations for pupils’ attendance. There are well-developed approaches to ensure support and encouragement where attendance rates may be lower.

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Pupils are encouraged to stay healthy and safe, including in relationships and when online. They are taught about cultures and beliefs of others and the importance of being respectful of all people. The school’s values are well understood and pupils and staff routinely refer to these to help pupils reflect on their experiences and behaviour, such as having resilience in the face of any difficulty they face. 26 and 27 June 2024

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Clear, strong working relationships between the trust, governors and the school have brought about well-focused improvements to the school’s work. There is ongoing, careful monitoring of these.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Where older pupils have not experienced aspects of the curriculum in previous years as leaders now intend, there are sometimes gaps in pupils’ knowledge which prevent them from readily understanding more complex concepts. These are not routinely identified and addressed when staff are not as familiar with the curriculum that has been recently introduced. The school should ensure that staff have the subject expertise in curriculum content needed to help pupils understand more complex concepts later in the curriculum.  In some areas, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding systematically. As a result, some misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning are not identified and addressed swiftly. The school should ensure that checks on pupils’ understanding routinely identify areas of the curriculum where pupils need support to catch up, close gaps or understand content more deeply.

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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 predecessor school, also Bandon Hill Primary School, to be good in March 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. 26 and 27 June 2024

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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). 26 and 27 June 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 March 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been a number of changes to leadership since the school’s previous inspection, including the appointment of a new headteacher and changes to the structure of the leadership team.  This school was formerly a larger school with two sites and a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. In 2022, the second school site separated from Bandon Hill Primary School to become a new school, along with the specially resourced provision. Bandon Hill Primary School remained as a two-form entry primary school with no specially resourced provision.  The school is part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic 26 and 27 June 2024

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began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with school leaders, including leaders from within the trust, and representatives of the governing body and trust board, including the chairs of both boards. Inspectors also met with leaders with responsibility for early years, SEND, behaviour and attendance and pupils’ personal development.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, physical education and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central

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record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, pupils and parents; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the views of pupils, parents and staff in response to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Iles-Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 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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