Bayton CofE Primary School

Inspection of Bayton C of E Primary School Bayton, Near Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY14 9LG

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 October 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 22 and 23 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision is based on the ‘Parable of the Sower’; nurturing, growing and thriving. Pupils love telling visitors why they enjoy school so much. They are especially proud of the pupil parliament, recently electing a prime minister, chancellor, cabinet and members of parliament. They are very enthusiastic about the ‘talk partners’, where older pupils support younger ones in mixed-age classes. Leaders set high expectations for pupils. All pupils do well in reading. Many achieve high standards.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They particularly value the ‘talk hub.’ Here they can speak to an adult in confidence about anything worrying them or their friends. Standards of behaviour are consistently very high, in line with ‘The Bayton Way’. Pupils show respect and understanding for each other, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils experience settings very different to their own, including a residential trip to London and a visit to the Weston-super-Mare beach. There are numerous opportunities for pupils to support the local community. They engage in ‘Food Bank Friday’ and sing at the local supermarket at Christmas to raise funds. Pupils take on responsibilities, such as becoming ‘eco-leaders’ and house captains, elected by their peers.

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

Leaders have redesigned the curriculum to make it sufficiently ambitious for all pupils. In each subject they have drawn up planning to ensure it is well sequenced. This helps pupils recall previous learning and build on what they already know.

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

The change to a different phonics programme has led to significant improvements in reading standards. All adults teach the programme consistently well. Children in Reception get off to a rapid start learning phonics from day one. All pupils, including those who find reading difficult, or those who need to catch up, gain the confidence and skills to become fluent readers, as shown in the recent phonics screening check and Year 6 assessments.

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

In mathematics, teachers deliver the well-designed and sequenced curriculum effectively. Children in Reception can already count to 10 and know the difference between ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’. However, when pupils require additional support to catch up in smaller groups, this is not always of the same high quality and consistency. Consequently, not all pupils do as well in mathematics as in reading.

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

Planning for each subject in the wider curriculum sets out the key knowledge the school wants pupils to learn. The learning environments help all pupils to learn the key vocabulary. The school’s assessment approach, introduced by the school in a number of subjects, helps teachers successfully identify what pupils have previously learned and where there are gaps or misconceptions to be addressed. For example, pupils learning about maps in geography could draw on their previous knowledge of the location of the United Kingdom in Europe in the northern hemisphere. Older pupils can recall learning geography in Reception by walking around the local village. 22 and 23 October 2024

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All curriculum planning takes account of adaptions to support pupils with SEND. For example, teachers regularly provide opening sentences for pupils to complete or additional challenges. These meet their needs successfully by enabling them to access their learning.

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The school has successfully increased attendance over a three-year period and reduced levels of persistent absence. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school is exemplary. The school has not had to issue any ‘red cards’ so far this term.

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Pupils are highly confident in making decisions about their learning and contributing ideas to improve the school. They are always keen to help others, such as through an appeal for Ukraine. They recently supported World Mental Health Day. The very wide range of sporting clubs includes a football club, delivered by Kidderminster Harriers, ‘jumping jacks’ training and gymnastics. There are academic clubs in craft and mathematics. Pupils have ‘book buddies’. Other activities include street dance, circus skills and ‘Bikeability’. There are curriculum visits, for example a geography field trip to the Severn River at Bewdley and a science trip to Birmingham botanical gardens. Reception children enjoy caring for their tortoises.

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Leaders have been highly successful in striking the balance between making significant improvements while maintaining a reasonable staff workload balance. Everyone who responded to the staff survey was appreciative of this. All said they enjoy working in the school. Parents and carers say that the school is much better now. All who responded to the survey said they would recommend the school to another parent.

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The governors have acted strategically in enabling changes that were needed. They challenged previous underperformance. The recent recruitments have added significant additional knowledge and expertise. Leaders at all levels have ensured that there is a good quality of education for all.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not ensured that the quality of the additional support some pupils receive in mathematics is as effective as the teaching in the classroom. As a result, not all pupils do as well in mathematics as they do in reading. The school should ensure that pupils who need extra help in mathematics receive the same high-quality additional provision as they receive in reading. 22 and 23 October 2024

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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). 22 and 23 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 December 2012, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher and assistant headteacher were both appointed in September 2023.  All members of the governing body have been appointed since 2020. The chair was appointed in September 2023.  The school currently uses one unregistered alternative provision.  The school has a Christian ethos. It is part of the Diocese of Worcester. The last section 48 inspection at the school was in March 2018. The next scheduled inspection is due in 2025.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 22 and 23 October 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, assistant headteacher, other leaders and staff.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils to learn their views of the school.  The lead inspector met with members of the board of governors, including the chair.  The lead inspector spoke by telephone to a representative from the diocese and an external school improvement adviser.  The lead inspector visited the unregistered alternative provider used by the school.  Inspectors considered responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments. They also considered additional feedback from parents.

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Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to the pupil survey.  Inspectors considered information on pupils’ behaviour, attendance and personal development.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, they held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils reading.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lead 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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Inspection team

Mark Sims, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Clair McNeill Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 October 2024

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