Bosmere Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Bosmere Community Primary School Quinton Road, Needham Market, Ipswich, Suffolk IP6 8BP

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Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Lee Abbott. The school is part of The Children’s Endeavour Trust, which means that other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Daniel Jones, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ian Scott.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and are happy here. However, they do not achieve as well as they should in several subjects. This is because some lessons are not adapted carefully enough, and staff do not consistently use the agreed teaching approaches. Consequently, some pupils do not always learn the things that the school has planned for them to be able to do and remember.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to hold positions of responsibility. For example, they enjoy being part of the eco-, school and learning councils. Older pupils relish their roles as ambassadors. They feel that their voice is important and they are listened to. Pupils feel safe and know that if they have a problem, an adult will help them to sort it out. They know how to keep themselves safe online and when they are outside school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The majority of pupils listen carefully to adults and are respectful to each other in class. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils play well together, including those in the early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the variety of trips on offer and would like even more. Pupils enjoy taking part in community events such as the Christingle and Remembrance services. They speak enthusiastically about the annual Easter bonnet parade. 8 and 9 October 2024

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

The school has designed a broad curriculum that sets out clearly what pupils need to learn from the early years through to Year 6. The school has begun to think about what this curriculum looks like as a whole. For example, it has included relevant trips and visitors to make the curriculum exciting and engaging for pupils. This work has only just started.

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

Teachers have received training on what they need to teach and how to teach it. However, they are not using this knowledge consistently when designing the learning for pupils in some subjects. This means that pupils are not always developing the key skills and knowledge that teachers want them to.

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

The school identifies and meets the needs of pupils with specific special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers frequently check pupils’ learning. Sometimes, they do not consistently use this information to inform pupils’ next steps. Therefore, some pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they could.

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

The school has made the teaching of reading a focus. Leaders identified that the previous phonics programme was not helping pupils to become confident, fluent readers quickly enough. Therefore, the school introduced a new phonics programme this term. This clearly sets out the phonics knowledge that pupils should secure and the order that this should happen. Staff have received training on how to deliver the phonics programme effectively. The books that pupils take home are now carefully matched to their reading knowledge. This systematic approach is already helping pupils to develop their phonics skills. However, staff are still familiarising themselves with the expectations of this new programme. This means that there are some inconsistencies in how well it is being delivered.

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

The programme for pupils’ personal development prepares them well for life in a modern and diverse society. Pupils understand and can talk about democracy. They know why it is important to be tolerant of others, which they have learned about through the history and personal, social, health and economic curriculums.

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

Children in the early years make a positive start to school. Caring adults help them to be confident and to learn alongside each other, for example working together to make a ball run through drainpipes. They learn to care for animals by looking after Derek, the class guinea pig, and exploring the natural world. They develop their scientific knowledge by looking closely at conkers and gourds using a magnifying glass. Children are engaged, motivated and keen to learn.

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

The school has begun to act on the identified areas that need improvement. The school is now well supported by the trust and the local governing body. Staff benefit from working with other schools in the trust to share and develop expertise. 8 and 9 October 2024

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They say that leaders support their well-being. Further streamlining of processes is needed to ensure that teachers have sufficient time to design and check pupils’ learning effectively.

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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 introduced a new phonics programme. Staff have received training. However, not all staff are implementing the programme consistently. This means that some pupils do not develop their fluency in reading as quickly as they should. It also hinders how well some older pupils with gaps in their reading knowledge are supported to catch up with their peers. The school should ensure that they support staff to implement the phonics programme fully and consistently.  The school has not yet adapted the curriculum in some subjects, to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND. This means that in these subjects, pupils are not able to access the curriculum successfully so they build their knowledge and skills. The school should ensure that the teaching materials teachers select clearly support all learners, including pupils with SEND.  The school has prioritised training about teaching approaches. However, there are still

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

occasions when teachers do not use these consistently or effectively. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in some curriculum areas. The school should ensure they use these agreed approaches consistently and effectively in all classes.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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, 8 and 9 October 2024

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Bosmere Community Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in January 2020.

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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). 8 and 9 October 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Bosmere Community Primary School converted to become an academy in April 2020. When its predecessor school, Bosmere Community Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school is part of the Children’s Endeavour Trust.  The new headteacher joined the school at the start of September 2024.  The school offers a breakfast and after-school club. This is managed and run by school leaders.  The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic within the school and has 8 and 9 October 2024

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taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with senior staff in the school and the trust, including the chief executive officer and other school leaders, the chair of trustees and other trust representatives, including the head of school improvement, the chair of the local governing board and other governors.  The inspector met with other staff, including teachers and support staff.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their work and looked at samples of pupils’ work with leaders, including the headteacher.  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.  The inspector considered the views of staff through Ofsted’s staff survey and of parents

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and carers through responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspector also gathered the views of staff and pupils through meetings and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Heather Hann, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 October 2024

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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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