Branton St Wilfrid's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a school judged Good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Branton St Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary School Valley Drive, Branton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN3 3NB

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Outcome

Branton St Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Branton St Wilfrid’s is a happy, welcoming school where pupils thrive. The school has high aspirations for its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils live up to these aspirations and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is inclusive and celebrates the differences between people. Pupils enjoy strong, nurturing relationships with caring staff. Pupils know that the adults in the school will help them if they have any worries. This fosters a deep sense of safety and belonging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour throughout the school is positive. Staff maintain a well-mannered and respectful environment using positive behaviour strategies. Adults encourage pupils to reflect on their actions. This approach helps pupils to manage their emotions and to make improved choices in how they behave.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy opportunities to attend an interesting range of extra-curricular activities. These include football, choir and cooking clubs. Pupils value these opportunities as they allow them to develop their talents and interests. Pupils take part in sports competitions and musical concerts. These showcase pupils’ development and increase their confidence to perform in front of an audience. Pupils also learn important online safety skills. Pupils understand how to protect themselves from harm and what to do if they have concerns.

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

The school has established a high-quality approach to teaching phonics and reading. Staff are trained to ensure it is delivered well, starting from early years. This helps pupils to 5 and 6 November 2024

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develop secure reading skills. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they are learning in the classroom. As a result, pupils quickly become confident readers. The school uses checks of pupils’ learning to identify any gaps or misconceptions in pupils’ understanding. This allows the school to provide targeted support to promptly address any areas where pupils need extra help. This ensures that pupils successfully become fluent readers.

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The school has created a curriculum that is highly effective. Leaders have worked successfully to develop the early years provision. Children get off to a positive start. What they learn prepares them well for the curriculum in Year 1. Adults skilfully interact with children, extending their understanding. Children engage with highly effective activities when learning the school’s curriculum indoors. However, outdoor learning opportunities are not used as effectively as they could be.

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The school prioritises securing pupils’ fundamental skills in writing and mathematics. This builds a strong foundation of knowledge and allows pupils to achieve well across both subjects. In the wider curriculum, adults use their deep subject knowledge to present new learning clearly. Pupils regularly discuss and debate new concepts. This has helped to make pupils’ learning engaging. It has cultivated pupils’ commitment to build on their knowledge. Pupils behave well in classrooms and their attitudes to learning are positive. Leaders check what the pupils understand regularly. Leaders use this understanding to revisit and address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This is effective and pupils are well prepared for life beyond primary education.

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The school quickly identifies the needs of pupils with SEND. It works with external experts to ensure that staff understand how to support pupils to access the curriculum. The support that staff put in place is very closely aligned to pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils with SEND are successful in accessing the curriculum and developing their understanding.

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The school prioritises the personal development of pupils. Pupils access rich opportunities to build their character and their understanding of responsibility. This includes leadership roles within the school parliament. These roles are meaningful and result in real change in the school. This leads pupils to develop a strong sense of accountability. Pupils learn about fundamental British values and protected characteristics. Pupils’ understanding is reinforced through assemblies and purposeful links in subjects such as history. Pupils develop a highly informed and mature understanding.

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Leadership is a strength of the school. Leaders provide a clear and purposeful vision for pupils’ development. The school has established strong attendance practices, with effective monitoring and support that help to maintain high attendance rates across all pupil groups.

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Staff are very positive about how leaders support their development and consider their well-being. For example, leaders provide teaching resources that help teachers to manage their workload. 5 and 6 November 2024

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Those responsible for governance are committed and skilful. They are actively involved in the school. The systems in place to check and challenge what school leaders do are strong. These help the governing body to fulfil its role and to continue to ensure the school’s successful development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In the early years, learning opportunities in the outdoor learning environment are not used as effectively as they could be. This means that children do not learn as well as they should. The school should take further action to improve how the curriculum is implemented when pupils are learning outdoors.

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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, 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 school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019. 5 and 6 November 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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.branton-st-wilfrids-primary.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a breakfast club, overseen by the governing body.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school is a Church of England school, which had its latest section 48 inspection in February 2018. The next section 48 inspection is expected to take place by the end of spring 2026.

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Information about this inspection

 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. 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 the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 The inspector met with representatives of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and a representative of the diocese.  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 responses to Ofsted’s surveys for pupils, staff and parents. This included any free-text responses in Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Andrew Yeomans, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 November 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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