Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School

Inspection of Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School Bridewell Lane, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1RE

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Guildhall Feoffment is a happy place to learn. Pupils enjoy coming to school and look forward to their fun learning activities. From Reception, pupils learn a well-balanced curriculum. The school has high expectations for pupils. Staff explain learning clearly to pupils. Pupils achieve well, and in reading, writing and mathematics, their attainment in Year 6 is high.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have positive and warm relationships with pupils. Pupils feel confident talking to the staff about their worries and concerns, which helps them to feel safe and happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils try their best and are interested in their learning. From Reception, they listen well to instructions. They want to try their best and they follow the routines carefully. Most pupils move around the school sensibly. Older pupils are proud to have responsibilities, with roles such as school council and pupil governors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs available. They are enthusiastic about lunchtime clubs such as gardening and coding club. During playtimes and lunchtimes, pupils benefit from the organised games led by sports coaches. Pupils benefit from trips and experiences and talk about how this connects to their learning. Pupils listen well to each other. They respect each other’s views, and they understand the importance of respecting differences between people.

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

The school has developed a curriculum that sets out what pupils will learn from Reception. Knowledge is broken down into manageable steps so that pupils can progress quickly. Staff are skilled at asking key questions. They check pupils’ understanding before moving on to more complex learning. However, there are instances in some curriculum subjects, aside from English and mathematics, where the school has not identified the key knowledge as clearly. Where this is the case, staff are not as confident in checking if pupils have learned what they need to know. As a result, pupils have gaps in what they know and remember.

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

Staff are highly skilled at identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are well trained to meet the needs of pupils. They adapt learning to meet pupils’ needs in lessons, and as a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

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

From early years and throughout the school, staff teach pupils the key vocabulary that they want them to learn. Staff encourage conversation and ensure that pupils get the opportunity to talk about their learning. This means that pupils become confident in successfully using subject-specific vocabulary.

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

The school’s well-established and well-delivered phonics programme helps pupils learn the sounds that letters make. Pupils quickly grasp the reading code and use this in their reading and writing. Children in Reception use their knowledge of letters and sounds confidently when they write. For example, they accurately write lists of bones they have 28 and 29 January 2025

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dug up in the sand pit. Staff identify the pupils who are not keeping up with the phonics programme. Staff provide effective support so that pupils become confident, fluent readers. The love of reading filters throughout the curriculum. The carefully structured reading programme helps staff to ensure that pupils read widely. Pupils enjoy reading and talk confidently about the stories that they have read.

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Pupils look forward to coming to school. The school monitors pupils’ attendance closely. It identifies patterns and trends and works closely with families to improve attendance. Leaders are tenacious in working with external agencies to seek support for pupils and families, so pupils become regular school attenders.

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Pupils know the school values and why it is important to respect others. They listen carefully to instructions and learn to make positive choices. Staff set high expectations for behaviour. Where some pupils need reminding of how they should behave, they listen quickly to staff and make sensible choices.

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The school ensures that pupils’ personal development is enriched by many interesting activities and opportunities. These help pupils learn about the world around them and their place in it. For example, pupils sing at the local church for town celebrations and enjoy participating in the annual performances for parents. Pupils learn about their local area and enjoy the seasonal walks. This helps pupils to understand local history and why the school is an important part of the community.

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The school’s leadership team ensures that pupils achieve as highly as possible. The governors know the school’s strengths and areas for development. They work in partnership with the school and hold it to account for curriculum improvements.

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Staff are positive about the changes in the curriculum. Morale is high and teachers enjoy working at the school. Staff share the leadership team’s high expectations for what pupils can achieve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the key knowledge has not been identified clearly. This means that pupils have gaps in what they learn and move on to new learning before they have learned what they need to. The school should identify its expectations for the content of its curriculum, so that staff know what pupils know and remember. This will ensure staff can adapt and assess their teaching accurately to ensure pupils do not have gaps in their knowledge before they move on to teach new learning. 28 and 29 January 2025

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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). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 March 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school’s leadership team has changed since the previous inspection.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with the governors, including the chair of governors, to gather information about the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects, early reading, mathematics, physical education, music and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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 lead inspector listened to pupils reading to a familiar adult and visited other lessons, including lessons in the early years.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys. They

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considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including comments submitted via the free-text facility. The inspectors also spoke to some parents in person.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors 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

Nerrissa Bear, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicki Webber Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 January 2025

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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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