Burnham Copse Primary School

Inspection of Burnham Copse Primary School Newchurch Road, Tadley, Hampshire RG26 4HN

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 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 11 and 12 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Burnham Copse is a welcoming, nurturing school where pupils thrive and flourish. There is a positive culture that supports pupils well, including those who are disadvantaged. Pupils demonstrate the school values to ‘believe, care, persevere and succeed’ routinely through the school day. They speak with pride about their school and refer to it as ‘like a family’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and attitudes towards learning. Pupils typically meet these expectations well. They are kind, polite and show good manners. They consider the needs of others. Pupils work hard and achieve well. Beginning in the early years, children develop positive and inquisitive attitudes towards learning, which continue to grow throughout the school. Older pupils are ‘play partners’ to younger ones to guide them and act as good role models.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ well-being is a high priority for the school. The school ensures pupils learn ways to keep a positive mindset. Pupils benefit from the school’s varied opportunities to develop talents and interests. They enjoy the various clubs available to them. These include computing, creative activities and a range of music and sports opportunities. Pupils leave the school as well-rounded individuals ready for their next steps in education.

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

The school has a well-structured curriculum. It has identified the most important knowledge that pupils should learn and by when. The school has carefully considered how best to deliver the curriculum across mixed-age classes. As a result, most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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

The curriculum is typically implemented well. In most subjects, and including in early years, teachers design activities that help pupils to learn well. Pupils draw confidently on what they already know when learning new things. This secures their understanding and allows them to talk with increasing confidence about their learning. Staff regularly check how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum. However, in a small number of subjects the tasks teachers set do not always enable pupils to learn or embed the key knowledge that leaders intend them to.

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

The school places a clear emphasis on pupils learning to read. The school library is a welcoming and inspiring space which promotes the importance and enjoyment of reading. Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. Most pupils learn to use their phonics skills well in their early reading and writing. Teachers make sure they have books that they can read. Pupils in key stage 1 who need extra help are given effective support to help them to catch up. However, pupils in key stage 2 who find learning to read the hardest do not make the gains in learning they should. The support they need is not delivered with the same rigor and precision as in key stage 1.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by skilled staff. In conjunction with external agencies, as well as parents and carers, the 11 and 12 February 2025

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school accurately identifies pupils’ needs. Pupils with SEND typically achieve well from their starting points.

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Pupils know how to behave. The school is calm and orderly. Behaviour expectations are modelled well by staff. Staff work well with parents to help any pupils who need extra support to behave as the school expects. Pupils attend school regularly. The school has taken effective action to reduce the number of pupils who were regularly late in the morning.

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Pupils show empathy and respect for others. They form strong bonds with other pupils across the school through the bespoke ‘eyries’ house system and assemblies. Pupils have a well-developed understanding of equality and the fundamental British Values. They gain an age-appropriate understanding of different relationships and of the diversity in modern society.

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Governors are deeply committed to the school and the community it serves. They fulfil their statutory duties well, including ensuring that pupils are safe. Staff are very positive about working at the school and their own professional development. Most parents are very happy with the school and the effective pastoral and academic support that it provides. However, a significant proportion of parents that responded to the Ofsted Parent View survey do not feel that communication between school and home is as effective as it could be. These parents do not feel as involved in their children’s school experience and progress as they want to be.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not always provide well-targeted support for the small number of pupils in key stage 2 who have gaps in their reading knowledge. This limits these pupils’ ability to decode texts accurately and fluently. The school should ensure that support for pupils who are at the early stages of reading in key stage 2 enables them to secure and apply their phonics knowledge so that they quickly become confident and fluent readers.  Occasionally, the tasks that teachers design for pupils do not support them to deepen or retain knowledge, including in the early years. This means that, on these occasions, some pupils cannot recall what they have learned from the activity as readily as they could. The school should ensure that its ambitious curriculum is consistently matched with tasks so that pupils benefit as much as possible from learning activities.  The school does not provide parents with consistent information and feedback about

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

how well their children are learning. This makes it difficult for parents to understand 11 and 12 February 2025

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and engage with their children’s school experience. The school should ensure that parents are supported through proactive and responsive communication channels.

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs its own wraparound care, both before and after school.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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.  This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders within the school. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing board, including the chair of governors, and an educational representative from the local authority.  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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 The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation including self- evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.  The inspectors considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View. An inspector also spoke with parents on both days of the inspection.  The views of staff were gathered through interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection, as well as the staff survey.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views throughout the inspection, including through the classroom visits, group discussions, as well as at playtime and lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Chris Parker, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Radhika Woodruff Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 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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