Badsley Primary School

Inspection of Badsley Primary School Badsley Moor Lane, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S65 2QS

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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The quality of education Requires improvement 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?

All pupils and their families are assured the warmest of welcomes at Badsley. From their first days in Reception class, children develop secure relationships with adults and their peers. Pupils know that staff are there to care for them. There is a happy atmosphere throughout the school as pupils play and learn together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a variety of different clubs and activities. For example, pupils can take part in science club, football, and choir. Pupils enjoy a variety of opportunities to enrich their learning. For example, visiting a local stadium to learn about hate crimes. There are numerous, useful opportunities for pupils to play an active role in school. The school council has worked to improve road safety in the local area.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over recent years, the school has prioritised the development of the school culture, values, and pupils’ well-being. The positive impact of this work is clear to see. The school is now focusing on strengthening the curriculum. The curriculum in some subjects does not support pupils to build their knowledge well over time. The school does have high expectations for pupils’ achievement. However, these expectations are not realised consistently highly in all subjects.

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

The school focuses on ensuring that children get the best possible start in the early years. Children in Reception show enjoyment and independence in lessons. The curriculum develops their learning well, and this is supported by stimulating, attractive places to learn inside and beyond the classroom. The quality of education in the rest of the school is not as strong. The school has begun to review and strengthen the curriculum. Visits to lessons and pupils’ workbooks indicate that in reading and mathematics pupils are now beginning to learn well.

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

The teaching of early reading is strong and appropriately prioritised. From the very start of the Reception Year, the phonics programme is delivered skilfully by well-trained staff. Staff support those pupils who need extra help in learning to read.

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

The school has improved the mathematics curriculum. There is now a sharper focus on ensuring pupils can solve number problems with greater fluency. This begins in the early years, where the mathematics curriculum lays the basic understanding of number and early counting that children need in readiness for future learning.

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

Standards in writing, including the presentation of work, are too low. Leaders know this. Pupils have had limited opportunities to practise and refine their writing in English lessons and across the wider curriculum. The school has recently begun to implement a new curriculum to address this. However, it is yet to have the impact needed.

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

In some other subjects, there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to link and deepen their understanding of important concepts and ideas over time. Pupils are given lots of new knowledge but cannot make sense of it because it is not linked to information they 28 and 29 January 2025

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know well. In a number of subjects, pupils have gaps in their knowledge caused by weaknesses in the previous curriculum and lost learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. These gaps have not been identified and addressed.

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The school has effective systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND benefit from a range of resources that help them to access the same curriculum as their peers. With the support of the local authority, the school has developed an enhanced on-site provision for a small number of pupils with complex additional needs. ‘The Hive’ enables pupils to learn the curriculum successfully and to acquire essential social and emotional skills.

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The school’s approach to attendance is thorough and effective. Staff support pupils and their families to overcome any barriers to attendance. This has led to some reduction in pupils’ absence overall. However, the attendance of some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, remains below the school’s expectations.

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Pupils are supported to behave well. Classrooms are calm and purposeful places to learn. Pupils listen attentively and are keen to answer questions. They know to follow ‘The Badsley Way.’ Clear routines and expectations support pupils to be successful.

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The approach to pupils’ personal development has been considered thoughtfully. The personal, social, health, education curriculum is strong. Pupils learn about physical and mental health. They understand fundamental British values and learn about beliefs and cultures different to their own. Pupils understand to respect difference and to treat people fairly.

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School leaders and governors have a clear, shared vision for the school. Governors support and challenge the school well. The school makes sure that staff workload and well-being are considered. Staff feel valued and supported. They are proud to be part of the ‘Badsley team.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge that have not been identified. These gaps hinder pupils’ ability to make sense of new learning, and they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff check for gaps in pupils’ knowledge and address these before introducing new topics and concepts. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 In some subjects, the curriculum does not support pupils to build knowledge over time by developing a deep understanding of important, connected concepts. This means that pupils’ learning can be fragmented. The school should continue their work on the curriculum in all subjects, to ensure that pupils are given the opportunities they need to apply and connect their learning, so they develop a deeper understanding over time.  The recently developed writing curriculum is not implemented fully across school. Pupils’ writing lacks accuracy and it is often not well presented. Opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills are limited in English and across other subjects. The school should continue to raise the expectations of writing, equip teachers to deliver the new curriculum effectively and ensure pupils are given frequent opportunities to practise their writing skills across the wider curriculum.

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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 26 and 27 September 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school provides a breakfast club for pupils.

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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.  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 the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, staff, and pupils. They met with members of the governing body and with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, and a modern foreign language (Spanish). For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in other subjects.  Inspectors visited lessons and considered how the needs of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are met. They observed pupils at various times of the school day.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, and pupils; considered the views of parents; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open

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and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors evaluated responses from parents to Ofsted Parent View. They spoke with some parents. Inspectors also evaluated the responses that staff made to Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sinead Fox 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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