Bottesford Infant School

Inspection of Bottesford Infant School Manor Road, Bottesford, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire DN16 3PB

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 1 and 2 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in this highly supportive and nurturing school. They live up to the very high expectations the school has for them. They achieve extremely well and are fully prepared for the next stage of their education. Relationships throughout the school are very warm and respectful. Staff care for and cherish every pupil. Consequently, pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well. They respond positively to well-established routines and incredibly high expectations. They move around school calmly and sensibly. They open doors for others respectfully. Pupils welcome visitors with cheerful greetings. When talking about their school, they do so with profound pride and enthusiasm. Playtimes are a time of joyful play and purposeful activity. The school ensures that there are plentiful and varied games, apparatus and quiet spaces for pupils to follow their own interests when at play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with rich opportunities to undertake leadership roles such as school councillors, eco-warriors and sports leaders. Through these roles, pupils develop a deep sense of responsibility and very strong character. They take these responsibilities very seriously, learning the importance of making a positive contribution to their community diligently.

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

Pupils benefit hugely from the school’s broad and highly ambitious curriculum. Children get off to the best possible start in Reception and their high-quality education continues throughout their time at school. Pupils achieve exceptionally well, including those who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has a deeply held belief that, wherever possible, learning should be active and meaningful. This is realised consistently. For example, at the end of physical education lessons, pupils review their learning in depth by walking and talking to a partner. In science, pupils are taught to think like scientists. They know why a wolf needs a thick, furry coat and what an omnivore eats.

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

The school celebrates and promotes a love of reading brilliantly. Pupils speak about their favourite books and authors with real enthusiasm. As a result of the school’s highly effective phonics programme, pupils learn the sounds that letters make quickly and become fluent readers. Children in Reception rise to a range of reading challenges, such as phonics-based treasure hunts. They explore the environment excitedly, hunting down familiar words. The school instils a similar enthusiasm about mathematics in pupils. Pupils use their knowledge to solve problems skilfully. In mathematics lessons, they apply their previous knowledge well when undertaking new challenges. Children in Reception show perseverance when sorting true and false number facts.

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

Teachers check precisely that pupils are remembering what they are taught. They use these checks to address when pupils have gaps in their knowledge or require additional 1 and 2 April 2025

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support expertly. The school identifies quickly when pupils have SEND. These pupils benefit enormously from well-considered adaptations to the curriculum.

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The school plans multiple, meaningful and memorable experiences for pupils. For example, inspiring visitors, such as a para-triathlete, support pupils to believe in everyone’s potential for success. Visits to mosques and churches broaden pupils’ understanding of different faiths and cultures in modern Britain. The school ensures pupils make rich links between their lives and contrasting cultures through the established twinning of the school with another in Ethiopia.

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Children in Reception flourish. They play and learn in an environment that is considered to support their learning expertly. They show exceptionally positive attitudes. Staff engage with children by sharing memorable songs and rhymes. There is a strong focus on children developing language and the meaning of a range of words. Relationships are exceptionally strong. Children love being challenged. They develop independence quickly and also learn to cooperate well with one another.

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The school’s behaviour policy is well understood and consistently applied. On the very rare occasions where pupils’ behaviour is not meeting the school’s high expectations, these pupils make a visit to the ‘thinking tree’. At these times, pupils are supported to reflect on the consequences of their behaviour deeply, invariably seeking to put things right.

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The school benefits from significant strengths in leadership and governance. Governors share the vision and passion of all staff to provide pupils with the best possible education. The school invests in staff professional development tirelessly, which staff appreciate and benefit from considerably. When leaders need to make decisions, they do this with staff workload and well-being in mind. The school promotes strong partnerships with parents deliberately. As a result, both the school and parents contribute to pupils’ successes significantly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 1 and 2 April 2025

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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). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 July 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use alternative provision.  The governing body 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.

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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 inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 1 and 2 April 2025

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders. They also met with members of the governing body and spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, physical education and science. 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.  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.  The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted’s online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses, the pupil survey and the staff survey.

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The inspectors also spoke to some parents at the end of the school day.

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Inspection team

Dughall McCormick, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Stout Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 April 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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