Bagthorpe Primary School

Inspection of Bagthorpe Primary School School Road, Bagthorpe, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG16 5HB

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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 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are excited to come to this school. The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well. Recent changes to the curriculum have strengthened the school’s educational offer. The school regularly seeks opportunities to place learning into a real context. This helps pupils to understand the purpose to what they are doing. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about how learning outside helps them understand key concepts. For example, pupils learn about the relationship between angles and how to work out the height of a tree.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Central to the work of the school are the values of ‘courage, determination, moral purpose, integrity, accountability, humility and compassion’. Pupils develop a deep understanding of the meaning of these values that guide them successfully in their actions. Pupils achieve well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and are ready for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Through a range of roles and responsibilities pupils learn how they can make a difference to others in the school and the wider community. Attendance monitors remind other pupils about the importance of coming to school regularly. School councillors demonstrate to their peers how to be respectful of others and to support one another. Pupils behave well at this school.

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

Pupils begin to learn to read as soon as they start school in the early years foundation stage. The school makes sure that staff have the expertise to teach pupils phonics well. Staff skilfully help pupils to read fluently. Pupils benefit from the school’s high-quality texts. These enrich learning opportunities and bring a depth to activities. Pupils read regularly. They say they enjoy reading and that it helps them to become independent learners.

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

The school has ensured that there is an ambitious curriculum in place. It provides staff with support to become subject experts across the curriculum. In most subjects, teachers support pupils to connect new learning to what they already know. Pupils talk confidently about what they have learned in previous years and activities. For example, pupils link facts about the Incas and how their ways of life have influenced our own. However, in a few subjects, key knowledge is not made explicit enough in learning activities. This means that pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not remember key essential knowledge. The school enriches its curriculum offer through trips and visits. A visit to ‘HMS Belfast’ helps pupils understand what life was like in the Second World War.

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

Children settle quickly into the early years. High expectations of children, along with clear routines, enable children to quickly develop positive attitudes to learning. The curriculum is well thought through. The staff design learning activities with real purpose, helping children to build knowledge up over time. The indoor environment is well organised. A range of tools and materials enable children to develop independence, selecting what they need to complete their work. Children work well together. They are polite and are keen to share their learning with each other and adults. However, the outdoor environment offers 3 and 4 June 2025

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a limited range of resources and activities for the children. As a result, children do not access the breadth of meaningful learning opportunities that they need to. Children do not then develop a breadth of knowledge across the seven areas of learning.

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Recent changes to support pupils with SEND have strengthened further the provision for these pupils. Teachers receive training to help them identify pupils who may have a SEND need. The school ensures that the needs of these pupils are known and that they receive appropriate support. Pupils with SEND achieve well over time.

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Pupils are respectful and kind. They talk responsibly about how they can contribute to solving problems that there may be at school. For example, on the rare occasion someone may be disrespectful to others, pupils talk maturely about how they can resolve this. The school ensures that pupils understand equality and diversity. Pupils talk about the importance of recognising difference and celebrating it. They play well together during social times. Pupils relish opportunities to be recognised for their positive attitudes to learning and maturity. The school has creatively developed its woodland area to enhance pupils’ learning experiences. Well-organised and thought-through activities motivate pupils.

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The whole school is focused on continual improvement. It benefits from highly effective partnerships. Staff appreciate that their well-being and workload are considered carefully during any changes and improvements. External support has ensured that governors have a clear oversight of the work of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, recent changes to the school’s approach to curriculum implementation are not embedded. Key knowledge identified in the curriculum is not made explicit enough in learning activities. This means that pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not remember essential knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers are explicit about the key knowledge they want pupils to learn and that task design supports intended learning so that pupils know more and remember more over time.  The outdoor provision in early years offers a limited range of resources and activities for the children. As a result, children are not accessing meaningful learning in all seven areas of learning outdoors. Children are not making as much progress as they could. Leaders need to develop the outdoor provision so that resources and activities promote learning across the full early years curriculum. 3 and 4 June 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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Sarah Cunningham and Louise Dakers (co-chairs) Headteacher David Walton

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  There is a before-school club managed by the school.

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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. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and design technology. 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. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector met with four members of the governing body, including a co-chair governance professional.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer of the supporting multi-academy trust and a local authority adviser.

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 Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses, and Ofsted’s survey for school staff and pupils. Inspectors spoke informally with parents outside the school.  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.  Inspectors considered pupils’ behaviour at various times of day, including in lessons, around the school site and at lunchtime. They scrutinised the school’s records for attendance and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Mark Anderson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Louise Aird Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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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