Bridport Primary School

Bridport Primary School Inspection report

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113660 Unique Reference Number Dorset Local Authority 311327 Inspection number 12 °13 March 2008 Inspection dates Michael Barron Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 406 School The governing body Appropriate authority Roger Davies Chair Ruth Clench Headteacher 13 October 2003 Date of previous school inspection St Andrew's Road School address Bridport DT6 3BJ 01308 422846 Telephone number 01308 458710 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 12 °13 March 2008 Inspection dates 311327 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average primary school. Pupils come from a wide area and a variety of backgrounds, with many parents choosing Bridport Primary over more local schools. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school which provides an excellent education for pupils. At the heart of its success is outstanding leadership and management, especially that of the headteacher, who provides a very clear vision and direction for the school. Parents, pupils, staff, governors and the local authority are proud of what they believe is a very successful school. Parents are overwhelming in their praise of the school. 'A fantastic school where each child is treated as an individual and made to feel special', is typical of the many positive comments from parents. Pupils' achievement is outstanding because the quality of teaching is excellent. Teachers have high expectations and match work extremely well to pupils' needs. Consequently, pupils attain well above average standards. The curriculum is outstanding and links different subjects together very well in order to ensure learning is relevant, purposeful and enjoyable for pupils. Classrooms

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Grade: 1

are stimulating places and teachers use a variety of approaches to make lessons interesting and to ensure pupils are always involved in learning activities. The quality of pupils' work on display is of a high standard and provides clear evidence that the school's success is not just restricted to test results. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and for the more able pupils, is outstanding and enables both these groups of pupils to attain their full potential. Staff provide an outstanding level of care, guidance and support for pupils. The quality of academic guidance is particularly strong and is used very well as an aid to ensuring pupils' excellent progress. Pupils are keen to learn and try hard to do well. Their enjoyment of school is outstanding, although attendance is average largely owing to holidays taken in term time. They take on the responsibilities they are given very seriously and their understanding of the

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Grade: 1

need to make healthy choices and to adopt safe practices is excellent. Older pupils ensure younger ones feel safe and secure at playtimes and talk enthusiastically about their peer mediation. Pupils know there is always someone to help them should the need arise. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and this is reflected in pupils' exemplary behaviour and excellent attitudes towards others. Pupils play a very full and active role in the community and are exceedingly well prepared for the next stage of their education. This is a school that knows itself very well, although its self-evaluation is too modest. The headteacher, staff and governors have worked very effectively to ensure that all the concerns of the previous inspection have been fully addressed. The school's recent successes confirm its outstanding capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are outstanding and this is reflected in the excellent quality of provision. Children enter the school with many of the skills expected for their age, although their language and communication skills and their knowledge and understanding of the world are often less well developed. They make very good progress because of outstanding teaching which caters exceptionally well for the needs of all children, regardless of their abilities. Teachers work very well with teaching assistants to ensure that lessons effectively blend opportunities for children to learn both independently and with adult direction. Recording of children's progress is very thorough and is used exceptionally well to plan future work. Lessons often make excellent use of role play and real life situations in order 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008 to capture children's imaginations and so add to their enjoyment of learning. Staff work very

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Grade: 1

effectively to ensure there is always a strong emphasis on the development of children's speaking and listening skills. Progress in children's personal, social and emotional development is excellent and parents appreciate the care and support their children receive. Children are happy to share and to take turns, whilst joining in lesson activities with enthusiasm. Weekly 'Welly Walks' to take children to interesting places in the local community are used very well to build up children's understanding of the world in which they live. A further range of interesting activities, both indoors and outdoors, ensures children achieve the expectations in all areas of learning by the time they enter Year 1, and a significant proportion do better than this.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Make even greater efforts to improve pupils' attendance.

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Grade: 1

Achievement is outstanding throughout the school and pupils consistently reach standards that are well above average. Underpinning this excellent progress is the high quality of teaching linked to a curriculum which meets the needs of all pupils very effectively. This is an important factor in ensuring that pupils consistently attain well above average standards. Even so, the school is not complacent and constantly analyses its performance to ensure that any gaps in learning are quickly identified and corrected. Pupils presently in Year 6 are on course to exceed the very challenging targets set for them in the 2008 national tests. The high quality of support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities results in these pupils making excellent progress. The school's performance is presently significantly above average in English, mathematics and science and also information and communication

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Grade: 1

technology (ICT). More able pupils consistently attain above average levels and there is little difference between the attainment of boys and girls.

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Grade: 1

Pupils really enjoy school with some pupils even admitting they try to come to school when they are clearly ill, although absence owing to family holidays, which the school rightly refuses to authorise, means that overall attendance is average. Pupils are very friendly and extremely polite and show a great deal of respect for adults and for each other. They respond very well to the high level of care and support they receive from staff. 'We work together as a team and there is lots of cooperation', said one member of the school council. Pupils say adults deal very quickly with any rare instances of unkind behaviour. They are well aware of healthy living issues and have an excellent understanding of the importance of keeping fit. The school's work on the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools programme has enabled pupils to grow in maturity and develop a positive understanding of their rights and responsibilities. Pupils

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Grade: 1

talk about the school's very good links with the community and say they enjoy taking part in fund raising activities. However, they realise there is a serious side to collecting money for charitable causes and that there are people who are far worse off than themselves. By the time pupils leave the school they are articulate and confident and prepared very well for the next stage of their education. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Grade: 1

Teachers are enthusiastic and dedicated and really enjoy talking about their work. Their enthusiasm rubs off on pupils, who are eager to learn and work very hard. Pupils say that teachers are nice and that they are friendly. Outstanding teaching is typified by teachers using questioning very well to extend pupils' thinking, valuing pupils' responses. Interactive whiteboards are used effectively to reinforce basic skills and to make learning interesting and imaginative. As a result, pupils say they look forward to lessons, especially on the occasions when they are allowed to help to plan their own learning. As one older pupil put it, 'I like being in all my lessons. They are always interesting and usually fun, even literacy.' Pupils find teachers' marking very helpful and supportive and appreciate that teachers always try to ensure that pupils understand how to improve their work. Well-trained teaching assistants have a very

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Grade: 1

positive impact on pupils' learning and work very well with class teachers to effectively make sure pupils needing help with their learning are always very well supported.

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Grade: 1

Pupils really enjoy school because they are provided with activities which meet their needs and interests very well. The curriculum is outstanding and results in pupils making excellent progress in both their academic and personal development. Pupils enjoy a wide range of visits to places of interest, for example St Malo in France, whilst interesting visitors to the school enhance their learning. The wide range of out of school hours clubs the school provides are much praised by pupils and cater for most age groups. Strong links with the local community through, for example, the school's involvement in the Dorset recycling project, help pupils to develop their understanding of the wider world. Provision for personal, social and health education is outstanding and ensures that pupils become well aware of the importance of fitness, well-being and leading a healthy lifestyle. The school's involvement with the Global Citizenship programme and links with a school in Ghana

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Grade: 1

have been used very successfully to develop pupils' awareness of cultures other than their own.

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Grade: 1

There is a pleasant, family atmosphere within the school which contributes very well to pupils' sense of well-being. Parents value the outstanding level of attention their children receive, 'Children are happy because of the experienced and caring nature of the teachers', being a typical comment from parents' questionnaires. Pupils say they feel safe and very well looked after. Induction and transfer arrangements are very good and help pupils settle quickly into new routines. Pupils with different learning needs receive excellent support and so make the same outstanding progress as others. Health and safety requirements are fully met and the school's child protection procedures are rigorous and meet all current requirements. The school has developed very effective assessment and tracking systems to check how well individual pupils are doing and uses these very effectively to set highly challenging targets for pupils and

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Grade: 1

to ensure pupils always know what they have to do in order to improve. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Grade: 1

Outstanding leadership and management at all levels is a key factor in ensuring that provision is of a high quality and that pupils make excellent progress and attain very high standards. The headteacher has ensured that all those associated with the school share her vision of placing pupils' needs and equal opportunities at the heart of school life. Working closely with her very effective senior management team, and with staff and governors, she has ensured that the school's self-evaluation very accurately identifies what needs to be done to bring about further improvement and also shows what is going well, and why this is. The governing body fulfils its statutory duties very effectively and offers an excellent level of challenge and support to the school. Governors have a very clear understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses and are fully involved in school life. Links with external agencies,

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Grade: 1

such as educational psychologists, support pupils' learning particularly well, especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school is very well resourced and teachers use these effectively to enhance learning. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils Inspection of Bridport Primary School, Bridport, DT6 3BJ What a brilliant school! Thank you for being so friendly and making us feel very welcome during our two-day visit to see you all. It is obvious why you like school so much and why some of you said you even try to come to school when you are clearly feeling ill. We all agree that Bridport Primary is what adults call an 'outstanding' school and this means that it is exceptionally good at making sure you all do your very best and makes learning very interesting and really enjoyable. There are so many things we liked about your school we have not got the space to write them all down here, but these are the most important ones.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your school gives you an excellent start to your education and makes sure you make outstanding progress in learning. ■ The work you do is of a very high standard, especially in English, mathematics and science.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We agree with you about how good the quality of teaching is and how teachers make learning very interesting. ■ Your behaviour is excellent and you are very polite and mature young people.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your teachers make sure you all know how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve your work. ■ Teachers and the other adults who work in the school care for you really well and make sure you are always extremely safe and very well looked after. Your headteacher, her staff and your school governors are working as hard as they can to make sure that your school continues to do the very best for its pupils in the future. We have asked the school to do even more to improve your attendance. You can help your school by continuing to work as hard as you do. We wish you the very best for the future. Yours sincerely Michael Barron Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Bridport Primary School, 12 °13 March 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of Bridport Primary School, Bridport, DT6 3BJ

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Annex B

What a brilliant school! Thank you for being so friendly and making us feel very welcome during our two-day visit to see you all. It is obvious why you like school so much and why some of you said you even try to come to school when you are clearly feeling ill. We all agree that Bridport Primary is what adults call an ‘outstanding’ school and this means that it is exceptionally good at making sure you all do your very best and makes learning very interesting and really enjoyable. There are so many things we liked about your school we have not got the space to write them all down here, but these are the most important ones.

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Annex B

• Your school gives you an excellent start to your education and makes sure you make outstanding progress in learning. • The work you do is of a very high standard, especially in English, mathematics and science. • We agree with you about how good the quality of teaching is and how teachers make learning very interesting. • Your behaviour is excellent and you are very polite and mature young people. • Your teachers make sure you all know how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve your work. • Teachers and the other adults who work in the school care for you really well and make sure you are always extremely safe and very well looked after.

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Annex B

Your headteacher, her staff and your school governors are working as hard as they can to make sure that your school continues to do the very best for its pupils in the future. We have asked the school to do even more to improve your attendance. You can help your school by continuing to work as hard as you do.

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Annex B

We wish you the very best for the future.

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