Baildon Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. Since the time of the last inspection the school has continued to go from strength to strength. Parents support the pupils' views that 'every year our school just gets better and better'.

Achievement is outstanding and all pupils, regardless of background, age or ability, thrive in this exceptionally caring school. From starting points, which for many are below those typically expected, pupils leave Year 6 having attained above the national average in reading and writing; attainment in mathematics is exceptionally high. This represents outstanding progress.

Teaching is typically outstanding and never less than good. The overwhelm...ing majority of lessons are characterised by excellent relationships, carefully designed activities to meet the needs and interests of all pupils, and very well-deployed support staff. Teachers' subject knowledge is impressive and their assessment of pupils' individual needs is first class.

This enables lessons to move along at a fast pace. Teachers are skilled at knowing how to make learning fun, relevant and exciting. This helps to ignite pupils' imagination and fosters a great love of learning.

Pupils behave exceptionally well and their positive attitudes to learning are a significant factor in the outstanding progress they make in their lessons. Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy an exceptionally rich curriculum. This explains why their attendance is not only high but improving every year.

The headteacher and senior leaders have a very clear vision of excellence and understand what an outstanding school looks like. They share a relentless commitment to continue improving the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement. A wide range of activities keep leaders very well informed about what is working well and what could be still further improved.

As a result, self-evaluation is robust and accurate. The effectiveness of the governing body has also significantly improved. Governors are well trained and use the wealth of their experience to challenge where necessary and provide praise when due.

Governors have also evaluated their own effectiveness and identified the next step for their own improvement. This is to further develop their system for checking how well the pupil premium funding helps to improve pupils' achievement.

Information about this school

This is a larger than average-sized primary school.

The proportion of pupils supported by school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is above average. The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.

(The pupil premium is additional funding provided for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after.) The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. The school runs a well-attended breakfast club.

The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set a minimum expectation for pupils' attainment and progress. The school is a member of a partnership of local schools, which provides guidance and training. The local authority frequently uses the Baildon CofE Primary as a model of best practice to support other schools within the authority.

Also at this postcode