Barby Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

This is a good school and it is improving. It operates in an atmosphere of calm, warmth and understanding.

It is a harmonious community where pupils are exceptionally well cared for and their contribution valued. Nearly all the parents and carers who returned the questionnaires are overwhelmingly positive about the school. All areas of its work are good, with some that are outstanding – for example, the high standards of care, guidance and support, and the excellent level of engagement with parents and carers.

Parents and carers and their children appreciate the school's inclusive approach and the very strong focus upon spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school's many posi...tive features combine to engage pupils well, and support their good progress and behaviour in lessons and around the school. Pupils have an excellent awareness of healthy eating and their high level of engagement in sporting and other activities has a positive impact on their overall health and well-being.

They enjoy attending school as demonstrated by their above-average attendance. They play an outstanding role in the school and wider community through, for example, being members of the school council or the eco-friendly and anti-bullying groups. The school provides a well-planned curriculum that brings together topics and subjects to enliven learning and make it relevant and engaging.

Creative, skills-based learning, tailored to meet individual pupils' needs, is increasingly motivating and inspires pupils to undertake independent, research-based topic work. Some aspects of the curriculum are outstanding – particularly the wide range of visits and visitors to school, including, for example, the yearly visit by children from Japan. Such activities do much to promote pupils' understanding and knowledge of those from faiths and cultures different from their own.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points. The attainment of most pupils is broadly average. It is slightly lower in English, particularly in reading and their phonic skills in Key Stage 1, than it is in mathematics.

The school is aware that, although children make good progress in Reception, their literacy in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not well enough developed. The quality of teaching and assessment for all groups of pupils is good – as is evidenced in lessons and in pupils' books – and contributes well to their good progress. However, in some lessons teachers do not always manage their time effectively to ensure a rapid pace in learning.

Consequently, the school is developing strategies to tackle this weakness, which are beginning to have an impact. The drive and ambition to continuing improvement are shared by all staff and members of the governing body. All staff work together as a team, ensuring progression and continuity for pupils in their learning.

Leaders at all levels, including members of the governing body, have a good understanding of the main priorities for development and evaluate accurately the action taken to improve pupils' progress. A positive feature is the sharing of good practice that exists in the school. The school has worked well in responding to the issues identified for further improvement in the previous inspection, particularly in engendering high expectation in both staff and pupils of what they can achieve.

This positive track record of performance shows the school has good capacity to sustain improvement and provides good value for money.

Information about the school

The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. All classes in Key Stage 1 and 2 are of mixed age.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average. The proportion with special educational needs and/or disabilities is also below the national average. The vast majority of the pupils are of White British heritage.

There are a small number of pupils from minority ethnic heritage and none are at an early stage of learning to speak English. More pupils than in most schools join or leave the school at times other than the usual ones. The school has gained National Healthy Schools status and the Eco-Friendly Award.

Also at this postcode