Barcroft Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Barcroft Primary School is a vibrant and welcoming school, where pupils feel proud to attend and staff are proud to work. Staff have high expectations of pupils. Pupils know that teachers expect them to work hard and they enjoy the challenge of meeting these expectations.

As a result, pupils achieve well. Right from the early years, pupils show positive attitudes to learning.

Leaders have high expectations for behaviour.

The environment is calm and pupils demonstrate positive relationships with friends and adults. Pupils say that bullying happens, but it is rare. Staff sort any incidents out quickly.

Pupils feel safe here and understand how the rules... in school help to keep them safe.

Pupils enjoy the different wider opportunities on offer. For example, they talk positively about the responsibilities of being a mental health ambassador and acting as representatives on the school council.

The new leadership team understands what the school needs to do to continue to improve further and these changes are under way. Staff, parents and carers recognise these as 'positive changes'.

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

There have been significant changes to the curriculum over the past year.

The revised curriculum in place is ambitious and pupils achieve well. Leaders have a clear vision about what they want pupils to achieve by the time they leave Barcroft. Leaders have set out what they want pupils to learn and by when, starting with children in the early years.'

Big picture' overviews created by subject leaders in subjects such as history and geography set out the intended curriculum clearly, which helps teachers know what they need to teach and when.

Teaching is clear and precise. Teachers provide well-chosen resources to support pupils' understanding of their learning.

In some subjects, leaders have introduced a new system to check pupils' knowledge at the start and end of each block of learning. However, not all teachers make regular checks on what pupils know and remember before moving on to new learning. This means that on some occasions teachers do not identify and address pupils' misconceptions.

Leaders promote the love of reading very well. Books feature in all areas of school, including on the playground, in corridors and in the school's 'reading rainforest'. Pupils speak enthusiastically about reading.

They name authors that they enjoy and take advantage of reading the wide range of books they take home from school. For example, pupils in Year 3 enjoy reading about animals in their reading lessons and pupils in Year 6 enjoy reading legends such as 'Hercules'. In phonics, staff teach sounds in a logical order and this helps pupils to build on what they know.

Pupils at risk of not keeping up receive appropriate support and this helps them to catch up. As a result, they make progress and are developing into confident readers.The leader for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has high aspirations for pupils with SEND.

Leaders identify needs quickly and put effective support in place to meet these needs and ensure that support is in place for pupils with more complex needs. However, in some subjects, some staff do not consistently understand how to best support some SEND pupils' learning. This means that pupils with SEND become over-reliant on adults to support them in their lessons.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. They deal with any incidents quickly. Pupils know the school rules and what the consequences are for breaking them.

Leaders are relentless in challenging low attendance. They follow up concerns and support families to help their children to attend school regularly.

Pupils enjoy a range of experiences to support their personal development.

Trips and residentials help pupils to develop curiosity about the world around them. For example, trips to places of worship, such as the Gurdwara, supports pupils' understanding of different religions. Pupils respect and celebrate difference.

They say that people should treat everyone equally, no matter what.

Children in the early years settle well because their needs are met. Relationships between staff and children are positive, with staff modelling high expectations in behaviour.

Children display positive attitudes towards learning. The learning environments both indoors and outdoors are bright, purposeful and stimulating. Teachers prepare children well for their next stages of learning.

Governors share leaders' vision and high expectations for what they want the school to achieve. They understand the reasons for the changes that leaders have put in place. However, leaders have not yet ensured that governors have up-to-date information about the impact of recent changes to aspects of the school's work.

This means that their knowledge of what is working well is limited.

Staff say that this is a positive environment to work in. They feel valued and appreciate leaders' actions to support their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders use what they know about risks in the local area to teach pupils how to stay safe. Staff know how to report concerns.

Leaders respond to concerns quickly. They involve parents and external agencies to get the best support for the pupils.

Pupils feel safe here and know what to do if they have worries.

They recognise what staff do to keep them safe. Pupils talk confidently about keeping themselves safe online, including when using technology at home. The curriculum is planned well to help pupils learn about safety in and out of school, including road and water safety.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff do not yet consistently use the systems for checking what pupils know in all subjects. This means that in these subjects, teachers do not have a clear enough understanding of what pupils understand before they move learning on. Leaders should ensure that they support teachers to check effectively what pupils know and remember about what they have been taught, so that this knowledge can be built upon.

• Some staff do not know how best to support some pupils with SEND to access the curriculum in some subjects. This means that, in these subjects, these pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that staff receive training to help them to understand how to support pupils with SEND in class so that they can fully access the curriculum in all subjects.

• Leaders have not ensured that governors consistently have helpful information about the impact of some of the recent changes to aspects of the school's work. This means that governors do not yet have a full picture of what is working well and what needs to improve further. Leaders should ensure that they share information about the impact of the school's work with governors consistently.