Barford St Peter’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Barford St Peter's CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 February 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Yours is a school with a very clear culture and ethos. You have high expectations of pupils, of their attendance, their conduct and their work ethic.

Pupils rise to these high expectations. The school is very much part of..., and serves, its local community, with close links to village organisations and the parish church. It is a school where staff know pupils very well and they make pupils' happiness and welfare a top priority.

You and your staff place as much importance on pupils' personal development as on their academic progress. The school's staff form a hard-working and committed team. They give generously of their time, for example in providing a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and opportunities for pupils.

All staff who completed the inspection questionnaire said the school is well led and they are proud to work there. Teaching is effective across the school, in all subjects, and much is strong. However, you recognise that curriculum planning is stronger in some subjects, including English and mathematics, than it is in others.

Leaders know the school well, including its strengths and weaknesses. They systematically address those areas where improvement is needed. For example, at the previous inspection, leaders were tasked with accelerating pupils' progress in reading in key stage 2.

Pupils now develop good reading skills that they use well in many subjects. However, there remains work to be done before older pupils apply this knowledge consistently well in their writing. Most parents hold the school in high esteem.

They value the care and support that staff give their children. The great majority who responded to Parent View said that they would recommend the school to another parent. One parent represented the views of several when they wrote: 'My child could not love primary school more.

It's a happy, supportive school and very well run. The children's behaviour is excellent. The teaching staff are caring and treat all children as individuals.'

Members of the governing board provide good support for leaders. They carry out their statutory duties diligently and challenge leaders appropriately. They have a strong focus on strategic planning for the school's future.

Safeguarding is effective. All safeguarding policies and procedures are fit for purpose. Leaders have trained staff well to spot the signs that pupils might need additional support.

Staff pass on to leaders any concerns they have about pupils. Leaders deal with these appropriately, involving outside agencies when necessary. Pupils feel safe in school.

All pupils I spoke with confirmed this to be the case. For example, they told me that bullying is very rare in school and they trust adults to deal with any that happens. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe.

For example, pupils in Year 6 told me how they had been taught to stay safe when using the internet and social media. Similarly, pupils in Year 1 had recently completed work on road safety. All members of staff who completed the inspection questionnaire agreed that pupils are safe in school, as did all parents I spoke with at the start of the day and almost all who responded to Parent View.

Inspection findings ? The inspection's first area of focus was on the progress that pupils make during key stage 2. Over recent years, pupils' attainment by the end of Year 6 has been consistently above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, over that time, pupils' progress during key stage 2 has been broadly at the national average.

It is strongest in reading and mathematics, but weaker in writing. Pupils' work in English shows a strong focus on developing reading for understanding and specifically on analysing texts and making inferences. Consequently, pupils develop good knowledge in these areas.

However, pupils do not always apply this knowledge in their writing as well as they could. This is because, although pupils do undertake longer writing tasks at times, this expectation is not consistently applied throughout key stage 2. Consequently, some pupils do not write at length as often as they should.

• The second area I considered was the quality of the school's curriculum, specifically subjects other than English and mathematics. These subjects are taught well. Teachers have good subject knowledge that they use to plan engaging activities that focus well on what pupils need to learn.

Consequently, pupils are enthusiastic learners. They remember what they have learned in the past and they enjoy acquiring new knowledge in a wide range of subjects. Long- and medium-term plans in English and mathematics ensure that pupils' learning follows a carefully structured sequence, with new concepts building on what has already been learned.

In other subjects, long- and medium-term plans are not as well sequenced. Consequently, pupils' learning does not always build successfully on their prior knowledge. Leaders are currently seeking to address this issue and have recently introduced revised topic plans.

It is too soon to see the impact of these changes. ? Leaders place a strong emphasis on outdoor learning. For example, pupils in the early years and key stage 1 take part in weekly 'Welly Wednesdays' where they work outdoors.

Similarly, pupils in key stage 2 have recently built geodesic domes on the school field. This outdoor focus successfully enthuses pupils and engages them in their learning. Leaders hope that it will help to develop habits outside school, if pupils choose to spend time outdoors rather than with their electronic devices.

Together, the school's ethos, high expectations, curriculum and extra-curricular activities contribute very well to pupils' personal development. ? The inspection's next focus was on the early years foundation stage. Leaders have maintained the high standards reported at the previous inspection.

The Pre-school and Reception classrooms and outdoor spaces provide vibrant and stimulating learning environments that provide good resources in all areas of learning. Teaching is strong, with an appropriate balance of teacher-led and child-initiated activities and a strong focus on developing children's skills in reading, writing and arithmetic. Adults intervene skilfully to help children to learn.

Children behave well, sharing sensibly and listening attentively. Adults use assessment well to plan children's next steps in learning. Consequently, the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development is consistently above the national average and children are well prepared to start Year 1.

• The final area that I considered was pupils' behaviour. Again, the high standards reported at the previous inspection have been maintained. Pupils behave well in lessons.

They are keen and eager to learn. They support each other well and they enjoy learning together. At breaktime and lunchtime, pupils are sensible, well mannered and polite.

Older pupils are considerate and help younger pupils to feel safe in school. All pupils I spoke with told me that they enjoy coming to school. Attendance is consistently higher than the national average for primary schools.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? pupils in key stage 2 are routinely expected to apply their knowledge of English in extended pieces of writing ? recently revised curriculum plans ensure that pupils' learning builds well on what they have previously learned in all subjects. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing board, the director of education for the diocese of Coventry, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Warwickshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Alun Williams Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, other leaders and six members of the governing board, including its chair. I visited all classes with you or other leaders, where we observed teaching and learning and spoke with pupils about their work. I talked with pupils in lessons and at breaktime.

I scrutinised several documents, including those relating to self-evaluation and records of safeguarding and child protection. I talked with several parents as they dropped their children off at the start of the school day. I considered the 50 responses to Parent View, including the 32 free-text comments and the 19 responses from members of staff to the online inspection questionnaire.

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