Barton Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This new school is calm and harmonious. It is a growing community.

Leaders have prioritised building positive relationships right from the start. Pupils, including those in the early years, are friendly. They enjoy each other's company.

Pupils know and follow the school's golden rules of: 'Be respectful. Be safe. Be ready.'



Pupils feel safe and are safe. Pupils behave well because adults model the high expectations they have for pupils' behaviour. Teachers reward pupils when they show one of the school's six values of 'equality, respect, responsibility, curiosity, perseverance and kindness'.

Bullying is not a problem here. Pupils know that... if they have a worry, or if bullying were to happen, adults will help to sort it out.

Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy learning.

This is because leaders bring learning to life through well-thought-out trips, visits and experiences. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 talked animatedly about an upcoming trip to Oxford Castle, and those in Year 4 talked about a visit to a local secondary school. Pupils are enthusiastic about the annual 'Big Science' competition.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can and do take part.

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

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum for the pupils in this growing school. For most subjects, leaders have thought about the exact knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn and the order they should be learned in.

However, leaders are still refining the curriculum in a minority of subjects. They have also not yet fully checked that the curriculum is being implemented as planned in all subjects. This means pupils' learning across the curriculum is not yet secure in every subject.

Leaders have selected teaching materials to support the delivery of the curriculum. Teachers use these materials to break learning down into small steps to help pupils remember the things they learn. This is especially true in the early years.

Adults plan activities so that children, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, develop the skills they need to move successfully into key stage 1. This is based on leaders' proactive actions to identify barriers to learning for any pupils who may have additional needs. This means pupils get the right support at the right time.

As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress.

Learning to read and developing new vocabulary have the highest priority. This starts in the early years, through carefully chosen books and songs.

Pupils enjoy listening to the stories teachers read. This learning of unfamiliar words continues into key stage 2, where pupils learn Latin. Most pupils are fluent, confident readers by the end of key stage 1.

Right from the very start of early years, pupils learn new sounds and how they link to make words. Adults regularly check the sounds pupils can remember. If they fall behind, pupils are given support to catch up quickly, and they do.

Children in Reception build on their knowledge of number from Nursery. They can count and recognise groups of objects. Pupils continue to develop their fluency with numbers into key stage 1.

In most mathematics lessons, teachers check what pupils understand and identify what they need to learn next. In some other subjects, teachers are not yet checking how much pupils know and remember. This means some pupils in key stage 2, including some who have joined from other schools, have some gaps in their learning.

Learning is rarely disrupted because pupils know how to manage their own emotions and feelings. They recognise that some pupils need more support to do this than others. Pupils understand that everyone is different.

One pupil told an inspector, 'Learning about others' differences helps us to be better people ourselves.'

Although few in number, pupils enjoy attending the after-school clubs that are available. Pupils also enjoy the opportunities for responsibility, such as the newly created librarian roles.

Pupils are looking forward to more opportunities in the future.

The multi-academy trust has provided appropriate support and oversight for leaders. Local governance is new and still evolving.

Despite this, the governing body members understand their role and have first-hand knowledge of the strengths and challenges of this school. They are aware of leaders' workload and seek practical solutions to support this. Members of staff are excited by the journey the school is on and feel well supported by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are trained well to spot the signs and symptoms of harm. They know how to report or escalate a concern, whether this be about a pupil or the conduct of an adult in school.

Pupils and families who need support are identified quickly. Recently updated procedures in school mean the safeguarding team works smartly to identify and follow up on concerns raised.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and offline.

They understand what bullying is. They know about keeping their bodies physically healthy. They also know they can use the 'calm corner' to support their own emotional health.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders are still refining the curriculum in a minority of subjects. Pupils' learning across the curriculum is therefore variable in these subjects. Leaders should continue to implement the development of the curriculum as planned.

Leaders' oversight of the curriculum in some subjects is not yet fully developed. This means that leaders do not know how well the curriculum is being implemented. Leaders should ensure that they check that the curriculum is being implemented as planned.

• In some subjects, teachers do not routinely check what pupils have learned and remembered. This means that teachers are not able to identify and address gaps in pupils' learning. Leaders need to ensure that all staff consistently identify and address weaknesses and gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding.