Bawnmore Community Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bawnmore Community Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff want pupils to have the best possible start to their education.

The school's motto – 'To care, to enjoy, to learn, together' – reflects the school's positive ethos. Teachers plan learning activities that are enjoyable. They encourage children to respect each other.

Children respond well to this encouragement. This makes the school a harmonious community.

The curriculum supports the personal and academic development of pupils in all year groups.

Staff pay attention to the needs of every child. In Years 1 and 2, pupils study a broad range... of subjects. Teachers make sure that all pupils know and remember more over time.

By the end of Year 2, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Pupils are keen to learn. They work well with each other and behave well at play time.

Staff recognise pupils' positive behaviour and celebrate it. For example, pupils receive 'leaves' as rewards for doing good work and when they are helpful. These rewards are popular with all the children.

Bullying is not an issue. Pupils know that it is wrong and that adults would not tolerate it. The school is popular with parents because children are safe and happy.

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

The school provides an effective start to children's formal education. The curriculum allows children to progress from Nursery to Reception and from Reception to key stage 1. Teachers have planned learning to make sure that pupils are ready to progress to the next stage by the end of each year.

In Years 1 and 2, pupils study all the national curriculum subjects. Relationships between teachers and pupils are positive. Pupils enjoy learning and do not disrupt lessons.

Teachers plan lessons that develop pupils' knowledge in each subject. For instance, in religious education, children start by learning about religious festivals in Reception Year.They then build on this knowledge by developing their understanding of beliefs and worship in Year 1.

In mathematics, children in early years begin to learn about addition and subtraction through practical tasks. This helps prepare them for mathematics lessons in key stage 1.

Most subject leaders have had training to help ensure that the curriculum is taught well in their subject.

This training has also allowed them to put in place systems to check pupils' progress. However, some subject leaders are still to complete this curriculum development programme.

Leaders have identified that some pupils' handwriting is not as developed as they expect it to be.

This is partly because of disruption to learning caused by the pandemic. For many pupils, the standard of handwriting and presentation of work need improving.

The school fosters a love of reading from Nursery onwards.

Story time is an important moment of the school day in every class. Formal teaching of phonics starts at the beginning of Reception. Teachers check the progress of pupils' reading skills.

Pupils who are at risk of falling behind receive extra help. This allows pupils to become better readers. Teachers encourage families to read with children at home.

Pupils are able to choose books from well-stocked classroom libraries.

Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the curriculum. For example, during the inspection, Year 2 pupils attended a musical performance by a band from a local secondary school.

Children take part in charity events such as Red Nose Day. The school organises special focus days like 'safer internet day' and World Book Day. Daily assemblies cover a range of topics that help children understand the world around them.

The school's special educational needs coordinator makes sure that all pupils access the whole curriculum and enrichment activities. Teachers and support staff adapt activities for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they may break down an activity into smaller steps to make it accessible.

Leaders and staff work well together as a team. Staff benefit from training opportunities alongside other colleagues within the federation that the school is a member of. Staff appreciate leaders' actions to help them manage their workload.

Governors provide strong support to the school leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that all staff are well trained to care for pupils.

Members of staff are vigilant. They know how to report issues. When a child needs help, leaders work well with families and external agencies to provide the right kind of support.

Leaders and governors are trained in safe recruitment. They have effective systems in place to deal with concerns about staff.

Children learn about how to manage risks.

They take part in activities to raise their awareness of dealing with risks. For example, they are taught about road safety and how to avoid getting into trouble online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all curriculum leaders have received planned training about curriculum delivery.

As a result, assessment systems are not fully developed in some subjects. Leaders should ensure that training planned for later this year allows leaders in the subjects concerned to complete the implementation of their planned curriculum. ? The standard of presentation of work is often below leaders' expectations.

This limits the progress pupils make in their writing. Leaders should ensure that staff continue to focus on improving pupils' handwriting.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good.