Bentley New Village Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has created an environment where pupils feel safe. There are warm, positive relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils trust adults to help them.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. However, the school's ambitions for its pupils are not reflected in how well pupils achieve. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

The school ensures that pupils who need help with behaviour receive it. Adults provide skilful support to these pupils. This helps pupils to recognise and control their emotions.

Staff help pupils, including children in the early years, to follow clear routines about how to behave in classrooms and how to move around school calml...y. Children in the early years develop positive attitudes to their learning. However, the curriculum in the early years does not prepare some children for key stage 1 as well as it should.

Pupils benefit from a broad range of experiences beyond their classrooms. For example, the school gives pupils the opportunity to support a range of charities. These experiences help pupils to develop a strong moral compass.

Pupils are alert to different groups of people in society who may face discrimination. Pupils are eager future citizens of the world.

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

The school's ambition for pupils is not reflected in the quality of education that they receive.

The school has recently undertaken work to make what pupils are taught and when they are taught it clearer. However, in some subjects, the detailed knowledge, including the subject-specific vocabulary, that pupils need to learn is not clear. This includes in the early years, where the school's curriculum thinking is at an early stage in some areas of learning.

Opportunities are missed for children to be better prepared for their future learning.

The school has systems for identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These systems are effective at identifying pupils who need support with their learning.

However, in some parts of the curriculum, including in the early years, the school does not have a clear view of the gaps that some pupils have in their learning. Some children leave Reception not as well prepared as they should be in some areas of learning. The school has not ensured that staff in the early years have a clear understanding of the aims of the curriculum.

The school has a well-ordered phonics curriculum in place. It has recently worked on developing pupils' attitudes towards reading. Pupils have a positive view of reading.

They enjoy books. The school has provided training for staff to help them teach phonics. However, the phonics curriculum is delivered inconsistently.

Some staff do not deliver this curriculum in line with the school's agreed approach. The school identifies pupils who need support with reading. However, this support, including for some children in the Reception Year, is not delivered with precision or consistency.

Some pupils do not become fluent readers as quickly as they should.

Pupils behave well in lessons. They begin their work quickly and with enthusiasm.

Staff ensure that pupils understand and follow the school rules. The school has introduced systems to promote a culture of attendance. This begins in the early years, where the importance of high attendance is promoted to parents and carers from the outset.

Staff look for opportunities to explain to pupils why it is important to attend school. More pupils are now attending school regularly. The number of pupils who are persistently absent from school has reduced considerably.

The personal development offer for pupils is well designed. Pupils benefit from learning about important aspects, such as online safety and healthy relationships. Staff teach pupils how to stay physically and mentally healthy.

In the early years, children learn that it is important to eat healthily and to keep hydrated. The school provides pupils with opportunities to experience the world beyond their community. For example, pupils spoke to inspectors with enthusiasm about the residential experience they had in Year 2.

The school offers a range of extra-curricular clubs and activities. Pupils with SEND access these just as often as their peers.

The school is mindful of staff workload and well-being.

The school engages with staff to understand their views on issues related to workload and well-being.

Governors understand their role. They have offered challenge to leaders about the school's approaches to attendance.

This has brought about improvements. However, the school and governors do not have a clear view of how well their actions are improving outcomes for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's phonics curriculum is not delivered consistently well. As a result, some pupils, including some who are in Reception, do not catch up with their peers and become fluent readers. The school should ensure that it identifies and addresses where staff need more support to teach the agreed phonics approach consistently.

• The early years curriculum is not clearly defined. This means that some children are not prepared as well as they should be for their future learning. The school should ensure that the knowledge and vocabulary that children should learn in early years is clearly identified and delivered.

• The school has not identified the most important knowledge it wishes pupils to learn in some foundation subjects. This results in staff making activity choices that do not help pupils build their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that the key knowledge that pupils should be taught in foundation subjects is clearly identified and understood by staff.

• The school does not have a clear view of the gaps in knowledge that some pupils, including those with SEND, have in subjects such as reading and mathematics. These pupils do not receive the support that they need to catch up with their peers. The school should ensure that leaders and staff use assessment to understand and address where pupils are behind in the curriculum.

• The school has not ensured that leaders at all levels evaluate the impact of their actions on how well pupils are achieving in the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in some subjects. The school should ensure that leaders at all levels routinely evaluate how well their actions are improving educational outcomes for pupils.