We are Locrating.com, a schools information website. This page is one of our school directory pages. This is not the website of Berkley Church of England First School.
What is Locrating?
Locrating is the UK's most popular and trusted school guide; it allows you to view inspection reports, admissions data, exam results, catchment areas, league tables, school reviews,
neighbourhood information, carry out school comparisons and much more. Below is some useful summary information regarding Berkley Church of England First School.
To see all our data you need to click the blue button at the bottom of this page to view Berkley Church of England First School
on our interactive map.
Pupils are proud to be part of the 'Berkley family' and all that it brings in developing them personally.
Many pupils become confident and self-assured. They enjoy learning outside and serving the local community, for example through leading farmers' markets at harvest time and performing in the local church. Pupil leaders from Year 4 buddy up with younger pupils and take on board their leadership roles admirably.
Charity work broadens pupils' understanding of the wider world through, for example, sponsoring the toilet facilities in a village school in Nigeria.
Pupils get off to a great start in Reception. They learn routines quickly and are well prepared for... Year 1.
Elsewhere, the quality of education pupils receive is improving. Pupils say learning is fun and interesting. However, the curriculum in some subjects does not teach pupils all the knowledge they need to know next.
This means that some pupils do not learn the depth of knowledge they should across the curriculum.
Pupils gain a strong sense of right and wrong. Extra-curricular activities, clubs, visits and visitors broaden pupils' experiences well.
Pupils relish receiving a positive behaviour lanyard, for example a green lanyard for 'great listening' in class. However, pupils are not always supported to adhere to the high expectations set out in the school's behaviour policy at social times. At times, there can be some unkindness between pupils.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Leaders, including governors, act with integrity and rigour. They have a strong vision for what they want to achieve. They have already addressed a myriad of complicated challenges, including organisational change.
Staff morale is now typically high.
The school's action plans focus on the right aspects for improvement. The school is addressing many of the remaining weaknesses head-on.
This is incrementally improving the quality of education pupils receive. For example, the school has used external support well to improve the mathematics curriculum. Staff follow the agreed mathematics approaches and provide pupils with suitable resources to help them learn.
The curriculum is securely mapped out in Reception and plans are afoot to extend this across the school. The right work has begun to ensure that pupils learn how to reason in mathematics and secure their number facts and multiplication tables.
The teaching of phonics is effective.
It follows a consistent approach across the school. Additional teaching for pupils who need to catch up in key stages 1 and 2 is helping them to recognise and say sounds in words with increasing accuracy. However, a minority of these pupils do not have enough practice to become fluent when reading whole sentences.
Curriculum work is underway to strengthen pupils' understanding of what they read. Improvements are starting to emerge, but this work is relatively new.Recent changes to staff's curriculum roles and responsibilities are ensuring that the subject curriculums are being designed from a position of strong subject knowledge.
Most subject curriculums identify what pupils should know and by when, for example in science. The curriculum in the early years meets children's needs well.
However, there are some weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum in key stages 1 and 2.
Teaching, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is not consistently effective. When pupils get stuck, it can take too long to adapt teaching or provide pupils with sufficient practice to secure new knowledge. Some subject content across sequences of work does not demand enough of pupils.
When this happens, there are occasions when pupils lose concentration. This slows their learning down.
The English curriculum does not include everything pupils need to know to write with the complexity and quality expected for their age.
Pupils do not edit and improve their work, or use paragraphs when they are ready to. Some pupils do not apply their phonics knowledge to spell accurately when completing writing tasks.
The school is strengthening its approach to identifying pupils with SEND.
However, it is too early to see the full impact of this work. The curriculum these pupils receive is not addressing their gaps in knowledge sufficiently.
Pupils attend regularly.
They behave very well in the lunch hall because supervision is effective. However, some pupils do not behave as well at other social times. Staff are not adept at noticing when pupils' behaviour on the playground falls short of the school's behaviour policy.
Systems to record and follow up incidents are not robust.
The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum includes everything it should. Pupils learn about healthy relationships and keeping physically and mentally fit.
The curriculum teaches pupils how to keep safe online.
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
Staff know how to refer any concerns about pupils' well-being or those who may be at risk of harm.
The school takes action to keep pupils safe. However, some minor improvements need to be made to strengthen record-keeping and training requirements. These do not have an immediate impact on the safety of pupils.
What does the school need to do to improve?
(Information for the school and appropriate authority)
• The English curriculum does not teach pupils everything they need to know at the right time. Some pupils do not apply their phonics knowledge to spell accurately. Sequences of work do not teach pupils some essential knowledge early enough, for example editing and improving their writing and writing in paragraphs.
The school must ensure that the English curriculum is sufficiently ambitious so that all pupils learn English consistently well. ? Teaching, including for pupils with SEND, does not build effectively on what pupils know consistently well. Some teaching is not adapted well enough to deal with pupils' misconceptions or provide them with sufficient practice to secure new knowledge.
These things slow pupils' learning down. The school must ensure that teaching is based on strong knowledge of what pupils already know and what they need to know next, so that pupils learn well across the curriculum and are well prepared for their next stage of education. ? The school does not have sufficient oversight of how well the behaviour policy is being implemented.
Record-keeping is not detailed or used effectively. Some pupils' conduct at social times falls short of the school's expectations. The school must ensure that its behaviour systems and records are fully effective so that pupils' conduct is consistently strong.
• Some minor improvements in safeguarding are required to improve record-keeping and training requirements. This does not put pupils at risk of harm. The school needs to ensure its safeguarding arrangements are in line with the requirements set out in current legislation.
