Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending school.

They arrive each day, ready and eager to learn. They know that teachers want them to try their best. Pupils enjoy working hard to earn points for good behaviour.

Pupils are polite and inquisitive. They respect the opinions of their friends.

Pupils feel safe in school.

They have strong relationships with the staff. This means that they know they can share any of their worries or concerns with any staff member and that they will listen. Pupils told inspectors that sometimes pupils say mean or silly things.
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In the past, there have been a small number of cases of the use of inappropriate language and bullying. Pupils explained that this is rare. If it does happen, pupils feel assured that leaders will deal with it so that it does not reoccur.

Pupils can take part in a range of activities to broaden their experiences. They enjoy the many sports clubs, such as ballet and yoga. They enjoy spending time with Arnold, the school dog.

Pupils enjoy listening to visitors and going on trips to enhance their learning. For example, younger pupils recently had the opportunity to handle a range of 'creepy-crawlies' to deepen their understanding of different animals.

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

Governors provide strong challenge to school leaders to make sure that the curriculum is ambitious for all pupils.

As a result, leaders have planned a broad and suitably challenging curriculum. The planned curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This supports pupils to achieve well.

Pupils who leave Year 6 are well prepared for the challenges of key stage 3.

Subject leaders have considered the order in which new curriculum content is taught. For example, in science, pupils in Year 1 learn about the basic structure of plants.

They build on this knowledge in Year 3 by exploring the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants. This structured approach to planning new learning is supporting pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum. That said, in some subjects, curriculum plans do not clearly identify the important skills and knowledge that leaders want pupils to acquire in each year group.

Subject leaders engage in regular training. This allows them to better support teachers to deliver the curriculum well. The support for pupils with SEND is a high priority.

Pupils and their parents and carers are integral to the process. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) ensures that pupils with SEND receive timely and specialist support. This is helping pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their friends.

Pupils, including children in the early years, get off to the best possible start with their reading. They sing songs and learn nursery rhymes to develop their speaking and listening skills. Pupils learn to read new sounds in a logical order.

Teachers help them to practise and build on what they know already. Pupils take home books to practise the sounds that they have been learning in class. Staff have been trained well to teach phonics.

They provide support for children in the early years, and pupils across the school who struggle to read. This work is supporting pupils to become confident readers.

Pupils behave well in lessons and while moving around school.

Pupils told inspectors that classrooms are calm and respectful places because their teachers expect the best from them. As a result, pupils can get to work in a well-organised and productive environment.

The wider curriculum enables pupils to reflect on their role in their community and globally.

Many pupils take on additional responsibilities, such as being a member of the school council or acting as fair-trade officers. Pupils engage in regular charity events to raise funds for local causes. For instance, many pupils enjoy singing in local nursing homes with the school choir.

Staff really enjoy working at Bispham Endowed. They appreciate the positive steps that leaders have taken this year to reduce their workloads. Staff explained to inspectors that this has had a positive impact on their work-life balance and their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

When it comes to safeguarding, leaders are vigilant, and they leave nothing to chance. Staff have received recent, appropriate training in safeguarding.

This has provided them with the skills and knowledge necessary to spot signs of potential harm. Staff are proficient in recording concerns. Leaders work with several specialist partner agencies.

This helps them to provide relevant and timely support to those families who need help or advice.

Pupils learn about keeping safe while walking or cycling near busy roads. They have a shrewd awareness of how to stay safe online.

Pupils told inspectors that they learn to 'be brave and speak up' to a trusted adult if they encounter inappropriate content on the internet.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In most subjects, leaders have organised the important content that they want pupils to learn so that learning builds on what pupils know already. This is not the case in some other subjects.

This prevents pupils from building on what they remember and what they can do already. Leaders should revisit these subjects and ensure that they identify the important knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember.

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. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, 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 convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2016.