Blagdon Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Blagdon Primary School is a friendly place where pupils get along well. They say something good happens every day. Pupils of all ages play well together.

Older pupils look after younger ones. They treat everyone as equals and show respect towards each other.

The school has high expectations for pupils.

Pupils progress well through the curriculum. Most pupils engage well in lessons. They listen to their teachers and respond with enthusiasm.

When needed, teachers give timely reminders of expectations, which pupils follow.

Relationships between pupils and adults are positive. Pupils are polite and well mannered.

They feel safe and happ...y and know that adults will help them if they have any worries. The school teaches pupils to be safe online and in the community. Physical health and mental health are promoted through the curriculum and in assemblies.

The school supports pupils to understand the contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to the school and community. Pupils develop their understanding of why people seek asylum. Pupils welcome and support families who have joined the school.

They enjoy the responsibilities they get on the school council and as house captains, librarians and breaktime monitors. Parents comment that the school knows its pupils well and provides a nurturing environment in which they can flourish.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils.

The curriculum is well designed and identifies the essential knowledge pupils need to know and remember. Pupils have opportunities to return to and build on their knowledge. The work they complete shows that they learn the curriculum well in most subjects.

There is a clear structure to the teaching of phonics. This means pupils build their knowledge well. Teachers' strong subject knowledge supports pupils to learn and write sounds with precision.

Adults address and correct misconceptions swiftly. This means pupils do not fall behind. From Reception Year, the phonics programme supports children to build on previous learning.

This helps children to learn new sounds and read increasingly complex words.

Older pupils enjoy reading. They have access to a wide range of high-quality texts.

They know that regular practise makes them better readers. Teachers share their joy of reading. Pupils engage with interest and enthusiasm when teachers read to them.

Pupils are keen to share their ideas, and they actively take part in lessons. They can talk confidently about their current learning. In some subjects, however, they struggle to recall past learning.

This is because they do not have enough opportunities to revisit their previous knowledge and remember it over time. This makes it difficult for some pupils to build their knowledge well in these subjects. For example, they can talk with confidence about more recent learning in geography about slum dwellings, but they find it hard to recall their knowledge of what they have learned before.

The school ensures that pupils have support to overcome barriers to learning and experience a wide range of opportunities. All pupils have opportunities to take part in school trips and attend sports clubs and breakfast club. The school ensures that all pupils have a range of texts to keep and read at home.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need to succeed and learn the curriculum alongside their peers. Resources and the help of adults mean they access learning and progress well through the curriculum.

Communication and language are central to the early years foundation stage.

The school designs opportunities to develop communication and language through teaching and modelling it during role-play activities. For example, adults demonstrate how to greet customers in a shop. This also provides opportunities for children to develop their personal and social skills.

The school gets to know the children before they start school. This means relationships are already built, and children settle into school well. Children listen and respond with enthusiasm to questions.

Teachers check on children's understanding and use this to reshape learning activities.

The curriculum goes beyond the academic. It supports pupils to further develop their understanding of the world.

They learn about people from other places and how they have overcome adversity. The school encourages pupils to be respectful of differences between people. Pupils demonstrate this in their day-to-day interactions with each other.

The school has high expectations for pupils' attendance. These expectations are communicated to parents regularly. There are robust systems in place to monitor individual attendance.

If attendance starts to fall, the school takes effective action to improve it. This includes completing individual plans with parents to agree actions. These are reviewed regularly and are leading to improvements for pupils who have been persistently absent.

Staff feel well supported to carry out their roles and receive the help they need to manage their workload and well-being. Trustees and governors provide support and challenge to ensure the school continues to improve.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority) ? In some curriculum subjects, pupils do not have enough opportunities to revisit their previous knowledge and remember it over time. This makes it difficult for some pupils to build their knowledge well in these subjects. The trust needs to ensure the curriculum supports pupils to recap and remember previous learning.

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