Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and nurtured in all aspects of their development at this warm and welcoming school. The vision that the school is 'a place to flourish' is truly lived out in all that it does. There are high expectations for pupils' conduct and achievement.

Staff and pupils work together to make sure these expectations are fulfilled. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school's work.

Pupils' behav...iour is calm and respectful throughout the school. They value the importance of kindness and embody the school value of 'family'. For example, the enthusiastic 'playground buddies' plan activities for younger pupils and show them how to play with fairness.

Staff teach routines and expectations that help pupils to focus and engage in their learning. Teachers notice and reward pupils' efforts and achievements through awards, such as the weekly 'flourisher' certificates.

The curriculum is interesting.

Pupils benefit from the many visits, visitors and activities that enliven the subjects they learn, such as the opportunity to visit a castle to see Roman artefacts. Pupils understand the importance of equality. Visitors, such as British paralympians, further reinforce pupils' understanding of difference in society.

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

Since the last inspection, leadership of the school has changed. Governors have ensured that the school continues to have an effective leadership structure and staff team in place. The school works closely with the local authority on its continued journey to maintain and improve standards.

School leaders consider staff's workload. Staff feel heard and valued. This approach reinforces the community ethos of the school in the same way that pupils feel listened to and cared about.

In the main, the school has a well-designed and ambitious curriculum that helps pupils to build their knowledge and skills from Reception to Year 6. In most subjects, the school clearly identifies the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Consequently, teachers know what to focus on in their teaching because they check carefully that pupils remember key knowledge.

This helps pupils to learn well in these subjects.

In a few areas of the curriculum, sometimes it is not clear what knowledge the school wants pupils to learn. This makes it difficult for teachers to make explicit links to prior learning to help secure pupils' understanding.

In addition, in some of the curriculum, the school is not clear on what knowledge pupils remember over time.

Reading is at the heart of the school and its curriculum. Each class studies carefully chosen texts that inspire a love of reading and link to subjects, such as history.

Pupils enjoy the whole-class reading sessions, and they read for pleasure at school and home. Staff deliver the phonics programme well. They emphasise the importance of using the correct pronunciation as pupils learn new letter sounds.

When the school identifies gaps in pupils' learning, these pupils are quickly and effectively supported. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit strongly from the reading programme.

The school identifies and supports the needs of pupils with SEND well.

Teachers adapt learning well, including providing suitable extra resources to meet pupils' individual needs. The school works closely with parents to help these pupils to take an active part in school life and to achieve their best.

Pupils have very positive attitudes towards their education.

This begins in the early years. The school ensures that its approaches to supporting pupils' behaviour are clear. Pupils describe how understanding their emotions helps them recognise and manage their own behaviour.

The school has equally high expectations of pupils' attendance. The school works with families to remove potential barriers to pupils attending school. As a result, most pupils attend school regularly.

The school provides well for pupils' personal development. The school teaches its values to pupils to help them to develop a clear sense of right and wrong. Discrimination in any form is not accepted at the school.

Pupils learn how to stay safe online and live healthy lifestyles. Pupils like holding positions of responsibility, such as school councillors. They enjoy residential experiences, sporting opportunities and musical performances.

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 foundation subjects, checks on how well pupils retain key knowledge over time are not well developed. The school does not have a sufficiently accurate picture of how securely pupils learn some of its curriculum.

Sometimes, this limits how well staff help pupils to learn essential knowledge. The school should strengthen its assessment processes in these subjects to identify any gaps in pupils' learning and then inform its curriculum delivery. ? In a few curriculum subjects, the school does not make it clear what information pupils should learn.

This means that, sometimes, teachers do not plan activities that enable pupils to make connections to what they already know in their new learning. Pupils then do not secure their understanding of some key information well enough. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum focuses upon the key knowledge that pupils need to learn across all subjects.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good overall effectiveness in March 2016.