Bodsham Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a small school with a big heart. Pupils, parents and carers describe it as nurturing and 'a big family'.

The school's Christian ethos underpins day-to-day life here. Pupils are welcoming to newcomers. Older pupils understand what the term 'compassion' means and strive to be kind, especially to recent arrivals to the school.

Pupils behave very well. They are respectful of each other in class. They disapprove of poor behaviour.

One group agreed that teachers 'figure it out and fix it' when they fall out. Pupils further described how they feel safe because the school is small, staff care, and everyone knows each other. Pupils in Year 6 particularly like ...helping children from Reception.

This might be with their book choices in the library, or at break.

Staff are highly consistent in their approach. Expectations are high, including in Reception.

Routines are firmly established. Pupils know what the rules are. Classrooms are lively but purposeful.

Leaders and governors see pupils as future leaders. They aspire for them to leave the school as rounded and informed 'little people', ready to make a difference in the world. Inspectors found this to be the case in the wealth of opportunities afforded to pupils.

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

This is a well-led school. Staff work as one team. Leaders strive to ensure that teachers are motivated and supported well to provide the best for all pupils.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and a growing number of pupils from vulnerable backgrounds.

Governors know the school well. They know what the school's strengths are.

They are not afraid to ask probing questions of leaders, or to challenge them on their priorities when required.

The school's curriculum is evolving. Leaders see curriculum design as an important aspect of their work to improve the school.

Because of this, they know that some subjects are not as well developed as others. For example, in history and geography, staff are not always fully aware of the detailed and specific knowledge that they should teach.

Pupils enjoy their mathematics and English lessons.

Teachers possess good subject knowledge and are skilled in the way they design learning. They constantly assess the progress pupils make. They demonstrate good awareness of individual pupils' needs and intervene when more support is needed.

This includes in early years, where provision is strong and children benefit from an individualised curriculum in a very small class.

Mathematics is taught consistently well across each phase of the school. This starts in the early years.

Pupils then follow a well-established pathway as they move through the school.

The school's programme to teach pupils to read is effective. Staff talk positively about their latest training provided by an external consultant.

Classroom visits to Reception and Years 1 and 2 showed pupils enjoying their phonics lessons. If pupils fall behind, staff make sensible adaptions and provide extra support for them to catch up. This is particularly the case for a small but growing number of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Older pupils appreciate books and enjoy reading. One described how reading made them feel like they were 'in someone else's life'.

Pupils love music at Bodsham.

Classroom visits showed music lessons to be joyful and practical in nature, with pupils always active participants. Pupils are keen to compose and use musical terminology confidently. Staff enjoy delivering music sessions, adding complexity and challenge to their teaching where appropriate.

As a school with a Christian ethos, leaders see the personal development of pupils as sacrosanct. They challenge pupils to follow a path of courageous advocacy in all they do. Staff aspire for pupils to have the confidence to make a difference in the world.

Class projects such as litter picking, raising funds to sponsor a gorilla or recycling tetra packs are all examples of this.

Pupils learn about physical and mental health through the school's personal, social and health education programme. This includes age-appropriate relationships and sex education.

Tolerance and respect for different cultures and faiths are taught in a number of ways, including special assemblies. Older pupils' books showed their work on aspects such as developing self-belief and understanding their personal rights and responsibilities as a citizen to be comprehensive.

Parents and staff who talked to inspectors or replied to Ofsted's questionnaires were equally positive about the school.

One parent summed feelings up by commenting: 'Bodsham may be small in size, but its impact is enormous. A brilliantly led school, fair, brave, fun, an inspiring place to learn.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The culture to keep pupils safe is strong. One teacher described how she felt 'safe' to be a member of staff here, because she has complete confidence in leaders to make the right decisions when action needs to be taken to safeguard pupils.

Arrangements to recruit staff are robust.

The correct checks are carried out on adults working or volunteering at the school. Pupils learn to stay safe through the formal curriculum and through discrete events, such as assemblies or other focused events. This includes staying safe when online and understanding the potential dangers associated with social media.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all curriculum schemes of work detail the specific component knowledge that teachers require to plan effective learning over time. This means that teachers are not well equipped to plan learning that builds on the key knowledge pupils have learned in the past. Nor do teachers have a clear enough idea of how the specific knowledge that they teach will be built on in the future.

As a result, pupils do not make the progress through the curriculum as well as they might in subjects such as history and geography. Leaders have already started to address this issue. They now need to act with renewed energy to address this shortcoming.