Bonner Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bonner Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Bonner Primary School is a very happy, friendly and inclusive place in which to learn. School leaders strive successfully to ensure that all pupils develop a sense of confidence, respect and a love of learning. Pupils work hard and achieve well.

Pupils are well prepared for their next stages of learning.

Pupils are polite and respectful to adults and towards each other. Behaviour in class is exemplary and there is little time lost to learning.

This is because the school establishes high expectations of pupils' beh...aviour from Nursery onwards.

The school supports all pupils in their studies well. This includes disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils with SEND flourish, alongside their peers.

Pupils feel safe in this school. Pupils say that adults listen to them and support them with any worries.

The school has an accurate understanding of pupils' individual needs.

Pupils enjoy taking on leadership responsibilities across the school. They talk with pride about their roles as change makers, digital leaders and eco-warriors.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of visits that include museum trips, art galleries and a residential visit for Year 6.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced. Pupils are introduced to new knowledge and vocabulary in a logical order.

In core subjects, such as mathematics, pupils remember their learning well, talking confidently about what they are doing now and what they have covered before. However, pupils do not remember important knowledge securely in some areas of the curriculum. This is because teachers do not always revisit important prior learning or consistently address misconceptions.

Overall, pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages at the end of key stage 2.

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They ask questions that challenge pupils to think deeply.

Children get off to a great start in the early years. They learn on their own, as well as being able to work and play together effectively. Some aspects of the early years curriculum are of high quality, for example expressive arts and design, counting and language development.

However, staff sometimes do not pay enough attention to securing basic skills such as pencil grip and early letter formation. This affects pupils' handwriting, spelling and writing fluency as they move through the school.

The school has created an inclusive and nurturing environment where every pupil is welcome.

Pupils with SEND are supported in their learning and achieve well. The school identifies pupils' needs promptly and with accuracy. Learning is adapted effectively to enable pupils with SEND to learn the same curriculum as their peers.

Reading is a high priority. The school's approach to teaching early reading using phonics is effective. Children in the early years start learning phonics straight away.

Staff identify those pupils who fall behind. These pupils are given timely support to help them keep up. Pupils read books that closely match their stage of reading.

This helps them practise using their phonics knowledge to become confident, fluent readers. Pupils' enthusiasm and love of reading continue as they move through the school.

Pupils of different ages play together and enjoy each other's company.

They manage themselves well as they move around the school. Consistent routines help pupils to know what to do and when. This begins in the early years, where staff enable children to follow instructions very well.

The school places pupils' wider development at the heart of everything it does and is highly effective. Pupils talk confidently about what fundamental British values mean and how they relate to their own lives. Pupils understand about healthy eating and know what it means to be a good friend.

They know how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy and have a deep awareness of how to stay safe when online. The school's work helps pupils to become independent and self-assured.

The school maintains strong oversight of pupils' attendance.

Overall attendance is in line with local and national averages. Pupils are keen to come to school and enjoy all the extra-curricular activities on offer, such as Bangla club, badminton and coding lessons.

Governors know the school well.

They know its strengths and areas for improvement. They have thus ensured that the school has continued to improve its performance. Staff are proud to work at the school.

Parents and carers highly value the school's work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, sometimes, pupils' mistakes are not identified and addressed in a timely manner.

This means that misconceptions continue. Staff should ensure that pupils' misconceptions are identified and addressed swiftly to ensure pupils know more and can remember more over time. ? Sometimes, staff do not support pupils' early writing skills effectively.

This means that some pupils do not have secure transcription skills. This hampers their ability to write fluently because they cannot form their letters correctly. The school should ensure that strategies to support pupils with their writing and letter formation skills are in place so that pupils become confident writers.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in October 2019.