Boringdon Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their learning.

They are positive about their work and learn well. This positivity starts in Reception where children quickly develop confidence and independence. They sustain interest in activities well, which sets them up with the stamina needed for key stage 1.

Throughout the school, pupils listen well to one another. They take turns and collaborate well.

Pupils are polite and respectful.

They know the rules and understand that their actions have consequences. Pupils feel that adults use the new behaviour policy consistently and fairly. If there are incidents that worry them, they trust adults to sort them out effectively.
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Relationships are strong. Pupils and parents value the pastoral support from the school. Robust management of attendance ensures that pupils come to school regularly so that they do not miss important learning.

Pupils participate in a wide range of clubs and activities that broaden their interests. They know how being active helps their physical and mental health. They are proud of the charitable work they do.

This contributes to their development as responsible citizens.

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

The school and the trust are ambitious for every pupil, including those who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This vision has driven recent changes within the school.

The trust has robustly challenged and supported the school. As a result of this, new leadership has brought about rapid improvements.

In partnership with the trust, the school accurately evaluates the quality of the curriculum.

It uses these evaluations to reshape the curriculum where necessary. As a result, many subjects are well developed. The school has identified and sequenced the knowledge it wants pupils to learn.

This is also the case in the early years where the curriculum is carefully sequenced to prepare children well for key stage 1.

The school has also identified concepts it wants pupils to understand. For example, in history, pupils learn about the use of technology in each time period studied.

As a result, they understand the impact human inventions have had from the stone age to modern times. Pupils make good links across subjects. This is because the school has aligned many subjects so that the content is coherent.

Where the curriculum is more developed, the school has a precise understanding of how well pupils learn. In a few subjects, these links across subjects are not as precise, and the knowledge is not as clearly broken down. In these subjects pupils do not learn as well.

Following the pandemic, the school has prioritised pupils' mastery of fundamental knowledge in mathematics and English. Pupils know what they call the 'nuts and bolts' of writing and understand how using these makes their writing better. They are proud of the improvements to their writing.

They write well in a range of genres. The focus on pupils' fluency in number means children in Reception and beyond enjoy success when reasoning or solving problems.

Pupils learn to read well.

Children get off to a flying start with phonics when they join in Reception. They quickly begin to blend sounds to read simple words. Staff use their strong subject knowledge to help pupils to read with accuracy and fluency.

This includes pupils with SEND and those who need further support. Effective teaching of decoding skills and vocabulary sets pupils up well for more complex reading beyond the phonics programme. Pupils enjoy the books they read.

Staff benefit from effective training. They value the school-based and trust-wide collaboration and training. This develops their subject knowledge and skills.

Staff use effective ways for pupils with SEND to learn the curriculum alongside their peers. As a result, pupils with SEND learn well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• A few curriculum subjects are not as developed as others. Where they are less developed, pupils do not learn as well. The school must ensure that all subjects are securely developed and embedded so that pupils know more and remember more across the curriculum.

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