Bousfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a cheerful and welcoming school.

Pupils are polite, considerate and respectful to each other and the adults. From the earliest opportunity, staff encourage children to speak out if they feel something is making them feel uncomfortable or unhappy. Staff deal swiftly with any rare incidents of bullying.

Pupils are safe in school.

Leaders have high expectations that pupils will learn well. They make sure that pupils practise and develop knowledge and skills in class and encourage them to do so at home.

Leaders provide guidance to parents and carers to help them support their children's learning, including information about developing children's ...use of phonics and their love of reading.

Pupils are enthusiastic about educational outings and special events that bring learning to life. The recent 'eco expo' raised pupils' awareness of environmental issues and made links with their learning in different subjects like science and geography.

Pupils have opportunities to take on responsibilities such as being members of the school council or eco council. They are proud when leaders act on their ideas, such as having fundraising events for different charities.

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

Pupils study a wide range of subjects.

Leaders ensure that the key facts and skills pupils learn at least match the content and ambition of the national curriculum. Subject leaders have organised the order in which new subject content is taught so that pupils reinforce and build on what they already know and move on to applying their knowledge and skills to more demanding work.

In a few subjects, leaders are still in the process of refining the curriculum, deciding what subject content pupils need to know and the order in which subject content should be taught.

Subject leaders check regularly how well pupils learn. They use teachers' assessment information to identify where there are gaps in pupils' knowledge. They take steps to improve how the curriculum is taught.

Subject leaders and specialist teachers in physical education, music and dance provide training so that teachers know what is expected of them and receive a boost to their subject knowledge when needed. Staff give pupils additional help if they are falling behind. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported so that they access the same curriculum content as others.

Across the school, a love of reading is promoted strongly. Pupils are encouraged to read books daily at school and at home. Leaders have chosen a new programme for the teaching of phonics and ensured that all staff have received training to deliver it effectively.

The programme is embedded in the early years where children rapidly develop their early reading skills. Leaders are currently revising the school's approach to teaching early reading to any older pupils who need additional help to develop reading fluency. However, where the new programme is used alongside existing strategies, pupils who need extra support with reading are not helped to build their fluency as effectively.

In the early years, children are highly motivated. Their social and communication skills develop rapidly as they share, take turns and invite friends to join in with activities. Adults encourage children's use of subject-specific vocabulary.

This strong foundation ensures that children are well prepared to start Year 1. Pupils throughout the school are attentive and settled in class so that learning proceeds uninterrupted. Their positive attitudes are promoted by teachers' high expectations for pupils' achievement and well-thought-through curriculum content.

Pupils attend clubs that extend their learning in different subjects or introduce them to new pastimes, like coding and chess. Leaders promote healthy lifestyles across the curriculum, including in physical education, dance, and personal, social and health education. Staff and pupils appreciate leaders' work to promote the importance of mental health and well-being.

Leaders have engaged professional counselling services, organised staff training and communicated sources of support to parents, pupils and staff.

Leaders have given much consideration to the content and delivery of relationships and sex education across the school. Leaders ensure that themes such as healthy and unhealthy relationships, respecting each other's feelings and body space, appropriate and inappropriate behaviours and puberty are covered in an age-appropriate way.

Leaders provide helpful guidance if there is any aspect of work that staff find difficult. They take thoughtful steps to support staff with their workload.

Leaders, including members of the governing body, maintain strong communication with families so that parents are well informed about their children's experience of school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are knowledgeable about up-to-date safeguarding requirements. They provide training and reminders to staff and expect all to be alert to the slightest indication that a child may be at risk.

Staff know and follow correct procedures for making referrals. Leaders work with outside agencies to seek advice and to provide further support for families.

Guidance to pupils on how to keep safe and recognise risks to their well-being is woven through the curriculum.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe online and how to report any concerns to a trusted adult.

Leaders make the required checks when recruiting staff and when pupils leave the school. Leaders have recently tightened the processes for the recording of these checks.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the key facts and skills that subject leaders expect pupils to learn, and the order in which they should be taught, are not as fully established as in other subjects. This limits the effectiveness with which pupils build up their knowledge and skills in these subjects. Leaders should determine and implement their intended progression of knowledge and understanding in these subjects, and ensure that pupils build up cumulative knowledge.

• Leaders are in the early stages of embedding the new programme for teaching phonics beyond the early years. Where this is combined with existing strategies in Years 1 to 6, the impact for pupils who need extra support with reading is not as strong as it could be. Leaders should ensure consistency of approach to the teaching of early reading beyond early years so that all pupils develop reading fluency rapidly.

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