Bowmandale Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bowmandale Primary School continues to be a good school.

There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Bowmandale Primary School is a welcoming, happy and friendly school.

Pupils told the inspector that 'everyone is a friend at Bowmandale'. This sentiment is shared by staff and many parents and carers. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from the school's nurturing approach.

Everyone involved with ...the school is a valued member of its community.

Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. From the moment they start at the school, pupils learn how to conduct themselves appropriately.

Pupils are respectful and kind to others. They demonstrate positive attitudes and commitment to their learning. Well-established routines contribute to a calm and purposeful learning environment.

Incidents of bullying are extremely rare. Leaders do not tolerate bullying.

Pupils recognise and value the range of opportunities available to them in school.

They are enthused by the school's curriculum and talk with confidence about what they have learned. Many pupils benefit from participating in the extra-curricular clubs on offer. Termly 'inspire afternoons' enable all pupils to learn new skills, such as golf, badminton and how to make an insect house.

This broadens pupils' learning experiences.

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

Leaders have developed a highly ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND. They have precisely mapped out the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn from Reception through to Year 6.

Leaders regularly review the curriculum and consider what more can be done to make it the best it can be for all pupils. Consequently, pupils, including the most disadvantaged, achieve well by the time they leave the school. This prepares them well for moving on to secondary school.

Leaders ensure that staff benefit from high-quality professional development. Subject-specific training focuses on ways in which to deepen pupils' understanding of topics and concepts. As a consequence, staff develop strong subject knowledge, which enables them to teach the entire curriculum with confidence.

Subject leaders have identified the important skills that need to be regularly revisited. In mathematics, pupils develop confidence in arithmetic through frequent opportunities to practise. This helps them to solve increasingly complex problems.

Pupil 'maths ambassadors' help their peers to learn multiplication and division facts. Pupils are eager to develop their knowledge and skills further. They choose to practise their multiplication facts in their own time.

Pupils are proud of the progress they have made in their learning.

Across the curriculum, teachers ensure that concepts are regularly revisited. They check that pupils have remembered key knowledge at the beginning of lessons.

Teachers use questioning effectively in order to clarify and develop pupils' thinking. From a young age, pupils provide reasoned explanations to their answers. Pupils with SEND are supported very well.

Teachers identify the small steps that pupils with SEND need to make progress. Pupils are well supported when working in class.

Pupils benefit from regular opportunities to enhance the curriculum through visitors to school or visits to places of interest.

These experiences enable pupils to make connections in their learning and apply them in other curriculum areas. Following a recent topic in geography about natural disasters, which included a visit to a science and technology centre, pupils told the inspector enthusiastically what they had learned about volcanoes and how they erupt.

Leaders have established a consistent approach to the teaching of reading in the school.

Children begin to learn phonics from the start of Reception. Pupils develop the skills required to read with fluency and accuracy. The small number of pupils who need additional help are supported effectively by adults to catch up.

Pupils read with increasing confidence and expression as they progress through the school. Carefully selected texts used in lessons, books read to pupils by class teachers and access to the class libraries help to foster a love of reading.

Children in the early years enjoy completing challenges to learn new things.

They engage in tasks for sustained periods, demonstrating high levels of concentration. Adults enable children to develop independence in their learning. During the inspection, children explored how the rain on the playground changed the patterns and textures of their chalk drawings.

The school offers an impressive range of opportunities to support pupils' broader development. Visits to the theatre, as well as performing at events, provide pupils with cultural experiences, and they help to develop their confidence. Pupils gain skills in leadership through roles such as house captain and eco-ambassador.

Members of the school council organise and run the Christmas fair. They recently wrote and delivered speeches at the Barton town mayor's civic ceremony.

Governors' regular visits to the school enable them to make informed decisions.

Termly review days provide opportunities for them to see the school in action and the impact of the curriculum on pupils. Governors know the school in depth. They provide appropriate challenge to leaders.

Governors check that the decisions they make do not adversely impact on staff workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Established procedures are in place to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

Staff know that it is important to record all information on the school's management of information system, no matter how small, as this can form part of a bigger picture. Weekly updates, as well as regular training for staff and governors, ensure that safeguarding has a high priority in school.

E-safety ambassadors promote important messages in assemblies about how to keep safe online.

Lessons about river and road safety teach pupils about staying safe in their local area. All pupils learn first-aid skills when they are in key stage 2.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 in December 2012.

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