Bramcote CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bramcote Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are eager to learn new things and love spending time with their friends.

Pupils get on well together and respect each other. In this positive school atmosphere, pupils thrive.

Staff have high expectations of pupils.

Pupils understand the importance of the school's values. They readily uphold these values through their good behaviour and can-do attitudes. They like celebrating their own and other's achievements through weekly awards.

Members of the pupil parliament are proud of their work to improve the school ...and support the local community.

Pupils feel safe in school. They know that staff will look after them.

Pupils care about each other. Older pupils help younger ones and act as positive role models. Bullying is unusual.

When pupils fall out, staff sort out their differences swiftly. Pupils new to school make friends quickly. Everyone is welcome.

Most parents and carers are pleased with what the school offers their children. One parent, typical of many, said, 'My child is known, cared about, encouraged and supported.' Some parents would like to know more about what their children learn in school.

They say that communication between home and school could be better.

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

Leaders are revising the school's curriculum. For each subject, they are identifying the important knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn at each stage.

This work is progressing well, but is not yet complete. Leaders are still developing the curriculums in a few subjects, including design and technology and geography. This is partly because the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the pace of these improvements.

Children start to learn phonics as soon as they join Reception Year. Pupils in early years and key stage 1 benefit from daily phonics sessions. A well-structured programme helps pupils learn to match letters and sounds in a consistent way.

Pupils use their decoding skills routinely to sound out unfamiliar words. Teachers revisit tricky sounds so that pupils remember them. Leaders arrange extra help for pupils who fall behind.

However, a small number of these pupils do not get the support they need to catch up quickly. These pupils' books are not well matched to the sounds they know. They cannot read these books fluently.

Leaders are reviewing this support to make sure that these pupils can catch up. Pupils contribute enthusiastically during daily story times. Older pupils enjoy reading books they have chosen.

They know why it is important to be a good reader.

The mathematics curriculum is well thought through. It follows a logical order, beginning with Reception Year.

Pupils revisit important knowledge on a cycle, each time deepening their learning. Teachers frequently check pupils' understanding and correct any misconceptions. They make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the help they need.

In lessons, pupils often opt for activities that challenge them and make them think. Teachers move pupils on once their knowledge is secure, so that they can try more difficult tasks. Pupils enjoy studying mathematics and achieve well.

Adults support children well in early years. There is a strong focus on developing children's speech, language and communication. Adults use skilful questions to encourage children to talk about their learning.

Children engage well with a range of well-planned activities. They cooperate effectively with each other and grow in confidence.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

Well-established routines help pupils to settle down in lessons and focus quickly on their work. Staff deal with any disruptions swiftly so that pupils' learning is not affected.

Pupils develop an understanding of the range of faiths and cultures in modern Britain.

They value opportunities to make a positive difference. For instance, they contribute to the Hope Nottingham food bank and their posters are displayed in the children's ward of the local hospital. Pupils learned about the COP26 Climate Change Conference, and have identified actions they will take to protect the environment.

The school is well led. Staff appreciate steps taken by leaders to help them manage their workload and promote their well-being. Governors are ambitious for the school and its pupils.

They know precisely how well the school is doing. Governors provide leaders with appropriate challenge and support, and agree leaders' priorities for improvement. Leaders benefit from close links with other schools in the local diocese.

They value the support they get when they attend local diocesan networks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

They say that they have someone to talk with if they are worried about something. They are confident that staff will take their concerns seriously.

Staff know how to spot whether a pupil is at risk of harm.

They report any concerns promptly to leaders. Staff have had recent safeguarding training, including about particular risks in the local area.

Leaders know pupils and their families well.

They provide close support to pupils who are vulnerable. They involve external agencies when necessary if pupils need extra support.During the inspection, leaders acted quickly to improve some minor safeguarding procedures.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects, such as geography and design and technology. It is not yet fully clear what pupils should learn and when in these subjects to build their knowledge over time. However, it is clear that leaders have begun to review and plan the curriculum in these subjects and are making any necessary amendments in response to the pandemic.

For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied. ? A small minority of pupils have fallen behind with their reading, in part as a result of the pandemic. Reading books that these pupils are given do not always match precisely their knowledge of phonics.

Support for these pupils is not helping them to catch up as quickly as they should. Leaders need to ensure that these pupils get the help they need to become fluent and accurate readers. ? Communication by leaders with parents is sometimes not as effective as it could be.

Some parents feel that leaders do not keep them informed well enough about what their children are learning and how they can support them. Leaders need to ensure that they keep parents up to date with information about the effective work they are doing to care for and support pupils.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2012.

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