Branton St Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Branton St Wilfrid's Church of England Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Branton St Wilfrid's is a happy, welcoming school where pupils thrive. The school has high aspirations for its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils live up to these aspirations and achieve well.

The school is inclusive and celebrates the differences between people. Pupils enjoy strong, nurturing relationships with caring staff.

Pupils know that the adults in the school will help them if they have any worries. This fosters a deep s...ense of safety and belonging.

Pupils' behaviour throughout the school is positive.

Staff maintain a well-mannered and respectful environment using positive behaviour strategies. Adults encourage pupils to reflect on their actions. This approach helps pupils to manage their emotions and to make improved choices in how they behave.

Pupils enjoy opportunities to attend an interesting range of extra-curricular activities. These include football, choir and cooking clubs. Pupils value these opportunities as they allow them to develop their talents and interests.

Pupils take part in sports competitions and musical concerts. These showcase pupils' development and increase their confidence to perform in front of an audience. Pupils also learn important online safety skills.

Pupils understand how to protect themselves from harm and what to do if they have concerns.

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

The school has established a high-quality approach to teaching phonics and reading. Staff are trained to ensure it is delivered well, starting from early years.

This helps pupils to develop secure reading skills. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they are learning in the classroom. As a result, pupils quickly become confident readers.

The school uses checks of pupils' learning to identify any gaps or misconceptions in pupils' understanding. This allows the school to provide targeted support to promptly address any areas where pupils need extra help. This ensures that pupils successfully become fluent readers.

The school has created a curriculum that is highly effective. Leaders have worked successfully to develop the early years provision. Children get off to a positive start.

What they learn prepares them well for the curriculum in Year 1. Adults skilfully interact with children, extending their understanding. Children engage with highly effective activities when learning the school's curriculum indoors.

However, outdoor learning opportunities are not used as effectively as they could be.

The school prioritises securing pupils' fundamental skills in writing and mathematics. This builds a strong foundation of knowledge and allows pupils to achieve well across both subjects.

In the wider curriculum, adults use their deep subject knowledge to present new learning clearly. Pupils regularly discuss and debate new concepts. This has helped to make pupils' learning engaging.

It has cultivated pupils' commitment to build on their knowledge. Pupils behave well in classrooms and their attitudes to learning are positive. Leaders check what the pupils understand regularly.

Leaders use this understanding to revisit and address any gaps in pupils' knowledge. This is effective and pupils are well prepared for life beyond primary education.

The school quickly identifies the needs of pupils with SEND.

It works with external experts to ensure that staff understand how to support pupils to access the curriculum. The support that staff put in place is very closely aligned to pupils' needs. As a result, pupils with SEND are successful in accessing the curriculum and developing their understanding.

The school prioritises the personal development of pupils. Pupils access rich opportunities to build their character and their understanding of responsibility. This includes leadership roles within the school parliament.

These roles are meaningful and result in real change in the school. This leads pupils to develop a strong sense of accountability. Pupils learn about fundamental British values and protected characteristics.

Pupils' understanding is reinforced through assemblies and purposeful links in subjects such as history. Pupils develop a highly informed and mature understanding.

Leadership is a strength of the school.

Leaders provide a clear and purposeful vision for pupils' development. The school has established strong attendance practices, with effective monitoring and support that help to maintain high attendance rates across all pupil groups.

Staff are very positive about how leaders support their development and consider their well-being.

For example, leaders provide teaching resources that help teachers to manage their workload.

Those responsible for governance are committed and skilful. They are actively involved in the school.

The systems in place to check and challenge what school leaders do are strong. These help the governing body to fulfil its role and to continue to ensure the school's successful development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the early years, learning opportunities in the outdoor learning environment are not used as effectively as they could be. This means that children do not learn as well as they should. The school should take further action to improve how the curriculum is implemented when pupils are learning outdoors.

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 June 2019.