Buckminster Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This small school plays an important part in the local community. Pupils enjoy attending. They are happy and safe here.

The school has been through significant changes and is proud of the improvements that have been made.

The expectations of what pupils will learn, and when, have increased, following guidance and training for staff. The curriculum is beginning to enable pupils to make better progress.

However, many of these curriculum changes are at an early stage. Parts of the curriculum are not fully embedded and there is variability in how it is being implemented.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

They model the school ...values of being responsible, respectful and reflective. Pupils learn without distraction and have positive relationships with one another. They feel confident that should they have any worries, they could share them with a trusted adult, who would support them.

Pupils value the positions of responsibility that they hold in school. The sports ambassadors enjoy leading activities during 'workout Wednesdays'. Pupils love the opportunities to play games, exercise and socialise.

They take part in after-school clubs such as film nights, choir and rugby.

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

There have been some very positive improvements to the education of pupils at Buckminster in a short space of time. However, the improved curriculum has only recently been introduced in some subjects.

It will take time for pupils to close gaps in their knowledge. Some subjects are further developed than others. In some subjects, the school has not considered fully how pupils in mixed-age classes can build on their prior learning.

At times, this can mean that the curriculum is not always ambitious enough.

Pupils learn across a broad range of subjects. They are keen to take part in enjoyable activities.

However, the precise knowledge that pupils will learn over time is not always clear. This includes the curriculum in the early years. Consequently, children and pupils are not always able to explore different concepts in depth.

The school's approach to the teaching of reading is developing. As soon as they start school in Reception, children practise saying the sounds that they are learning. Across the school, staff keep a close eye on pupils who are not keeping up with the pace of the programme.

They put support in place so that these pupils can catch up. However, there is more work to do to ensure that all staff use appropriate strategies when supporting pupils in their reading. This inconsistency means that some less confident readers struggle to sound out the words that they encounter.

This prevents them from developing into fluent readers quickly.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support to access the curriculum and make progress. The school identifies barriers to the learning of pupils with SEND and works well to resolve these.

Pupils' individual targets are more precise and relevant to their needs. The school has put in place suitable intervention strategies to support pupils' needs. Pupils with SEND are happy and confident learners.

Pupils behave well across the school. Staff make their expectations clear, and pupils enjoy meeting these. Pupils treat each other with kindness.

They show maturity in their interactions. Older pupils enjoy being role models for younger children. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong.

However, they do not have a secure understanding of some key knowledge that will prepare them for later life. Their knowledge of different faiths and cultures is limited.

The personal, social and health education curriculum is coherently organised.

However, this is very new. The school has a clear plan to develop pupils' wider knowledge of life in modern Britain. This includes visits to different places of worship and learning from people in the community, such as the police and paramedics.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to understand the importance of being active in their community. Singing at events and raising money for charities prepare pupils to be good citizens.

The school has wasted no time in addressing previously significant areas of concern.

Many staff are new to the school. They are determined to continue to make positive changes to life in school. Staff feel proud to work at this school.

They all want to do their best for the community that they serve. This is a forward-thinking school that is working tirelessly to provide the best that they can for all of its pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not ensured that the curriculum is planned and taught consistently well in some subjects. The curriculum is not modified well enough to meet the needs and abilities of pupils in mixed-age classes. As a result, some pupils do not build and retain important knowledge and skills as well as they might.

The school needs to ensure that the curriculum sets out the precise knowledge that pupils will learn, and that staff have the subject expertise to deliver the curriculum, so that pupils can achieve as well as they could. ? The curriculum in early years has not been broken down into a precise enough sequence. As a result, children do not build their knowledge and skills systematically in all areas of learning.

The school should review the early years curriculum, ensuring that children build their knowledge and skills step by step, in readiness for the next stages of their education. ? The support for pupils who need help with reading is inconsistent. Books that pupils read do not always match the sounds that they know.

This means that some pupils are not becoming fluent readers as quickly as they could. The school should ensure that the books pupils read match the sounds they know. It should also ensure that all staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to provide effective support, so that pupils quickly become fluent and accurate readers.

• There have not been sufficient opportunities for pupils to engage with other cultures, faiths and lifestyles. Pupils do not have deep understanding of the breadth of different cultures in modern Britain. The school should ensure that through the curriculum and well-planned wider experiences, there are effective opportunities to broaden pupils' experiences and develop their knowledge of diversity and difference in British society.