Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their school. Parents and carers say that their children cannot wait to get to school because of the exciting things they learn.

Leaders and teachers have high expectations for all pupils. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers plan lessons that encourage pupils to contribute their own ideas and to work hard.

Pupils say that learning is fun.

Pupils' very good behaviour contributes to a calm environment and good relationships. Pupils pl...ay well together in the school's extensive grounds.

They say that bullying is rare and they know that adults do not tolerate it. Pupils say they 'don't like it and they won't put up with it'. Pupils have confidence and trust in staff.

They know adults will take action to resolve issues that pupils raise.

Pupils know that they are listened to. They make suggestions to staff for additional activities and clubs.

Many pupils enjoy extra activities, such as drama club, Hindu dance, choir and sporting activities.

This is a school at the heart of its community. Leaders have a very strong partnership with parents.

Their common aim is to help pupils to excel, grow and follow their pathways.

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

The headteacher's exemplary practice has helped subject leaders to design a well-thought-out curriculum. Leaders are ambitious about the range of knowledge and skills they want pupils, including those with SEND, to learn.

They have identified the crucial knowledge in each subject that pupils must learn and by when. This allows pupils to build on what they already know and to contribute well to their own learning.

Teachers plan interesting activities for reading.

For example, they read stories from large computer screens while children pick out the sounds they are learning. Books are well-matched to the sounds being learned. Teachers encourage children to use their phonics skills when writing in a wide range of subjects.

Repeated use of phonics helps children remember sounds quickly.

Parents are strongly encouraged to support their children as they learn to read. Many are actively involved in this.

They listen regularly to children reading at home and take part in reading activities in school, such as the 'Teddy bears' picnic'. Pupils of all ages love reading and are exceptionally proud of the wide selection of books in the school library. Those who find reading more difficult get very skilful support to help them catch up.

Reading has a high profile in school and high-quality texts inform and enrich all subjects.

In early years, children develop communication and listening skills through well-planned activities. Effective questioning makes sure that children are always focused on learning.

Learning links together well. Reading 'Meg's castle' led to children building models, and learning about Castle Keep and the Angel of the North. Children wrote invitations and made banners for a birthday party.

This gave them a good purpose for writing. Outdoor learning is well resourced to meet the needs and interests of children.

Teachers capture pupils' interest.

They introduce topics with questions such as, 'Why is York a cool place to live?'. Pupils research York and chose different landmarks to write about. Work shows well-structured writing and accurate use of English grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Teachers check pupils' work to make sure that errors are dealt with immediately. Since pupils returned to school from periods of partial school closure linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, writing has improved quickly.

Teachers' explanations are clear.

This helps pupils to build secure knowledge to work independently and collaboratively with other pupils. The history curriculum is well planned. Pupils consider questions such as, 'Were my grandparents' toys more fun to play with than my [tablet]?' and write about life in the 1990s using a time capsule kept in school since 1996.

Pupils are developing good skills in history. They have used artefacts and historical sources to analyse life during the Second World War.

Many examples of pupils' high-quality work are displayed around school.

Subject leaders check the quality of pupils' work using a wide range of information. However, they do not routinely identify what teachers need to do even better to further improve education.

Pupils contribute well to the school and community as sports ambassadors, librarians and members of the eco-team.

They have a strong sense of equality, rights and responsibilities. They are aware of the different challenges children have to face in some other countries.

Governors fulfilled their duties throughout the pandemic.

They keep a close eye on staff workload and ensure that children are kept safe and well. They make sure that leaders promote the school's vision in helping pupils to 'grow in confidence and follow their pathway'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff receive regular training and know that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. They say their mantra is, 'It could happen here.'

Leaders act quickly and effectively to prevent risks to pupils. They work with parents and external agencies to make sure that children are safe. Thorough checks are made on the suitability of adults who work with pupils.

Pupils said they have learned about road safety as well as respecting other's personal space. Pupils are very aware of the risks they might face online and how to manage these.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Subject leaders design interesting content for pupils to study.

They check the quality of pupils' work and knowledge in detail. However, subject leaders are not skilled in analysing teachers' practice to further develop teaching. They do not identify the next steps teachers should take to improve their practice.

The headteacher should make sure that subject leaders receive training to help develop teaching further. Subject leaders should identify good practice and share it across the school to help enable pupils to excel in their learning.

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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2016.