Bulwell St Mary’s Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

Pupils make good progress in English and mathematics, often from very low starting points. Progress is improving rapidly due to robust and rigorous leadership. Good teaching has resulted in rising standards over the last three years and this is continuing.

Current standards in Year 6 are much higher than they were in the 2013 national tests, and far more pupils are reaching higher levels in their work. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning and good relationships with adults and each other. They behave consistently well.

Pupils are well cared for and feel safe. Parents and carers are very positive about the work of the ...school. The executive headteacher has maintained a sharp focus on school improvement since her appointment.

The leadership of other senior leaders and the governing body has had a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and raising standards since the creation of the partnership. A major strength has been the use of training to improve teachers' leadership skills so that school improvement activities can be successfully shared among staff. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Pupils are not yet reaching the same standards in reading as in writing and mathematics, and they do not always understand what they are reading.

Pupils have a narrow vocabulary, and their speaking and listening skills are not as strong as they should be. Progress in Years 3 and 4 is less rapid in some lessons because teachers do not always make clear to pupils what is expected or check carefully how well they are learning as the lesson progresses. At times the most able pupils in lower Key Stage 2 are not given hard enough work.

Information about this school

Bulwell St Mary's Primary and Nursery School is part of a formal partnership with two other local Church of England schools who share the same executive headteacher but have their own heads of school and governing body. The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The large majority of pupils are White British.

Very few speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.

A well-above-average proportion of pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which in this school provides additional funding for pupils who are in local authority care or known to be eligible for free school meals. The school runs a breakfast club for pupils. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics.