Byfleet Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Byfleet Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 13 June 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since you became interim headteacher in April 2018, ably assisted by the newly appointed acting headteacher, you have wasted no time in ensuring that the school focuses on areas that are key to further improvement. You have managed the school skilfu...lly during a time of staffing changes and possible forthcoming academisation.

You have continued the work of previous leaders, addressing the areas for improvement that were identified at the previous inspection. The most able pupils are now routinely challenged, particularly in mathematics and reading. By the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2, the proportion attaining the higher standard in mathematics and reading is at least in line with other pupils nationally.

Work in pupils' books, evidence from moderation activities with other schools and school tracking data indicate that this trend is likely to continue this year. However, you recognise that more work needs to be done to raise the proportion of pupils who attain above the expected standard in writing by the end of Year 6, and you have started to address this. Governors are highly supportive of the school.

They know the school well and hold leaders to account for the school's work. For example, they have set you a number of targets to achieve during your tenure as interim headteacher. The progress towards these targets is closely monitored, checked and reviewed.

Most parents are highly supportive of the school. Nearly all who responded to Ofsted's online survey, Parent View, said that their child is happy at the school and that they would recommend the school to other parents. 'A lovely, friendly school with approachable staff' is just one of many similar comments received about the school.

Parents also support the school through a wide range of fund-raising activities. For example, they recently donated money to support refurbishment of the swimming pool, enabling all pupils to have weekly swimming lessons throughout the summer months. Pupils' behaviour is good around the school.

Pupils play well together at breaktimes. They speak enthusiastically about the equipment that is available for them to use, for example the popular trim trail, zip-wire and recently installed book shed. In class, they are keen to learn, settle quickly and listen attentively both to staff and each other.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They describe the school as 'caring' and their teachers as 'friendly and fair'. In the past, the number of pupils who were persistently absent from school had been above the national average.

Steps taken by leaders, the attendance officer and your home/school worker have resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of persistent absentees, which is now well below the national average. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding arrangements are highly effective.

Records are well maintained and of high quality. When recruiting staff, leaders carry out all relevant checks to ensure that staff are safe to work with pupils. All staff receive up-to-date training to an appropriate level and know what to do should they be concerned about a pupil.

In addition, safeguarding is on the agenda of every staff meeting to ensure that it remains a high priority for all staff. Governors are diligent in checking school leaders' work. They visit the school regularly to check that records are maintained, procedures are followed correctly and that any health and safety issues are identified and addressed immediately.

All governors have received appropriate safeguarding training and several are trained in the safer recruitment of staff. Pupils are taught to be safe in a variety of situations. For example, they know how to stay safe online, when cycling on roads and when they are around water.

Parents are invited to attend safer internet evenings and pupils have produced safeguarding information leaflets, which are given to parents at the start of the year. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, we looked closely at specific aspects of the school's provision, including: the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements; pupils' progress in writing in key stage 1 and key stage 2; the progress of disadvantaged and most-able disadvantaged pupils; and the progress of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. ? In Year 6 in 2017, pupils' progress in writing since the end of Year 2, particularly the progress of middle-ability pupils, was well below that made in writing by similar pupils nationally.

As a result, leaders and governors quickly engaged the local authority to help them identify reasons for this and to assist in changing the way that writing was taught across the school. It was identified that, even though pupils were attaining well above the national average in grammar, punctuation and spelling, they were not always transferring these skills to their independent writing. Leaders also found that pupils were not being given enough opportunities to write at length in other curriculum areas.

This is now being addressed. For example, staff have undertaken training on how to improve pupils' ability to write at greater depth and planning has been adapted to ensure that pupils have more opportunities to write. ? Leaders have introduced regular scrutiny of writing across the school and staff are held more readily to account if a pupil is underperforming.

The work seen in pupils' books, displays around the school, monitoring reports from the local authority and school tracking data all indicate that these measures are having a positive effect on pupils' progress in writing. You are, however, fully aware that these changes will take time to become fully embedded across the school. ? Leaders are aware that, in the past, many new initiatives introduced to improve writing across the school were changed before their effectiveness could be fully assessed.

Similarly, you have identified that middle leaders need further support from senior leaders to lead their subjects effectively, for example by being able to observe teaching, or to play a full role in analysing pupils' progress within their subject. Plans are now in place to address this in the next academic year. ? There is a higher-than-average number of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities at your school than is found nationally.

The highly skilled and committed SEN leader ensures that all pupils receive appropriate support from her and her team of well-trained support assistants. The decision to train support assistants in specific areas has helped to develop a team that is skilled at addressing the needs of pupils with wide-ranging needs. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make similar or better progress from their starting points when compared to other pupils nationally.

This is due to careful monitoring and tracking, adjustment of interventions as needed and staff keeping up to date with the latest expert advice. ? Disadvantaged pupils make good progress at your school. In 2017, they made better progress by the end of Year 6 in both reading and mathematics than other pupils nationally.

In 2017, the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in Year 2 were broadly in line with national outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupil premium funding is monitored and used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils, enabling them to play a full role in the school, for example by attending breakfast club and taking part in school trips and residential visits. Disadvantaged pupils are carefully tracked by staff to ensure that they are making good progress and that timely interventions are put in place should they begin to fall behind.

Work in books and in school tracking data indicates that disadvantaged pupils are making at least good progress and, in some cases, rapid progress from their starting points. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? pupils make better progress in writing so that standards are higher at the end of both key stage 1 and key stage 2 ? the skills of middle leaders are developed to secure consistently high-quality teaching and learning. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Surrey.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Brian Macdonald Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you and the acting headteacher on several occasions throughout the day to discuss the school's effectiveness. Together, we observed learning in every year group and looked at pupils' work.

I met with two governors, including the chair of the governing body, and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I looked at the school's documentation relating to governance, safeguarding, and pupils' progress and attainment. I spoke to pupils, both in the classroom and at play.

I considered 31 survey responses submitted by staff, the 76 parental responses to Ofsted's confidential online survey, Parent View, and 73 free-text responses. I also spoke to several parents before school. There were no responses to the pupil online survey.

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