St Barnabas’ Church of England Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at school each day gleefully.

Parents and carers greet each other cheerfully. Children embrace the school values of encouragement, wisdom and friendship. As a result, families of different cultures and faiths choose this school.

Pupils behave well. In lessons, they listen to teachers' instructions and respond thoughtfully to questions. Older pupils look after younger pupils in the playground.

Pupils engage with visitors and speak proudly of their school. Bullying is extremely rare. There is a robust response from leaders if it does happen.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. They have improved many aspects of the curriculum over the p...ast year. However, leaders recognise that the quality of education is not yet good.

Some pupils are not as successful as they should be. This is because leaders' ambitious curriculum plans are not yet fully developed.

The school is at the heart of the community.

Diversity is celebrated. Pupils learn about different cultures. This helps them to understand what it is like to grow up in modern Britain.

Trips to local landmarks and faith settings help them to appreciate the distinct community they live in. Pupils learn humility and charity by raising money for local causes. They help to organise the popular community fun run.

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

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There has been a substantial emphasis on strengthening the curriculum this academic year. English and mathematics have been a focus.

In these subjects, leaders have precisely identified what pupils should know and be able to do. New knowledge and skills build over time. However, in foundation subjects, the ambitious restructure of the curriculum is not yet complete.

This means that leaders have not finalised their detailed curriculum thinking.

In the wider curriculum, assessment is not used as effectively as it should be. Teachers do not always check that pupils are following the curriculum.

As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning that are not addressed. Knowledgeable leaders provide accurate information about the needs of pupils with SEND. Teachers adapt the curriculum to meet their needs.

However, leaders have not ascertained the effectiveness of support provided. Consequently, the adaptations for some pupils are not reviewed regularly enough in order to meet their needs fully.

Children get off to a strong start in the early years.

They learn to read from the start of Nursery. Expert staff lead the teaching of early reading. However, not all staff have received sufficient training to teach phonics with precision.

Early reading lessons are, therefore, not as effective as they should be. Books are well matched to the sounds that pupils know. This helps them to practise reading effectively.

Support is available for any pupils who have fallen behind. As such, they catch up quickly.Pupils make regular use of the vibrant library.

This, together with daily story time and regular author visits, helps pupils develop a love of reading.

Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Staff provide effective care and pastoral support for pupils who need it.

Leaders have high expectations for behaviour. They ensure that staff apply the school rules with consistency. Most pupils attend school regularly and benefit from taking a full part in the life of the school.

However, some pupils do not attend regularly enough. Leaders' strategies to improve attendance are not as effective as they could be. As a result, the attendance of some pupils is not improving rapidly.

The school's work to support pupils' wider development is strong. The coherent programme of personal, social and health education is age-appropriate. Pupils and parents value the wide range of clubs on offer.

Many pupils participate and develop interests and talents as a result. Cooking club is very popular. Pupils love the weekly swimming lessons.

There is an active school council. Pupils know that their views matter. Recently, pupils voted on a significant change to the school menu because of their concern for the environment.

Governors have steered the school through a period of change. Their understanding of what is working well and what needs to improve is still evolving. Recent changes and governor recruitment have strengthened governance.

Governors know to ask probing questions and hold leaders to account. Staff are positive and loyal. Since the arrival of the interim headteacher, staff value the reinvigoration of standards.

However, staff training for the effective delivery of the curriculum and the productive use of assessment is not as effective as it should be. Parents feel that their children are happy and do well in the school. Several parents commented positively about the improvements made this academic year.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding practice is strong. Leaders have clear systems in place to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

Staff are vigilant. Regular training ensures that staff know what to do if they are concerned about a pupil. Leaders follow up any concerns diligently.

Pupils feel safe in school and know where to go for help if they need it. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online. Importantly, pupils have age-appropriate knowledge of how to stay safe in the community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority) ? Leaders' critical work to develop the curriculum in foundation subjects is not complete. This means that there is not enough clarity for teachers about precisely what pupils should know and be able to do in all subjects. Leaders and governors must ensure that recent curriculum development is completed as soon as possible.

• Assessment processes in foundation subjects are not sufficiently well developed. Consequently, not all teachers systematically check what pupils have remembered from previous lessons or place enough emphasis on helping pupils to remember key knowledge and skills. Leaders need to ensure that effective assessment is embedded in the wider curriculum.

• Leaders' actions to improve the attendance of a small number of pupils are not having enough impact. This means that some pupils are missing important learning in school too regularly. Leaders need to review and refine the systems for improving attendance to ensure that these pupils attend school regularly.

• Leaders have not ensured that the professional development of teachers and teaching assistants has been precise enough. Not all staff are fully trained to deliver critical aspects of their work. Leaders must ensure that all staff have access to continual professional development to improve the quality of teaching across the school.