St Mary’s Bryanston Square CofE School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending this small 'village' school.

They enjoy learning the broad curriculum, and they comment that their learning is always fun. They work hard and are thoughtful towards others. Pupils appreciate the support that their teachers give them.

They speak about how they are always helped to do their best, commenting that they feel very safe.

The school is a cheerful and harmonious place. Pupils behave with high levels of kindness and respect for others.

Bullying is very rare. If it does occur, it is dealt with swiftly and effectively. Pupils support and listen to one another.

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including... those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils read enthusiastically. They learn a broad range of subjects and are taught how to make connections between subject content in different areas of the curriculum.

Their learning is enriched by frequent trips and events, and pupils value this.

Leaders want to help pupils to develop their characters and learn about how they can take practical steps to help others. Last year, for instance, the entire school community welcomed in over 30 children who were refugees from Afghanistan.

Leaders, staff and pupils saw this as an opportunity to live out the school's ethos of 'excellence with compassion'.

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

Leaders' work to develop the curriculum is rigorous, including in early years, where their actions have been particularly successful. They know what is working well, and they are tenacious in building on this and securing further improvements.

This is a key reason why pupils learn so effectively in many subjects.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad and ambitious for all. They have precisely identified the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn between Nursery and Year 6.

Leaders and staff check pupils' understanding and ensure they are ready to move on to the next stage of learning. For example, in physical education, pupils gradually increase their understanding of how to use space, build speed and throw and catch. They practise and use this knowledge often and in different contexts, such as when they play tag rugby.

The effective work that has been carried out by leaders on the curriculum is currently not consistently reflected in high national assessment outcomes in all areas. Leaders are already taking steps to address this. They are working on making sure that the delivery of the curriculum in all subjects is consistently well focused on the knowledge that pupils need to remember.

Subject leaders are trained to be experts in their areas of responsibility. They ensure that teaching consists of an engaging and well-sequenced series of lessons, which focuses on the aims of the planned curriculum. Curriculum design also weaves through opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding in a subject, such as by applying what they know in practical activities.

An example of this is in science, where pupils use their knowledge to plant and grow nutritious food in the 'edible garden'. This produce is then served in the canteen. In another example, pupils making scones learned about the nutritional value of the recipe, applying their mathematical knowledge to calculate quantities correctly.

Teachers know their classes very well. They ensure that pupils with SEND are identified and well supported.

Reading is the golden thread of the curriculum.

Pupils follow a well-sequenced reading curriculum. Their progression in phonics is checked carefully. Pupils who need more help with learning to read are quickly identified.

They receive additional support to help them catch up quickly. Pupils develop a love of reading. Leaders promote reading aloud, taking pupils to the local library and bookshop.

They also invite parents and carers in to read with their children regularly and organise special, whole-school reading events. 'Reading corners' are found in every classroom. Pupils also learn and recite several poems each year.

Learning in early years is exceptionally well planned to ensure that children are prepared for their next steps. It is also designed to support children to develop as resilient and ambitious learners.

Pupils and staff treat each other with kindness and respect.

Leaders consider how to make the school an engaging environment for learning and play. Pupils enjoy the range of activities on offer at breaktime, which includes hockey, scooting, hoopla and building dens.

Leaders ensure that character is threaded through the curriculum in the form of the six school values.

For example, pupils learn resilience by being supported to reflect on their mistakes. Pupils are encouraged to participate in the wider community through, for example, school councils and meeting local councillors. Leaders provide an extensive range of trips and activities, and these are made available to all pupils.

Leaders support staff with training and workload, and they ensure that they and staff share expertise within a network of local schools.

Governors are dedicated and well informed. They act as critical friends to school leaders.

Parents are extremely positive about the school. They comment that it feels like a family.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are experts and well trained in safeguarding. They ensure that staff are aware of how to recognise and report risks, including those that occur most frequently in the local area. Leaders make appropriate referrals and work with local partners to ensure that pupils' needs are met.

Leaders ensure that pupils have a number of ways to report concerns and worries. Pupils are well supported and safe. Their concerns are dealt with promptly and effectively.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe through a well-planned curriculum. Leaders work with families to ensure the safety of pupils. Parents appreciate leaders' collaborative approach.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The impact of leaders' effective work to embed a broad and well-sequenced curriculum is not, at present, consistently reflected in pupils' outcomes in national assessments in all areas. The delivery of the curriculum has not consistently pinpointed and prioritised the knowledge and skills that pupils needed to learn and remember over time. Leaders should continue their work to strengthen curriculum implementation, and, in turn, the development of pupils' knowledge in the areas that they have identified across the school.