The Boyle and Petyt Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

The Boyle and Petyt Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's character is one of kindness and care. Nursery and Reception children play alongside older key stage 2 pupils during break. The mix of ages extends to eating together at lunch.

Pupils look after each other and care about each other. One pupil said that if they saw that another pupil was distressed, they would 'rush over to help'. Pupils clearly enjoy school and each other's company.

Adults' expectations of pupils' behaviour and attitudes to learning are high. As a result, pupils are confident learners. Pupils say that they feel safe and they talk knowledgea...bly about staying safe online.

They understand what bullying is. The school's recent 'One Kind Word Week' was in response to anti-bullying week. During the week, pupils thought and wrote about being kind to each other.

Pupils are proud to raise money for good causes. They talk with confidence about supporting the education of children in Africa.

Pupils enjoy the range of lessons and activities they experience.

They explained their science experiments on dissolving and plans for a new school library enthusiatically. They described how the nature garden was turned into an imaginary refugee camp when their class was in a COVID-19 'bubble'. Pupils are clearly proud of their school.

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

Leaders have ensured that reading remains a top priority. Children get off to a fast start in reading in the early years. This is because they have access to daily and systematic phonics teaching.

Reception children can decode and blend sounds accurately. They can write and spell words such as 'chip' and 'chop' neatly in their books. In key stage 1, pupils learn tricky words by sight.

They know that letters can make different sounds. Reading books are almost always matched well to the sounds pupils already know. Pupils quickly become fluent readers.

Older pupils talked about how much they enjoy the reading areas in their classrooms. Pupils who find reading more challenging get the help they need to catch up.

In some subjects such as mathematics, science, geography and art, planning is logically sequenced, so pupils' knowledge builds on what they have been taught before.

Leaders have thought carefully about the essential knowledge pupils need. Smaller units of work lead to clearly defined and challenging end points. As a result, pupils can remember what they have learned.

Planning in some other subjects is not of the same quality. The headteacher knows what must be done to tackle these deficiencies in some parts of the curriculum.

Pupils in each class pay close attention in lessons and they work hard.

They have uniformly positive attitudes to learning. Relationships between adults and pupils are strong. Pupils approach their work with effort and energy.

Children in Reception know the school rules – 'be kind, be respectful and always try your best'. These simple rules are evident across school and underpin pupils' success in learning. Pupils' positive attitudes extend to all parts of the school day.

Reception and Nursery children sit happily together eating lunch. This encourages children to try different foods. Their good manners and happiness shine through.

Pupils have access to a wide range of opportunities that support their good personal development. Older pupils enjoyed a residential trip to the Yorkshire coast. Pupils in key stage 2 performed a version of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'.

This term, pupils have enjoyed visits from a vet, a midwife and the fire service. In assembly, pupils reflected on the recent visit of 'Power Down Pete' on the subject of saving electricity. This linked to their learning about the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26).

All pupils have full access to the schools' curriculum and after-school clubs. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers ensure that learning is adapted so that no one misses out.

Learning is carefully planned for pupils with SEND so that the smaller steps they take are achievable and move their learning forward.

The new headteacher has had a very positive impact on the school. Staff know what needs to be done and their role in school improvement.

All feel valued and part of the school team. They know that any concerns will be listened to and taken seriously. The strong team spirit among staff is clear to see.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The whole school team is committed to ensuring pupils are safe. Pupils' physical, mental and emotional well-being is prioritised.

Record-keeping is meticulous and detailed. Staff training is up to date.

All staff are aware of the local issues that could be a potential threat to pupils, such as child sexual exploitation.

Governors state that their safeguarding role is of paramount importance. Staff know how to raise a concern about a pupil with the safeguarding leader. Pupils at potential risk are immediately identified.

Partnership work with external agencies to help pupils is strong. The school's family ethos rests on rigorous safeguarding practices.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum planning in some subjects does not match the quality of planning in other subjects.

Essential knowledge has not been planned and sequenced to build on what pupils know. This means that pupils struggle to remember what they have learned in the long term. Leaders must ensure that all subjects build pupils' knowledge progressively.

Leaders have already taken action to plan next year's curriculum and train staff in how to deliver it. For this reason, the transition arrangements have been applied.

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/outstanding.

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 as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in 2011.