West Bretton Junior and Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

West Bretton Junior and Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

West Bretton Junior and Infant School provides a safe and happy place where pupils thrive. Pupils are adamant that bullying does not happen at school. Inspectors agree.

Pupils' positive views of behaviour are supported by leaders' behaviour records. Any incidents of poor behaviour are incredibly rare. Classrooms are an oasis of calm where learning can take place unhindered.

Teachers have high expectations of all pupils and apply school rules with consistency. Pupils rise to these expectations and say that adults at school are fair and kind.

Pupils enjoy the ...rewards they get when they behave well.

Tokens, awarded for exemplary behaviour, mean that pupils can choose a book as a prize from the vending machine.

Leaders give pupils opportunities to contribute to the life of the school. Democratically elected positions, such as head pupils and school council representatives, give pupils a voice on how their school is run.

Older pupils value the opportunities they have to work with their younger friends. Roles such as play and construction leaders encourage pupils to play harmoniously at breaktimes.

Leaders have created a well-planned personal, social and health education curriculum that is unique to West Bretton.

This helps pupils to develop a strong understanding of diversity, tolerance and respect. Pupils say: 'It is a good thing that everyone is different and unique. It would be boring if we were all the same.'



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

Since the last inspection, leaders have continued to review and develop the curriculum. Leaders have carefully considered the order in which pupils will learn new skills and knowledge. They have devised a curriculum that is unique to West Bretton.

The art curriculum is already having a positive impact on pupils' knowledge and artistic skills. Younger pupils are increasingly confident in their designs, colour choices and techniques. Sketchbooks demonstrate the opportunities that pupils have to experiment with their ideas.

However, in subjects such as design and technology, leaders have not identified with enough precision what they intend pupils to learn in Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5. As a result, milestones for pupils' development are not clear.

Reading has remained a high priority.

Teachers encourage pupils to read widely and often. Whole-class texts broaden pupils' understanding of cultural diversity and their understanding of difference, such as the many different family types found in modern Britain.

All staff have had the training they need to deliver leaders' chosen phonics programme with accuracy.

Teachers make regular checks on the sounds pupils have learned. They use this information to group pupils for their phonics lessons and match the books pupils read to the sounds that they know already. This ensures that pupils have plenty of practice in reading the sounds that they have been taught.

When pupils fall behind, they are quickly given the extra support they need to catch up. As a result, the overwhelming majority of pupils leave Year 2 as confident and fluent readers.

The mathematics curriculum is well sequenced.

New learning builds carefully on what pupils already know. Teachers very quickly identify when pupils are struggling. When this happens, pupils receive extra adult help in small groups.

Because leaders use assessment well, these groups focus precisely on the gaps pupils have and help them to catch up. Pupils have positive views about mathematics. They quickly become confident mathematicians.

The early years classroom is awash with books and opportunities to explore number. Adults are skilful in challenging children's thinking through their questioning. They plan plenty of opportunities for children to write and practise their phonics as they play.

An inspector observed children making sandcastles and confidently adding numbered flags to the top.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. Leaders draw on a range of outside agencies to offer advice and guidance to teachers.

This helps teachers to target the right support to the right pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as everyone else. However, leaders have not monitored the impact of the changes they have made to the curriculum.

The impact of these changes on pupils' progress is not known.

Following a period of consultation and review, leaders have devised a comprehensive relationships and sex education curriculum. The considered way in which this aspect of the curriculum is taught is a strength of the school.

Pupils describe the 'golden ground rules' they use in class to help them speak openly and with maturity about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Pupils have a very well developed understanding of equality and diversity. During science week, leaders helped pupils to consider gender stereotyping in scientific roles.

Leaders provide the governing body with a detailed picture of the school's strengths and areas for development. Regular governor visits to the school give them the information they need to challenge leaders on their actions. Leaders are acutely aware of the pressures on their staff.

They take steps to reduce workload where possible. As a result, staff hold very positive views of leaders and the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that staff have the knowledge they need to identify pupils who may be at risk. Systems for reporting concerns are known and used by all staff. Staff know that safeguarding is their responsibility and concerns are followed up diligently.

Records are well maintained. Leaders have increased the number of staff in school with designated safeguarding responsibilities. This ensures that there is always an experienced member of staff to report concerns to.

Leaders ensure that adults who work with pupils have had the necessary checks to do so safely. Online safety is taught as part of the computing curriculum. Pupils know how to stay safe online.

They know how to report any concerns they may have.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some wider curriculum subjects, such as design and technology, leaders' intended curriculum is not broken down by year group. Curriculum expectations cover two year groups at once.

As a result, the expectations of what pupils will learn in each year group is less clear. Leaders should revisit their wider curriculum sequencing to ensure that every subject has clear yearly expectations for what pupils will learn and when. ? The impact of SEND intervention programmes on the wider curriculum have not been checked with enough rigour.

Leaders do not know how effectively the adaptations they have made are meeting the needs of these pupils. Leaders should ensure that the changes they have made are carefully monitored so that the impact on pupil progress is clearly understood.

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.

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 November 2011.