Barr View Primary & Nursery Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Barr View Primary & Nursery Academy continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school.

They consider the school to be a caring place. Leaders have carefully nurtured this supportive ethos. Pupils are adamant that bullying is not a problem.

They say it rarely happens and when it does, leaders deal with it promptly.

Pupils respond well to the ambitions their teachers have for them. This is reflected in the quality of work they produce.

Classrooms are calm places, where pupils focus on their learning. Pupils have well-established routines and know what is expected of them. Their good attendance shows that t...hey value their education.

Relationships between pupils and adults are very positive. Pupils are polite and show good manners. They behave very well.

Children are taught to be kind and to support each other.

Staff provide a range of experiences to support pupils' wider personal development. Pupils enjoy attending an activity club, where they get the opportunity to try out lots of different sports.

Pupils have discussed during school council sessions the need to restart educational visits and to increase the variety of clubs available for them to enjoy. Leaders have responded by ensuring that more educational visits and a range of clubs are planned for the remainder of the academic year.

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

Leaders and staff have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum.

Lessons are planned and sequenced so that pupils increase their knowledge and skills over time. This includes identifying the key vocabulary that pupils need to know and use. In history, for example, pupils spoke confidently about the knowledge they had gained linked to their class book and work on women's roles during World War One.

As a result, pupils were able to discuss in some detail the differences in society, past and present.Leaders have prioritised improving pupils' reading. This includes pupils still in the early stages of reading.

Phonics is taught well. Leaders have made sure that there is a consistent approach across the school. Staff ensure that they match the books that children and pupils read appropriately to their phonics knowledge.

When pupils fall behind, adults spot this quickly and support them to keep up with reading. This helps pupils to develop into confident and fluent readers. Reading is at the heart of the curriculum.

Books are carefully chosen to link with different subjects.Leaders use assessment strategies well to adapt what pupils need to learn across the curriculum. Retrieval sessions within lessons help pupils to remember the important knowledge they have been taught.

For example, in mathematics, pupils recap known facts to help them answer questions and problems in lessons.Leaders have carefully adapted the curriculum so that it builds up pupils' knowledge from the Nursery Year through to Year 6. As a result, pupils can connect what they learn, and they develop a broad understanding of the subjects they study.

Staff in Nursery and Reception ensure that children behave well and quickly settle into routines. As a result, children's learning is rarely interrupted.In lessons, teachers successfully adapt their teaching and tasks to support identified pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This ensures that all pupils can access the same curriculum. However, until recently, leaders' work to identify pupils with SEND who require support has not been precise. As a result, access to additional support is variable for pupils with SEND.

Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not follow the curriculum as well as they should. Leaders are aware of this. They have identified what needs to improve and have made plans to address this.

The curriculum for pupils' wider development is very effective. Pupils learn about democracy first hand. They enjoy taking on additional responsibilities in the school, such as representing their class as school council members.

The school council discussed how leaders encourage them to give their opinions and make decisions. For example, recently, they have selected new playground equipment with leaders. As a result, new equipment has been purchased.

Governors work with school staff to ensure that their workload is manageable. Staff appreciate this. They recognise leaders' efforts to consider their workload when new initiatives are being introduced.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders provide regular training to ensure that all staff can identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Staff share responsibility for keeping children safe.

They know what to do when safeguarding concerns arise. Leaders work closely with external agencies so that pupils and their families get the help they need, where necessary.Leaders have designed a curriculum which supports pupils well in knowing how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, such as when they are online.

Pupils feel safe in school because they know they can talk to a trusted adult if they are worried about anything.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Systems for the early identification of pupils with SEND requiring support, until recently, have not been rigorous enough. Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not receive the support they need quickly enough.

This has held pupils back. Leaders should ensure that pupils' needs are quickly identified and information is efficiently communicated so that teachers can swiftly respond to pupils' needs.

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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2014.