BedlingtonStation PrimarySchool

Ofsted

Ofsted 20‍18 Highlights

’This school continues to be good.’

‘The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.‍'‍‍

‘Leaders work hard to provide effective leadership to the school.’

Staff are proud to be part of the school and feel well supported by the leadership team in all aspects of their work.’

‘Leaders have high aspirations for their pupils and earnestly seek to overcome the barriers that pupils have to their learning.’

‘Leaders encourage pupils to ‘reach far, stand tall, be brave, give your all’ and your pupils respond positively. They ‘dream big and sing proud’. These lyrics are positively reflected in the conduct and approach of the pupils at Bedlington Station Primary School.’

‘Leaders’ actions to improve the teaching of writing have had a positive impact on the progress that pupils make.For the last three years, progress in writing has been above national averages.’

‘... leaders were ... asked to provide more ‘boy-friendly’ writing tasks that interest boys and, therefore, improve their skills. Leaders tackled this issue by introducing new books and ‘class readers’ aimed at boys, and some successes were evident in 2017.’

‘Pupils said that they are happy in school.’

‘They (pupils) enjoy learning.’

'Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are well mannered and respectful. They have a very good understanding of your code of conduct and all know that ‘green is great’ is an indication that they are behaving well. Pupils also speak positively of your rewards, such as ‘station stars’, ‘ice-cream Fridays’ and ‘star tea’ with the headteacher.'

Most parents and carers spoken to during the inspection, and those who completed Ofsted’s online survey, were positive about the school. They particularly appreciate the accessibility of teachers and the pastoral care and support given to their children. Parents describe Bedlington Station as ‘warm’ and ‘caring’, with teachers who ‘go above and beyond’.

'Leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and are central to the work of the school.'

'Pupils state that they feel safe and that they are well cared for by all members of staff. They are confident in accessing support through effective systems such as ‘Bubble Time Pegs’ or in ‘The Rainbow Station’.

'Pupils spoke with enthusiasm of the personal, social and health education that they receive, and they have responded positively to the introduction of ‘Jigsaw Assemblies’.'

'Pupils are articulate and keen to share their positive experiences of school. Pupils mix well together at playtime and lunchtime.They recognise the value of respect and diversity. This is reflected in the quality of relationships that exist across the school, which is characterised by positivity, courtesy and joy.

'The school works closely with other agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils are supported.'

'Leaders have introduced clear, focused and robust safeguarding policies.'

'In early years, leaders have improved the teaching of writing so that it more precisely meets children’s individual needs. Teachers have also considered the ways in which they can remove the obstacles which limit children’s progress in writing.'


'Writing is encouraged, valued and celebrated. This value is reflected around the school in ‘writings frames’ and the ‘gold gallery’.'

'The teaching of phonics in early years and key stage 1 is developing pupils’ skills in blending and sounding letters so that they can read unfamiliar words. As a result, the percentage of pupils who reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check is above the national average.

'...‘creative curriculum’ is rich and engaging. It captures pupils’ interest and helps them to understand the wider world in which they live. Pupils value these opportunities and speak with enthusiasm about ‘Jigsaw Assemblies’ and ‘Professor Crankpot’, and they talk about learning as ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’.

'Pupils are proud of their school and are keen to take on additional responsibilities, such as their roles as ‘playground buddy’, ‘station buddy’, ‘reading buddy’ or ‘lunchtime buddy’. They also spoke positively about the ‘school council’ and the opportunity to have a say in decision-making in the school.'

 

Ofsted 20‍14

’This is a good school.’

‘Children make a good start to their time in school as they settle well to learning in the Nursery.

‘Children make good progress across the Early Years Foundation Stage as they have consistently good teaching and support for their personal development.’

‘Pupils make good progress across Key Stages 1 and 2 due to consistently good teaching.’

‘Teaching is good across the school.’

‘Pupils respond well to teachers’ questioning and make good progress in their learning.’

‘Teaching assistants support well in and out of lessons with small groups.’

‘Children work and play in harmony, readily sharing ideas in lessons when working together.’

‘Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and how to manage risk in different situations. They say bullying is rare.’

‘Pupils enjoy their lessons as they have a rich and varied diet of activities.’

‘Children are very industrious in lessons and always try to do their best as teachers have high expectations of what their pupils can achieve.’

‘Mathematics teaching is typically strong across the school. Pupils have good calculation skills and are able to solve mathematical problems effectively.’

‘Pupils’ work is marked diligently, giving praise and also points for improvement.’

‘The behaviour of pupils is good.’

‘The school has a strong commitment to pupils’ personal development. Pupils typically behave well as they move around the school. They are courteous, polite and very welcoming. They are proud of their school, work hard in all subjects and enjoy the many differing activities the school provides.’

‘The school has a very effective ‘Rainbow Station’ which is used to support the personal, social and emotional development of all pupils...This is used well to ensure the school maintains its calm and purposeful working environment.’

‘Pupils enjoy coming to school.’

‘The subjects taught across the school foster a love of learning as they provide rich and varied activities that enables pupils to achieve well. It also widens pupils’ understanding of the world around and beyond them and raises their aspirations.’

‘Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is underpinned by a commitment to pupils’ personal development. Musical and artistic experiences contribute to pupils’ spiritual development.’

‘The school engages well with parents.’

‘The highly committed Chair of Governors provides strong leadership to the governing body. He is well supported by a good range of well-trained governors whose skills are used effectively to challenge and support the school.’

‘The school knows itself well and uses regular checks on its progress to improve its performance. These have already been effective in improving attendance, maintaining good performance at Key Stage 1 and strengthening the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. There are clear plans in place to develop the school further, including identified aspects of writing that need additional improvement.’

HMI Mathematics Subject Survey 2013

‘Achievement in mathematics is good. Pupils make good progress over time from often very low starting points.’

‘...pupils are enthusiastic about mathematics: ‘it’s fun!’ They handle number confidently and particularly enjoy working on interesting problems, such as collating, analysing and presenting data when ‘all we know about mathematics comes together’.’

‘Pupils eligible for pupil premium funding do well. ’

‘...effective marking gave pupils a clear indication of how well they met the objective and what they could do better. Teacher and pupils had also responded to each other’s comments. ’

‘Staff conscientiously research, plan and prepare lessons and learning materials, using websites, national guidance and their own creative ideas. Use of purposeful situations ... really caught pupils’ interest. Staff were clear about what they wanted pupils to learn, accurate in their use of mathematical terms, and confident to roam around the subject.’

‘A particular strength is teachers’ good use of questioning to probe understanding. ‘How do we know...’, ‘Give me a reason ...’ and ‘So what are you going to do first ...’ typified the way that teachers and teaching assistants checked on and scaffolded pupils’ learning.’

‘A particular strength is the flair and creativity in activities and the role-play of a teaching assistant, in video presentations and in person, to give purpose and context for using and applying mathematics.’

‘The leader for mathematics has a well-informed overview of pupils’ attainment, curriculum coverage and quality of provision. Regular monitoring of teaching, planning, the implementation of policies and pupils’ progress has steered professional development at an individual and whole-school level.’

‘Senior leaders have a shared approach to raising standards in mathematics which is a key priority in the current school development plan.’