Bleasby Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 February 2023

Pupils love attending this school. They frequently demonstrate the school's ABC (Achieving, Belonging, Caring) values. Pupils say that everyone is kind and cares about others. Older pupils in key stage 2 often look out for their younger peers. As one pupil typically explained, 'We are all like a family here.' Staff model how they expect pupils to behave. Most pupils conduct themselves very well. Pupils say 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting. They treat each other, and staff, with respect. Bullying is unusual and staff resolve any issues quickly. Pupils engage enthusiastically during lessons. They are keen to try new activities and to share their ideas. Low-level disruption is uncommon. Pupils say that staff deal with the few incidents of poor behaviour fairly. Pupils thrive on the busyness of school life. They enjoy taking part in music and sports activities or being a member of the garden-and-grow club. Pupils like having responsibilities as ambassadors, sports leaders, prefects, door monitors or members of the school council. They know these roles make a positive difference. Pupils play an active part in the school's local community. Their harvest festival donations benefit the local food bank, while their cake sales support people in Ukraine.

What the school should improve

• Support for a small number of pupils who are in the early stages of learning to read is not sharp enough. Adults who read with these pupils are not always knowledgeable enough about how to support them using phonics. These pupils do not become accurate and fluent readers as quickly as they could. Leaders must make sure that staff who support these pupils with their reading have the necessary expertise to do so.
• The curriculum in each subject is well planned and sequenced. However, teachers are occasionally not ambitious enough. Their expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low. When this is the case, pupils do not produce work at the level they should. They cannot recall what they have learned in sufficient detail. Leaders must ensure that the curriculum provides all pupils, including those with SEND, with sufficient challenge in every subject.
• Pupils do not always make the most of guidance from teachers as to how they can improve their work. They do not consistently use this information to correct any errors or deepen their understanding. Leaders must ensure that pupils make the most of the feedback given to them by teachers, so that the quality of pupils' written work and their understanding improve.

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