National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools Report

Burneston Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Burneston
Bedale
DL8 2HX
Diocese: West Yorkshire and the Dales
Local authority: North Yorkshire
Date of inspection: 22 May 2014
Date of last inspection: 22 June 2009
School’s unique reference number: 121619
Headteacher: Mrs Jane Plummer
Inspector’s name and number: Mrs Ruth Packwood 524
School context
Burneston Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a small, rural primary school serving geographically widely spread villages including Wath, Melmerby, Kirklington, Sutton Howgrove, Carthorpe and Exelby. There are 86 children on roll in four classes. The percentage of children eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The majority of the pupils are white British. There are currently 14 children on the SEND register, three of whom have statements for physical and /or learning needs. Eleven pupils are eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant. There has been considerable change in the school since the previous inspection with the current Head teacher taking up her post in 2011 and the Deputy Head Teacher in 2012. All the teaching staff have changed.
The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Burneston Primary as a Church of England school are good
·  The strong and effective leadership of the Head teacher who, with the governors, promotes a vision for the school based on distinctively Christian values.
·  The strong relationships, underpinned by Christian values, which exist within the school between the staff and the children. Children feel happy and secure and behave well.
·  The focus on achievement which is strongly linked with the spiritual, moral social and cultural development of the children.
Areas to improve
·  When implementing the new National Curriculum from September 2014 include the RE syllabus as a starting point for planning in order to embed it into the school curriculum.
·  Refine the system for tracking standards and progress in RE
·  Develop the learners’ contribution to collective worship by including them further in the formal evaluation of worship.
The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners
Burneston Church of England Primary School is a school where staff have high expectations for everyone and are totally focused on meeting the needs of each learner as an individual. They do this through effective teaching which is differentiated to learners’ needs. Regular assessments feed into pupil progress meetings where needs are identified, and met, either by interventions or by providing additional opportunities for children who are gifted or talented. There are good links with outside agencies who can provide appropriate additional support. The impact of this strategy is already being seen and the mid-year assessments show that all children are making progress and a substantial number are making accelerated progress. The school’s recently introduced Teaching and Learning policy provides excellent guidance and support for all staff and ensures consistency in approach across the school which is gradually becoming embedded. Relationships within school between staff and pupils are good. Children enjoy coming to school and think that their teachers work hard to make school interesting and encourage learning, ‘to help you do the best you can’. Learners are well aware of the Christian values in school. They are encouraged to apply these values to their own lives through THINK … is it True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and Kind. They have also been taught about the impact these values have had on the lives of some inspirational leaders. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and the curriculum has been broadened so that children can experience first-hand the diversity and difference of other faith communities, For example, the area in which Burneston is situated does not reflect the urbanisation and cultural diversity of much of Britain. The school now organises a trip to London for pupils when they visit St Paul’s Cathedral and Central Mosque as well as experiencing life in the capital city. This has had a positive impact on the way in which children view people who are different.
The impact of collective worship on the school community is good
The school aims to encourage pupils to develop an understanding of the Christian faith and to explore their own spiritual journey. The daily act of collective worship is used effectively to this end and to promote learners’ spiritual and moral development. Pupils understand the importance of collective worship in the life of the school. One explained that, ‘it helps you to learn about God’ and another, ‘it teaches you from an early age, to be nice to each other’. Another child linked being nice to each other to Jesus’s words, ‘Love your enemies’. One pupil expressed the view that ‘it helps you understand God in your own way.’ A number of interested learners are now involved in the planning of worship and their ideas are being put into practice. They enjoy this involvement which will lead to their being more formally involved in the evaluation of worship. Worship is planned carefully and, by design, the school bases its themes on ‘Values for Life’, while the Reverend Hind follows the liturgical year when she leads worship weekly. There are times when these themes overlap and currently there is an innovative initiative around Pentecost. JennyRuth workshops worked with the children on decorating, doves, ‘flames’ and trees [wind]. These artefacts, beautifully displayed in the Hall, are now being used to develop learners’ understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and some children were able to talk about this. There is a clearly designated focus area for worship and children gather respectfully. They engage with the theme and sing enthusiastically. The worship offers structure and opportunities for reflection and prayer. Children have the opportunity to visit the Parish Church at special times of year and these services are well attended by parents and other residents from the village and surrounding area. Some children, of their own volition, have requested Confirmation. The value of prayer in their own lives is being developed through ‘Prayer Stations’ in each classroom. These appear to be well used and are thought provoking as well as giving children pointers and aids to prayer. These areas could be made more inclusive by having a simpler format for younger children. Children respond to the themes of service and compassion by fundraising for the local community and national charities. They also have links with Romania through the shoebox appeal.
The effectiveness of the religious education is satisfactory
The leadership of RE is currently in transition and there is a review of the curriculum that is being taught currently in school. Strengths are emerging from this review and there is a strong focus on learning from religion as well as learning about religion. Existing good practice where, for example, teaching about Creation and God’s wonderful world was linked with a topic on mini-beasts, puts RE at the heart of the curriculum and establishes links with different curriculum areas. Children, from an early age showed an understanding of aspects of Christianity and of the Bible. Teaching is mostly good. In lessons observed, learners were engaged, and activities were differentiated and interesting. The policy guidelines to achieve two learning outcomes per lesson, once established, should provide a tighter focus for planning and facilitate assessment. Assessment procedures are currently being developed, but work scrutiny and observation would indicate that standards are at least in line with national expectations.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good
The past three years have been ones of major change for staff and governors at Burneston Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. Throughout this time the Head teacher has been clear that the most Christian act that the school can do is to enable children to fulfil their potential. With this clear focus, which is underpinned by the school’s Christian values of courage, forgiveness, truthfulness, peace, service and thankfulness, the Head teacher has provided strong leadership to the governors and together they have recruited a staff team which is totally committed to this vision. Rigorous self-evaluation, to which all contribute, now informs the school’s development planning, and the governors are encouraged that they can see that the school is making rapid progress and that standards are rising. The leadership and management are well aware of the changes that needed to be made to the RE curriculum and have appointed a member of staff with previous experience of leading RE to take on responsibility for this area. The school uses the skills of the local vicar, Reverend Hind, to continue to develop the existing vision of the school as a church school. The impact of this is both visual, in displays and areas for reflection and in the ethos and relationships within school. Effective use is also made of networks with local schools which have a positive impact on staff development. The school is well-regarded by the local community and is viewed as an integral part of the village. There are well-established links between the school, the community and the church through events such as the Village Show, the Age UK coffee mornings when, on occasion, the choir sings. Harvest Festival contributions were donated to the local foodbank.

SIAMS report May 2014 Burneston Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School DL8 2HX

NS 09 2013 SIAMS Inspection School Report