Bellingham Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of this rural village school. The school's values of kindness, respect, courage and excellence sit at the heart of the school's work. Staff have created a nurturing environment for pupils.

They know their pupils and families well. Relationships are warm and caring. Pupils trust staff to look after them.

They feel safe and happy, and enjoy coming to school.

Pupils strive to live up to the school's high expectations of their achievement and behaviour. Pupils show enthusiasm in lessons.

They behave consistently well in both lessons and during social times. Children in Reception learn in a calm, settled environment. They make ...a positive start to their education.

The school serves a small, rural community. As such, it is determined to prepare pupils well for life beyond the school. The school provides opportunities for pupils to visit cities and places of cultural interest beyond their locality, such as Newcastle and an open-air living museum.

Pupils have opportunities to develop their talents and interests through the range of clubs on offer, including construction, cheerleading and French. Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their educational journey.

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

The school has worked hard over the past 12 months, reviewing and designing an ambitious curriculum to meet the needs of its pupils.

It has considered and carefully sequenced the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Pupils have opportunities to revisit and build on their prior learning. Where there are gaps or misconceptions, teachers intervene to address these quickly.

However, in some foundation subjects, more time is needed to further embed the content of the revised curriculum. Presently, the school does not have a clear understanding of the difference that the revised curriculum is making to pupils' learning.

Staff are knowledgeable about their pupils' needs and ensure that all pupils are fully included in lessons.

There are robust systems in place to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly. Through staff support and adaptations to the curriculum, pupils with SEND successfully progress through the curriculum.

The school has created a culture where reading is a priority, and celebrated.

In Reception, children are introduced to nursery rhymes, songs and stories. Pupils learn letter sounds and words in a structured and well-ordered way. As pupils develop their phonics knowledge, they are provided with books that match the sounds they know.

Pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills to become confident, fluent readers. Those who struggle with learning to read are identified and extra support is put in place to enable them to catch up quickly.

Children benefit from a well-designed curriculum in Reception.

The ambitious learning environment includes an art studio so that children can develop and showcase their creativity. Staff plan carefully the learning underpinning the chosen activities. Staff are experts at extending children's language through varied learning opportunities that promote discussion.

For example, when learning outside, children discuss the merits of different natural materials for building houses for the three little pigs.

Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. Attendance is much improved.

There is a range of opportunities and experiences on offer for pupils to develop their confidence, character and resilience. These include taking part in sporting tournaments and holding leadership responsibilities. Through assemblies and the school's personal, social and health education curriculum, pupils learn about relationships, tolerance and understanding.

Pupils speak with confidence about equality and diversity. Pupils discuss their learning from educational visits, including to the theatre and the museum. The school makes good use of its extensive grounds to enhance the curriculum, for example through den building and learning within the natural environment.

The school has experienced some instability and changes to leadership in recent years. However, governors and staff have continued to prioritise the needs of pupils. There is now a clear and ambitious vision for the school.

Governors share this vision. They hold leaders to account for the school's performance through considered support and challenge. The consideration given to staff's well-being and workload is appreciated.

Staff are proud to work at the school. The determination for all pupils to be successful is a priority shared by staff and leaders at all levels.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some curriculum subjects, changes to the curriculum are recent and need time to embed. In these subjects, pupils do not yet develop the same depth of knowledge as they do in others. The school should ensure that staff are able to deliver the revised curriculum effectively.

• Oversight of how well the newly developed curriculum is being implemented is at an early stage of development. This means that the school does not have a fully accurate understanding of how well pupils are learning the revised curriculum. The school should ensure that it understands how well pupils are learning in each subject and make improvements to teaching where needed.