Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring

Age group 7–11 Inspection date(s) 3–4 July 2012 Inspection number 379423 Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring Inspection report

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Unique reference number 117458 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 379423 Inspection dates 3–4 July 2012 Lead inspector Miranda Perry

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Junior School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 214 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Huw Bellis Headteacher Linda Hardman Date of previous school inspection 25 September 2008 School address Frogmore Street Tring HP23 5AU Telephone number 01442 822024 Fax number 01442 382950 Email address admin@bishopwood.herts.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Twenty-one lessons, taught by eight teachers, were observed, amounting to about seven hours in total. Four lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, the vice-chair of the governing body and staff. Inspectors looked at a range of evidence, including the school’s documents on self-evaluation and safeguarding. They observed the school’s work, looked at pupils’ books and the tracking system used to monitor pupils’ progress. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on- line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They also considered the responses to the 114 questionnaires completed by parents and carers as well as those returned by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Bishop Wood School is an average-sized junior school. Almost all pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, those supported at school action plus or those with a statement of special educational needs, is average. The school meets the current floor standards, which set the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The school has received the Gold School Travel Plan award, the Hertfordshire School Travel award and Healthy Schools status. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Bishop Wood is a good school. Attainment is well above average. It is not an outstanding school because teachers do not consistently ensure pupils understand the next steps in their learning. Although there are examples of outstanding progress, it is good overall.

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Key findings

 Attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 has been well above average in English and mathematics for the last two years, and is improving. In Year 6, pupils’ progress is outstanding in mathematics. It is also outstanding for the more-able pupils in English. Progress is good for all other year groups. There are a few occasions when pupils make satisfactory progress in class because they are not clear about how to improve their work and their targets are not always challenging enough.

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Key findings

 Leaders and managers have brought about improvements in teaching since the last inspection and the quality of teaching is good. Pupils are enthusiastic about their lessons, and the school fosters resilience and independence. Although pupils are eager to improve, in some lessons teachers miss opportunities to support them with their next steps in learning.

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Key findings

 Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and respond well to the high expectations placed on them by the school staff. Pupils are noticeably respectful to each other and they feel safe. There are consistently good levels of engagement in lessons.

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Key findings

 Leaders and managers are passionate about achieving the best outcomes for pupils. Senior leaders manage performance well so that teachers are held to account for the achievement of all the pupils in their class. There is an ethos of inclusion and tolerance, where pupils understand that their spiritual, moral, social and cultural aptitudes are valued and appreciated. School improvement plans identify strengths and weaknesses pertinent to the school but lack a focus on improving the progress of pupil groups and individuals. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, improve the amount of outstanding teaching to 60% through helping pupils to better understand their next steps for learning by:  clearly identifying their next steps in the marking of pupils’ books  giving pupils the opportunity to comment on and respond to their next steps  setting all pupils challenging, individualised targets.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve progress so that it is outstanding for the majority of pupils by July 2013 by focusing school improvement planning on measurable outcomes with regard to the progress of groups of pupils and individuals.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils enter the school in Year 3 with attainment that is typically above average and leave Year 6 with attainment well above average. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is improving because of the school’s work with particular groups of pupils. More-able pupils are now entered for extension end-of-key-stage tests. Pupils in Year 6 work on challenging activities supported by resources normally used for pupils in the next key stage. This is helping to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding. For example, in a Year 6 lesson on problem solving, one pupil said the computer program that he was working on made him think about the problem in ‘brand new ways’.

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Achievement of pupils

By the time they leave the school, pupils’ attainment in reading is about two and a half terms ahead of the national average. The school works hard to foster a love of reading in Year 3 which endures through the key stage. Parents comment on how effective the questions are that the school gives them to ask their children about their reading books.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress. The school ensures it has a thorough understanding of pupils’ abilities when they arrive, so that any gaps in learning are immediately addressed. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because the school works effectively to identify and overcome their obstacles to learning. Some pupils who have highly complex special educational needs make outstanding progress in lessons because they are supported by imaginative resources that suit the ways they learn.

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Achievement of pupils

Year 6 pupils make outstanding progress in mathematics. This is because of teachers’ exceptional subject knowledge. In a minority of lessons throughout the Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

school, progress is satisfactory when targets are general to a group of pupils and not specific to individuals. As a result, pupils sometimes find their targets too easy and not challenging enough.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers are confident that their children are making good progress, and pupils feel that the school helps them to do as well as they can.

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Quality of teaching

Good teaching results in pupils relishing their lessons and their homework. In discussion about their favourite subject, Year 3 pupils said, ‘We love learning at this school.’ The school has created a culture where pupils take learning seriously, and see themselves as subject specialists. When asked about their lesson, a Year 5 pupil explained, ‘We are all mathematicians here.’ Pupils enjoy learning because teachers ensure that they are confident, unafraid of making mistakes, and routinely set themselves the highest standards. In a Year 4 lesson on poetry writing, pupils worked out ideas on mini-whiteboards, asked each other for advice on improvement, took criticism from their peers well, and repeatedly revised their draft poem until they felt it was as good as the exemplar.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are taught well. They are successfully integrated into lessons because of well-deployed, highly experienced and committed teaching assistants. Pupils appreciate their social and moral responsibilities in the classroom. They are taught to respect each other’s ideas and help each other to learn, and they work well as a team. As a result, pupils with and without additional needs work very well together.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils benefit from a reading programme which is consistent across the year groups. Those pupils who have fallen behind in their reading on arrival to the school are able to catch up through the systematic teaching of phonics (letters and sounds). The recently introduced trial of a reading rewards scheme has meant that pupils are excited about different genre, and ambitious in their reading choices.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils want to do well, but not all of them are clear about how they can improve. They do read their teacher’s marking in their workbooks, but they sometimes find that their next steps in learning are not there, or are not made clear. They sign off the teacher’s marking, but would appreciate a chance to write a response to the teacher’s comments, or to give an example of improvement.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers are very happy with the teaching at the school, and pupils appreciate the help the teachers give them to do their best.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils behave well so that any disruptions to learning are rare. Pupils take it for granted that good behaviour is what is expected. If their behaviour is good, they are rewarded with a green card. One Year 4 pupil said, ‘In my class we always go for Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour management strategies are such that the school has a very good record of significantly improving the behaviour of pupils who have found it difficult to behave well at other schools. All pupils respond well to high expectations of politeness, respect and courtesy.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe. They particularly appreciate how the school supports and understands them if they have any medical concerns. A group of Year 3 pupils felt that they were safe because they did not have to worry about things as the school looked after them so well. Pupils think that the assemblies which they lead help them to understand different types of bullying, such as cyber-bullying, although they feel that bullying hardly ever happens. Pupils are confident that they could go to any member of staff if bullying did take place, and it would be dealt with swiftly.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance is above average, and pupils say they are happy to come to school. One parent commented, ‘My child loves going to school, and can’t stop telling me about it when they come home. That’s what I want.’ Parents and carers are confident that their children are safe and that behaviour is good.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers have bought about improvements over the last three years, and the school has a good capacity to improve further. As part of the performance management programme, each teacher regularly meets with the headteacher to account for the progress of every pupil in their class. If a pupil is identified as falling behind, the school immediately takes action which is successful in moving the pupil forward. The school has put into place an extensive programme of professional development which has meant that middle leaders have a strong subject specialist knowledge and this has helped to bring about better achievement and teaching since the last inspection. School improvement planning takes into account the particular needs and aptitudes of pupils at Bishop Wood. The plans focus on strategies to improve progress across the key stage but do not specify measurable improvements for groups of pupils and individuals.

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Leadership and management

The governing body prioritises learning and progress in all its decision making, and its members understand the particular circumstances of a junior school. Some take part in an inclusion working party, together with teachers, parents and carers, which makes sure the school promotes equality and tackles discrimination at every opportunity. For example, the working party has recently brought out ‘parent friendly’ versions of school policies, and regularly advises the rest of the school on the effective integration of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. The governing body makes sure all statutory requirements with regard to safeguarding are met.

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Leadership and management

The school responds well to the changing needs of its pupils. Parents and carers commented that if they alert the school to any concerns about their children, staff Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

act immediately. The school has been effective in altering its curriculum to meet the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils. For example, the school is successful in supporting pupils in their transition from infants school and to secondary school. Parents and carers feel that their children are noticeably confident and emotionally secure when they go to secondary school, because of the work done by Bishop Wood.

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Leadership and management

Teachers have worked hard to make sure good practice is shared across the curriculum. For example, speaking and listening is used well in mathematics and English so that pupils explore their ideas before writing them down. The skill of investigation developed in science is built upon in mathematical problem solving. The pupils are excited by the range of activities open to them. At the time of the inspection, Year 4 pupils were going camping and the Year 6 play was taking place. One pupil said, ‘I bet you can’t believe how exciting it is here.’

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were intr oduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Inspection of Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School,Tring , HP23

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5AU

My colleague and I really enjoyed our visit to Bishop Wood School. Thank you for being so polite. You always opened doors for us, found chairs for us, and asked us if we knew where we were going. We felt really lucky to be at your school when the Year 6 play was on and liked watching it very much.

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5AU

Your school is a good school. You make good progress and reach well above average standards. You are proud of your good behaviour and learning. We appreciated your enthusiasm to show us your best classwork and homework. We could see how seriously you take your learning. We know that you like coming to school and feel safe and happy there.

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5AU

We have asked your headteacher and governors to help make your lessons even better. We know that you are eager to improve. So, we have asked your teachers to make sure they always write clear next steps in your books, give you the opportunity to comment on the next steps, and practise them. We have asked the school to make the targets in the front of your books always challenging and suitable for each of you, because we know you like a challenge.

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5AU

You can help by continuing to read the marking, write back to your teacher in your books and show them you can do your next steps. We know that you will continue to work hard and meet your targets.

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5AU

Miranda Perry Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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