Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 8–9 February 2012 Inspection number 379671 Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 118730 Local authority Kent Inspection number 379671 Inspection dates 8–9 February 2012 Lead inspector Eileen Chadwick

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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 Primary School category Voluntary Aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 197 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lynn Mann Headteacher Teresa Homan Date of previous school inspection 8 October 2008 School address School Lane Bapchild Sittingbourne ME9 9NL Telephone number 01795 424143 Fax number 01795 424143 Email address Teresa.Homan@bapchild.Kent.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. The inspectors spent eight hours observing teaching, which included visiting 17 lessons and observing seven teachers. The inspectors heard groups of pupils reading in Years 1, 2 and Key Stage 2 and held meetings with pupils. Meetings were also held with school staff and a representative of the governing body. The inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at documentation, including policies, the school improvement plan, pupils’ work, and records of their learning and progress. In addition, inspectors considered the responses to questionnaires from 80 parents and carers as well as responses from questionnaires submitted by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school. It draws its pupils from the local community and surrounding area. Nearly all pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The percentage of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average, although the proportion with statements of special educational needs is above average. The majority of these pupils have communication, literacy and/or emotional and behavioural difficulties. The Early Years Foundation Stage children are taught in a single-age Reception class.

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Information about the school

There is a pre-school on site but this is separately managed and was not included in this inspection. The school meets the government’s current floor standard. 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

 In accordance with section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a notice to improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to leadership and management, and its impact on improving the quality of teaching to raise pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Key findings

 Although the school provides an acceptable standard of education, it is not as effective as it could be in bringing about improvements. Pupils’ achievement over time is satisfactory but, by Year 6, their attainment is no better than average, as at the time of the last inspection.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ progress across Key Stages 1 and 2 is satisfactory overall but varies between year groups. In Key Stage 2, pupils’ progress accelerates in Years 5 and 6, which helps to resolve the unevenness in achievement in Years 3 and 4. Children get off to a good start in Reception. They settle quickly and do well in phonics (knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent) and reading. Achievement in reading and writing is currently better than in previous years. In both key stages, lower-attaining pupils do not always develop a good grasp of phonics and do not read regularly enough.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory overall but assessment is not used consistently to build on pupils’ prior learning. This was a weakness at the last inspection and has not been addressed. As a result, the more-able pupils are not always challenged and tasks are too hard for lower-attaining pupils.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory overall and generally contributes soundly but not always to their keen approach to learning. They are kept safe and attend regularly. 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

 Leadership and management are inadequate. Inconsistencies in teaching identified at the previous inspection have not been tackled effectively. Consequently, school improvement is inadequate. Although leaders carefully assess pupils’ progress and use a range of intervention programmes, they do not take enough measures to help teachers improve the quality of their teaching. Governors do not adequately monitor the impact of initiatives on improving achievement. The school does not demonstrate the capacity to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by December 2012 by:  improving lower-attaining pupils’ reading through systematically developing their phonics skills  improving pupils’ spelling and helping them to systematically apply phonics  improving the progress made by the more-able pupils in mathematics  ensuring there are opportunities for lower-attaining pupils to read and be heard reading every day.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and better teaching by:  ensuring that work is always pitched at the right level for all pupils, especially the lower attaining and more-able  using professional development to increase teachers’ subject knowledge and providing opportunities for them to observe and apply good practice  ensuring lesson introductions are not too long and provide enough time for pupils to complete work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers at all levels by:  rigorously monitoring teaching for its impact on the progress of different groups and giving clear guidance to help teachers improve  providing training for middle leaders so they can give high-quality support to colleagues and take a full part in raising achievement  ensuring the school improvement plan clearly shows the attainment targets for pupils in all year groups  strengthening governors’ skills so that they are better able to evaluate the impact of initiatives on raising achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s starting points on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage are in line with age-related expectations. They are making increasingly good progress leading to above-average attainment on entry to Year 1. The rise in children’s levels of 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 attainment by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is due to the positive impact of initiatives to improve the teaching of literacy. Across the school, pupils’ progress is satisfactory overall but inconsistent in Key Stages 1 and 2. Standards in reading are broadly average by the end of Year 2. By Year 6, pupils’ attainment is average in reading, writing and mathematics, although a minority, mainly boys, have lower attainment in reading. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils successfully write for

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Achievement of pupils

a range of purposes, but spelling is a weaker aspect; this has already been identified by the school. Pupils are not always encouraged to sound out words before writing; for example, in Year 3, pupils who did not sound out words struggled to spell them correctly when writing their own instructions for making a sandwich. This approach limits the consistency of pupils’ progress in learning how to spell.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make satisfactory progress overall in mathematics with quicker progress in Years 5 and 6 than in Years 1 to 4. Pupils’ progress occasionally slows in Years 3 and 4, when teachers spend too much time reinforcing previous learning. For example, in one lesson, the introduction on bar charts was too easy for more-able pupils, and in another lesson, the introductory activity on ‘Time’ did not consistently challenge the more able.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their peers. In Years 1, 2 and 3 lower-attaining pupils sometimes have gaps in their phonics skills and do not confidently blend sounds when tackling words. In these years, reading books for lower-attaining pupils are occasionally too hard.

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Achievement of pupils

The quality of learning is satisfactory but variability remains. Pupils’ communication skills develop soundly through regular opportunities for them to discuss their ideas. This includes pupils with speech and language difficulties. However, sometimes in literacy lessons, teachers do not fully match reading and writing tasks to the needs of lower-attaining pupils and this leads to them making slower progress than expected. For example, in a Year 2 literacy lesson which involved reading about the Antarctic, activities were appropriately matched to the reading levels of most pupils but the initial reading activity was too hard for the lower attainers.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers are satisfied with pupils’ progress. However, a few are dissatisfied about the consistency of their children’s progress in either literacy and/or mathematics, especially in Years 3 and 4. The inspection evidence endorses these concerns.

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Quality of teaching

Satisfactory teaching results in pupils making progress that is broadly in line with that made by pupils nationally. However, there is insufficient good or better teaching to raise pupils’ achievement rapidly. Weaker aspects of teaching are not being addressed quickly enough to ensure that the proportion of good teaching increases. Teachers are enthusiastic and have good relationships with pupils, and whiteboard technology is usually used well to support pupils’ learning. The learning purposes for each lesson are usually clear and pupils are keen to start their work. However, teachers’ expectations, their understanding of pupils’ levels and of the next steps 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 they need to take vary between subjects. As a result, the match of work to pupils’

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Quality of teaching

ability levels is not always appropriate.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons, pupils are enthusiastic about their work and teachers skilfully build on pupils’ previous learning. This was observed in a successful mathematics lesson in Year 5 when pupils learned to read and plot co-ordinates. The teacher’s good subject knowledge led to careful planning which enabled pupils of all abilities to learn well. Children in Reception are taught well and adults provide a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. However, most teaching is no better than satisfactory. The reasons for this include slow lesson introductions or overly long whole-class introductory activities. In these lessons, pupils are not given enough time to complete work independently. This is reflected in some pupils’ books where a few pieces of work are either unfinished or not been enough has been recorded. Marking and target setting are satisfactory. There are some good examples in Years 5 and 6

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Quality of teaching

where marking gives pupils clear guidance on how to improve, but this good practice is not consistent in other year groups. Older pupils have clear targets and are involved in assessing each other’s work.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum has a sound impact on teaching and teachers take adequate steps to promote pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Pupils in Year 6 told inspectors how much they enjoyed their ‘Rainforest’ project and boys said they now looked forward to writing. Their books showed they had made good progress in creative and reflective writing on moral issues surrounding rainforests. However, while pupils in Years 1 to 3 have regular phonics lessons, the development of their phonics skills is not sufficiently systematic or consistent. Reading records show that some lower-attaining pupils do not read often enough, either in school or at home. Teachers do not consistently ensure these pupils have the opportunity to read, and be heard reading, in school every day.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers expressed overall satisfaction with the quality of teaching but a few felt it should be more consistent from year to year. The inspection evidence confirms this view.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Parents and carers are pleased with behaviour and pupils say that most of them usually behave well. School records confirm that behaviour is at least satisfactory over time; this was confirmed by the inspection team. Pupils are friendly, polite, courteous and cooperate well together. During the inspection, pupils’ behaviour was always at least satisfactory. It was good around the school, at lunchtime and during playtimes. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage settle and behave well. They learn to take some responsibility for managing their own learning, often sustaining concentration well when working and playing individually and in small groups. However, in the rest of the school, while there are no significant weaknesses in behaviour, pupils’ attention wanders when learning activities are not fully matched to their needs. This, in turn, affects pupils’ ability to make good progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

A few parents and carers voiced concerns over occasional bullying incidents, but like 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 the pupils, they said these were rare and were always tackled quickly. Pupils have a sound awareness of the different forms of bullying. A very small minority of parents and carers said there were occasional disruptions to lessons. The inspection found that poor behaviour is unusual, primarily as the school has effective systems for helping pupils with identified behavioural difficulties to improve their social skills and interactions with others. Pupils enjoy school and say they feel and know how to keep themselves safe. Attendance is above average because the school applies very consistent procedures when communicating with parents and carers over the

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Leadership and management

Weaknesses in strategic leadership mean the school has not adequately demonstrated the capacity to improve since the last inspection. Actions to raise pupils’ academic achievement have not been effective. Assessment checks on progress are regular and involve all staff. Although senior leaders provide interventions to speed up pupils’ progress where it is found to be lacking, they do not focus enough on developing teaching so that pupils can make consistently good progress. Most staff development has focused on assessment practice. Although this has been of some value, there has been limited impact on teachers’ use of assessment information to plan work that is tailored to pupils’ needs. There has been too little professional development in literacy and mathematics. Staff have had limited opportunities to observe good practice, for example, in other schools. Leaders monitor teaching but they do not adequately evaluate its impact on the learning of

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Leadership and management

different groups. Middle leaders with responsibilities for literacy and numeracy have recently observed colleagues teach but have been insufficiently trained for their monitoring role. The school improvement plan has a limited focus on what levels of attainment the school should be striving for in reading, writing and mathematics. The governing body works hard for the school and governors are very involved in daily activities. However, it does not monitor the impact of initiatives on raising achievement well enough to hold the school to account.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is satisfactory; it provides sufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their basic skills and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The use of topics to link pupils’ learning in different subjects has enlivened the curriculum and increased pupils’ enjoyment in writing.

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Leadership and management

Parents and carers make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning in school and are heavily involved in setting up a new computerised reading system but it is too early to judge the impact of this on raising achievement. A few parents and carers said they did not feel well informed and would like a website. The school recognises that there is still more to do in relation to developing communication between home and school. There is a strong focus on keeping safe, and safeguarding arrangements securely meet statutory requirements. The school promotes equality adequately and there is no evidence of discrimination.

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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 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 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 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced 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

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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Sittingbourne ME9 9NL

Thank you very much for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed talking to you about your work and hearing some of you read. This letter is to tell you what we found out about the school. There is a variety of things that your school is doing well, such as helping the youngest children to settle quickly in the Reception class and to make good progress. We were also impressed by your friendliness and the way you are so helpful and polite.

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Sittingbourne ME9 9NL

We found that the school is not as good as it should be. Although the school is providing you with a satisfactory education, it is not improving quickly enough. The school has been given a notice to improve. This is because we judge there are things that need to get better quickly. This means that inspectors will be back to see how well the school is doing.

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now:

 Make sure you reach higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Ensure that teaching of letters and the sounds they represent helps you to improve your reading and writing skills more quickly.  Make sure you are given work that is not too hard or too easy, and to help your teachers to make all lessons at least good.  Ensure that all school leaders keep a closer check on how well you are being taught, and to help your teachers make all lessons at least good, and check regularly that your progress is never less than good.

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now:

I hope you will continue to enjoy school and work hard.

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now:

Eileen Chadwick 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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