The Bishop Wand Church of England School

P R O T E C T – I N S P E C T I O N School report

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The Bishop Wand Church of England School Laytons Lane, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 6LT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Students achieve well, making good progress in most subjects, in this improving school.  Teaching is improving. It is now good, with some that is outstanding. Students commented that teachers, ‘believe in us and what we can achieve. They insist that we focus on our targets’.  The sixth form is good. It is expanding in numbers and the range of courses provided to meet increased demand.  The headteacher and his senior team provide good leadership and are determined to improve the school further.  Governors know the school well. They set challenging targets and monitor the quality and impact of teaching carefully.  Students’ behaviour is good in and out of lessons and has greatly improved over time. There is a strong focus on developing spiritual values. Students demonstrate a keen awareness of right and wrong which contributes to an overall atmosphere of harmony and mutual respect.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some lessons are not planned well enough to match the abilities of all students. In these lessons some students do not meet their full potential.  The monitoring and development of teaching within subjects are not always of sufficiently high quality to ensure that teaching is outstanding.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 47 lessons taught by 46 teachers, of which seven were observed jointly with members of the school’s leadership team.  Meetings were held with students, a representative of the local authority, school staff, including senior staff, and two governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.  Inspectors took account of the 116 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and the 40 responses to the staff questionnaires.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including students’ work, the improvement plans, current assessment information and the school’s assessment of how well it is doing.

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Inspection team

Lesley Farmer, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Beverly Dobson Additional Inspector Trevor Woods Additional Inspector Roger Fenwick Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The Bishop Wand Church of England School is an average-sized secondary school.  The school converted to academy status in August 2012, retaining the same name as the predecessor school. When it was last inspected by Ofsted, the predecessor school was judged to be satisfactory.  The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, is below average.  The great majority of students are of White British heritage, with very few speaking English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is slightly below average. The proportion of those at school action plus, or with a statement of special educational needs, is also slightly below average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  A very small number of students attend alternative courses at a local further education college for one day a week.  The headteacher was appointed in January 2010. Since then there have been significant changes to staffing at all levels.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning in all subjects and for all student groups, so that more is outstanding and none is less than good, by making sure that:  all subject leaders become experts in checking and improving the quality of the day-to-day planning and delivery of lessons  teachers provide more opportunities in lessons for students to develop independence in their learning  teachers plan and teach lessons that include a range of tasks or activities that challenge all students at an individual level  the extensive training programme for teachers identifies specific opportunities arising from their performance management for them to learn from best practice across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students join the school with attainment that is slightly higher than average. They achieve well in most subjects across all year groups. Their progress in English has been stronger than in mathematics but current assessment information and evidence from lesson observations indicate that this gap is closing.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs progress well. They benefit from a rigorous assessment of their needs when they join the school and support is carefully tailored and effectively monitored and adjusted to ensure that it makes a difference.  Students make good progress in the sixth form. They enjoy their studies and appreciate the individual attention they receive from their teachers and the high standards expected of them.  The school enters some students early for mathematics. The purpose of the early entry is to build students’ confidence in their ability to gain a good grade. Students who fail to gain a high

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The achievement of pupils is good

grade must continue studying mathematics into Year 11.  Students eligible for the pupil premium funding achieve better average point scores than their peers nationally, both in English and mathematics. However, in 2012, their results in English and mathematics were half a GCSE grade lower than the rest of the year group. Governors and leaders have taken effective steps to address the gap between the progress of pupils eligible for the pupil premium and their peers. Current data indicate that this gap is now significantly reduced owing to the more effective targeting of additional support for these students.  Students develop good skills in literacy and mathematics across the curriculum as well as in English and mathematics. In lessons students are confident speakers and teachers in all subjects ensure that there are good opportunities for them to read and write.  The majority of parents and carers that responded to Parent View expressed confidence in

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The achievement of pupils is good

students’ progress. These views were substantiated through the inspection findings.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teaching across the school is good and some is outstanding. Lessons move at a brisk pace and there are well-judged opportunities for students to reflect upon and explore ideas and topics. For example, in an excellent citizenship lesson, teams of Year 11 students gave presentations on animal testing. All members of the class were then required to assess the team presentations according to GCSE examination criteria. Students were fully engaged and they enjoyed both the presented arguments and making their assessments.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and students are confident that their teachers will help them to progress and achieve well. Teachers typically plan activities that follow a clear sequence, resulting in good student progress. In these lessons, the teacher communicates clearly what the students should learn and checks frequently the progress of every single student.  In the best lessons, activities are clearly designed to encourage students to develop their

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The quality of teaching is good

independence, working things out for themselves, or with others. However, where teaching is less effective, there are not enough opportunities for students to take responsibility for their own learning or reflect at a deeper level.  Students’ work is regularly marked with helpful comments making clear what students have done well and how they can improve. They are invariably aware of their targets and speak confidently about what areas of their work require further attention. The school has a marking policy based on ‘What went well’ and ‘Even better if’. Students report that this scheme is very helpful and enables them to know how and what to improve.  The school’s leaders have effectively developed teachers’ use of assessment information to guide the planning of their lessons. This has resulted in good practice in all subjects and year groups. However, in some instances teachers do not take full account of the range of levels in their

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The quality of teaching is good

classes, planning just one task for all students and making one or two extension tasks available for those that finish early. Where this happens, some students do not achieve their full potential and their progress is slower.  Teachers are provided with helpful information about the additional needs of disabled students and others who need extra help. The teamwork of teachers and additional adults is a notable strength and is clearly impacting positively on the progress of these students.  Students speak very positively about their teachers and the support that they provide. In particular they note the improvements since the appointment of the new headteacher. Older students in particular point to the focus there is now on supporting them to realise their potential.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students said that they feel very safe and well supported in school. This view was echoed by parents and carers. Those students who face particular challenges are provided with very effective help.  Students’ behaviour in lessons is at least good and sometimes outstanding, although students are occasionally a little passive or over-reliant on direction from their teachers, rather than working things out for themselves. Students pointed to significant improvements in behaviour and said that it is generally very good.  Students behave very well around the site which is an orderly and pleasant environment. No student has been permanently excluded in recent years and the number of temporary exclusions has greatly reduced.  Attendance levels are high which attests to the importance students attach to their learning.  The school helps students to have a clear understanding of discrimination. They know what

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

behaviour constitutes bullying and about the different kinds that may occur, such as homophobic or cyber bullying. Older students said that bullying often occurred in the past but all said that it is now rare and is dealt with effectively.  At the heart of this school is a set of Christian values that contributes strongly to the harmonious atmosphere that has been created. There is a strong belief in the value of each individual’s contribution. This is recognisable in many ways, but notably so in the interactions between adults and students, which are highly respectful.

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The leadership and management are good

 This is a well-led school. The headteacher challenges staff effectively to reflect on their teaching and to improve. Senior leaders are providing strong, clear leadership and the school is in a good position to improve.  The school is keen to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed. The headteacher has put much time and thought into developing rigorous and effective systems to track the progress and teaching of all students, including those who attend alternative courses off site.  The school offers a broad range of subjects to suit students’ abilities and to promote high academic attainment. Opportunities to develop students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are effectively planned across all subject areas. Many departments also provide a wide range of learning opportunities that extend beyond the school day. These are greatly appreciated by students.  Governors, senior leaders and middle leaders ensure that teachers are set challenging targets in

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The leadership and management are good

order to progress through the teachers’ pay scales. If teachers have not achieved their targets, they are not rewarded with pay increases.  Senior leaders check teaching and the work of subject leaders throughout the year but this has not yet resulted in consistently outstanding teaching. This is because subject leaders have not focused enough on improving lesson planning and developing greater independence in students’ learning.  Although there are opportunities to share outstanding teaching practice, these have not been systematically linked to individual teachers’ performance targets and are not having enough impact on improving lessons in all subjects.  The local authority has provided effective support for the headteacher in restructuring the leadership team and supporting new senior leaders. It has also provided training for leaders so that they can assess how well they are doing.  The school’s leaders are making effective use of the pupil premium funding to increase the

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The leadership and management are good

amount of teaching and support that eligible students receive in English and mathematics.  The school carefully monitors the achievement and safety of the very small number of students who attend off-site provision; their progress meets expectations.  Safeguarding arrangements meet all statutory requirements well.  The governance of the school:  Governors are ambitious for the school and committed to its values. They provide a good balance of challenge and support for the school’s leaders, particularly the headteacher whom they have fully supported in challenging staff to improve their practice and in taking the necessary steps if this has not happened quickly enough. They know where the best teaching exists within the school and expect to see further improvements. Governors regularly review the pay and performance of the headteacher and they have a clear view of the pay and performance of all staff within the school. They are aware of how well the school compares

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The leadership and management are good

with other schools nationally and similar schools in terms of its achievement. They actively monitor the school’s budget to ensure value for money. They are in the early days of monitoring the pupil premium but they know how it has been used and have ensured that robust systems exist to monitor its effectiveness so that the achievement of eligible students improves.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 138491 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 407183

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Academy converter School category Community Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1006 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 106 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Neil Adolphus Headteacher Toby Miller Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected. Telephone number 01932 778600 Fax number 01932 771022 Email address Admin@bishopwand.surrey.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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