Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery

Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School School Lane, Sittingbourne, ME9 9NL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Require improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Most pupils do not make good progress in writing and mathematics.  The quality of teaching varies too much in Key Stage 2.  Some teachers do not always use information on pupils’ achievement effectively to plan work at the right level of difficulty for individuals.  Teachers do not often provide pupils with ongoing feedback that allows them to extend and apply their knowledge.  Pupils are not given enough opportunities to respond to teachers’ written comments in their books. As a result, they do not always make improvements to their work quickly enough.  Some teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding regularly and adjust tasks so that they are challenging enough to extend pupils’ learning.  Leaders do not check the quality of teaching as rigorously as they should.  Subject leaders do not always use information on the quality of teaching and learning to identify areas for improvement.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils enjoy school and their attendance is above the national average. They behave well in lessons and around the school.  Since the last inspection, pupils have started to make good progress in their reading and their behaviour has improved.  Leaders are now more rigorous in their tracking of pupils’ progress.  Governance has improved. Governors now hold school leaders to account for the performance of the school.  Work in classrooms and daily assemblies promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 13 lessons, of which five were joint observations with the headteacher. The inspection team also spent time in the Early Years Foundation Stage observing the quality of teaching and support that is given to children in the Reception class.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and local authority’s school improvement advisor to discuss the progress that the school has made since the last inspection.  Meetings were held with other senior leaders and staff and with members of the governing body.  Inspectors considered parents’ and carers’ views of the school through informal discussions at the start of the inspection and by considering the 33 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). There were also discussions with pupils and staff. The inspectors had lunch with the pupils and listened to some of them read.  Inspectors examined a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’

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Information about this inspection

current progress, and planning and monitoring documentation. They looked at attendance figures and pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Janice Williams, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Maura Docherty Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Less than 10% of the pupils are known to be eligible for additional support through the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked-after children, those eligible for free school meals and the children of service families. This figure is well below the national average. There is only one pupil that is looked after by the local authority, and there are no pupils from service families.  Most of the pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported at school action is above the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the quality of teaching, especially in writing and mathematics, is consistently good across the school by:  using the pupils’ assessment information more effectively to plan work at the right level of difficulty for all pupils  providing pupils with ongoing feedback in lessons and through marking that allows them to extend and apply their knowledge  providing more opportunities for pupils to respond to teachers’ comments and feedback in exercise books  improving teachers’ subject knowledge, especially in writing.  Accelerate pupils’ achievement in writing and mathematics by:  ensuring there is stronger focus on the use of punctuation to improve sentence structure and meaning  checking pupils’ understanding more quickly and adjusting tasks where necessary to provide more challenging activities that extend pupils’ learning.  Strengthen leadership and management by:  making sure that the quality of teaching is rigorously checked

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 making sure that subject leaders use information on the quality of teaching and learning to identify accurately areas for improvement within their subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because most pupils, especially in Key Stage 2, do not make good progress in writing and mathematics.  Children enter Reception with skills that are at age-related expectations in most learning areas. Children make good progress in Reception because of engaging physical activities that are clearly linked to mathematical concepts. They enjoy their literacy lessons because the teacher uses many games and activities to sustain their interest. They are often excited and listen well to the teacher and their peers. By the end of the Reception year, many pupils have met or exceeded their learning goals so that by the time they enter Year 1, attainment for many is above average.  At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils’ attainment is similar to the national average. Their attainment in the Year 1 phonics check, which measures their ability to link letters and sounds, was above

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

the national average.  In 2012, pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 was in line with the national average. Since the last inspection, leaders have invested in a lot of training and resources to improve pupils’ reading and spelling skills. Consequently, most pupils’ attainment was higher in reading than in writing and mathematics.  In different year groups, most pupils make consistently good progress in reading because of the effective teaching of letters and sounds, especially in Key Stage 1. Older pupils are given many opportunities to read texts and instructions independently.  Most pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics is weaker than that in reading. Although pupils are now writing extended pieces, they do not yet make good progress in writing. In some lessons there is not enough emphasis on the accurate use of punctuation to improve sentence structures and there is often not enough exploration of how a range of punctuation can alter the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

structure and meaning in a text.  Pupils do not make good progress in mathematics because in some lessons teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding regularly. Pupils are often asked to do many repetitive tasks which relate to one concept and plans are not always amended to provide more challenging work to extend their learning.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. In some lessons, support staff provide good guidance to pupils.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding make the same variable progress as others in their classes. At the end of Year 6 in 2012, these pupils attained approximately a term behind their peers in English and two terms behind in mathematics. The extra small-group tuition provided by the funding is now narrowing the gap in reading and writing and their progress in mathematics

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

is now similar or better than that of others in the school in the same age group.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There is too much variation in the quality of teaching in Key Stage 2.The quality of teaching in writing and mathematics, especially in Key Stage 2, is not good because pupils’ assessment information is not used effectively to plan work at the right level of difficulty for all pupils.  Pupils are now writing extended pieces and are encouraged to improve the quality of their writing; however, pupils do not make good progress because of weaknesses in teachers’ subject knowledge. In some lessons, pupils do not make enough progress in extending the content of their writing because teachers do not model the correct use of punctuation.  In writing books, teachers’ feedback is more detailed and pupils receive more guidance to improve the quality of their writing, but they are not given enough opportunities to respond to comments from teachers. In the few instances where this does happen, both in writing and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

mathematics, teachers do not always follow up pupils’ responses to ensure that they extend their knowledge and skills.  Teaching is stronger in Reception and Key Stage 1. In Reception, children often make good progress because the teacher and other adults continuously check their understanding and adjust tasks to support learning. Children are often very motivated and engaged in lessons because of the many stimulating activities and games that are linked to either literacy or numeracy.  Pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 make good progress in the linking of letters and sounds and this supports their good progress in reading. High-quality resources and guidance from adults enable pupils to be confident in blending sounds and sounding out words.  In Year 1, lessons move at a brisk pace and no time is wasted as pupils effectively self-assess their learning. Teachers encourage pupils to work together as ‘talk partners’ and this helps them

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

to become more reflective. They all make good progress because of superb questioning that targets specific pupils to ensure that all are highly motivated and attentive.  Additional support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is often effective, particularly when teaching assistants use good-quality questioning to guide pupils into becoming more independent in their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are often interested in their learning and often try to do their best, even when they do not clearly understand some of the work.  In lessons, disruptive behaviour is rare. In Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils cooperate well so that teachers and additional adults can offer targeted support where it is needed.  In Reception, the harmonious indoor learning environment promotes positive relationships. Children work well together in pairs to answer questions and they show a high level of respect for their peers and adults. They demonstrate great joy in their learning and they are very confident in showing what they can do.  In the other year groups, pupils work well together at their tables and discuss topics and concepts in a mature and responsible manner. In groups, they listen attentively to each other and explain the tasks if a few are unsure.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At lunchtime, different year groups integrate well together and there is an inclusive atmosphere where all pupils are treated with respect. They say that the school is safe and bullying is rare. When incidents are reported to teachers, they deal effectively with the pupils involved.  Older pupils are given responsibility roles. In Years 4 to 6, ‘play activity leaders’ (PALS) organise, operate and monitor actives for pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in and outside of the school. They have a clear awareness of how to keep safe while using the internet. The Year 6 pupils have made e-safety posters that the younger pupils read to increase their knowledge of how to safely use the internet.  Most of the parents interviewed and those who responded to Parent View agreed that their child was happy, safe and well looked after by the school. A few parents were dissatisfied with the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

progress their children made and with the school’s communication systems.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Although still in need of improvement in some aspects, for example, ensuring that teaching is consistently good and that all pupils make good progress, leadership and management have been improved since the last inspection. Most of the areas identified from the last inspection have been addressed. The governing body is now holding leaders to account for pupils’ progress. Pupils confidently apply their knowledge of the blending of letters and sounds to pronounce words accurately. As a result, they now make consistently good progress in reading.  Teachers’ performance is linked to their pay and there are many training opportunities and support programmes in place to help teachers improve their practice. However, leaders recognise that there is scope to improve some teachers’ subject knowledge in writing.  Leaders have worked well with the local authority to improve leadership and to check pupils’

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The leadership and management require improvement

progress and the quality of teaching. As a result of the effective ongoing support, leadership is no longer inadequate.  The school’s evaluation of its own work is a little overgenerous. Leaders now use information on pupils’ progress more effectively to identify where additional support is needed. However, variations remain in the quality of teaching, especially in Key Stage 2. Leaders are not yet identifying some weaknesses in teaching that affect pupils’ progress, for example, pupils doing repetitive tasks that lack challenge, especially in mathematics.  Leaders are now using other evidence to confirm whether teaching is good. However, they are aware that they need to improve systems for checking so that these are more rigorous and focus on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning.  Subject leaders now have an awareness of pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics and can identify areas that need stronger focus. However, they have relied largely on teachers’

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The leadership and management require improvement

assessments of pupils’ progress. Although they have examined the work done in pupils’ books, their checking of the quality of teaching and learning lacks rigour. For example, they have not clearly identified how marking and feedback can be more informative to pupils.  The school works collaboratively with eight other schools to moderate the marking and feedback that is given to pupils, but subject leaders have not effectively used their analysis and other information to identify areas for further development in teachers’ subject knowledge, especially in writing.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is promoted well through the topics covered in class and daily assemblies and the school is successful in ensuring that there is no discrimination. Pupils’ spiritual and moral awareness is increased through the many opportunities to be reflective in assemblies. Social skills are enhanced through discussions and sharing ideas

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The leadership and management require improvement

with other pupils and their cultural development is promoted through art and music classes. The school has also established a link with a school in Ghana. The project has developed pupils’ understanding of a different culture.  The pupil premium funding is used to fund additional small-group tuition for vulnerable pupils.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governance is now strength of the school. Governors have restructured the leadership team to ensure that there is greater accountability from leaders. They are aware that the 2012 Year 6 pupils did not make good progress in English and mathematics and are now closely monitoring the progress of all pupils. They get regular updates from subject leaders about pupils’ achievement and are continuously challenging leaders to accelerate pupils’ progress. The governors responsible for the school’s ‘raising attainment plan’ have carried out book scrutiny and have had discussions with pupils about their learning in literacy, in particular reading. Governors are aware that they need to do more to improve pupils’ writing and mathematics. Governors monitor the spending of the pupil premium funding and they effectively support the headteacher in ensuring that teachers’ pay progression is linked to pupils’ progress. They

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The leadership and management require improvement

make sure safeguarding requirements are fully met and effective.

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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 118730 Local authority Kent Inspection number 399757

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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 Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 176 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Geoff Lawerence Headteacher Teresa Homan Date of previous school inspection 8–9 February 2012 Telephone number 01795 424143 Fax number 01795 424143 Email address headteacher@bapchild.kent.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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