Newbold School

School report Newbold School Popeswood Road, Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 4AH

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Overall effectiveness Adequate 3

Pupils’ achievement Adequate 3 Pupils’ behaviour and personal development Good 2 Quality of teaching Adequate 3 Quality of curriculum Adequate 3 Pupils’ welfare, health and safety Good 2 Leadership and management Adequate 3

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This school is adequate because

 Pupils make the same amount of progress as that seen nationally even though many of them are capable of making more, given their starting points  Teaching is not challenging enough across the school. Many lessons are competent but do not motivate pupils to learn as much as they could.  Some teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to correct their work.  The curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to make consistently good progress.  There are not enough leaders and managers in the school to further improve the school.  The governing body does not contribute enough to checking the progress of pupils and the quality of teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. They are keen to learn and get on with each other very well.  Pupils feel safe and are happy in the school. They are looked after well.  The school has positive relationships with parents and carers.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets schedule 1 of The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended by The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Inspectors observed 14 part-lessons and listened to some pupils read.  Pupils’ work was scrutinised and meetings took place with pupils, staff, senior leaders, governors and the Director of the Education Department of the British Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including improvement plans, policies and safeguarding arrangements.  Inspectors analysed 12 questionnaires that were returned by staff. Views were considered from the 19 responses from parents and carers using the online survey (Parent View)

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Inspection team

John Seal HMI, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Jane Chesterfield Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian independent, mixed day school for pupils aged from three to 11 years.  Located in Bracknell, Berkshire, the school is situated in a purpose-built site.  The school opened in 1941 and is registered for 86 pupils. There are currently 77 on roll aged from three to 11 years.  Two pupils have a statement of special educational needs.  A higher-than-average proportion of pupils start and leave the school during each school year. This is partly because of a number of families of different nationalities and international backgrounds where parents and carers attend a local college and only remain in the area for the duration of their course.  There are a very small minority of disabled pupils and a similar number with special educational needs who do not have statements.  The school uses additional provision including swimming lessons at a local pool and for physical

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Information about this school

education (PE) at the neighbouring college.  The school’s previous full Ofsted inspection was in January 2010.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the speed of pupils' progress throughout the school by: - providing pupils with work that closely matches their abilities, challenging the more able and structured to support those who require more help - making sure pupils’ work is marked carefully and provides information to help them improve - providing pupils with opportunities to correct their work soon after it has been marked - ensuring all work is presented to the quality of the best seen in the school - ensure that teaching assistants and other adults are actively engaged in helping pupils with their learning in lessons.  Improve the curriculum by:  Ensure leadership and management is more robust and ambitious by: - setting precise and specific targets for pupils’ achievement, especially in reading, writing and mathematics - increasing the number of staff who are responsible for leadership and management of the school beyond the headteacher with an emphasis on holding teachers to account for pupils’

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

progress  clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the governing body regarding checking the performance of the school, particularly pupils' achievement and the quality of teaching.

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Pupils’ achievement Adequate

Pupils’ achievement is adequate. It is not good because most pupils do not make as much progress as they are capable of given their starting points because teaching is only adequate. By the end of Year 6, there are some pupils whose attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is higher than that seen nationally because they have made the expected progress from higher-than- average starting points, although there are a few pupils’ whose progress accelerates towards the end of Key Stage 2 because of the better teaching. Those pupils who start and leave the school without completing the expected span of time settle into their school life without difficulty. Pupils whose first language is not English become more confident and fluent reasonably soon after starting at the school.

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Pupils’ achievement Adequate

Younger children’s learning development is in line with that seen nationally by the end of Reception. The standards of most pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are the same as those seen nationally. Those pupils who inspectors heard read were fluent, confident and enjoyed their stories. Their standards were in line with those of similar-aged pupils in other schools. The small number of pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to their peers. Achievement in other subjects apart from English and mathematics is generally adequate because of the adequate curriculum which has suitable plans and schemes of work.

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Pupils’ behaviour and personal development Good

Pupils’ behaviour and personal development are good. It is not outstanding because, although pupils are keen to learn and enjoy their lessons, there are times when they are not able to actively engage in their learning. This leads to pupils sitting passively listening to and watching teachers. Younger children have good opportunities to learn and play outdoors, which is an improvement from the previous inspection. They have some opportunities to take responsibility for activities to develop the skills of independent learning.

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Pupils’ behaviour and personal development Good

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and good attendance. Pupils are very polite and courteous and, when they have the opportunity, they have a readiness to learn and work well together in pairs and groups. Occurrences of bullying are extremely rare; pupils told inspectors that bullying hardly happened but if it did, they trusted the adults to deal with it quickly. The Christian ethos of the school is reflected in assemblies and during different subjects, particularly religious education.

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Pupils’ behaviour and personal development Good

The support for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Pupils are highly tolerant of each other and, because of the mixture of different nationalities and backgrounds; they play and work together harmoniously and happily. Religious, political and similar issues are presented to pupils in a balanced way. However, the plans for introducing and teaching different religions and cultures are not fully developed. The school provides pupils with opportunities to learn about public institutions in England through, for example, visits by the police and fire and rescue services.

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Quality of teaching Adequate

The quality of teaching is adequate, resulting in pupils’ adequate achievement. Teaching quality varies between classes and age groups including the Early Years Foundation Stage. Most of it is adequate, with some that is good. In the good lessons, inspectors observed lively introductions from teachers before letting pupils start their work at a level that challenged them to make good progress. In Reception, children are able to work cooperatively. Their social skills develop well and they are provided with opportunities to work and play both inside and outdoors. Where good teaching was observed, teachers made sure that the work pupils were doing was hard enough to help them make good progress. An example of this was seen in the class of Year 5 and 6 pupils while they were writing newspaper articles. The majority of teaching is competent but does not encourage pupils to become less reliant on teachers for resources and learning on their own. All

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Quality of teaching Adequate

the pupils learn at the pace of the slowest learner because the teacher provides instructions and explanations to the whole class regardless of pupils’ different abilities. Pupils’ progress over time is adequate rather than good because pupils’ prior learning and knowledge are not always taken into account at the start of lessons. Teachers and other adults spend time with individual pupils to repeat prior activities. This approach ensures that pupils maintain their adequate progress, but does not enable them to accelerate their learning, become confident in accessing resources and materials or working in groups independently of their teachers. Some teachers express their high expectations of how pupils should prepare and present their work but this is not a consistent feature in all classes. As a result, inspectors saw pupils’ work that did not have headings and dates, too many worksheets stuck in haphazardly into exercise books, and poor handwriting going

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Quality of teaching Adequate

unchallenged. Not all teaching assistants and other adults in classes are engaged adequately in helping pupils to learn effectively.

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Quality of teaching Adequate

Assessment information is not used to good effect by most teachers. Although work is conscientiously marked, often with praise, written comments for pupils about how to achieve higher levels of attainment are not consistently seen between classes. The best examples of these were seen in the writing of pupils in Years 5 and 6. Teachers and some other adults do provide verbal comments and help, but the opportunities to correct previous mistakes following the marking in pupils’ writing and mathematics are not regular enough to contribute to increasing the rates of pupils’ progress.

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Quality of curriculum Adequate

The quality of the curriculum is adequate. It is not good because, although it is broad and balanced, it is not implemented effectively on a day-to-day basis in lessons. As a result, pupils of all ages and aptitudes are not challenged enough and only make adequate progress. There are an adequate range of suitable resources, for example a computer suite which is regularly used. All subjects have appropriate policies and plans based on the National Curriculum schemes of work. Provision meets the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Quality of curriculum Adequate

Pupils’ skills in literacy and numeracy are supported appropriately by curriculum plans. These plans provide general frameworks for short, medium and long periods of time but rely on teachers to adapt them on an ad hoc basis, which limits teachers having higher expectations of achievement and understanding over time. The school’s Christian values are promoted in religious education, although opportunities for learning about people of different cultures and faiths are underdeveloped. Pupils’ personal, social and health education provision is taught through regular timetabled lessons. The school provides pupils with good opportunities to play outdoor sports including athletics and football using the pitches and grounds of the adjacent college. Pupils have regular swimming lessons at a local pool at different points in the year. The curriculum is enriched with a range of visits and visitors. Recently, pupils in Key Stage 2 visited the British Museum to

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Quality of curriculum Adequate

extend their understanding of Anglo-Saxons and Vikings.

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety Good

The provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety is good. All of the regulations are met, an improvement from the last inspection. The school’s implementation of safeguarding meets requirements and ensures the effective promotion of pupils’ safety. All policies and procedures are up to date and all staff are trained in child protection to the appropriate levels. First aid training is up to date. The school has a single central register for recording checks made on the suitability of staff to work with children.

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety Good

The behaviour management policy is up to date and the school records the few incidents of inappropriate behaviour in a suitable manner. The incidents of bullying are almost non-existent; pupils who spoke to inspectors, and parents and carers who responded to Parent View, were highly positive about the safe environment.

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety Good

The headteacher maintains a very conscientious approach to health and safety. Risk assessment forms are in place for activities on and off the school site. The attendance registers are well maintained.

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Leadership and management Adequate

Leadership and management are adequate. It is not yet good because the procedures for improving the quality of teaching and monitoring pupils’ achievement have only recently been put into place. Procedures for gathering information about the performance of the school are suitable, but the judgements made about pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching are over- generous. Targets for improving pupils’ achievements are not sharp enough.

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Leadership and management Adequate

The proprietor has ensured that the school has received support during a period of difficulty in recruiting a substantive headteacher. Over the last two years, the current headteacher has worked tirelessly, and with integrity and diligence, to ensure the school meets regulatory standards and provides a safe and caring environment for the pupils. The lack of other staff with senior leadership roles and responsibilities has hindered the development of consistently good teaching to enable pupils to make the progress of which they are capable. The proprietor, governors and headteacher recognise there is a need to develop more leadership and management capacity within the school, and this is reflected in the current improvement plans.

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Leadership and management Adequate

The governors, although well intentioned and keen to be more involved in the school’s development, have been distracted from focusing on teaching and achievement by spending most of their time on improving the school site and finances. As a result, there has been a limited focus on gaining an accurate and secure picture of the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. The headteacher has begun to observe lessons and provide teachers with feedback, but this is in the very early stages of development and has not yet had any significant impact on improving the quality of teaching across the school.

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Leadership and management Adequate

The school’s premises offer appropriate accommodation for all pupils to be taught securely and safely. Arrangements and facilities for pupils who are ill are appropriate. All of the required information is provided, or is made available, to parents, carers and others. Parents and carers are provided with regular reports on their children’s academic progress. The complaints procedure meets regulatory requirements.

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Leadership and management Adequate

The governors have ensured that all the independent school standards are met.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding A school which provides an exceptional quality of education and significantly exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 2 Good A school which provides a high quality of education that exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 3 Adequate A school which meets minimum requirements but needs to improve the quality of education it provides. Grade 4 Inadequate A school where minimum requirements are not met and/or the quality of education has serious weaknesses.

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School details

Unique reference number 110141 Inspection number 420170 DfE registration number 867/6004 This inspection was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Type of school Seventh-day Adventist, primary school School status Independent School Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 77 Number of part time pupils 20 Proprietor South England Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists Chair Pastor Patrick Johnson Headteacher Ruth Ohman Date of previous school inspection 18 January 2010 Annual fees (day pupils) £3,660 Telephone number 01344 421088 Fax number None available Email address headteacher@newboldschool.co.uk 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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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.

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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

inspects to 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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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