Bournville Village Primary

Bournville Junior School Linden Road, Birmingham, B30 1JY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Excellent leadership and management have ensured that the outstanding quality found at the last inspection has not only been maintained, but developed even further.  Pupils of all ages achieve exceptionally well not only in English and mathematics but in a wide range of other subjects, where attainment is high.  Teaching is of a consistently high quality so pupils make excellent progress as they move through the school.  Teachers give pupils many opportunities to find things out for themselves and to move on to the next steps in learning when they feel confident. Consequently, the pace of progress is mostly rapid.  Teachers keep a very close eye on how well their pupils are doing and set demanding tasks to which pupils respond with enthusiasm and a determination to do well.  Marking is usually very helpful to pupils. Very occasionally, teachers do not make clear how pupils could improve their work or record their

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

thinking more effectively in mathematics.  Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons, around the school and at break times. They enjoy school, feel safe there, and their attendance is above average.  Senior leaders keep a regular check on the quality of teaching and learning. Through rigorous procedures for checking how effective teaching is, they ensure all pupils do their very best.  Teachers have to regularly account for the progress their pupils are making using accurate and detailed checks on each pupil’s progress.  Governors know the school well through their high level of involvement with leaders at all levels. This places them in a strong position to question and challenge staff about school performance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors saw 19 lessons and observed 15 teachers teaching. Twelve lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors heard pupils read and looked at the work in their books.  Meetings were held with governors, senior leaders, year leaders, other staff and pupils. A meeting was also held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s improvement plans, its own judgements on its strengths and weaknesses and the data it collects on pupils’ progress. Documents detailing the school’s arrangements for safeguarding were reviewed.  Questionnaire responses from 29 members of staff were analysed.  The inspection team took account of 73 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They also noted the responses to the school’s own recent questionnaire to parents and three letters sent to the inspection team by parents.

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Inspection team

David Speakman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Taylor Additional Inspector Frances Millett Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This three-form entry school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is similar to that of other primary schools. A few speak English as an additional language and receive support as they are at the early stages of learning English.  The number of pupils for whom the school receives support through the pupil premium is similar to the national average. This is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children in the care of the local authority, and those who have a parent serving in the armed forces.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. An average proportion of pupils are supported at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a breakfast club before school each morning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure a consistent approach to marking pupils’ work so it always reflects the school’s best practice to advise pupils on:  how to improve their skills in setting out well-developed and clearly structured answers to problems in mathematics  knowing what it is they need to do to get to the next level in their work.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The progress of pupils currently in school is outstanding. Pupils in Year 6 are about a year ahead of where they are expected to be nationally for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. Year 5 pupils are about a year ahead in mathematics and writing and about five terms ahead in reading. Both year groups have made exceptional progress over the years. Younger pupils make excellent progress and are working at levels beyond those typical for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In 2012, standards at the end of Key Stage 2 were above the national average and published achievement data for this group were not as good as current data, or that of past years. However, the school’s own assessment information, based on checks on these pupils’ attainment soon after they joined the school, showed this group made excellent progress. All pupils made the nationally expected two levels of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The percentage of pupils making greater than expected progress far exceeded that found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils are confident and accurate readers. They read fluently and recognise most words but on the odd occasion when they come across a difficult or unfamiliar word, they have strategies to read the word independently. They understand a wide range of texts. Pupils are regular readers, get support at home and read for pleasure.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils develop their writing skills exceptionally well and their writing is of a high quality. Older pupils produce well-structured pieces of extended writing that are carefully planned, such as their fictional diary entries recording their thoughts and emotions on their first visit to Pandora. Carefully chosen words are cleverly used to express their thoughts and ideas. Writing is neat, very easy to read and their writing in other subjects reflects the quality in their English books.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils have a firm grasp of number and calculate very well mentally. Even younger pupils recognise if they have made a mistake and self-correct. They are able to devise strategies to solve some quite difficult problems in mathematics with a good level of success, for example when Year 6 applied the theorem of Pythagoras to calculate the lengths of sides in triangles. However, their ability to record more lengthy calculations in sufficient detail, showing all their working out, is less well developed. Pupils in Year 4 demonstrated excellent skills in mental calculation. They interpreted graphs very accurately and showed a thorough understanding of how different scales affect the reading of the information.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Attainment and progress across a wide range of other subjects and across all year groups is very good and contributes significantly to the outstanding achievement of pupils in this school. Pupils’ books and lesson observations during the inspection showed high standards in science, music, French, art and ‘The Learning Journey’ (cross curricular work).

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Teachers and teaching assistants are very effective in building pupils’ self-confidence and enabling disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to develop secure basic skills on which to build. These pupils are proud of their achievements and those currently in school are making excellent progress so that standards in their work are now close to those expected for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language very quickly learn enough English to access the full range of subjects and topics and make excellent progress in line with other groups.  The progress of pupils eligible for the pupil premium has improved and is now outstanding. Last year, they made similar progress to other pupils but there was a significant gap between their attainment and that of other pupils in English and mathematics. This year, they have made almost two terms more progress than other pupils and are now a year behind and catching up with other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers and other staff have high expectations of their pupils. They use the information they have on what pupils have already achieved exceptionally well to plan the next steps in learning. Tasks are demanding for pupils at all levels of attainment and move their learning on at a rapid pace.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers make sure that pupils are given ample opportunities to find things out for themselves, to work collaboratively with each other and to develop a good level of independence in taking the next steps in their learning. This means that pupils at all levels learn rapidly.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Interesting lessons are planned that link together a number of different subjects. For example, when pupils were preparing to produce a computer-based animation on Greek myths, teachers had cleverly planned tasks that combined their literacy skills, computer skills, knowledge of history and art. Pupils find this type of organisation very interesting. In literacy, Year 6 pupils thoroughly enjoyed presenting persuasive arguments set into a ‘Dragon’s Den’ scenario in order to present their ideas for fund raising.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers are very effective in teaching pupils how to produce high quality writing. They are excellent at showing them how to write sentences which have impact and how to structure longer pieces of writing so ideas are developed logically. They use ongoing assessment of pupils’ writing to share examples of what pupils have written to encourage others at all levels of attainment to do their very best.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In mathematics, teachers have the same high expectations of what pupils can do. They ask well- targeted questions of pupils and set up learning opportunities for them to find things out for themselves, such as producing their own number board games, which encourage the development of very effective learning skills.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Marking of pupils’ work is mostly very helpful in informing them about what they have done well, what they need to do to improve and what their next steps in learning are. However, occasionally teachers do not effectively inform pupils how they can move onto the next level. Teachers do not always follow through pupils’ written solutions to questions in mathematics fully enough or insist that they show all their workings to more complex questions so any mistakes can be easily identified.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The expertise of teachers and other adults is good across a wide range of subjects and supports the acquisition of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding to a high level. Teachers’ expertise was particularly evident in French, science, music, the personal, social and health education programme and in information and communication technology. Specialist teaching is highly effective in teaching singing and for pupils learning a wide range of musical instruments.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers balance the time they spend introducing learning with the time pupils spend working very well, so that pupils have enough time to practise and consolidate new learning. On the few occasions when the pace slowed during the inspection, other important aspects, such as pupils evaluating their own learning, had to be rushed.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is outstanding and enables them to make excellent progress. Teachers and teaching assistants provide effective support for pupils through focused one-to-one or small-group support. By asking the right questions, they help these pupils to do things for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding are taught exceptionally well through focused help in class, in small groups or through one-to-one support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and set about their learning tasks with enthusiasm and a determination to do their very best. They take on a great deal of responsibility for their own learning. They strive to do their very best because they have learned to have high expectations of themselves. They enthusiastically contribute to lessons, answering and asking their own questions confidently.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils speak well about behaviour in school and say their learning is only rarely interrupted by poor behaviour. They know how to keep themselves safe. They have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and know what to do if they ever need help. Pupils say bullying is rare and any instances are dealt with quickly and effectively.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Most parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire said their children are happy, safe and well looked after. A few disagreed that behaviour is good and that the staff deal effectively with bullying. Other inspection evidence and the response to the school’s own parental questionnaire indicate these concerns are unfounded.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is above the national average and pupils are punctual to school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils work exceptionally well together, respecting others’ views and showing courtesy. Pupils clearly know the difference between right and wrong and understand the consequences of poor behaviour.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Exceptional leadership and management have ensured the outstanding effectiveness reported at the time of the previous inspection has been maintained and further developed to sustain a high quality of education and excellent outcomes. Senior leaders set very high expectations of the staff so pupils continue to achieve exceptionally well.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Senior leaders work relentlessly to overcome any difficulties they encounter so that the excellent education provided can be fully celebrated. They are building valuable working relations with the infant school leaders so that the education of pupils who pass through both schools is seamless. Staff members from both schools are currently involved in checking through the infant school’s writing assessments to make the transfer from the infant school as smooth as possible.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Rigorous arrangements for checking teaching ensure that it is at least good and often outstanding. All teaching seen during the inspection was good or outstanding. Senior leaders visit classrooms regularly, look at teachers’ planning and check pupils’ work to see that they are maintaining their progress. Teachers are held accountable for their pupils’ progress through regular pupil progress reviews.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The range and quality of subjects and topics taught is outstanding. As well as supporting the development of literacy and mathematical skills exceptionally well, the school provides pupils with opportunities to apply these skills through a broad and rich range of other subjects. Subjects such as science, French, music, art and physical education give pupils a rich experience. The ‘learning journeys’ cleverly combine different subjects through interesting topics and themes. Plans cater very well for pupils’ different needs so all make excellent progress; equality of opportunity in learning is strong.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is excellent. The exceptionally rich learning opportunities contribute very well to this area of pupils’ development, particularly social and cultural areas. The school’s well-established links with the local and wider communities and opportunities to take on responsibility mean pupils develop very good social awareness. The school’s highly positive approach to tackling any form of discrimination supports the excellent relationships between pupils from different backgrounds.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority has an accurate view of the overall effectiveness of the school, having graded it as one requiring minimal intervention. It supports the school well through evaluation visits and written reports, helping school leaders to devise strategies to address difficulties. For example, the local authority supported the school in developing robust procedures for assessing pupils’ achievements so they could identify accurately the levels of progress pupils make.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body works very well with the staff through regular monitoring visits. Its members are very involved with the school and combined with the fact that nine governors serve on both infant and junior school governing bodies, they are fully aware of what is happening in each school.  Governors are regular visitors to the school and have a deep understanding of how well teachers are doing through first-hand experiences and through the headteacher’s detailed reports. They understand assessment data clearly and know how well the achievement of the pupils compares with that in other schools.  Governors have good levels of relevant expertise and regularly challenge senior leaders, and each other, on school improvement issues. They set clear targets in managing the performance of the headteacher and staff, making sure teachers’ pay increases link to competence.  They make sure statutory requirements are met, including those for safeguarding. They

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The leadership and management are outstanding

manage finances carefully, for example, ensuring that funding from the pupil premium is used well in supporting the progress and inclusion of pupils who qualify for it.

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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 103445 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 412276

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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 Junior School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 380 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anne Cull Headteacher Susan Barratt Date of previous school inspection 19 June 2007 Telephone number 0121 4721259 Fax number 0121 471 2993 Email address s.barrett@bnvillej.bham.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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