Bradford Christian School

School progress monitoring inspection report

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Bradford Christian School Livingstone Road, Bolton Woods, Bradford BD2 1BT

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

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Main inspection findings

Paragraph 7, 7(a), 7(b)  In the full standard inspection, which took place in November 2016, the proprietor had not ensured that arrangements made to safeguard pupils were effective or compliant with the most recent guidance issued by the Secretary of State.  Following this inspection, the designated safeguarding lead, alongside governors and the headteacher, has rewritten the safeguarding and child protection policies to take into account the latest guidance issued by the Secretary of State. These policies are available on the school’s website.  The designated safeguarding lead and her deputy have attended appropriate training to ensure that they have the skills to meet this standard consistently. Staff at the school receive appropriate training and demonstrate a secure understanding of their role in safeguarding pupils.  Systems for reporting concerns are concise, clear and followed consistently by staff

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Main inspection findings

across the whole school. The designated safeguarding lead deals with all referrals swiftly and ensures that she works with parents, carers and external agencies as appropriate.  Records about safeguarding are clear, detailed and kept meticulously. A clear chronology accompanying each incident demonstrates concerns, actions taken and the thoroughness of following up to ensure that pupils are safe.  Leaders now ensure that they test all staff on their safeguarding knowledge at interview and they record this in staff files. A number of leaders and governors have received safer recruitment training and at least one person with this training is involved when the school recruits staff.  Clear policies are in place for pupils using their own communication devices in school. Pupils who use them without permission have them confiscated and parents must pick up the device from school. Appropriate filters are in place to ensure that pupils cannot

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Main inspection findings

access inappropriate material via school computers.  Pupils say that they feel safe and are confident that reporting their concerns to the designated safeguarding lead or other members of staff will lead to an appropriate resolution.  These standards are now met. Part 6. Provision of information Paragraph 32(2), 32(2)(a), 32(2)(b), 32(2)(b)(i), 32(2)(b)(ii), 32(2)(c)  At the time of the previous inspection, the proprietor had not ensured that contact information for the headteacher, proprietor and chair of the governing body was available to parents.  Following the previous inspection, the proprietor took immediate action to publish contact information for the headteacher, proprietor and chair of the governing body on the school website. Contact information is now available for term-time and holidays.  These standards are now met. Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b), 34(1)(c)

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Main inspection findings

 At the time of the previous inspection, leaders and managers had not ensured that the independent school standards were consistently met and did not demonstrate the skills to ensure that safeguarding requirements were met. Consequently, leaders did not actively promote the well-being of pupils.  Since the previous inspection, the proprietor has increased the number of senior leaders in the school by making three additional appointments, one of which is the school’s designated safeguarding lead and school business manager.  The designated safeguarding lead has overhauled the systems, procedures and policies for safeguarding in the school. She brings absolute clarity to the expectations of staff in ensuring that safeguarding is effective and a whole-school priority.  Additional governors have been appointed to the governing body to increase the range of skills on offer. Governors take an active role in ensuring that policies are up to date

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Main inspection findings

with the latest government guidance and in holding leaders to account for their application in school.  Governors attend appropriate training for their roles, including training for those new to governance, safer recruitment training, child protection training, financial training and training on the signs to look out for if pupils are vulnerable to extremism or radicalisation. Through this training, governors provide more rigorous challenge to school leaders.  The new head of primary is taking a lead role in developing the quality of teaching and learning in the school, and the new head of upper school is taking a lead role in developing an appropriate data management system. These new systems are beginning to provide better information to teachers about their own teaching and the progress pupils in their classes are making. Pupils are particularly positive about the new data management system as they are now clear about their target grades.

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Main inspection findings

 Leaders have designed an annual planner, which they share across the school. This ensures that all school staff and governors are aware of monitoring activities that take place across the year and the expectations within them.  The action plan produced by the school required some amendments because it did not mention risk assessments in the early years foundation stage. The school has since amended this and taken action to produce these.  These standards are now met. Statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage  At the previous standard inspection, in November 2016, leaders did not ensure that the statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements for the early years foundation stage were met. This was because of the whole-school failings in safeguarding procedures and the lack of risk assessments on equipment used by the children.  The school business manager and early years leader have overhauled the systems and

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Main inspection findings

procedures for safeguarding in the early years foundation stage. Clear and precise risk assessments are now in place for activities that the children take part in, equipment and indoor and outdoor spaces. Checks take place on a daily, weekly and six-monthly basis to ensure high levels of safety.  Safeguarding procedures have been strengthened alongside those of the whole school to ensure that children in the early years are safe.  Leaders work with Early Years Bradford to ensure that through challenge and support, the provision for the children in the early years remains compliant and continues to improve. Records of their visits show that progress is rapid.  The school now meets the statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements for the early years foundation stage.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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Part 3 Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 The proprietor must ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school and that such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State (paragraph 7, 7(a) and 7(b)).

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Part 6 Provision of information

 The proprietor must ensure that the name of the headteacher; the proprietor’s full name, address for correspondence during both term-time and holidays; a telephone number or numbers on which the proprietor may be contacted; and the name and address for correspondence of the chair of the governing board are provided to parents of pupils (paragraph 32(2), 32(2)(a), 32(2)(b), 32(2)(b)(i), 32(2)(b)(ii) and 32(2)(c)).

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Part 8 Quality of leadership in and the management of schools

 The proprietor must ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role; that they fulfil their responsibilities effectively; and that they actively promote the well-being of pupils, so that the independent school standards are met consistently (paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(c)).

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, 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

Website http://bradfordchristianschool.com

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 22–24 November 2016

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Information about this school

 Bradford Christian School was opened in 1993. The current school building has been in use since 2012. The early years provision was opened in 2009.  The number of senior leadership roles has increased from three to six following the previous inspection in November 2016.  Most pupils are from homes of parents of the Christian faith, attending approximately 20 different churches. About 30% of pupils are from homes of faiths other than Christianity, or are from homes of no faith.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly in line with the national average. The school operates a specialist provision for pupils who have autistic spectrum disorder. The local authority has selected the school as the named setting for a number of pupils with education, health and care plans.  The school receives no additional funding from the government for the pupil premium,

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Information about this school

Year 7 catch-up or physical education and sport funding.  The school does not make use of any alternative education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school has made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged to not comply with at its previous inspection.  The inspection took place without notice.  This was the school’s first progress monitoring inspection since the standard inspection in November 2016.  The Department for Education required an action plan following the school’s last full standard inspection. In June 2017, the action plan was judged to require some amendments to be fit for purpose.  The inspector met with a number of pupils and spoke to many more during lessons. She also met throughout the day with the headteacher, early years leader, governors, the proprietor and the school business manager.  The inspector examined a range of documents required as part their assessment of

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Information about this inspection

compliance with the independent school standards, including policies, safeguarding information and records and the school website.

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Inspection team

Debbie Redshaw, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

Parent View 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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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visitwww.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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