Bishopswood Infant School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.1

Mr Glen Golding Executive Headteacher Bishopswood Infant School Barlows Road Tadley Hampshire RG26 3NA

p.1

Short inspection of Bishopswood Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 25 April 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2015.

p.1

Short inspection of Bishopswood Infant School

Based on the evidence available during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In the light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

p.1

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

Since the previous inspection, you have worked hard to improve provision further for children in the early years. As a result, children make consistently good progress in their Reception Year, attaining standards that are above the national average. However, leaders, at all levels, have not given sufficient attention to the need to improve provision in key stage 1. At the end of the previous inspection, leaders were asked to ensure that work was sufficiently challenging for all pupils. This area for improvement has been partially addressed. There is sufficient challenge for pupils in mathematics and English, and the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards is rising. However, you rightly identify that work lacks suitable challenge and depth across the wider range of subjects and you are already working to address this issue.

p.1

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

Pupils say they love coming to Bishopswood. They say that they all get on well together and they have lots of fun. They enjoy their lessons, especially mathematics and writing, because, as one pupil said, ‘We get to learn sums we don’t know and words we don’t know.’ Pupils correctly identify the friendliness of staff and pupils as another real strength of the school. They have a strong degree of trust in the staff around them who, they say, ‘are always willing to listen and help, and will sort out issues fairly’. Your motto of ‘learning and growing together’ provides a strong rationale for all that you do at Bishopswood. Parents are, unanimously, appreciative of your caring, family-orientated approach to education and the school’s care for their children. Many parents commented that staff help their children to feel positive and enthusiastic about learning. Parents were keen to share personal experiences of

p.1

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

how the school has ‘gone above and beyond’. For example, they told me how staff have adapted school routines and bought new equipment to make sure that the needs of their children are met. One parent stated: ‘The school absolutely gets the best out of my child. She can’t wait to go to school every day.’ Governors, staff and parents acknowledge the positive manner in which you lead the school, and value the attention you give to the quality of the learning experience for children. Pupils and parents are particularly enthusiastic about the outdoor learning opportunities offered.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

Disadvantaged pupils are very well supported through the school’s pastoral care systems. However, they do not receive the same levels of support for their academic progress, and current disadvantaged pupils in the school are not achieving as well as their peers.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

The school community is committed to keeping pupils safe. This was demonstrated through a prompt and thorough response to address minor issues which arose during the inspection. Senior leaders were quick to analyse why problems had occurred and to devise strategies to prevent similar problems occurring in the future. You rightly concluded that the current systems need further attention to ensure that the school’s environment is well maintained.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

The culture of safeguarding is strong at Bishopswood, and leaders ensure that pupils receive high levels of support. For example, records and emails show how concerns are raised and responded to at an early stage, with appropriate referral to external agencies for specialist support. All staff, including the designated safeguarding leads, are appropriately trained to be able to undertake working with children to keep them safe. Staff are vigilant in looking after the safety of the pupils and know how to respond in a range of situations.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Governors oversee the work of leaders and successfully provide challenge to make sure that the school is fully compliant with current regulations and legislation.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

Importantly, all pupils said they feel safe at school. They are clear about the difference between arguments with each other and bullying which, they say, rarely happens. Pupils said that if there were a problem with bullying, they would trust the adults in school to take quick and effective action to address it. Pupils spoke confidently about how to keep themselves safe, including when using technology such as televisions, notebooks and computers. As a result of the school’s work to educate them in safeguarding, pupils are well aware of the dangers of using social media, and agreed that ‘there’s lots of bad stuff that people post’. One pupil gave a recent example where he had seen something inappropriate on his computer at home, switched off his screen and gone to tell an adult.

p.2

no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness of good as a result

Leaders have, correctly, identified concerns about pupils’ attendance. They have taken suitable and sensitive action to emphasise the importance of regular attendance at school while offering appropriate support to families. As a result, attendance figures for this year are significantly higher than before. Leaders have taken effective action to improve pupils’ behaviour by working with outside agencies to ensure that the needs of pupils are met. Consequently, behaviour is well managed. Incidents of poor behaviour have reduced and are now rare.

p.3

Inspection findings

 During this inspection, as well as evaluating safeguarding arrangements, I focused on three specific aspects of the school’s provision.  My first key line of enquiry focused on the impact of action taken by school leaders to improve standards in key stage 1. This is because the proportion of pupils who attain age-related expectations at the end of key stage 1 is in line with the national average, while at the end of early years the proportion of children who reach the standard expected for their age is above the national average. Some leaders have a good understanding about the barriers to children’s learning. They have planned suitable action in response, evaluating the impact of their work and making appropriate adjustments. Pupils’ books show that, as a result of these actions, pupils are making good progress.  In some areas, recommended action has not been implemented, and evaluation of action taken has not led to rapid improvement. Some teachers’ expectations of

p.3

Inspection findings

pupils, regardless of the pupils’ abilities, are not high enough. This is because leaders have not provided clear guidance. As a result, some pupils do not reach the standards, at the end of key stage 1, that are expected for their age. However, increasing proportions of pupils are achieving the higher standards in all subjects. Together with school leaders, I looked at leaders’ action plans, visited lessons, and looked at pupils’ work in a range of books. Pupils’ books show that standards of work are age-appropriate and some pupils make very good progress as a result of highly effective feedback given by their teachers.  My second line of enquiry focused on the impact of action taken to improve the standards achieved by disadvantaged pupils. This is because the achievement of disadvantaged pupils is declining. Leaders have identified this as an area of concern but have not yet implemented rigorous strategies to secure rapid

p.3

Inspection findings

improvement for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are not making sufficient progress. Leaders rightly agree that action taken to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils has not been effective.  My third line of enquiry focused on whether pupils enjoy the broad and balanced curriculum that will enable increasing proportions of pupils to attain age-related expectations. You have ensured that pupils receive lessons across a wide range of subjects and have provided opportunities to bring learning to life for pupils. Pupils have enjoyed, for example, the experiences of ‘training to be an astronaut’ and ‘creating a toy museum’. However, teaching in most subjects in key stage 1 lacks sufficient challenge for the majority of pupils. There are a few good examples of cross-curricular writing across a range of subjects, and some evidence of deeper exploration of subjects. However, many tasks are too simple

p.3

Inspection findings

and lack sufficient challenge. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning across the range of subjects in key stage 1 does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to extend their learning and make good progress. Too few pupils are achieving age-related expectations.

p.4

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 effective communication systems and prompt response keep the school environment well maintained at all times  they have a sharply focused action plan to raise standards in key stage 1 and that this is clearly communicated to all staff and carried out  teachers have higher expectations of all pupils in key stage 1 so that greater proportions of pupils make good progress and attain the expected standards for their age.

p.4

Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4

Information about the inspection

Together with two senior leaders, I visited lessons in key stage 1, spoke to pupils, and examined the quality of work in their books. I held meetings with senior and middle leaders, including the executive headteacher and the executive deputy headteacher, and met with four members of the governing body. I took into account 28 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including 13 written responses, and considered the 20 responses to the staff survey. A wide range of documents was reviewed, including: school improvement planning; leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; the school’s single central record of recruitment checks made on staff; school policies; information about pupils’ achievement; records of attendance; and minutes of governing body meetings.

p.4