Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Nick Sharp Headteacher Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, Felpham Pennyfields Felpham Bognor Regis West Sussex PO22 6BN

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Primary School, Felpham

Following my visit to your school on 17 March 2022, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the monitoring inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Primary School, Felpham

The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and has taken place because the school has received two successive judgements of requires improvement at its previous section 5 inspections.

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Primary School, Felpham

This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. I discussed the ongoing impact of the pandemic with you and have taken that into account in my evaluation.

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Primary School, Felpham

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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for governance are taking effective action toward the school becoming a

The school should take further action to:

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for governance are taking effective action toward the school becoming a

 Refine the assessment systems in mathematics so that staff can efficiently identify and address gaps in pupils’ prior knowledge.

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Context

The school has faced significant staffing challenges due to COVID-19. Several members of staff, including senior leaders, required time off to recover from illness which hampered their efforts to improve the school.

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Context

Since the previous inspection, a new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has joined the school.

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Main findings

You are determined to offer a good quality of education to pupils at the school. Leaders have achieved improvements through their methodical and focused approach. This work began by challenging the poor behaviour of pupils before addressing the weaknesses in the curriculum. These improvements can be felt throughout the school. Staff and pupils appreciate the difference these changes have made and are enthusiastic about the future.

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Main findings

Pupils’ behaviour has improved. Staff use simple but effective systems to encourage pupils to listen carefully, think deeply and contribute often. Staff address poor behaviour appropriately, picking up on the small issues before they escalate. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) need extra support to manage their emotions. Staff use the strategies that are most effective for these individual pupils. This helps pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties to develop friendships, overcome challenges and access the curriculum.

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Main findings

You have made significant improvements to the early reading curriculum over the last year. You have reduced the number of phonics schemes used in the school. Now, all staff follow a single, systematic scheme. Pupils learn phonics in an agreed order and hone their skills by reading books that match the sounds they know. Although many staff are knowledgeable about how to teach phonics, some have not been trained in how to deliver the programme in the most efficient and effective way. When this is the case, some staff move pupils on to new reading books before they have mastered the sounds the books contain.

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Main findings

Staff use assessment well to identify any knowledge that pupils have not remembered or understood. However, the assessment systems in mathematics do not routinely pick up gaps in pupils’ knowledge from previous years. This means that teachers are sometimes trying to build pupils’ learning on weak foundations.

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Main findings

The curriculum has been reviewed entirely in most subjects and has improved greatly. Pupils learn new content in a logical order and understand the features that make each subject unique and special. You know that older pupils have missed out on the prior knowledge they need to make the most of their curriculum. To address this, staff teach pupils the content they missed previously, allowing them to understand work and activities at an age-appropriate level.

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Main findings

Governors and leaders have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Senior and phase leaders oversee the work of the subject leaders, adding a level of rigour to the curriculum development which was previously lacking. Governors understand the priorities for the school and check that leaders are enacting the agreed plans as intended. Governors challenge leaders to make the required improvements and deploy additional support and resources where they are needed most.

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Additional support

Leaders and governors have worked closely with the local authority to gain an accurate view of the quality of education the school provides. They have used local mathematics hubs to train staff in the delivery of the curriculum. Subject leaders work with a range of local schools and subject societies to develop their own knowledge and the curriculum area they lead. This is an outward-looking school which understands the benefits that collaboration can bring.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you, the deputy headteacher, two phase leaders and the SENCo. I also met with the subject leaders responsible for reading, mathematics, geography, design and technology, and science to consider the organisation and delivery of the curriculum. I met with two governors, including the chair, and held a phone call with an officer from the local authority.

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Evidence

I reviewed the single central record and sampled safeguarding files. I visited lessons, spoke to pupils and reviewed their work. I heard pupils read from Years 1 and 2.

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Evidence

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

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