Bishop Wilton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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

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Elizabeth Harros Executive Headteacher Bishop Wilton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Main Street Bishop Wilton York North Yorkshire YO42 1SP

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England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection of your school that took place on 17 July 2023, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school has received two judgements of requires improvement at its previous graded (section 5) inspections.

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England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

During the inspection, I discussed with you, the assistant headteacher and governors the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited phonics lessons, listened to pupils read, reviewed curriculum plans for history, conducted a work scrutiny in history and spoke to a selection of pupils. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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continues to require improvement. Leaders have made progress to improve the

school, but more work is necessary for the school to become good.

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Context

The headteacher was in post at the time of the last inspection. The school operates as part of a federation with two other local primary schools. The headteacher acts as executive headteacher across all three schools.

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Main findings

Leaders are taking appropriate action to improve the school. They are well supported by those responsible for governance. Governors monitor the impact of leaders’ actions closely through link governor meetings and visits.

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Main findings

Leaders have prioritised improvements in phonics. The school is in its second year of a new phonics programme. Pupils read books that are matched to their phonic knowledge. Pupils who need additional support get the help that they need to become fluent and accurate readers. Staff have received training and leaders regularly monitor the implementation of the phonics programme to inform their future actions. Leaders closely monitor the progress of pupils every six weeks to ensure that they are keeping up with the phonics programme. However, some staff do not consistently use assessment in lessons to inform their teaching. This means that opportunities are sometimes missed to address misconceptions or accelerate pupil progress.

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Main findings

Leaders from across the federation have worked to develop the curriculum in the foundation subjects. Leaders have identified the most important knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember in every subject.

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Main findings

In history, pupils’ understanding of key historical concepts builds over time. Pupils know and remember key content. For example, pupils in key stage 1 could discuss in detail the knowledge that they had learned about the Great Fire of London. As pupils progress through key stage 2, they begin to develop a greater understanding of historical concepts, such as democracy. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 could compare what they knew across different historical periods in greater depth than their younger class members. However, the work that pupils complete in books does not always demonstrate this progression and some tasks remain similar for different year groups.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of York, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for East Riding. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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