East Bierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of East Bierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School South View Road, East Bierley, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD4 6PH

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good School 11 and 12 July 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils to achieve well. They have made some improvements to the curriculum, but these are not currently embedded. Pupils now find learning interesting. However, there is more to do to ensure that teachers deliver the curriculum effectively, so pupils learn successfully.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Historically, leaders ensured that pupils had opportunities to have leadership roles. Pupils are proud of these roles and their impact. However, currently some of these opportunities are not in place. While leaders ensure that there is a curriculum to support pupils’ personal development, this is not planned sufficiently to develop pupils’ talents and interests across a range of areas.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. Bullying is rare. Pupils say they would tell a teacher if they had concerns or worries. They know adults will act swiftly to help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have identified systems to promote good behaviour in the school. They ensure that rewards and sanctions are clearly understood by pupils. Pupils say that this helps to promote some positive behaviour. However, not all pupils meet leaders’ expectations for behaviour. In some lessons, pupils are not engaged in their learning and disrupt others. This behaviour is not always dealt with effectively because the systems are not currently being implemented consistently.

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better?

The headteacher has placed a sharp focus on early reading. Teachers read to pupils daily. Books are chosen with a particular purpose, for example to support learning across the curriculum. Pupils are keen to talk about the books that have been read to them. When pupils find reading hard, they have extra reading sessions. These are effective and clearly address what the pupils need to learn to catch up.

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better?

Teachers of early reading use a consistent approach to teach phonics in early years and key stage 1. Leaders ensure that the books pupils read are enjoyable. However, leaders are not monitoring what is taught in phonics lessons. Consequently, they are not aware that some lessons do not support pupils’ development as much as they could. This is because some adults do not clearly pronounce the sounds that letters make.

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better?

Leaders have made changes to the curriculum in most subjects. Lessons are now fun and interesting. However, the curriculum does not clearly identify the key learning leaders want pupils to know and remember. Consequently, many lessons are disjointed. This does not support pupils to build on their learning. In some subjects, such as history and art, there is not a consistent approach to establish what pupils already know and understand. Furthermore, leaders do not consistently monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum. As a result, they are not able to identify where further improvements are needed. School 11 and 12 July 2023

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Leaders have worked hard to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to access the same curriculum as their peers. Teachers are beginning to make some adaptations to support pupils to learn effectively. However, these adaptations are not always sufficient to help pupils to fully engage with or understand the learning. As a result, pupils with SEND do not learn as much as they could.

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In the early years, adults build positive relationships with children. Children experience a wide range of activities linked to events in the school calendar. However, while learning is fun, adults do not ensure that these activities support children to build on learning over time. As a result, children are not as ready for Year 1 as they could be.

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Pupils and staff show an understanding of the behaviour policy, but it is not yet adhered to or applied consistently across the school. Sometimes pupils’ lack of engagement can prevent them from learning. At other times, noise levels in lessons make it very difficult for some pupils to concentrate and learn. Furthermore, leaders have not established a consistent approach to record behaviour incidents. This prevents them from knowing where behaviour issues arise and consequently from addressing them.

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Pupils have a good understanding of British values. They show respect for others and understanding of difference and diversity. Leaders plan opportunities to enrich pupils’ experience during the school day. However, these do not go beyond the core curriculum content. While some year groups learn the ukelele and clarinet, many pupils do not get chance to develop their talents and interests. Pupils say they would like opportunity to try new challenges, such as competing against other schools in sports competitions.

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Governors understand their role is to support and challenge leaders. However, currently they do not check that the information leaders provide is accurate. As a result, often governors do not ask the important questions needed to help leaders to improve the school further.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff receive training so they can identify any safeguarding concerns. Systems are in place for recording and reporting any concerns regarding pupils’ welfare. Leaders work with outside agencies to ensure that pupils and families get support if it is needed. However, this work is not always recorded with as much detail as it should be. Leaders do not effectively monitor the systems that are in place to record concerns. As a result, while pupils are not put at risk, leaders are not able to ensure that practice is as effective as it could be.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to stay safe online and what to do if they have concerns. School 11 and 12 July 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some leaders do not have an accurate oversight of their area of responsibility. This means that some improvements are not monitored or checked to see if they are having a positive impact. Leaders should ensure that systems are put in place to monitor if their ambitious vision for the school is being realised in practice.  The behaviour policy is not implemented effectively. It is not adhered to or applied consistently across the school. As a result, some pupils do not behave in line with leaders’ expectations. Leaders should ensure that all staff implement the behaviour policy consistently, so that pupils’ behaviour improves.  The curriculum for many subjects, including the early years, is not designed to build knowledge over time. This is because important subject knowledge has not been clearly identified. Consequently, all pupils, including those with SEND, are not learning, and remembering, important knowledge. Leaders should ensure that

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

they clearly define the key knowledge they want pupils to learn, so that lessons support pupils to develop new understanding and make links in their learning.  Leaders have not ensured that pupils have sufficient opportunity to experience enrichment activities. Therefore, pupils do not have chance to discover or develop new talents or interests. Leaders should identify ways to support pupils’ personal development more effectively .  Governors are not ensuring that the information they receive is accurate and gives them the information they need to fulfil their responsibilities. This means that they are not sufficiently informed to challenge and support the school leaders. Governors need to establish suitable procedures to quality assure information so that they can hold leaders to account and support the further development of the school.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. School 11 and 12 July 2023

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In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. School 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10289946 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Diocese of Leeds.  The school was judged to be good at its most recent inspection of denominational education and the content of the school’s collective worship under section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in April 2019. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The next section 48 inspection will be within eight years of the previous section 48 inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. School 11 and 12 July 2023

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 The lead inspector held meetings with the governors, representatives of the diocese of Leeds, and the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and SEND.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history, and art. As part of the deep dives, inspectors visited lessons, listened to pupils’ read, spoke with curriculum leaders, pupils and teachers, and looked at examples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors visited lessons and observed pupils at various times of the school day.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for pupils, staff and parents. This included any free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Andrew Yeomans, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Turner Ofsted Inspector School 11 and 12 July 2023

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regulates and inspects to 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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