Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection Report Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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118619 Unique Reference Number Kent LEA 280357 Inspection number 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006 Inspection dates Clive Lewis AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Bredhurst School address Primary Type of school Gillingham Voluntary controlled School category Kent ME7 3JY 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01634 231271 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01634 231271 Fax number 114 Number on roll Mr I C Bowen Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Chris James Headteacher 14 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280357 24 May 2006 - 4 to 11 24 May 2006 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Bredhurst is a small school. There are few pupils of a minority ethnic heritage and there are none for whom English is an additional language. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. Attainment on entry is broadly average. The school has fewer pupils than average with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Bredhurst is a good school, a judgement which matches the view the school has of itself. The school is well led. Standards by the end of Year 6 have been significantly above the national average for the last four years and pupils make good progress during their time in the school. Children in the Reception Year make satisfactory progress and the majority are on course to attain the nationally expected early learning goals by the start of Year 1. However, while there are a number of examples of good assessment practice in the school, data on children’s attainment on entry is not collected. As a result, the school does not have a precise view of the progress children make in the Reception class. Achievement in Years 1 to 6 is good and attainment by the end of Year 6 is well above average. Teaching overall is good. The best lessons are lively and interesting and pupils take part with real enthusiasm. The curriculum offers

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Grade: 2

pupils a good variety of interesting activities. However, opportunities for pupils to learn about the range of different cultures reflected in modern Britain could be improved. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good, they clearly enjoy school and this is reflected in their good attendance. Relationships are very good and play a key role in the good progress that pupils make. The provision for care and support is very good and the great majority of parents are positive about the school. The good leadership of the headteacher, and the support of the staff and governors, gives the school good capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop more effective methods of measuring children’s attainment on entry to the school and ways of tracking their progress during the Reception Year • Further develop opportunities for pupils to learn about the range of different cultures in modern Britain.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ achievement is good, and standards have improved since the last inspection. This reflects teachers’ high expectations and pupils’ very good response. Children’s attainment on entry is broadly average and progress during the Reception Year is satisfactory. However, due to weaknesses in assessment, the school does not have a clear idea of whether all groups of reception children do equally well or whether they make better progress in some areas of learning than in others. Progress in Years 1 and 2 is good, and attainment by the end of Year 2 is above average. This is built on very well so that by Year 6 attainment is well above average. Boys and girls achieve equally well and there is no difference in the achievement of pupils of different cultural heritage. More able pupils and those with learning difficulties and disabilities also achieve well. The challenging targets set in 2005 were broadly met although the number

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Grade: 2

of pupils achieving higher levels for writing was significantly below predictions. The school responded very well to this setback and standards in writing throughout the 2 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006 school have improved significantly during the current year. The school has set equally challenging targets for current Year 6 pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Relationships in the school are very positive; pupils respond well to clearly defined expectations of behaviour and enjoy school enormously. Attendance is good, reflecting pupils’ very positive views about the school and the work they do. Social and moral development is very good and is encouraged well through the strong ethos. Spiritual and cultural development is good, although pupils’ knowledge of the range of different cultures in this country is insecure. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong and have a very good awareness of the needs of those who are less fortunate than themselves. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities they are given. The school council represents pupils well and feels strongly that its voice is heard. Pupils feel the school is a safe place and that there is always someone to turn to if they have a problem. They learn about healthy

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Grade: 2

lifestyles, and most eat healthy lunches and snacks. They enjoy sport and take part in a good variety of physical activities outside of the school day. Pupils on the school council take responsibility for making decisions about social events such as planning a karaoke evening. They make a good contribution to the local and wider community, and take a very active part in the annual school-organised May Day event for the village. Pupils’ good levels of basic skills and their increasing self-confidence prepare them well for later life.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good and as a result pupils achieve well. Teachers have very good relationships with pupils and high expectations of work and behaviour. They plan lessons well and their marking of pupils’ work helps them know how they can improve. Recent improvements in the teaching of writing have had a very positive impact on learning and as a result standards have improved. Teaching in the Reception Year is satisfactory but it does not always meet the needs of all children because of the lack of information from assessment about their attainment on entry or consequent progress. In Years 1 to 6, as a result of effective assessment systems, teachers have a good understanding of how well pupils are doing and what they have learned. This information is used well to help teachers plan work and identify those who need additional support. 3 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It is broad and balanced and meets the needs of pupils well with an exciting and varied range of learning opportunities. The school has rightly identified the need to develop the curriculum further by linking subjects such as history, geography, English and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) together in a more meaningful way. Intervention strategies to help pupils catch up or extend their learning are good and contribute significantly to pupils’ achievement. Special events, such as regular creativity days and subject focus weeks, add significantly to the curriculum. A very good range of extracurricular activities further enriches the opportunities for learning. The school is the central hub of the village and the curriculum includes participation in long standing community events such as the May Day celebrations.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good with some significant strengths. Pupils benefit from being part of a small school community where all are known well by all staff. Child protection procedures are securely in place and pupils feel safe and secure. Parents feel happy about the level of care the school provides. The school is working hard with pupils and parents to promote healthy eating. There are lots of opportunities for pupils of different ages to work and play with each other and for older pupils to take responsibility around the school. Arrangements for transfer to secondary schools are good. Although there are good systems for tracking pupils’ progress in Years 1 to 6, procedures in the Reception Year are less rigorous. As a result, the school does not have a clear enough picture of the attainment of children on entry to the school or a precise view of how well they progress in their first year.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides a sense of purpose and direction which is clearly linked to school improvement. Areas for development are acted upon promptly and very effectively, for example, the recent initiatives introduced to improve writing skills have been very successful. The methods for evaluating the school’s work, checking on the effectiveness of decisions and identifying the areas to be improved in Years 1 to 6 are rigorous. Consequently, the school knows many aspects of its work well. The main strengths of the school are the very good relationships, the good progress made by all pupils and the strong links with the community. Teamwork is promoted strongly, and is reflected in the well-focused school improvement plan, which was created with the full involvement of staff and governors. Governance is good and the governors use their good understanding of the school

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Grade: 2

effectively to hold it to account. Together with the headteacher, they successfully promote the well-being of all pupils, with due regard for equality of opportunity. They 4 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006 manage the school’s finances well and ensure that efficient use is made of resources. Parents are very satisfied with the school and their responses to questionnaires sent home by the school are taken into account during the planning process for the school improvement plan. In Years 1 to 6, through the careful analysis of assessment data, the school has an accurate view of the relative strengths and areas for development in different subjects. However, lack of assessment information in the Reception Year limits the evaluation of strengths and weaknesses in provision at this stage. The regular evaluation of lessons, conducted by the senior management, gives a very good view

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Grade: 2

of the quality of teaching. Points for improvement are identified and very good support is provided where weaknesses are found. The school gives good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Bredhurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24 May 2006 to 24 May 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed visiting the school and seeing you at work and play. You gave us lots of helpful comments that helped us. This is what we found out: • Your teachers and all other adults in the school help you to learn very well. • You behave well and you know how to tell right from wrong. • You clearly enjoy coming to school because there are lots of interesting activities for you to take part in. • Your level of attendance is better than in most schools. • We were impressed that the school is helping you to stay healthy by encouraging you to eat healthy foods and take regular exercise. • We also liked the way that you get on very well together, support each other and care for one another. There are two things we have asked the school to do to make it even better: • We have asked your teachers to try to find out more about what you can do when you first start school in the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Reception class. • We have also asked your teachers to help you to learn more about the cultural traditions of the different communities in Britain. We think that your school is a good one and one of which you should be proud. We are confident that, with your help, the school will improve still further. Good luck to you all in the future. Yours sincerely Clive Lewis Lead inspector

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