Bow Brickhill CofE VA Primary School

Inspection Report Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School

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134423 Unique Reference Number Milton Keynes Local Authority 282577 Inspection number 16 °17 October 2006 Inspection dates Sue Vale Reporting inspector

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

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Station Road School address Primary Type of school Bow Brickhill Voluntary aided School category Milton Keynes MK17 9JT 4 °10 Age range of pupils 01908 373672 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01908 373672 Fax number 97 Number on roll (school) Mrs Ann Dring Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Catherine Jane Bellamy Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282577 16 °17 October 2006 4°10 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Bow Brickhill Church of England (VA) Primary School is a small one form entry village school. The school is increasing in size as it becomes a through primary and there are now 6 classes from Reception to Year 5. Although attainment on entry into Reception is varied, standards are usually in line with national expectations. The school became a VA Church of England school in January 2004. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is below average. Almost all pupils come from a White British background. Boys outnumber girls by two to one.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Bow Brickhill Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School provides a good education for its pupils. Central to this is the leadership team's clear view of the school's strengths and weaknesses. This is based on an accurate assessment and a real understanding of what it needs to do to support the school as it develops into a through Primary. As one parent comments, 'we are very happy with our choice of school...being small it is dedicated to the pupils and shows a genuine caring for their needs and education'. Most of the children begin school with expected skills in all areas of learning for their age. They have a good start to their education in the Reception class and make rapid progress. Pupils build on this good start so that they achieve above average standards by the end of Year 2. This good progress continues as pupils move through the school and many of the pupils in Year 5 reach above average standards. Well planned lessons

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Grade: 2

ensure that basic skills in literacy and numeracy are taught effectively. Pupils' personal development and well being is good overall. Behaviour is satisfactory. Boys make up two thirds of the schools intake. Because of this there are a small number of incidents usually outside of lessons where pupils do not behave as well as they should. The school is well aware of this and has rightly introduced a variety of strategies to support those pupils and to educate them in understanding what is acceptable behaviour. These strategies include pupils taking more responsibility for their own behaviour and 'restorative justice' initiatives being adopted by the school. These have only recently been introduced and it is too soon to see the full impact of them yet. There is good provision for the care, guidance and support of pupils. An interesting and varied curriculum ensures that pupils' individual interests are catered for. The

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Grade: 2

school has adapted well to the needs of a Key Stage 2 curriculum. Teaching and learning are consistently good across the school. Class sizes are small and pupils receive a lot of individual attention which helps them to achieve above average standards. Tracking of pupils progress as they move through the school is in the early stages of development. Leadership and management are good. Clearly focused developments are ensuring a smooth transition as the school increases in size towards a through Primary. The school's own self evaluation is thorough and accurate. The school has not previously been inspected as a Primary school and this is its first inspection. The capacity to improve further is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the behaviour of a small number of boys so that they take responsibility for their own actions. • Make better use of tracking pupils' individual progress so that individual pupils' strengths and areas for development can be fully supported. 2 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good all the way through from Reception to Year 5. Pupils' abilities are broadly as expected for their age when they start at school. Many children in the Reception class have only been in school for a few weeks. The majority of them are already making rapid progress and are well on their way towards achieving the expected goals for their age in many areas of learning. For example, when listening to a story in the library they showed real interest in the story being read to them and understood the mathematical vocabulary in it such as 'upside down.' This good progress continues throughout the school so that by the end of Year 2 pupils are achieving at an above average level in reading, writing and mathematics in comparison with other schools nationally. Pupils continue to make good progress in years 3 and 4 and show good achievement particularly in reading and writing in the interim tests they have taken. Despite standards of handwriting in Year 5 being lower

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Grade: 2

than expected they are well on target to continue with good achievement and a third of pupils in this year group are already reaching expected levels for Year 6. Individual and whole school targets are set and are largely achieved. The very recent introduction of tracking pupils' progress from year to year through to the end of Year 5 means that the school recognises the need to further challenge more able pupils in some areas of learning. The very small number of pupils who speak English as an additional language and those identified with learning difficulties make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The personal development of pupils is good. They like coming to school and are keen to learn. Attendance is satisfactory. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. School councillors are proud of their roles. Children settle in very quickly to the Reception class and are soon able to cope with daily routines. There are twice as many boys as girls in the school and this is having an effect on some boys' behaviour. Whilst the majority of pupils behave well in and out of lessons and are clear about what constitutes acceptable behaviour, there are some boys who are over confident and on a small number of occasions over exuberant. The school is introducing a number of strategies to support these pupils' behaviour such as the introduction of restorative justice a new approach to behaviour management. This has only recently been introduced and therefore it is too soon to see its full impact yet. Pupils know

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Grade: 2

how to lead healthy and safe lives. They take plenty of exercise and enjoy participating in extra clubs. They participate in community activities and are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Child protection procedures are robust and risk assessment and health and safety procedures are well established. There are good links with other schools and with the wider church community. 3 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. The majority of lessons are well planned to match the needs, interests and abilities of all pupils. This is helped by the small number of pupils in each class. Recently introduced activities such as, reflecting on what they have 'found out' today and 'the wonder wall' has been trialled in Years 1 and 2. Because of its success it is being taken forward into the rest of the school. Teachers plan and offer interesting and stimulating activities which allow pupils to think, discuss, and explore ideas. For example, in a literacy lesson in Year 4 pupils were encouraged to give instructions for a drawing which their partner had to follow. Great enjoyment was had, whilst at the same time pupils recognised the need to listen and to follow instructions accurately. Whole school and individual targets are set in order to improve pupils work. Most pupils are aware of their individual targets for Literacy and numeracy and teachers

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Grade: 2

very good marking of work explain how individuals need to improve. The progress of pupils in English and mathematics has very recently started to be tracked from one year to the next. This is still in the really early stages and information which the school has is not currently being used sufficiently well to check where there is possible underachievement or not. The school is aware and is developing this area further as they progress through into a full Primary school. The teaching assistants and other support staff provide good guidance to individuals and groups and their support is a significant contribution to the good progress made.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good because the school provides pupils with opportunities for studying a wide variety of subjects. This is also acknowledged by parents, 'as parents we appreciate the balance of academic, pastoral emotional and physical inputs which seem to be well balanced and developing well rounded children.' A good emphasis is placed on the teaching of basic skills in literacy and numeracy, which enhances progress. The arrangements and support for pupils with learning difficulties are good. Individual education plans for these pupils are well focused and child-friendly. Tasks for the very small numbers of pupils who are at an early stage of learning English are prepared carefully to help them to make good progress. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is satisfactory. Where it is available it is used well to enrich learning across the curriculum. However the current building work has meant that the 3 years groups in temporary accommodation do not

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Grade: 2

currently have the same access to ICT as their peers. Provision for personal, social and health education and citizenship is very good. The curriculum is enriched through a good range of extra-curricular activities which pupils enjoy. 4 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 2

The school cares for its pupils well and they receive good guidance and support from their teachers, other staff and, where necessary other agencies. As one parent comments, 'My children enjoy school and have grown in confidence.' There are good systems for ensuring pupils health and safety. There is satisfactory tracking of pupils' academic progress. The school has rightly identified this as an area for further development. Regular assessments ensure that teachers know what is needed for the pupils in their care to do next to improve. Targets are set in English and mathematics and pupils strive to achieve these.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. There is a strong sense of team work throughout the school. The headteacher leads her team very well, and there are good procedures in place for the day-to-day management. The school's evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses is accurate. A clear vision by the leadership team ensures that the school is rightly focused on developing Key Stage 2 as the school changes into a through Primary School. Standards remain above average due to good teaching supported by a good curriculum catering for the needs of individual pupils. Behaviour has been correctly identified as an issue that the school needs to address. The strategies introduced to achieve this are recent, but are being applied consistently and there are early indications that pupils clearly understand what constitutes acceptable behaviour. The governing body is very supportive of the school and is aware of their role in

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Grade: 2

evaluating recently introduced initiatives and the impact which these are having on the school. 5 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me welcome when I came to visit your school. I should have brought my Wellington boots! You are all coping with the building works very well. You and your teachers do lots of things really well: • most of you work very hard and you make good progress in your learning and that is why you reach good standards in your reading, writing and mathematics • your teachers also work very hard and make what you learn (the curriculum) fun and interesting; they are good teachers • your headteacher and other staff are very good at helping you to do as well as you can • they have done well in setting up Key Stage 2 for you all so that you can stay at your school until the end of Year 6 • you are looked after and cared for very well • most of you are confident and happy learners. In order to make your school even better: • some of you need to behave better when you are out at play and when you are in assemblies;

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

some of you do not listen well enough • I have asked your teachers to use the way they check the progress that you make more effective so that it will help you learn even more. With best wishes Sue Vale Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Bow Brickhill CoE VA Primary School, 16 °17 October 2006

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