Bridgetown Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended Bridge Town Primary School

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125526 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 293288 Inspection number 13 December 2006 Inspection date Graham Sims 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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Byron Road School address Primary Type of school Stratford-upon-Avon Community School category CV37 7JP 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01789 205092 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01789 295276 Fax number 305 Number on roll (school) A Cook Chair The governing body Appropriate authority S Blackman Headteacher 25 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 293288 13 December 2006 4 °11

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to administration error

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Since the previous inspection, a large new housing development within the school's catchment area has led to a significant increase in the number of pupils on roll and a change in the nature of the school's intake. The school is now larger than average. The great majority of the pupils are of White British heritage and almost all speak English as their first language. Most pupils come from favourable socio-economic backgrounds, but the range has broadened in recent years. The proportion of pupils identified by the school as having learning difficulties is above average, as is the proportion with statements of special educational need. Apart from those in the Reception Year, pupils are taught in mixed-age classes. A new headteacher has been in post for just over a year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006

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Grade: 2

Bridgetown Primary School is a good school which has some outstanding features and no significant weaknesses. It is easy to see why the pupils think so highly of their school and why it is so popular with parents. Good leadership and management have forged a team of dedicated and talented staff who provide good teaching, a good curriculum and outstanding care, support and guidance. The visitor to the school is immediately struck by the bright and interesting displays throughout the school which give testimony to the pupils' hard work, a rich variety of activities and some exciting learning opportunities. It is no surprise, therefore, that standards at the end of Year 6 have been significantly above the national average for the last six years. Pupils of all abilities achieve well throughout the school. Many are of above average ability when they join the school, but they build well on their previous

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Grade: 2

skills and understanding. Children in the Reception classes receive a good start to their primary education and make particularly good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Standards have improved significantly in Key Stage 1 over the last three years, and high standards have been maintained in Key Stage 2. Fuelled by the high expectations of the staff, the rich variety of extra-curricular provision and excellent pastoral care, the pupils' personal development is outstanding. The pupils are polite, friendly and helpful. Their behaviour in lessons and when gathered in large numbers is impeccable. They have an excellent understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle and to keep themselves safe, and put this understanding into practice through their participation in a wide variety of sporting activities and their considerate behaviour around the school. The great majority of pupils really enjoy school, demonstrating this

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Grade: 2

through the high participation rate in extra-curricular activities and their enthusiastic responses in lessons. Pupils make a very positive contribution to the school and wider communities through their full involvement in school life, their enthusiastic support for different charities and the way older pupils carry out responsibilities, such as looking after the youngest children. With high standards of literacy and numeracy, very good proficiency in information and communication technology (ICT) and their excellent interpersonal skills, the pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education and the future world of work. This positive picture of pupils' achievement and personal development is a result of good leadership and management over many years and a team of staff which sets high standards and works hard to maintain them. The arrival of a new headteacher has heralded a new, but equally effective, leadership style. A significant recent improvement

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Grade: 2

has been the way responsibilities have been delegated to a wider range of staff. This has boosted their enthusiasm and is already leading to further improvement in a number of areas. So, what would it take to turn this into an outstanding school? Sometimes, the teaching does not provide enough opportunity for pupils to use their initiative and fulfil their potential as truly independent learners and, thereby, achieve the highest possible standards. Opportunities are missed to deepen pupils' understanding by relating work in one subject to what is happening in another. Whilst pupils' work is always marked, the feedback does not give pupils sufficient indication of how they 2 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006 can improve their work. The school's past record and the enthusiasm with which staff set about their various responsibilities indicate that there is good capacity to make

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide more opportunities for pupils to achieve the highest standards by using their initiative and developing their independent learning skills. • Help pupils to deepen their understanding by identifying ways in which work in one subject can complement and extend learning in other subjects. • Provide pupils with more detailed feedback on how they can improve their work and the necessary time to make these improvements.

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Grade: 2

Pupils of all abilities achieve well throughout the school. The overall profile of children when they join the school is one of above average ability. Within this picture, however, is an increasing number of pupils who have particular learning difficulties. Children make good progress during their Reception Year in all areas of learning, but particularly in their personal, social and emotional development, so that standards are above average by the time they join Year 1. Pupils continue to make good progress throughout the school. The school's results at the end of Year 2 have improved markedly over the last three years. Standards are now well above average, with pupils showing significant strength in reading. Whilst still above average, the school's most recent results at the end of Year 6 were the weakest for many years. They nevertheless represented good progress for a group whose performance had been average at Key Stage 1. In some

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Grade: 2

previous years, standards have been exceptionally high and pupils have made outstanding progress.

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Grade: 1

A Key Stage 1 assembly and a Key Stage 2 singing rehearsal during the inspection revealed many aspects of the pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils demonstrated a very well developed sense of occasion and an ability to change from laughter one minute to respectful and reverent silence the next. Their singing in unison was uplifting, reflecting their ability to live, work and play together, and their singing in harmony was delightful, reflecting their self-confidence, yet ability to work in collaboration with others. The strong musical input, led by some musically talented members of staff, contributes significantly to pupils' cultural development, which is strengthened by the many examples of excellent creative writing and imaginative artwork. The pupils develop into well-rounded, confident and mature youngsters, very well prepared for their future education. Although still above average,

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Grade: 1

attendance has fallen from the very high levels of previous years because of an increasing number of families taking holidays during term-time. 3 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006

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Grade: 2

The teaching throughout the school is of a consistently high quality. Lessons are well planned and, aided by careful grouping of pupils, work is well matched to pupils' needs and abilities. Teachers engage pupils' attention well and encourage pupils' participation in whole-class sessions through good questioning. The pupils' excellent behaviour and willingness to participate help them to learn well. The reason teaching is not judged to be excellent is because teachers are not always as challenging as they could be. Not enough opportunities are provided for pupils to work independently without constraints and to use their initiative. When asked to do so pupils show themselves to be capable of even higher standards. Although teachers provide some helpful comments when marking pupils' work, they do not give sufficient feedback, particularly to the more able pupils, on how they can make their work even better. Pupils with learning

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Grade: 2

difficulties and disabilities receive good support from the staff which helps them to make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The school's coverage of the National Curriculum is sound and provision for the core subjects of English, mathematics and science is thorough. The school is beginning to explore ways of linking work in one subject with what is taught in others, but there is still room for further development of this aspect of curricular planning in order to make the best use of teaching time and to deepen pupils' understanding. Pupils' learning is enhanced by excellent extra-curricular provision through lunchtime and after-school clubs, a wide variety of visitors, visits and special focus events. During the recent book week, for example, the school had visits from no less than five authors and the pupils produced some excellent writing as a result. Links with various high schools support pupils' work in mathematics, ICT, music, sport, science and design and technology, and the link with the on-site pre-school eases children's transition into

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Grade: 1

The welcoming, friendly and happy ethos of the school and the pupils' enthusiasm for school bear testimony to the outstanding level of care, guidance and support provided by all of the staff. Procedures for safeguarding pupils are extremely thorough and all staff have received training in child protection issues. Pupils comment on how friendly and helpful their teachers are and say that they feel very safe within school and know that any problems will be dealt with. Over the last year, the school's procedures for tracking pupils' progress and for setting targets have been completely overhauled and 4 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006 are now very good. All staff have a very clear picture of how well their pupils are doing and are quick to spot if any are not making the expected progress.

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Grade: 2

The good reputation which the school has justifiably enjoyed over many years and the high standards achieved by the pupils owe much to good quality leadership and management. Governors contribute well to the running of the school. Different strengths have rapidly emerged under the leadership of the new headteacher. Opportunities for extra-curricular involvement in sport and music have been strengthened. Staff are thoroughly enjoying having greater delegated responsibilities and the opportunity to be more fully involved in establishing priorities for the future development of the school. Parents and pupils are also contributing to this process through their response to surveys and the voice of the school council. Some initiatives, such as subject leaders' involvement in monitoring the quality of provision in their subjects, have only recently been implemented and need more time to become fully embedded in order to have a noticeable impact on pupils' achievement. What is evident,

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Grade: 2

though, is that there is a very good sense of teamwork amongst the staff and a clear agenda for development, arising from thorough self-evaluation. 5 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 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: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

1 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: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 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: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I really enjoyed my visit to your school and would like to thank you for your welcome. You feel that yours is a really good school, and I agree with you. These are my main findings: • You are making good progress in your work, and you achieve standards that are significantly above those in most schools by the end of Year 6. • Your excellent behaviour, politeness and friendliness and your enthusiasm for your work and activities make it a pleasure to be in your school. • You receive good teaching throughout the school, and your excellent participation helps you to make good progress in your learning. • The work you are given by your teachers is well planned, and there is an excellent range of additional activities, visitors and special focus weeks which interest you. • The staff take very good care of you, make sure that you are safe in school and know exactly how much progress you are making. • The governors, headteacher and staff work well together and have good plans for making

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the school even better. I found much to celebrate in your school and discovered no major weaknesses. However, your headteacher and staff want your school to be outstanding. They will achieve this if they help you to make even more progress in your work, so I have asked them to: • provide you with more opportunities to use your initiative and to work independently; you produce some of your best work when you are given the freedom to decide what needs to be done and how to do it • identify ways in which work in one subject can be used to develop skills that are associated with other subjects; by combining work from different subject areas you will have more time to produce high quality work and deepen your understanding • provide you with more detailed feedback on how you can improve your work and sufficient time for you to go back over your work and make improvements; many of you produce really good work, but are not told how you can make it even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I am sure you will continue to play your part with enthusiasm and that you will enjoy the opportunity of being stretched even more in your work. 9 Inspection Report: Bridge Town Primary School, 13 December 2006

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