The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided)

The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided) Inspection report

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133727 Unique Reference Number Cumbria Local Authority 316211 Inspection number 13 °14 March 2008 Inspection dates David Earley 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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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 357 School The governing body Appropriate authority Rvd Canon Jim Hyslop Chair Mrs Irene Roberts-Green Headteacher 1 March 2005 Date of previous school inspection Harold Street School address Carlisle Cumbria CA2 4HG 01228 607522 Telephone number 01228 607582 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 13 °14 March 2008 Inspection dates 316211 Inspection number .

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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. 13 °14 March 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average sized school serving a socially deprived area near the centre of Carlisle. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is above average. Most pupils are of White British backgrounds. A small number of pupils learn English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well above average. There is a small number of children who are looked after outside the home. The school has achieved the Healthy Schools Award, the Activemark Award and the Investors in People Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and improving school, with some good features. During a recent period of staffing instability achievement dipped. Staffing is now more stable. The headteacher, supported by her deputy and the local authority, has implemented strategies which are accelerating progress and improving achievement. Achievement is satisfactory and standards are average. Children start Nursery with skills well below those typical for their ages. They make good progress in Nursery and Reception because of stable staffing and good provision. They reach most of the goals set for their learning. Progress is satisfactory in Key Stages 1 and 2 because of recent staffing instabilities. Standards in Key Stage 1 are below average. In Key Stage 2 they are average. Standards at the higher levels are below average in both key stages. Personal development is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to lead a healthy

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Grade: 3

lifestyle. Their contribution to the local and wider community is good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. For example, older pupils visited a magistrate’s court and discussed moral issues, crime and punishment with each other and magistrates. Pupils enjoy school and say they feel safe. Preparation for the next stage in their education is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory with some good features. The atmosphere in classrooms is positive. Pupils’ good relationships and involvement in their own targets for improvement help them to develop increasing confidence in learning. There is inconsistent use of assessment to provide work suited to different abilities. For example, the challenge for more able pupils is insufficient and marking does not consistently show pupils how to improve. The satisfactory curriculum has some good aspects. It is enriched by a wide range of visits,

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Grade: 3

visitors and out of school clubs. A recently increased focus on the basic skills of literacy and numeracy is increasing pupils’ rate of progress. The school is developing the use of literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects to extend learning. Care, guidance and support are good. Strong Christian values underpin the school’s work and lead to a caring atmosphere which is very sensitive to the needs of its pupils and their families. Pastoral care is good. Procedures to safeguard pupils and to ensure risk assessment and child protection are secure. Good assessment and tracking of progress are significant features in pupils’ improving progress. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher’s clear vision for raising standards and improving provision is shared by staff and governors. This has served the school well during a period of acute staffing instability, beyond its control. The concerted efforts of staff, governors

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Grade: 3

and the local authority, enhanced by realistic self-evaluation and effective assessment and tracking, mean the school is back on course with an accelerating rate of progress.

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Grade: 2

Provision is good. Children start Nursery with skills well below those typical for their age, especially in language, mathematical, social and emotional development. Good teaching ensures children become confident, happy learners who enjoy the range of exciting activities. They make good progress in almost all areas of development. By the time they leave the Reception class they reach most of the targets expected for their age. Emotional, social and physical skills 4 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008 remain below expectations. The balance between adult led and child initiated activities is good. The quality of assessment is good and planning takes good account of children’s own ideas. The school has improved the small outdoor areas but there are still insufficient opportunities for the development of children’s physical skills. Good leadership of the Foundation Stage

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase the challenge for more able pupils in both key stages.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the consistency of marking so that all pupils know clearly what they need to do in order to improve. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and standards are average. Whatever their background or ability, most pupils make satisfactory progress. Children’s skills when they start in the Nursery are usually well below what is typical for their age. They make good progress so that by the time they enter Year 1 they reach most of the goals set for their learning. In 2007, the results of the teacher assessments at the end of Year 2 were significantly below average. Standards in Year 6 in the national tests in 2007 were broadly average. Achievement in the current Year 2 and 6 has improved. School data and inspection evidence indicate that pupils make satisfactory progress and are on track to reach broadly average standards overall, but with too few pupils likely to reach the higher levels. During the previous two years, at both key stages, achievement and progress from pupils’ starting points were unsatisfactory. Staffing instabilities led to slower progress in Key Stages

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Grade: 3

1 and 2. More stable staffing and the actions taken by the school to raise standards, supported by the local authority, are proving to be effective. The rate of progress is improving.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Because relationships are good and pupils are highly valued, they grow in confidence and self-esteem. Behaviour is generally good and the school’s strategies are successful in addressing any behaviour lapses of a small minority of older pupils. Pupils have a good understanding of how to lead healthy lifestyles. They say they enjoy coming to school and feel safe and well cared for. A parental comment, typical of many, was ‘Dedicated, enthusiastic teachers have given my child a love of school.’ Attendance is average. Pupils take advantage of many opportunities to take responsibility and contribute to the community. They lead worship, organise fundraising activities for charity and the school council ensures pupils’ views are heard and respected. Pupils have a good understanding of their own and others’ culture.

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Grade: 2

Referring to people from other cultural traditions, one pupil commented, ‘They are not different. They are just the same as us.’ The strong focus on literacy and numeracy, along with the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008 satisfactory progress pupils make, prepares them satisfactorily for the next stage in their education.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory with some good lessons seen during the inspection. This leads to satisfactory progress. Assessment is mostly used effectively to meet pupils’ different needs but there is insufficient challenge for higher ability pupils. Good relationships and many opportunities for pupils to talk in pairs, work collaboratively and explain their thinking help to extend their learning. Support staff are used effectively, particularly in support of less able pupils. Teachers value pupils’ contributions during lessons and in some cases encourage them to reflect on and improve their work. This is not evident in all lessons. There are some good examples of marking which include the next steps to be taken. This is inconsistent across the school and leads to missed opportunities to extend learning.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with some good features. The school has recently made significant changes to its curriculum. With the help of the local authority it has correctly identified the need to focus on the improvement of basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics. There are early indications that this change is having a positive impact on learners’ achievement and giving them positive attitudes to learning. The school is extending pupils’ skills in literacy and numeracy by using them in other subjects. The school uses information and communication technology (ICT) effectively across the curriculum and as a classroom research tool. The curriculum is enriched well by a stimulating range of visits and visitors. Pupils enjoy the opportunities available to them through a wide range of very popular extra-curricular activities.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good and represent an important element in pupils’ good personal development and improving progress. This caring school is based on well established Christian values. The school has a clear role in the community, supporting families in various ways. Speaking for many, a parent commented, ‘This is a community based school that genuinely cares for the community it serves.’ Vulnerable and looked-after children are well supported through good links with outside agencies. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and those who learn English as an additional language, receive good support and progress at the same rate as their peers. Risk assessments, child protection procedures and all safeguarding arrangements are robust. Good systems for assessing and tracking progress, and the school’s effective use of them, are a significant factor in improving progress. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided),

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher, well supported by her deputy and the local authority, has provided clear leadership during a challenging period of staffing instability. A thorough analysis of performance has led to well chosen strategies. These are improving the rate of pupils’ achievement and providing good personal development. Teachers share the headteacher’s commitment to improve and, despite the many difficulties caused by staffing instability, they work well as a team and are eager to improve their skills. Progress since the previous inspection is satisfactory. The realistic and detailed evaluation of performance is good. It provides development planning clearly focused on setting challenging targets to raise standards and improve provision. Governance is satisfactory. The newly constituted governing body is very supportive and is conscientious in increasing governors’ skills in holding the school to account for its performance.

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Grade: 3

The school has satisfactory capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008

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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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), Cumbria, CA2 4HG Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to visit your school. We really enjoyed our visit. Your school is satisfactory with some parts that are good. It is getting better. We were really impressed by how helpful you all are. People like the welcoming monitors and the school council do a good job in making the school a better place. You have a good understanding of how to keep fit by getting plenty of exercise and eating a healthy diet and you told us that you enjoy coming to school and feel safe and well cared for. You go on lots of trips, have visitors to work with you and you enjoy the after-school clubs. These are some of the things your school does well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are making better progress with your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are well looked after and the school keeps a good check on how well you are doing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The teachers and governors work hard to improve your learning and to make the school better. These are some of the things we have suggested to help the school to get better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We feel that those of you who find work too easy at times should have work that is more demanding. ■ We have asked that lessons be equally good at improving your progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We want the marking of your work to let you always know how to improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you once again for being so helpful and helping us to enjoy our visit. Yours sincerely David Earley Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided), 13 °14 March 2008

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