Birchills Church of England Community Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The principal has set high standards for staff and pupils, and planned carefully for the development of the school. As a result, the quality of teaching has continued to rise, and the rate of pupils' progress has increased.

Senior leaders and governors have addressed successfully the issues raised at the last inspection. In particular, teachers ensure that the many pupils who enter the school with weak language skills catch up quickly. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum and some good extra-curricular activities, especially in sport.

Leaders' promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is very effective. Staff ...in the early years provision work well with parents to ensure that children get off to a good start. They plan effectively to ensure that children progress in all areas of learning.

Some subject leaders are new to their roles, and do not yet contribute fully to improving teaching. A little unevenness in the quality of teaching remains, because some teaching does not fully reflect the strong practice established in the school. Teaching is consistently good or better.

Teachers are highly effective at checking on pupils' progress in lessons, and asking searching questions. Inspection evidence showed that pupils are currently making strong progress in English, mathematics and a number of other subjects, including physical education (PE). In mathematics, pupils are encouraged to explain their thinking and apply their knowledge to different situations.

Pupils' attitudes to their learning are consistently strong. They quickly develop a love of reading, and take pride in their work. Pupils behave consistently well.

Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have a comprehensive understanding of the local community, and ensure that all staff are skilled in identifying possible risks. The additional work set for the most able pupils or those who finish first is sometimes insufficiently challenging.

Teaching assistants generally make a good contribution to pupils' learning. However, on occasion their skills or their deployment do not allow them to have the greatest possible impact.

Information about this school

Birchills Church of England Community Academy is a much larger than average primary school.

Children attend full time in the Reception class, but for morning or afternoon sessions only in the Nursery classes. The school runs a breakfast club. Birchills Church of England Community Academy is sponsored by The Church of England Central Education Trust (CECET).

The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium is well above average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also well above average. The majority of pupils are of Pakistani heritage.

One in six pupils is White British. The majority of pupils speak English as an additional language, and a high proportion of these in the younger year groups are at an early stage of learning English. The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish. The school holds the Inclusion Quality Mark, and a number of awards recognising its successful promotion of health and fitness. In 2016, the school met the government's floor standards, which sets the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils by the end of Year 6.