Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils and wants them to achieve well.

It is introducing changes to ensure that the curriculum provides pupils with the knowledge and skills they need. Nonetheless, the quality of education pupils receive is not good. Aspects of the curriculum, including in the early years, are underdeveloped.

Pupils speak confidently about equalities and say that everyone is treated fairly. They believe the school is inclusive and that everyone deserves to be treated respectfully.

Pupils understand the behaviours the school expects of them.

They strive to meet these high expectations and behave well. Social times are enjoyable as pupils c...an engage in a wide range of activities. They play happily together.

However, when learning, a minority of pupils who arrive late or lose focus can disrupt others. This can limit everyone's learning.

Pupils enjoy their time in school and feel safe.

They know what to do to keep themselves safe, for example when using electronic devices.

Pupils are keen to be involved in the wider responsibilities the school offers, which include mental health champions, sports leaders and house captains. Such responsibilities help to develop pupils' social and leadership skills.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has been through a turbulent time since the previous inspection. Recruitment has been undertaken to appoint new staff, especially in the nursery, to work with school leaders to drive forward the identified areas of improvement.

The school is working with determination to strengthen the quality of education.

The curriculum is in place. Staff have thought carefully about the knowledge they want pupils to learn and remember across the subjects they study. However, in some subjects, the curriculum is not fully implemented.

This means children and pupils do not gain the knowledge they need to achieve well. Therefore, pupils are not always as well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Typically, learning in the early years, both in the Nursery and Reception classes, provides children with a foundation on which to build.

Children learn how to cooperate with each other and to work independently. They have the opportunity to develop their skills in reading, writing and mathematics. However, children, especially in the Nursery Year, do not always have well-chosen activities that build their knowledge and understanding.

This hampers the progress they make.

The school has given priority to early reading. This is having a positive impact.

The implementation of the school's phonics programme is secure. Pupils' reading books closely match the sounds they know. This is helping them to get off to a great start with their reading.

Pupils who find reading tricky get the right help to catch up quickly. Pupils enjoy story time with books that are chosen to help extend their vocabulary and enhance their understanding.

The mantra at this school is that all teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school identifies pupils with SEND accurately. Suitable adaptations are made to enable pupils to follow the same curriculum as their peers. Nonetheless, the school knows that, as with other pupils, the quality of education needs to be better to enable these pupils to achieve success.

Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. A minority do not arrive on time. As a result, these pupils do not build their knowledge well over time and have gaps in their learning.

The school is working determinedly with families to improve pupils' attendance and punctuality, but this is not having the desired impact.

Relationships within the school are strong. Pupils are confident that they can talk to a member of staff if they have any worries.

They appreciate the focus on their mental health and the introduction of the mental health ambassadors. This encourages them to look after themselves, be healthy and support each other.

Parents and carers have mixed views about the school.

Some are unhappy with the communication between school and home. However, other parents have confidence in the school and feel their children are thriving.

Governors understand their roles and responsibilities.

They know the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They recognise work is needed to ensure that the school provides a high-quality education for its pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school has designed a well-considered curriculum for personal, social and health education. Local and national risks are considered, such as drugs, alcohol and staying safe online. Concerns about pupils are followed up, including escalating to external agencies when necessary.

However, some actions taken by the school are not routinely recorded in line with statutory guidance. This could make it difficult to monitor and track actions taken for vulnerable pupils and to determine whether concerns continue or have been resolved.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the curriculum is not fully implemented, including in the Nursery.

As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge they need to achieve well.The school need to complete the process of embedding the curriculum effectively in all subjects. ? The school responds to safeguarding concerns swiftly.

However, sometimes the information the school records about safeguarding incidents lacks sufficient detail. Therefore, the school could miss vital information. The school needs to make sure that records clearly and consistently demonstrate the action taken in response to any safeguarding concerns.

• Some pupils are not punctual or do not attend school regularly enough. As a result, they do not build their knowledge well over time and have gaps in their learning. The school needs to ensure that the attendance strategy and work with parents are effective in ensuring that pupils are punctual and attend regularly to enable them to learn more successfully over time.

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