Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection.

However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Bishop Wood is a welcoming and friendly school.

Pupils are happy and confident to be themselves. Staff know pupils well. Staff do not always set clear expectations for behaviour or learning.

Some pupils are not achieving as well as they should.

Most pupils know how to behave. They kn...ow the difference between right and wrong.

Some pupils find it harder than others to behave appropriately and occasionally stop others from learning. Pupils know the difference between bullying and disagreements. Bullying sometimes happens and staff deal with it well.

Pupils enjoy and attend a range of extra-curricular clubs, including football, dodgeball, dance and art club. Pupils represent the school at sporting and community events for example, the Lenten Bazaar. Pupils enjoy the visits to important places in the local area such as the church and museums.

They also enjoy the residential trips where they have opportunities to take risks and experience outdoor activities.

Pupils have opportunities to develop their leadership skills. They know about the democratic approach for election to be a school councillor.

They make a difference to their school community through roles such as eco warriors and sports ambassador.

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

Leaders have created a broad curriculum. They ensure that pupils access the full range of subjects.

However, pupils do not make the progress they need to in all areas of the curriculum because leaders have not been clear and specific with the knowledge they want pupils to learn in all subjects. This leads to staff not knowing what important knowledge pupils need to learn to ensure they build upon what they already know. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in subject content and struggle to recall key information.

Leaders are not regularly checking how well their curriculum plans are being implemented.

In a few subjects where staff are clear about what important knowledge to teach, they break down learning into small manageable steps to ensure pupils achieve. In these cases, staff have secure subject knowledge and the experience needed to successfully support pupils with their learning.

However, on occasions, staff move on to new content too quickly. Staff check what pupils can do within lessons but beyond this the checking of pupils' prior learning is not consistent.

Leaders have responded with urgency to improve reading.

They have developed a structured approach to teaching the skills for reading. Pupils are confident at recalling information from texts and are avid readers. Leaders match pupils reading books with their reading stage.

This focuses on fluency and success with reading a range of genres. Leaders have identified where pupils need support with reading. Pupils who are at the early stages of reading get the support they need quickly.

Leaders track pupils and check on what they can do. All staff have received training to support pupils to decode, comprehend and become fluent readers.

Leaders know the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

Systems are in place for identifying pupils with SEND. Leaders support staff with key information to make sure pupils get the support they need to access learning. Staff are highly skilled at adapting tasks to ensure pupils with SEND can access the same curriculum as their peers successfully.

Leaders ensure that pupils understand their own needs and can communicate these with adults in the school. All pupils learn how to identify their emotions. They learn strategies that they independently use to help them get ready to learn, for example, breathing exercises or going for a walk.

Most pupils are well behaved in lessons and around the school. However, leaders have not set out their expectations for behaviour to staff or pupils clearly. Some pupils do not routinely make the right choices and distract others from learning.

Staff have not had the training to ensure that they are consistent in dealing with behaviour. Some pupils' experience of what acceptable behaviour is, depends on which adult they are working with.

Staff feel supported by leaders.

They know that they can ask for help if they need it.

Governors work in partnership with leaders, working closely on improving the school for its pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders complete all the necessary checks on staff. They make training a priority. As a result, staff confidently identify and report concerns quickly.

Leaders address concerns and put support in place for pupils and their families. Leaders work well with external agencies, sharing information to support pupils' welfare and well-being.

Leaders make good use of the school's pastoral services to give pupils access to support in school.

Pupils use this support. They are confident to speak to staff about their worries. Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the real world, such as crossing the road.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not set out clearly what they want pupils to learn and do. This means that teachers do not know what important knowledge they should teach and pupils struggle to recall what they have learned. Leaders must ensure that they set out important knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn and remember so that they are well prepared for future learning.

• Staff do not use their checks on pupils' understanding effectively. This means that pupils have gaps in knowledge as staff are moving on to new learning too quickly or not revisiting previous learning when necessary. Leaders must ensure that staff check what pupils have understood, learned and remembered content and subject knowledge before moving on to new learning.

• Staff's expectations of behaviour are not consistent across the school. Staff do not set out clearly what is appropriate behaviour for learning during lessons or what is appropriate behaviour when moving around the school. This means that some pupils do not have a positive attitude to their learning and distract others.

Leaders must ensure that expectations of how to behave and learn are well established across the school. Leaders must ensure that staff are well trained to support pupils with this.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2012.

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