Bisley CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this welcoming and caring school. Leaders ensure the values of hope, respect, courage and love underpin all aspects of school life. Pupils know what each value means.

As one pupil stated, 'The value 'love' means we help and really care for each other.'

Pupils behave well. Leaders have established clear routines from Nursery onwards.

Pupils are polite and well mannered, both to adults and to each other. Older pupils enjoy helping the younger children in early years. Pupils play well together at playtimes, enjoying the beautiful school grounds.

Bullying is rare, but adults sort it out quickly if it happens.

Leaders encoura...ge pupils to make a difference in their community. Pupils have shared their learning with residents through visiting a local care home and have served afternoon tea to members of the community at an event in the local park.

Leaders want all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to be 'successful every day' and to achieve well. However, leaders recognise that in recent years, pupils have not received the quality of education they deserve in some curriculum subjects. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency so that all pupils flourish and succeed.

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

Leaders are developing an ambitious curriculum. In some subjects, such as mathematics and science, pupils achieve well, including those with SEND. Leaders have identified the essential knowledge that pupils and children need to remember right from the start of Nursery.

Teachers know exactly what to teach, and they plan activities to deepen pupils' understanding.

However, this is not the case for all subjects, including English. In these subjects, leaders have identified skills that pupils need to develop but not the key knowledge that pupils need to learn.

Also, the sequence of learning does not enable pupils to connect ideas and remember what they have learned effectively. Senior leaders are taking the right action to complete the curriculum so that it builds in a coherent sequence from the start of early years to Year 6.

Subject leadership in most subjects is at an early stage of development.

Where this is the case, leaders' subject knowledge is not deep enough to enable them to support teachers to teach effectively. Senior leaders have rightly introduced a programme of training and support to improve subject knowledge for all leaders so that pupils achieve as well as they should in the future.

Leaders want pupils to read well.

Pupils in Reception and Year 1 are taught to read using a well-sequenced phonics programme. However, a lack of staff training has led to inconsistencies in how this is delivered. Too often, reading books are not matched to the phonics sounds that pupils know.

Strategies used to help the weakest readers catch up quickly are not always effective. This means that some pupils do not learn to read quickly enough. Leaders need to ensure that these inconsistencies in teaching reading are ironed out.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils with SEND to access the whole curriculum and achieve well. Following a recent review of SEND provision at the school, leaders have rightly begun to improve how they identify and meet the needs of pupils with more complex SEND and how they communicate this to parents.

Leaders' work to support pupils' personal development is a strength.

In early years, children learn to share and cooperate well. Pupils from Reception to Year 6 enjoy an extensive programme of residential visits and are offered a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs. These include computing, French, netball, athletics and story club.

Pupils can learn an impressive range of musical instruments, including piano, classical guitar and both brass and wind instruments. Right from the start of Nursery, all children learn how to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. Pupils across the school readily share their learning about why tolerance and inclusion are important in society.

Leaders and governors have a clear vision for the school. However, leadership is not consistently effective across the school. The headteacher recognises that leaders at all levels need to develop their skills and expertise so that they can carry out their roles more effectively.

Staff enjoy working at this school. They say leaders listen to their views and are considerate of their workload and well-being. Staff say that leaders create a positive environment that focuses on the needs of the pupils.

Most parents are highly positive about the school. They say that their children are happy and feel safe at Bisley.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of vigilance. They have clear systems in place to identify those pupils who are at risk of harm. Regular training ensures that all staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil.

Leaders work closely with external agencies to make sure that pupils and families in need of additional help access this quickly.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They have an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay safe online.

Leaders also teach pupils how to stay safe while out and about in the local community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The essential knowledge that pupils need to learn in English and some foundation subjects is not clear. Series of lessons in these subjects do not enable pupils to make links between concepts securely enough so that they build knowledge systematically.

Leaders need to complete and embed a coherently sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6 for all subjects. ? There is variability in the teaching of early reading. Many staff are not trained in how to deliver the school's phonics programme effectively.

They do not know how to support the weakest readers to learn to read quickly and fluently. Sometimes, staff use resources and unhelpful strategies which are not part of the phonics programme, including using reading books that are not matched to the phonics sounds that pupils know. Leaders need to ensure that all staff receive up-to-date training in teaching early reading so that all inconsistencies in teaching are ironed out quickly.

• Subject leadership in most subjects is at an early stage of development. Some subject leaders need to deepen their subject content and teaching strategy knowledge so that they can support staff to implement the curriculum more effectively. Leaders should ensure that subject leadership across the whole curriculum improves.