Bakewell Methodist Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: leaders and governors allocate and monitor closely the impact of additional funding received by the school for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, and the primary physical education and sport premium leaders work to reduce any variations in the progress made by disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities leaders regularly review the impact of the curriculum so that teaching is up to date the records for safeguarding concerns are precise, accurate and detailed.
• Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress by ensuring that: teachers provide pupils with increased opportunities to write at length in subjects across the curriculum and insist that they correctly use their grammar, punctuation and spelling skills teachers fully implement the recently introduced approaches to teaching mathematics, so that pupils’ progress at the end of key stage 2 is at least in line with the national average.
• Improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have been slow to act decisively and improve standards, particularly for reading and mathematics. They did not adapt quickly enough to the new key stage 2 curriculum. Leaders have now ensured that teachers are prepared well enough and have recently introduced new approaches to accelerate the progress that pupils make across key stage 2 in reading and mathematics. The new systems have not been in place long enough to have had a sustained impact on standards.
• Leaders have not used additional funding well enough to secure better outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and to improve the attendance of these groups of pupils. They do not check closely enough on the impact of the extra support that these pupils receive. They do not know which of their actions are most effective in improving the progress and attainment of these pupils.
• Leaders have provided staff with training to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Since the start of this academic year, leaders have formalised the process for monitoring the quality of teaching in school. As a result of their actions, teaching is typically good. However, these changes have only recently begun to have an impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders are not strategic in their plans to increase pupils’ engagement with sport. Additional funds provided through the primary physical education and sport premium have increased pupils’ access to a range of sporting activities, as well as providing teaching and coaching skills. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of these strategies and change their future plans as a result.
• Since September 2017, leaders have raised the profile of reading across all year groups. The teaching of reading is now increasingly effective. Pupils’ attainment and progress in reading are improving, particularly in Years 3 and 4. Pupils enjoy reading and are doing so more frequently, in school and at home. In some cases, pupils should be reading longer and more demanding books which offer a higher level of challenge for their age and ability.
• Despite weaknesses in the curriculum, there are also strengths. Pupils experience a rich diet, including memorable visits, for example to Haddon Hall, to learn about the Tudors or to the Chatsworth Estate to complete their ‘Take one picture’ project. Staff also provide a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, and many pupils learn to play a musical instrument.
• Leaders have developed a safe and caring school community. They place a great emphasis on developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. The school’s work in helping pupils to understand fundamental British values is effective.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand the importance of tolerance and respect towards people who hold different views. They gain an understanding of the general principles of British values through days focused on, for example, diversity and democracy. Pupil representatives also attended a ‘cluster parliament’, where they voted for the charity which a cluster of local schools now support.
• All staff who responded to Ofsted’s survey are proud to be a part of the school. They feel respected, motivated and supported well by leaders in their work.
• Parents are very supportive of the school. Most of the responses on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were positive. One parent described the school as having ‘supportive teaching staff and happy children’. A substantial majority of the respondents would recommend the school to others.
• The local authority has recently provided leaders with effective support in bringing about changes that are beginning to improve pupils’ attainment and progress.

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body are committed to the school and are ambitious for its future.
• Governors have a range of relevant knowledge and skills. Newer members of the governing body have received training so that they are able to carry out their roles more effectively.
• Governors have an understanding of pupils’ outcomes and the importance of pupils’ progress as a measure of the school’s performance. They support and challenge school leaders to continue to raise standards. However, they do not have a good enough understanding of outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The governing body does not rigorously monitor the use, and impact, of additional funds, such as the pupil premium and funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Governors are not able to hold leaders to account for the spending of these monies and the impact they have on the outcomes of different groups of pupils.
• Governors undertake regular visits to the school, meeting with staff and visiting lessons. Staff and parents know the governors well.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All pupils who spoke with inspectors agree that they are safe in school. Parents also say that their children are safe and well cared for at the school.
• Leaders make all the required checks to ensure that staff and visitors are suitable to work with children.
• Leaders respond promptly to concerns. They ensure that there is early support in place, both from within school and from external agencies, for pupils if they and their families need help.
• Staff and governors have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. All staff and governors have received safeguarding training, including on the ‘Prevent’ duty, which helps them to protect pupils who are at risk from extremism and radicalisation. They understand their roles and the procedures that they must follow. New governors receive safeguarding training as part of their induction process.
• Record keeping is not as regular or as precise as it should be. This has not had an impact on pupils’ safety or the timeliness of leaders’ responses to safeguarding concerns. These safeguarding systems, however, are not as tight as they should be.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their good subject knowledge to plan work which captures pupils’ interests, providing purposeful learning experiences. According to one pupil: ‘Teachers have a variety of lessons up their sleeves.’
• Teachers are positive and enthusiastic, and classroom routines are well established. Little learning time is lost.
• Teachers build constructive relationships with pupils. Pupils want to contribute to lessons because they have a positive attitude towards learning. When teachers need to refocus the pupils, it is because of their exuberance to get involved, rather than poor behaviour.
• Teachers use questioning to good effect, probing pupils’ responses and insisting that they think more deeply. Teachers ask pupils different questions depending on their prior learning. As one pupil said: ‘I like the way teachers teach us. They make you understand more, asking questions that really make you think.’
• Teachers give pupils the opportunity to learn from their mistakes by challenging their misconceptions. For example, a teacher ensured that a pupil understood the difference between perpendicular and parallel lines in a mathematics lesson through questioning.
• Teaching assistants are well trained and guided by teaching staff. If they spot pupils who are struggling or losing concentration, they quickly intervene to bring them back on track.
• Teachers now monitor pupils’ progress much more closely than in the past. They identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and use this information to ensure that future learning will provide pupils with the necessary support. Pupils’ attainment and progress are improving as a result.
• Teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to write at length in literacy and in other subjects across the curriculum. Consequently, pupils have not developed their abilities to apply grammar, punctuation and spelling sufficiently within their written pieces.
• In mathematics, pupils demonstrate strong number work. However, pupils spend too long practising a skill they have already mastered, rather than progressing to more challenging work involving problem solving and reasoning skills. As a result, pupils’ progress in mathematics slows.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school has a friendly atmosphere, where pupils enjoy learning. One parent commented that the school is ‘caring and nurturing’, while another noted that ‘everyone is important’. Staff know the pupils very well. Parents who responded to their survey said that their children are safe, well looked after and happy.
• Relationships between pupils and staff, and among the pupils themselves, are positive. Pupils show good manners when talking to each other, staff and visitors. They greeted the inspector politely and spoke maturely about their learning and the school. During playtime, the inspector observed pupils of all ages playing well together.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the different kinds of bullying, including online bullying. They said that incidents of bullying or poor behaviour are rare but, when they do occur, staff resolve them promptly and effectively. Pupils know that there is someone at school who they can talk to if they are worried about anything. They value being able to use the ‘golden box’ if they do not feel able to talk to someone face to face. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online and when they are out on their bikes.
• Pupils respond positively to the school’s reward system. Adults give pupils ‘privilege cards’ for good work and behaviour. Leaders have also introduced a ‘stars programme’, with a particular focus on the ‘always’ pupil. Leaders award bronze, silver or gold stars to those pupils who contribute consistently well to their own learning and to the work of the school. Pupils wear their stars with pride.
• Pupils enjoy positions of responsibility. Teachers encourage pupils to take part in decision-making through their elected positions as members of the ‘cluster parliament’. Pupils also represent the school in a variety of sporting activities.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural experiences are a strength of the school. Pupils understand their role in the school, where they live and in wider society. Leaders have developed strong links with the local community, particularly the church. For example, during the inspection, the local minister led collective worship on the theme of ‘trust’.
• Pupils spend time interacting with elderly members of the community. They also benefit from strong links to the local secondary school, for example learning about the refugee crisis from older pupils. They are knowledgeable about faiths and cultures different from their own, and they spoke enthusiastically about completing the multi-faith trail.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Around the school and during lesson times the atmosphere is calm and purposeful. School staff have created a positive environment, where pupils feel safe and are able to enjoy learning.
• Incidents of low-level disruption in classrooms are rare and this was reflected in the behaviour seen by the inspector. This is because pupils work well together and respond positively to adults’ instructions.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are willing to share their ideas, while being respectful of others’ opinions. Pupils’ presentation in their books is generally good, although the quality of work produced by least-able boys is not of the same standard.
• The proportions of pupils who are absent or frequently absent have been below the national averages for the last two years. However, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not attend as well as other pupils. The proportions of pupils in these groups who are absent are rising. Strategies introduced by leaders to encourage individual pupils to attend well are not yet having an impact.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Leaders’ actions to improve the progress of pupils in key stage 2 have lacked urgency. Pupils’ progress is not consistently good in all subjects and all year groups. Too many pupils are not as prepared as they should be for the next stage in their education.
• Pupils’ progress in reading by the end of Year 6 has been well below the national average for the last two years. Pupils, including those of average ability, do not make the progress that they should.
• In 2017, pupils’ progress in mathematics by the end of Year 6, including those of average ability and most-able pupils, was lower than in 2016, and well below the national average. The proportions of pupils who attained the expected and higher standards at the end of key stage 2 in mathematics were also below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who achieved at the expected and higher standards in the grammar, punctuation and spelling test in 2017 was below the national average.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make enough progress to close the gaps in learning between themselves and other pupils. Current information for these groups of pupils indicates that they are not making as much progress as other pupils in reading, writing or mathematics.
• In 2017, an increased proportion of pupils attained the higher standards in writing. Most-able pupils achieved more highly and made more progress in their writing than they did in 2016.
• Current information and the work in pupils’ books show that the progress and achievement of pupils are improving. However, the pattern is not consistent across year groups and subjects. For example, Year 6 pupils are making stronger progress in reading and writing than they are in mathematics. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 are attaining more highly than pupils in other year groups, across all subjects.
• Leaders meet with teachers to discuss the progress of individual pupils and plan appropriate interventions to support pupils’ learning. As a result, some pupils are now beginning to make stronger progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112870 Derbyshire 10047615 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary controlled 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 74 Appropriate authority Local authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Professor Peter Wright Mrs Sarah Owens 01629 812389 www.bakewell-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk headteacher@bakewell-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 July 2014

Information about this school

• The school is much smaller than the average-sized junior school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.
• The school runs its own after-school club.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about admissions on its website.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in nine lessons. All of these lessons were visited jointly with the headteacher. The inspector also observed an assembly.
• The inspector and the headteacher looked at samples of pupils’ work covering a range of subjects, abilities and year groups. The inspector also heard some pupils read.
• The inspector met with a group of pupils and spoke informally with pupils during lessons and at playtime. She also observed the behaviour of pupils at playtime and as pupils moved around the school.
• The inspector held a number of meetings with the headteacher and other school leaders. She met with members of the governing body, including the chair. The inspector also held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.
• The inspector considered the 25 responses from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including responses made through the free-text service.
• The inspector considered the responses from the pupil and staff online surveys.
• The inspector reviewed a wide range of documentation, including the school improvement plan and the self-evaluation summary, safeguarding procedures and records and minutes of meetings of the governing body. She also considered the school’s current information on pupils’ progress and achievement, attendance records, behaviour logs, external reports on the work of the school and monitoring and evaluation records.

Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector