The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided) Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently challenging for the most able pupils by:
  • checking that they do not unnecessarily repeat work that they can easily do
  • sharing the very best practice in school more widely.
• Improve attendance and reduce persistent absence by:
  • targeting pupils’ below-average attendance in the Reception class and Year 1
  • ensuring that work to improve attendance is sustained.
• Ensure that pupils can apply their phonic knowledge fluently by the end of Year 2 by:
  • taking a more systematic approach to the teaching of phonics in Years 1 and 2.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and her team are inclusive and ambitious. Their determined and positive spirit permeates every aspect of school life. After an unexpected set of poor results in 2016, leaders galvanised the staff, brought in some highly effective support from the local authority and rapidly improved outcomes.
• Leaders have invested in staff development to good effect. Staff were trained in a new scheme for teaching mathematics just over a year ago. As a result, the quality of teaching in mathematics has rapidly improved and standards are now above national averages.
• Humanities, science, dance and sport are just some of the subjects that pupils enjoy. Subject leaders closely monitor the quality of teaching and standards in their subjects to good effect.
• There is a wealth of extra-curricular clubs including choir, cricket, drama, phonics and ‘magic maths’. Social, moral, spiritual and cultural education and the promotion of British values are strong. One parent commented: ‘I am extremely impressed by the school’s values and how my children apply them in everyday life.’
• Pupil premium funding is used well. Disadvantaged pupils typically make better progress than that of their peers. The physical education and sport premium is used well to provide lunchtime hockey for pupils and to employ specialist dance teachers.
• Leaders and governors benefited greatly from support provided by the local authority last academic year. They now work as part of a local cluster of schools to moderate each other’s work and share good practice. The diocese has provided much-needed financial support for the school.

Governance of the school

• There is a strong and effective governing body. Governors bring a broad range of expertise from education and beyond, coupled with a shared vision to achieve the best for the pupils they serve.
• Governors’ commitment to the school is commendable. They have a good understanding of the school’s performance data and they offer an appropriate balance of robust challenge and support.
• There is a small deficit budget. To secure the school’s financial future, governors have reduced the numbers of children who can be admitted in Reception to 30 and have slimmed down the senior leadership team. This will make staffing much easier to plan and manage as there will be no need for mixed-age classes in the future.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The single central record meets requirements. All staff and governors are appropriately trained; staff benefit from weekly safeguarding updates. They are vigilant and regularly report any concerns, however minor. Many pupils benefit from the school’s early intervention and effective multi-agency working. Robust procedures are in place for child protection. The internet is filtered appropriately, and pupils know to tell a trusted adult if they receive an inappropriate message on their mobile phone or by email. Almost all parents and carers who expressed their views though Parent View or who spoke to an inspector feel that their child is safe in school and that bullying is dealt with effectively.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is typically good. Inspectors observed the most able pupils making good progress in a number of lessons, including Year 2 mathematics. In this lesson, the most able pupils were sent to work outside the classroom with the teaching assistant to independently complete more challenging work. They made rapid progress; no time was wasted asking them to work through the same questions as their peers. Unfortunately, these high expectations for the most able pupils are not evident in all lessons. In a minority of lessons, they do not make good progress because the work is too easy for them.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that standards of work in history, geography, science and a range of other subjects are good. Pupils show good subject knowledge and apply their literacy skills well across the curriculum. Assessments are robust; teachers know their pupils’ abilities well and plan learning accordingly.
• There is a strong culture of reading, particularly in key stage 2, which contributes well to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural education. Teachers consistently monitor whether pupils are meeting the school’s expectations to read three times a week at home. In Year 6, pupils’ guided reading books demand high levels of comprehension skills. These skills are used well in their English lessons. For instance, pupils read ‘The Island’ and explored the themes of difference and discrimination. They were able to relate their reading to the discrimination suffered by Jews during the Holocaust.
• Leaders and managers identified that too many boys were not reading at home so they introduced ‘Fudge’ homework. Boys were encouraged to read with fathers, uncles or grandads. There is now a much stronger reading culture in school and among these families.
• In key stage 1, standards in reading remain below the national average. Not enough pupils catch up in reading by the end of Year 2 because the teaching of phonics in Years 1 and 2 is not consistent enough to build their knowledge systematically.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are taught well about how to stay safe. Many pupils expressed surprise when asked whether bullying exists at school. The few instances of bullying that do occur are dealt with appropriately by senior leaders. Almost all parents feel that their children are safe at school; pupils agree.
• Pastoral support is strong. Healthy lifestyles are promoted through healthy and active lunchtimes and the wealth of extra-curricular clubs. For the benefit of pupils, there is an emphasis on supporting families whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ good manners, considerate attitudes and respect for each other are indicative of the school’s ethos. Rarely is learning interrupted by pupils who are not engaged. Pupils behave well at social times and organise themselves sensibly and patiently as they wait their turn at lunchtime.
• The school environment is warm and welcoming. If pupils look up as they walk down the corridor, they see the stars, as they would if they looked at the ceiling in Carlisle Cathedral. The school’s values are endorsed by the many displays about how pupils care for each other and the wider community.
• Attendance has improved since the previous inspection and is just below the national average. Leaders and managers have used a multitude of strategies to further improve attendance to good effect. However, there remain a small core of pupils who are persistently absent from school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• From starting points below those typical for their age, pupils make good progress in English, mathematics and a range of other subjects and leave with standards broadly in line with national averages. Pupils make good and sometimes rapid progress in mathematics due to strong leadership, an engaging curriculum and highly effective teaching.
• Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities make the same good progress as their peers. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) knows every pupil’s needs well and understands how to accurately measure their progress, even if it is in very small incremental steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils typically do better than their peers. This is due to the school’s inclusive philosophy, high-quality teaching and belief that every pupil can succeed. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Progress of the most able pupils has improved and is close to national averages. However, these pupils do not make consistently good progress due to a lack of challenge in a minority of lessons.

Early years provision Good

• Strong and assured leadership coupled with highly effective teamwork results in a highly purposeful, bright and stimulating learning environment for children to enjoy. Safeguarding is effective; all welfare requirements are met.
• Children behave well and show that they can share, take turns and sit independently to have a healthy snack. They make the most of the enticing and engaging provision.
• Children who start in Nursery class and stay through Reception make the best progress. The large majority of children achieve a good level of development in readiness for Year 1. This is because the quality of provision is good. A few children’s progress is restricted by their lower-than-average attendance, but they are not yet of compulsory school age.
• Phonics and number are taught well. Staff take every opportunity to teach speech and language skills for the many children who join Reception with underdeveloped vocabularies. Children from Reception class thoroughly enjoy learning new sounds and make good attempts at writing the corresponding grapheme.
• There is a very slight difference between the progress of disadvantaged children and that of their peers. Teaching assistants are deployed well to provide extra support, and there are many opportunities for children to develop their skills of mark making, literacy and numeracy.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 133727 Cumbria 10043219 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 260 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Reverend Canon Jim Hislop Sarah Nuttall 01228 590794 www.bishopharveygoodwin.co.uk/ admin@bishopharveygoodwin.cumbria.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 30 January 2013

Information about this school

• A higher-than-average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The school meets the current government floor standards.
• At the time of this inspection, no pupils attended alternative provision.
• A small minority of pupils speak English as an additional language.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors spoke with a broad section of pupils and parents.
• Inspectors met with representatives of the governing body. Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders.
• Inspectors scrutinised school policies and records relating to safeguarding and behaviour, self-evaluation information and a range of other documentation.
• Inspectors considered 27 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.
• There were 17 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and nine free-text responses that were considered.

Inspection team

Sally Kenyon, lead inspector Stephen Rigby Jean Olsson-Law

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector