Bishop Thornton Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for pupils by:
  • providing greater challenge for all pupils, including the most able, so that they make stronger progress across all subjects of the curriculum
  • making sure that the curriculum, especially in subjects beyond mathematics and English, is increasingly challenging and that tasks are set that stimulate and stretch pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher leads the school with determination and a strong sense of moral purpose. She is determined that all pupils should experience and achieve the best quality of education. She knows the community well. She is very clear and realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of the school and what needs to be done to improve it further.
• The headteacher has developed and maintains a very inclusive ethos. This ethos focuses on ensuring that all pupils’ needs are carefully catered for and, as far as is possible, met. Parents and carers recognise this. They show very high levels of satisfaction with the school. They are particularly positive about the levels of care that staff show to their children and the supportive and open communications between school and home. Parents said that their children were safe and happy at the school.
• The additional funding the school receives to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is used effectively. The provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is well led. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is skilled and meticulous in her approach. Records are detailed and helpful. Links with outside agencies are strong. The SENCo works effectively to help all staff, including teaching assistants, to develop their skills in supporting pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. This is having a positive impact on the overall quality of teaching.
• The school, working with outside support, uses its allocation of the physical education (PE) and sport funding successfully, not only to give pupils opportunities to develop their sports skills and experience but also to extend staff’s expertise in the teaching of PE. Space, both inside and outside, is very restricted at the school. The headteacher, working with her team and outside support, has been very effective and imaginative in utilising space close to the school and on another school site to ensure that pupils get the best PE experiences possible. Pupils said that they appreciate this.
• The headteacher constantly seeks to improve the quality of teaching. She monitors the quality of teaching and learning carefully. She uses her findings to share and develop the expertise of staff. This constant seeking to improve, and the sharing of good practice between staff at the school and at other local schools, has led to significant improvements in the quality of teaching. Recent appointments to the school staff have further strengthened the provision.
• Pupil premium funding is focused precisely and effectively by the school to ensure that barriers to learning are, as far as possible, removed. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are doing at least as well as and often better than their peers at the school. However, the information about the deployment and effect of pupil premium funding is not clearly outlined on the school’s website.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is carefully catered for. A thoughtful and well-planned series of acts of collective worship underpin the life of the school. Pupils are reflective and concerned about the needs of others both within and beyond the school. They are open and welcoming to all because of the work of the school and the support of parents. Because of the work of the headteacher and staff at the school, pupils are well prepared to take up their roles as productive, reflective and open-minded citizens.
• The school’s curriculum is developing well. The ‘core’ subjects of English, mathematics and science are supplemented by other subjects such as geography, history, art and religious education. The headteacher and governors are clear that more needs to be done to develop and extend the richness of this broader curriculum.
• The school’s ‘formal’ curriculum is supplemented by a range of interesting extra-curricular activities and opportunities for pupils to take on roles of responsibility. The activities on offer are extensive bearing in mind the small numbers of staff and pupils at the school. Staff are creative in their identification and provision of additional activities to extend and excite pupils’ imaginations beyond the classroom.
• Because of the small size of the school, much of the management and monitoring of the quality of the school’s provision falls to the headteacher. However, increasingly, other members of staff are taking on monitoring, training and leadership roles. Additionally, teaching assistants are developing and extending their skills.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school and the community it serves well. They are clear about the school’s strengths and the areas that need attention. They are well led and constantly seeking to improve.
• Governors receive regular and increasingly detailed information about the school from the headteacher. However, they do not rely on this alone to gain insights into the effectiveness of the school. They also make regular visits to the school and meet staff and pupils to talk about progress and their views of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Procedures and systems for checking the suitability of visitors and staff recruitment are strong. There are rigorous checks in place to assure staff’s suitability to work with children.
• The headteacher ensures that all staff and governors are well trained and skilled in safeguarding matters. There are regular training sessions to keep staff informed and up to date. The headteacher is well supported by the designated safeguarding governor in this aspect of the school’s work.
• The headteacher maintains a culture in the school where staff show a clear understanding of their responsibilities and of the procedures that keep pupils safe. As a result, staff promptly identify and appropriately support potentially vulnerable pupils. They also engage very robustly and tenaciously with outside agencies to ensure that pupils and their families get the support that they require.
• Pupils have many opportunities to learn and understand how to stay safe through the subjects they study, class time and during assemblies. Pupils told the inspector that they regularly learn about how to stay safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The headteacher has addressed the legacy of recent weaker teaching, particularly in key stage 2. She has focused on the appointment of high-quality staff. She has also used performance management of both teaching and support staff to focus and refine their skills.
• Relationships across the school are strong. Pupils enjoy learning and respond positively to staff when they are challenged. For example, the inspector saw pupils engaged and enthusiastic about their learning as they began a new reading assignment. They were obviously pleased about the teacher’s choice of the books they were to study. They told the inspector that they appreciated the care and attention that the teacher had gone to in choosing their class reading books.
• Staff, overall, show high levels of skill. For example, the inspector saw staff, both teachers and teaching assistants, using insistent, yet kindly, questioning to elicit detailed responses from their pupils. Pupils of all ages rose willingly to the challenge of this insistence and, as a result, their learning was enhanced and they felt pleased and proud of their progress.
• Staff demonstrate strong subject knowledge. They know the pupils very well. They generally plan learning that builds on what pupils already know and understand. They monitor their pupils’ learning carefully. Those at risk of falling behind are quickly identified and given additional support.
• Staff follow the school’s feedback policy and, generally, pupils respond promptly and effectively to teachers’ comments and advice.
• Teaching assistants are skilful and well deployed across the school. They are carefully briefed by teachers and know what they must do to support pupils of all abilities. The inspector saw examples of teaching assistants using questioning effectively to challenge pupils and make them think.
• The teaching of phonics is good. The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard has been well above the national average for the three years to 2017.
• The school’s classrooms are engaging and well cared for. Pupils recognise this and respect their learning environment. The walls of the school are enhanced by examples of pupils’ work of high quality and other attractive displays that support and celebrate learning.
• Teachers set regular homework in line with the school’s policy. Pupils, particularly in key stage 2, said that they welcome this and the opportunities to work away from school that homework gives them to explore and extend their learning. They also said that working at home is a good place to learn their spellings.
• Pupils’ writing skills are now developing effectively across the school. Teachers plan a range of opportunities for writing and the quality of vocabulary and sentence structures are typically of a good standard. However, the inspector saw some examples of poor presentation that were not, apparently, challenged by staff.
• In his review of mathematics books, the inspector noted that that the most able pupils were getting the clear majority of the questions they were set right. This was particularly the case in key stage 2. This suggests that the work was, too often, not sufficiently challenging.
• Inspection evidence, particularly that found in pupils’ books, suggests that the teaching of the curriculum beyond English and mathematics, although developing, is not yet as advanced as it should be. Pupils are not being given sufficient opportunities to write at length in subjects such as geography and religious education. As a result, they are not developing their subject-specific knowledge and skills in these subjects. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.
• Too often the layout and quality of worksheets restrict opportunities for pupils, especially the most able pupils, because the spaces for writing are often too small and, as a result, limit and do not encourage writing at length to extend and deepen pupils’ learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• A significant proportion of pupils join the school from other settings into classes other than Reception. The school works very effectively to ensure that these pupils settle and their needs are assessed. Careful and targeted support is put in place and its effect carefully monitored.
• Pupils are kind, polite and aware of the needs of others. They get on well together and with staff at the school. Pupils spoke with real pleasure about how much they enjoyed school and how well the staff care for and look after them. They know that staff at the school would be there for them if they ever had a problem. ‘We all trust the teachers,’ one pupil said during a meeting with the inspector. All the other pupils present nodded vigorously in agreement.
• Despite the small size of the school and its village setting, pupils are keenly aware of their place in and responsibilities to the wider world. Pupils told the inspector that because of their lessons and other experiences at school they knew about other lifestyles and ways of being. They also said that their work in supporting a range of charities helped them see what it is like to be somebody else.
• Pupils, especially, but not exclusively, as they get older, are encouraged to take on roles of responsibility. Older children take care of and are available for younger children during breaktime and lunchtime. For example, two Year 6 pupils sit on a table at lunchtime with children from Reception. The Reception children said that they enjoyed and liked this as it helped them know what to do.
• Because of the school’s diligence and actions, pupils have a good understanding of the range of forms that bullying can take. They say it is very rare at the school. They also say that on the very rare occasions where it does take place, it is promptly and well-dealt with by adults at the school. Pupils told the inspector that they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, including when online.
• The school actively promotes a healthy lifestyle. Meal choices are healthy. Pupils know what constitutes a healthy diet.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils reported that the school’s systems to support and reward positive behaviour are effective and enjoyable. Pupils of all ages understand and welcome the school’s efforts to encourage consistently good behaviour. As a result, disruption to learning is rare and, when it does occur, it is dealt with swiftly and consistently by staff.
• Because of the efforts of staff and the attitude of pupils and parents, overall attendance is consistently above the national average. Pupils like coming to school and most pupils are very clear about why it is important to attend school regularly. Additionally, very few pupils come even close to being considered at risk of being persistently absent.
• Most pupils are very interested in what they do at school. They enjoy ‘finding out’ about new things. They have responded enthusiastically to the school’s recent focus on reading. Pupils, generally, use their initiative and respond favourably when staff encourage them to use it.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Inspection evidence, particularly from an extensive scrutiny of pupils’ current workbooks, shows that outcomes require improvement. Although teaching has improved and is now good, more needs to be done to ensure that the improvements in teaching are leading to securely improved outcomes across the curriculum. This is particularly the case in key stage 2.
• Outcomes for subjects beyond English and mathematics require improvement. Although improving, the range and depth of pupils’ work in subjects such as geography and history are limited. There is little evidence in subjects such as these of work that challenges pupils, particularly the most able, to develop their subject knowledge and skills.
• Across the school, inspection evidence shows that most-able pupils do not do as well as they should. This is because the work is not consistently challenging enough. Also, teaching materials, such as worksheets, restrict the length and depth of these pupils’ writing. This limits the opportunities they have to extend and consolidate their learning.
• The percentage of pupils meeting the required standard for the phonics screening check has been well above the national average for the last three years to 2017. Provisional results for Year 1 pupils in 2018 show a significant reduction in the number of pupils reaching the standard. However, the majority of these pupils did make progress from their starting points and missed the required standard by one or two marks. The school has put in place additional support for those pupils who did not reach the standard. Inspection evidence shows that this is already having a positive effect on these pupils’ attainment and progress in reading.
• Provisional results in reading in Year 2 from summer 2018 are similar to the national average. Outcomes in mathematics in key stage 1 are also similar to national averages. Writing outcomes are significantly below age-related expectations. Almost all of the pupils in the year group made progress from their starting points. All pupils achieved the expected standard in science.
• Reading is a growing strength of the school. Pupils reported that they enjoy the opportunities they now have to read both in and out of school. They also said that they enjoyed reading in class and sharing the experience of reading and exploring books and language together.
• The small number of disadvantaged pupils make generally good progress from their starting points. All staff are aware of the needs and barriers to learning for the disadvantaged pupils in their care. Teaching is carefully focused on supporting them. Inspection evidence and the school’s own information show that disadvantaged pupils often make better progress than their peers.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make, generally, good progress from their starting points. This is because the work they are given to do is carefully targeted at what they need to learn to succeed.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership of early years is good. The Reception team’s relationship with parents and their assessment of children as they enter the provision is very thorough. It draws on a wide range of evidence and information about each child. By the time children enter the Reception class, staff know them very well. Reception children are taught in a class with Year 1 and Year 2 pupils.
• There are strong links with a local nursery and other providers. Staff take full account of the information they receive on each child from these partners. As a result, staff establish a secure and accurate view of each child’s needs and strengths. They use this information to inform and focus their planning and teaching.
• Staff have developed an interesting and safe learning environment, which provides a wide range of interesting learning activities and experiences. The indoor and outdoor environments are stimulating and uncluttered. A great deal of thought, based on detailed observations of how children have progressed, goes into setting out materials that support and stimulate children’s pleasure in learning. Children respond very positively to this.
• Children’s acquisition of language and its use in communication is a high priority in the Reception class. The inspector saw staff carefully modelling language as they spoke with children. They used questioning expertly to encourage and extend children’s vocabulary and confidence with words. This is already, even at this early stage of their time in school, having a positive impact on children’s confidence and facility with language.
• Phonics is well taught. Staff make the sessions interesting and fun. Children respond well to this. Staff are adept at picking up misconceptions quickly so that children make good progress.
• Children who have SEN and/or disabilities are carefully identified and their needs are met. Children who may need additional support in the current year group have already been identified. This is the result of the effective induction programme. Over time, children who have SEN and/or disabilities make very good progress from their starting points.
• Because of small numbers in the Reception class, over time, the percentage of pupils who achieve a good level of development by the time they reach the end of the Reception Year varies from year to year. However, inspection evidence and the school’s own records show that, from their starting points, children make, generally, good progress during their time in Reception.
• The Reception team works closely with other schools in the area to develop expertise and check the accuracy of their judgements of children’s progress. They also work closely and effectively with the officers of the local authority to validate their work.
• Parents are very satisfied with the service they receive from the early years team of staff. They said that their children settle very well and enjoy coming to school. The team focuses on establishing and maintaining strong and open links with parents. Parents said that this is a strength of the school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 121552 North Yorkshire 10053123 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary controlled 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 29 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Caroline Smith Liz Bedford 01423 770185 www.bishopthorntoncofe.n-yorks.sch.uk/ admin@bishopthorntoncofe.n-yorks.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13 September 2007

Information about this school

• Bishop Thornton Church of England Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. As a result, there are very few pupils in each year group. There are two classes, a key stage 1 class comprising of Reception and Years 1 and 2 and a key stage 2 class comprising of Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• Most pupils are White British. 
• The majority of current pupils have not been at the school from Reception but have attended other schools and joined Bishop Thornton in later years.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium is well below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school shares a headteacher with Birstwith Church of England School. Bishop Thornton has its own, separate, governing body.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in every class in the school. Most of these lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher. The inspector listened to some pupils from Years 3 and 6 read. He also talked with pupils about their experience of reading, both in and out of school.
• The inspector observed a whole-school act of collective worship.
• The inspector met with the headteacher and the SENCo, the early years leader and members of the governing body, including the chair. The inspector met with one officer from North Yorkshire local authority and spoke with another officer from the authority on the telephone. He also spoke with an officer of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds on the telephone.
• The inspector reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including that related to safeguarding, pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching, attendance and behaviour. He also considered the findings of the most recent inspection of the school undertaken by an officer of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds Board of Education.
• The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour and conduct at breaktimes and lunchtimes. He spoke informally with pupils about their experience and attitudes to school during these times. The inspector also spoke more formally with a group of pupils about school and the range of opportunities it offered them to explore and enjoy learning.
• The inspector scrutinised a very wide sample of pupils’ work from the current and previous academic year from all year groups and in a range of subjects.
• The inspector spoke with parents and carers at the start and end of the school day to seek their opinions of the school’s work and care for their children. He also reviewed the school’s own surveys of parents’ views.

Inspection team

Mark Evans, lead inspector

Her Majesty’s Inspector