BFS Naples

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of BFS Naples

Following my visit to the school on 5 December 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2014.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your school is a positive learning community where pupils are consistently well cared for.

Pupils settle into the school quickly because they see that staff are kind and friendly, and give them enjoyable work that they say is fun. Because of good ov...erall teaching, pupils also make strong progress and leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is exciting.

For example, in the early years children learn to edit the story of 'The three little pigs' and make a house from different materials. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 find out, for instance, about the Romans, including their culture, their myths and mosaic art. Lessons are supplemented by a good range of extra-curricular clubs and activities.

Pupils I met told me that they enjoy these greatly. Classrooms are purposeful learning spaces, where pupils listen well to both each other and to adults. During the inspection, we visited classes and saw pupils cooperating happily and sharing ideas so that they could learn together.

Pupils behave well and are respectful. They take note of the instructions and advice of staff, try their best, complete their work neatly and greet visitors politely. There are many spacious, varied outdoor areas where pupils can also learn, as well as play energetically.

The school governance committee holds you and senior leaders to account for all aspects of the school's work. A perceptive chair ensures that he and his colleagues play an effective strategic role in helping BFS Naples to improve further. They also support new members of the committee to understand their responsibilities, and show them how to ask you searching questions so that any areas of minor weakness are addressed effectively.

You have correctly judged the school to be good. Your reasons are set out in a highly detailed self-evaluation document that contains evidence from many sources. This includes information about the achievements of pupils, both over time and for single cohorts.

You and your staff are using the school's new assessment system well. Teachers make accurate judgements of the progress and attainment of different groups of pupils. They are quick to identify where any pupils are not making the gains you expect of them and adjust the curriculum and teaching accordingly.

For example, you noted that in 2016 though a high proportion of pupils left with the levels of attainment expected of them, none attained a greater depth of understanding. You improved teaching so that, last year, higher proportions of pupils compared with those found nationally in England reached this standard in both reading and mathematics. You are currently ensuring that teachers help pupils make faster progress in writing so that at least good proportions of pupils attain this depth of understanding in this subject too.

Your school development plan is effective because it sets out the correct priorities to move the school on. For example, you have correctly identified that staff in the early years do not always set work that is sufficiently challenging for the most able children. The development plan shows transparent actions for improvement across the different priorities, along with when these need to happen.

It also sets out effective monitoring arrangements. This clarity ensures that the school governance committee can be certain any actions will have the intended impact. The school's subject leaders for mathematics and English, also members of your senior leadership team, are helping you to drive up the quality of teaching further.

For example, the subject leader for English has shown colleagues her writing wall, which shows proud examples of pupils' writing as they become increasingly skilled at composing texts for different purposes. Other staff are now beginning to use this system themselves. You have attended successfully to the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection.

For example, teachers now waste no time in noting any misconceptions that pupils have, and take effective steps to address these. For instance, a pupil in Year 4 was not always using quotation marks appropriately when she wrote. The teacher noted this and quickly assisted her to understand so that, in a subsequent piece of writing, she could use them with accuracy.

Pupils' workbooks also show that they now have sufficient opportunities to write in subjects across the curriculum. A large majority of parents express positive attitudes about the school. All say that their children are safe and happy.

However, a small minority do not feel that the school fully engages them in the decisions leaders make. This is reflected by a small minority of support staff, who say they do not always feel fully supported or consulted. Safeguarding is effective.

You and your staff ensure that pupils are safe. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose, and records are meticulously kept. All staff receive effective training in safeguarding, and so can be vigilant about any of the many indicators of potential abuse.

They also understand their responsibilities in reporting any concern immediately. Pupils I met said that they felt very safe in school and were keen to tell me how staff teach them about potential dangers, such as roads, strangers, and what to do if there is ever an earthquake. They also demonstrated a good understanding about how to keep themselves safe online, or when using mobile phones.

Inspection findings Pupils' exercise books show that teachers give pupils good opportunities to reason mathematically and to problem-solve. Pupils I met told me how this was helping them to become confident in applying their mathematical knowledge and to give reasons for their answers. Pupils enter the school with a range of skills, but consistently make good overall progress from their starting points.

The numbers of those pupils who speak English as an additional language, or who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, are too small to report on in a single cohort without the risk of their identification. However, over time these pupils also make good progress from their starting points. Staff ensure that they give these pupils appropriate levels of support so they can achieve well.

Pupils are taught well over time. By the time pupils leave, they reach the standards they should reach, and many exceed them. The most able children in the early years do not consistently make rapid progress, particularly in English and mathematics.

This is because the work they are given is not sufficiently adjusted to meet their needs. For example, much of the work I saw in children's books showed that these children were given near-identical work to others. Your school development plan includes well-considered actions to improve this aspect of the school's provision in the near future.

Leaders and the school governance committee know that a small minority of parents do not feel involved and informed sufficiently about the decisions leaders take. You are also aware that a number of support staff say that they would like senior leaders to give them better support and to understand the challenges of their role. You and the school governance committee are meeting to investigate ways of addressing these areas.

Pupils' attendance is good. You and staff ensure that pupils and families understand the need to attend regularly and promptly. You work well with the designated education social worker to support and challenge the small number of families whose children do not attend as often as they could.

You and staff ensure that you provide well for pupils' physical and mental well-being. Pupils like to keep fit, and enjoy the many opportunities the school provides for physical education and sport. They understand which foods they should eat regularly, as well as those they should consume sparingly.

Staff help them if they feel worried or anxious about anything. Staff also teach them to persist if they find work difficult, and that mistakes are normal and useful learning opportunities. As one pupil explained to me, 'Practice makes perfect.'

Pupils are useful citizens who are keen to contribute actively to both their school and the local community. For example, as well as helping regularly to raise money for charity, pupils sing at the annual Brit Fete, and help pupils and staff at a local Italian school to understand British culture and education. During my visit, pupils were busy devising ideas to sell different items together through the school-wide enterprise project, for the forthcoming Christmas fair.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: staff in the early years plan work, particularly in English and mathematics, that consistently challenges the most able leaders engage both parents and support staff more fully, in order to drive further improvement. I am copying this letter to the chair of the school governance committee and the senior principal of MOD schools. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Roary Pownall Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met you and shared my lines of enquiry. I also met with members of the school governance committee, the subject leader for English, and the assistant headteacher, who is also the subject leader for mathematics and for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. I considered the responses of parents from Ofsted's online survey, Parent View, and the school's most recent questionnaire for parents.

I scrutinised the responses to Ofsted's questionnaires for staff and pupils. We visited all classes together. I observed pupils' behaviour in lessons, met with a group of pupils at breaktime and looked at a sample of their work.

I viewed a range of documents, including leaders' evaluation of the school's current performance and its plans for further improvement. I considered a number of policy documents, including those for safeguarding and special educational needs. I examined the school's website to check that it meets requirements on the publication of specified information.