Bidbury Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bidbury Junior School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and describe it as a place where, 'everyone is welcome'.

The school's values of 'respect, independence, focus, resilience, boundaries and self-regulation' are prominent. Pupils exhibit these qualities consistently and relish the 'leaf' rewards they receive for demonstrating good behaviour.

The school maintains high expectations for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils rise to meet the school's high expectations. As a result,... pupils strive to achieve well. Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes.

Some pupils require extra support with their behaviour. Pupils know and respect this. They understand and appreciate difference.

The school provides carefully planned activities to support pupils' wider development. Pupils value the multitude of opportunities to develop positive character traits and practise leadership skills. They take on positions of responsibility with great pride and passion.

Pupils aspire to contribute and make changes to the school, for example, serving as a 'young governor', to contribute to the school's aims. Carefully planned activities enrich and extend the curriculum. These activities provide opportunities for pupils to develop skills and talents.

For example, pupils enthusiastically practise African drumming alongside learning to play a musical instrument.

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

The school has undergone numerous changes since the last inspection. Following a period of staffing turbulence, the school is now in a much greater position of stability.

Staff are committed to the school. They recognise the positive impact of the changes and are excited about striving to be even better. Staff praise the support they receive from the school to consider their workload so that they can focus on pupils' learning.

Staff are proud to work here and speak of the 'close knit family feel' of the school.

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that is broad and well-sequenced. However, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2 remain low.

A renewed focus on reading, writing and mathematics is improving standards throughout the school. Targeted support is now helping pupils to secure the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare them for the next steps in their education.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present information clearly to pupils.

In some subjects, teachers check that pupils understand and remember crucial information carefully. Staff provide extra and appropriate support when needed. However, not all teaching helps pupils to learn as well as they could.

Some recent improvements that the school has introduced are not yet fully embedded. For example, sometimes teachers' checks to ensure that pupils have secured key knowledge and skills, particularly in written work, could be more effective.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND accurately and precisely.

Staff target carefully designed adaptations for pupils with SEND to enable them to access learning well. 'Individual support plans' rightly target specific improvements that pupils need to make. This helps them to remember crucial knowledge and skills.

Reading features prominently in the school. The much-loved vibrant library, at the heart of the school, provides age-appropriate texts that promote and extend pupils love of reading. Pupils practise their reading regularly which helps build confidence and fluency.

Expert staff support pupils who are at the earlier stages of reading. This helps them to catch up quickly. The school uses high-quality texts to inspire and extend thinking in the broader curriculum.

The school is doing all it can to improve the attendance of pupils. However, some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, still miss too much school. Expert staff provide support to families who need it and challenge appropriately when required.

Many pupils benefit from a hearty breakfast at before-school club and enjoy participating in engaging activities in after-school club.

Governors know the school well and understand their roles. They support and challenge the school to continue to improve.

The school benefits from the support it receives from the local authority. Staff and governor training has provided collaboration opportunities and strengthened individuals' expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers have not ensured that pupils have remembered crucial knowledge and skills. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. The school should continue to focus on recent curriculum developments and high ambitions for all pupils.

• Some pupils miss too much school, particularly those who are disadvantaged. These pupils miss vital learning and do not learn the curriculum well enough. The school needs to continue the work it is doing to improve the attendance of pupils who are persistently absent.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019.

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