Bishop Carpenter Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Bishop Carpenter C of E Primary is a good school.

Under the very effective leadership of the headteacher, all staff and the governing body have adopted a rigorous approach to their work. Expectations are high and the shared drive for school improvement is good. School self-evaluation is accurate and realistic, which results in clearly stated improvement priorities that focus on the raising of pupils' achievement.

In recent years, achievement in writing has improved well, as has provision and outcomes in the Early Years Foundation Stage. These are now good. Senior leaders are now shifting the focus of improvement to reading in order to heighten enjoyment of books by girls and boys.

Th...e positive impact of these focused innovations shows the school has a good capacity to maintain its effective work for improvement. Pupils make good progress immediately from their start in Reception where the children thoroughly enjoy their learning and build skills and knowledge at a brisk rate. In Years 1 to 6, this good progress is maintained and by the end of Year 6 attainment is above average in English and mathematics.

Boys and girls make similar progress in all lessons. The more-able pupils are challenged well, although the school is reviewing how it can increase the challenge for the very top attainers so they make accelerated progress. Achievement in other subjects is also good, notably in music, art and physical education.

During the inspection, there was great celebration of the school team's victory in the north of county cross-country final, the first time the school has qualified for the finals in such a tournament. Pupils' personal development is as well advanced as their academic learning. Behaviour is good, the school is a settled place of work and relationships are very harmonious all round.

Attendance levels are high, which mirror the pupils' thorough enjoyment of school. A notable feature is the way pupils help, support and encourage each other. Effective care in the school community is visible at all levels.

The pupils are proud of their own and others' achievements. Parents and carers share this view almost unanimously. As one wrote, 'I feel the school management has improved considerably over the past 12 months, and along with strong, effective governorship, the school is poised to improve more.'

Teaching quality has improved since the previous inspection and is good in all years. Work continues to raise the quality further, especially through even more effective use of assessment to support learning. This is quickly becoming more consistent across the school due to the careful monitoring of its impact.

Staff are also concerned to make the existing good curriculum even better. There is a shared goal to capitalise on pupils' enthusiasms, enjoyment, reliability and creativity in learning by developing a curriculum that is always exciting, fully motivating, relevant and useful. The school is governed well by a very committed group who know how well the school is performing.

The governing body is probing in its approach to governance and has good expertise to query data and check how well pupils are achieving. The school's partnerships with parents and carers are good, as are those with other schools, agencies and outside bodies. Its links with the local community and those overseas are well developed and are enabling pupils to build a firm understanding of different lifestyles, faiths and cultures.

Links with different communities in the United Kingdom are less well advanced and are a current priority for improvement.

Information about the school

Bishop Carpenter C of E Primary is a small school. Nearly all the pupils are from White British families.

There are significantly more girls than boys in school. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.

Most of these pupils have some form of learning difficulty. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is low. The school has been awarded Healthy Schools status.