Bitterne Park School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those in the sixth form, describe the school as a 'close community' where 'teachers really care for us'. Pupils feel happy and safe because they know that staff listen and help when they have concerns.

Pupils typically behave and communicate respectfully in lessons, at social times and as they move around the school. This is testament to staff's hard work to embed the school's high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Bullying is not common and any instances are dealt with well.

Some highly bespoke provisions within the school support the needs of vulnerable pupils and those who need to improve their behaviour, attendance or attitudes to learning. Pup...ils with autism in the 'ARB' specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (specially resourced provision) thrive emotionally, socially and academically.

Leaders have reshaped the curriculum to ensure that it is ambitious for all.

Training and support for teachers to realise these ambitions is ongoing as new approaches to adapt teaching to meet all pupils' needs are embedded. The school's work is making a positive difference. Pupils are typically learning more and remembering more of what they are taught.

Pupils are encouraged to pursue their talents, such as in football, poetry and music. The announcement of this year's school production caused much excitement during the inspection.

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

Leaders have made some significant improvements to the school which are helping pupils get back on track after the pandemic.

In particular, some pupils who struggle with reading receive expert help to fill gaps in their phonics knowledge. This is helping pupils catch up with their peers. However, sometimes, expectations for pupils' writing, spelling and punctuation are not as high as they could be and pupils' misconceptions are not always addressed.

Since the pandemic, the school has raised its ambitions for pupils by reorganising the structure of the overall school curriculum. Pupils now study a three-year key stage 3. At key stage 4, more pupils choose the suite of qualifications that make up the English Baccalaureate.

Pupils appreciate the wide range of subjects they can choose to study at key stages 4 and 5. Staff help pupils to choose appropriate courses for them, regardless of the impact that these choices have on the school's published outcomes. This includes a range of vocational courses that tap into pupils' interests and help to prepare them for their future lives and work.

Last year, the school's published outcomes were lower than expected. Leaders and governors have rigorously reviewed the reasons for this. Rightly, some significant changes have been made.

In some subjects, the content of what pupils are taught and the order in which they are taught it has been reviewed. Currently, the school is making sure that the high ambition of what has been planned is taught consistently well. In particular, there is a more consistent approach to checking pupils' learning.

Staff are enthusiastic about the training they are receiving. This is helping them to adapt teaching to meet pupils' specific learning needs. As a result, ambition for current pupils is raised.

Pupils are typically learning more of the curriculum.

Since the last inspection, the school has successfully made improvements to pupils' behaviour. Pupils appreciate that their views were taken into consideration as changes were made to how the school operates.

For example, the additional time to move between lessons means that change-over times are now calm and pupils arrive at their classes ready to learn. Although suspensions have risen as pupils adjust to the new behaviour policy, well-thought-through procedures are in place to reduce this. Should pupils' behaviour fall short of leaders' high expectations, leaders and staff use a variety of methods to carefully support pupils to understand how to get things right.

Pupils' regular attendance and good behaviour remain a top priority. The school is doing much to help pupils attend school more regularly. In particular, support for the most vulnerable pupils is impressive.

A raft of highly bespoke approaches are helping pupils to overcome their anxieties, manage their behaviour or improve their attendance. For example, pupils who spend time learning in 'the Ferns' appreciate the calm, nurturing environment which supports their social, emotional and mental health needs. Those in the 'ALPs' credit the school for helping them get back on track when they have struggled to maintain positive behaviour.

Leaders also prioritise pupils' personal development. Pupils are taught how they can embody the school's new values of 'respect', 'believe' and 'achieve'. In the ARB, pupils are helped to prepare for their current and future lives, including how to eat healthily and how to travel independently.

The small, inclusive sixth form offers a bespoke range of courses to meet students' needs and interests. Careers education is especially strong in the sixth form. Students, including students with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are very well prepared and supported to identify their next steps and destinations, be that an apprenticeship, work or university.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise their reading and writing. Sometimes, approaches to structuring writing are inconsistent across the school or do not enable pupils to achieve as highly as they could.

This hinders the achievement of some pupils. The school needs to make sure that pupils are given enough opportunities to read and write across the curriculum in a well-coordinated way. ? Sometimes, teaching does not adapt to pupils' individual learning needs well enough.

This means that some pupils do not understand what they are meant to learn as well as they could. Some others are not challenged highly enough. The school needs to embed approaches to adaptive teaching so that the achievement of all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most able pupils, is raised.

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