Bournville School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the positive environment of this all-through school.

They say that teachers know them well and that this helps to make them feel safe. The school has high expectations of pupils and they receive help to learn how to live up to these.

Across the school, pupils generally behave well in lessons and during social times.

However, some pupils do not display a positive attitude to their learning. Children in early years learn well and grow to understand the world around them. Pupils in the primary phase play well together.

They know the established routines and get on well with their peers.

Pupils enjoy coming to school, although a sig...nificant number of pupils are often late. Pupils' attendance is improving.

Older pupils appreciate how their experience of school has improved recently. However, some pupils are not doing as well as they should do due to the gaps in their knowledge.

The school makes sure that pupils benefit from a range of trips and visits to support their learning.

For primary pupils these are often related to the books they are reading. They also visit different places of worship. Pupils take part in a range of clubs that are available to them.

Older pupils have access to high-quality support for their future career, including information about apprenticeships and learning from different local and national employers.

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

Leaders are working with determination to improve all aspects of the school. They have received strong support and investment from the trust, including for staff's professional development.

All staff have pupils' needs at heart. Staff are positive about working at the school and the support they get from leaders at all levels. The school is strengthening its engagement with parents and carers.

Children make a strong start to learning in early years. Their learning is carefully planned and implemented, especially in core aspects such as communication, language and number. This ensures that children are developing basic skills on which to build more-complex learning in other areas of the curriculum.

This prepares them well for the learning they do in Year 1.

A lot of changes are being made at the school to help it improve quickly. The school has strengthened the curriculum in recent years.

It is now more ambitious and well understood by teachers. In all subjects, the learning is carefully sequenced. The early impact of these changes show that pupils are sustaining their success in the primary phase.

Secondary-age pupils are beginning to become more successful in line with the school's ambition. However, there are still significant gaps for some groups of pupils due to the inconsistent delivery of the curriculum. Essential knowledge that pupils need to make progress is not secure.

For example, in mathematics pupils can struggle to access more difficult tasks that involve problem-solving.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), experience the same curriculum. There are clear processes to help identify those who may need additional support.

Adaptations are made for pupils who have education, health and care (EHC) plans. However, there is too much variation in support given to pupils with SEND who do not have an EHC plan. Leaders are working to develop the SEND provision further, including through staff training.

The school highly values reading. Staff understand that pupils need to be able to read to successfully access the rest of the curriculum. The reading curriculum is well planned.

Children start learning phonics as soon as they begin school. As a result, pupils become increasingly enthusiastic readers. Leaders have chosen a broad and relevant range of texts that pupils find interesting.

The school has put in support for the weakest readers in the secondary phase. Pupils' needs are identified accurately. Staff support them to read well and this work is showing a positive impact.

Pupils' behaviour has improved rapidly during the last year. Leaders have taken robust actions which mean the school is calm and pupils' conduct is compliant. Suspensions have been high but are falling.

Pupils understand the expectations that the school has for them. However, in lessons some pupils do not display positive attitudes to their learning and work that they do.

The school recognises that attendance and punctuality are currently not good enough.

Staff are doing all they can to help pupils attend well, and this work is having a positive impact over time. However, too many pupils arrive late to school. Leaders recognise that there is work to do and have begun to address this.

The school has devised a personal, social health and economic education curriculum that is tailored to each year group. Consequently, pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when online.

They develop an understanding of how to keep mentally healthy. Pupils receive effective careers education, information, advice and guidance. The school ensures that pupils with SEND are a top priority in this work.

They receive high-quality, bespoke support. All pupils have useful encounters with the world of work.

Leaders at all levels are supportive of staff's workload and well-being.

Trustees are experienced, reflective, and highly committed to the school. They ensure resources are well managed and that statutory requirements are fulfilled.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teaching strategies do not always ensure that pupils acquire the knowledge and skills required to learn more. This uneven delivery hampers pupils' progress, and early knowledge is missing for some groups of pupils, especially in mathematics. The school should ensure that the pupils have the knowledge they need through a consistently delivered curriculum so that they can make strong progress and achieve well.

• Some pupils with SEND are not receiving effective support to enable them to progress through the curriculum. As a result, some pupils with SEND, particularly those who do not have an EHC plan, are not able to engage fully with the ambitious curriculum. The school needs to ensure that teachers appropriately adapt the curriculum in all subjects and that it monitors the progress of all pupils with SEND through the whole curriculum.

• Some pupils' attitudes to learning are negative and at times go unchallenged by staff. As a result, they do not work to the best of their ability within some lessons. The school needs to ensure that pupils engage with their learning well, regardless of the subjects they are studying.

• A significant proportion of pupils do not come to school on time each day. This poor punctuality results in missed opportunities to learn and experience the strong offer during assemblies and form time. The school should ensure that it is doing all it can to secure the punctual arrival of these pupils.