Bywell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bywell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Bywell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School encourages pupils to be the best they can be.

Pupils know that adults believe in them. They are confident that they can learn and grow in this kind and inclusive school.

The school has very high expectations of pupil's behaviour.

Pupils rise to this and are respectful of all members of the school community. Pupils are keen to celebrate the school. One pupil represented the views of many, describing the school as 'fabulous and safe'.

Pupils achieve well in their end of ...key stage 2 assessments. They enjoy learning and can confidently recall what they have previously learned.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs on offer at the school.

Opportunities such as dance, yoga and reading club are well attended. Staff are highly committed to providing pupils with a breadth of new experiences.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from high-quality support.

The early identification of the support they need ensures they progress well. The 'Blossom Unit' provides more bespoke support for pupils when required. Pupils thrive in this caring school where teachers have high aspirations for what pupils can achieve.

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

Staff accurately and swiftly identify pupils who are at the early stages of reading. Skilled adults teach phonics lessons well. They provide pupils with focused support.

Pupils rapidly develop the skills that they need to become confident readers. The school encourages pupils to develop their love of reading. Pupils excitedly talk about choosing books from the library.

They are delighted to discuss their favourite books.

The school's well-sequenced curriculum helps pupils to develop the knowledge and skills that they need. In mathematics, pupils have regular opportunities to become fluent in their basic skills.

Pupils also regularly experience more complex work. Pupils with SEND benefit from adapted tasks if required. For example, Year 4 pupils use counters to develop their understanding of partitioning a decimal.

The school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn in foundation subjects. Adults teach well-sequenced lessons. In geography, teachers use quizzes to help them to check how well pupils are learning.

Pupils can recall what they have previously learned. For example, Year 5 pupils accurately remember countries in North America and their biomes. In some foundation subjects, however, the precise teaching of subject-specific vocabulary is still developing.

This means that some pupils develop misconceptions about the meaning of key words.

The school places great importance on the personal development of pupils. The school's ethos is underpinned by the teachings of the 'parable of the mustard seed'.

Pupils are keen to link this to their experience in the school. They will grow together during their time at Bywell. This personal growth is exemplified in the varied leadership opportunities available to pupils.

The 'Bywell Buddies' support pupils to respect the school environment. 'Digital Leaders' help to lead assemblies on how to keep safe online. Pupils respect their peers who have taken on these roles.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Year 6 pupils enjoy a residential to London. Year 3 pupils excitedly talk about their visit to the Royal Opera House.

The school equips pupils with skills that will support them beyond their time at the school. All pupils experience outdoor learning. They learn important teamwork, survival and first-aid skills.

The governing body provides effective oversight of the school's work. Leaders ensure that staff workload and well-being are at the forefront of their decision-making. Teachers value the shared planning time they have as year group teams.

These considerations made by leaders ensure staff feel valued. They are proud to work at the school and be a part of the Bywell family.

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 foundation subjects, the teaching of important vocabulary and concepts is not consistently effective. On occasions, pupils develop misconceptions over time which are not quickly addressed. The school should work with staff to improve the teaching of subject-specific vocabulary and associated concepts so that pupils learn consistently well across all foundation subjects

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 in December 2018.

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