St Bartholomew’s CofE (C) School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, friendly and welcoming. Most work hard in lessons and enjoy playing enthusiastically with their friends at playtimes.

Pupils know that staff care about them. As a result, they trust them and feel safe in school. Pupils understand about online bullying.

Staff manage behaviour well. They are patient and have good relationships with pupils. Pupils understand the different forms of bullying.

They say that staff listen to them and sort things out if anything happens.

Leaders' expectations for pupils' achievement are not fully realised. Some areas of the curriculum are not as well developed as others and there is variability in how well s...ome curriculum subjects are delivered.

This means that pupils, including those in the early years, do not gain the key skills and knowledge needed to achieve appropriately for their age. Leaders have not always checked this well enough.

Pupils understand the school values.

Older pupils enjoy taking on extra responsibilities, including helping their younger friends during lunchtimes. Pupils value their rural environment and are keen to keep it free from litter. They are accepting and welcoming to those who are different from them.

They particularly enjoyed taking part in a city visit to different places of worship.

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

The school has been through a turbulent time. Governors have not always had an accurate enough view of the quality of education at the school.

However, they have recently acted swiftly to ensure that the school has the leadership capacity it needs. The interim headteacher and other professional partners are working with school leaders to ensure that the school continues its improvement journey.

Leaders have established a broad curriculum.

In most subjects, leaders have thought about what knowledge they want pupils to learn and the order in which they will learn it. Where the curriculum is well developed, pupils remember important facts, for example about the Great Fire of London. However, some foundation subjects are not as well developed, and pupils struggle to remember important information.

Some subjects are not delivered as successfully as others across the mixed-age classes. This means that they do not achieve as well as they should and are not ready for the next stages in their learning. Pupils mostly listen and pay attention.

However, when the work is too easy or too hard pupils are not as motivated as they should be. Leaders expect staff to check what pupils know and remember within and across the curriculum. This is particularly successful for pupils at the early stages of learning to read.

The reading leader has ensured that reading is a priority. Pupils get off to an early start and they read phonetically decodable books which are well matched to their needs. As a result, pupils at the early stages of learning to read are progressing well.

Pupils who have fallen behind in their reading have additional support which helps them catch up. Pupils have mixed views about reading; however, they enjoy listening to the stories that staff read daily and can talk about favourite books.

Children in the early years, including very young nursery children, are happy and settled because adults interact with them throughout the day.

The curriculum sets out important things for pupils to learn. However, provision in the early years is not yet sufficiently adapted to meet the needs of all children. This means that children do not have enough opportunities to independently practise new skills, explore and make connections in their learning.

Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is well managed. Clear systems are in place to identify pupils and provide support matched to their needs. Teachers adapt learning activities in the classroom to ensure that pupils are fully included.

Those with challenging behaviour or complex needs receive the support they need. Specialist support accessed by leaders also helps to meet pupils' needs.

Pupils behave well around school, showing respect and kindness towards each other.

Leaders have taken action to improve attendance and made necessary changes to ensure that pupils get to school on time.

Pupils enjoy the visits and visitors the school arranges. Through assemblies and the curriculum, pupils know that discrimination in all forms is wrong.

They have a growing understanding of other world faiths and fundamental British values.

Staff value the approachability of senior leaders and governors and the support they receive from them. Governors are determined to improve standards at the school.

They have taken action to address staff workload. The work with a multi-academy trust is helping to provide effective support for leaders. Parents and carers are aware that considerable change has taken place at the school.

The vast majority can see the improvements that have been made.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that staff receive regular training so they know how to recognise and report any concerns.

They work well with families and other agencies to protect pupils at risk of harm. Leaders know their pupils well. However, sometimes the actions they take to keep children safe are not recorded in the school's online system.

Leaders carry out important checks on staff before employing them. Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when working online. They feel safe in school because they know they can talk to a trusted adult if they are worried about anything.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The actions that leaders take in relation to safeguarding and behaviour are not always recorded in the online system that the school uses. This means that information is not always easily accessible to help leaders decide on the action that needs to be taken. Leaders should ensure that all actions are consistently recorded in the school's online system so that they have a clear overview of what is happening and what they need to do next.

• Some curriculum planning is not as precise as it should be. This means that teachers are unclear about what pupils need to learn and by when. Leaders should ensure that all curriculum planning is sequenced equally well, in order to help teachers to precisely plan the next steps in learning that pupils need so that pupils know more and remember more.

• Some curriculum subjects are not delivered as successfully as others across the mixed-age classes. As a result, older pupils do not achieve as well as they should and are not always well motivated. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills to adapt and teach the curriculum to pupils of different ages and with different needs within their classes.

• The curriculum provision in the early years is not sufficiently adapted to meet the needs of all children. This means that children do not have enough opportunities to practise new skills, explore and make connections in their learning. Leaders should ensure that staff review how the environment and available resources are used to support and adapt the curriculum, in order to ensure that children make the progress that they should.

• Governors have not always had an accurate enough view of the school. As a result, they have not always held leaders to account effectively. Governors should continue to seek and secure the support that the school needs in order to help leaders to continue to make the necessary improvements to raise standards.