The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school. They told inspectors that they appreciate seeing their friends each day. Pupils said that everybody is welcome in their school.

They develop mature attitudes towards the many differences that exist between people. Pupils know that it is important to respect others.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement and for their broader development.

Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, successfully rise to these aspirations. They learn well. Pupils look forward to recognition for their efforts, including by being invited to a weekly tea party with the headteacher.

Most pupils behave well. Classrooms ar...e typically calm and purposeful. The school has recently strengthened its approach to support pupils' positive behaviour.

Staff work effectively with a small number of pupils who need help in managing their own feelings and emotions while at school.

Pupils benefit from a range of experiences that enrich their learning. For example, they visit a nearby castle, a lake and different places of worship.

Pupils spoke excitedly about their residential trip in Year 5. They enjoy participating in after-school activities. These include choir, board games, sports and drama clubs.

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

The school has designed and adopted a suitably balanced and ambitious curriculum. It has determined the important knowledge that pupils should acquire and the order in which they should learn it. The curriculum includes references to the rich history of the local area.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

Staff provide clear explanations when delivering new curriculum content. The school has provided a comprehensive programme of training and coaching to further staff's knowledge of the subjects that they teach.

Teachers choose appropriate activities that help pupils to learn the intended curriculum well.

In many subjects, teachers use effective strategies to check how well pupils learn and to identify any misunderstandings or gaps in pupils' knowledge. Nonetheless, in one or two subjects, teachers do not check whether pupils have secured previous learning before introducing new information.

This limits some pupils in building a deep and rich body of knowledge across all subjects.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly. Staff provide support to help these pupils to fully access the curriculum.

The school also liaises well with external professionals to enable pupils with SEND to learn well alongside their classmates.

Reading is a priority across the school. Carefully chosen, high-quality texts are included in the curriculum.

Pupils visit the school's library often to read from a wide selection of books. Older pupils said that they enjoy completing quizzes about the books that they have read. A 'book wizard' visits classes regularly and provides new books.

Authors also visit the school. These activities help to foster pupils' love of reading.

Children in the Nursery Year develop their communication and language skills through stories, songs and rhymes.

This prepares them well for phonics, which they learn from the beginning of the Reception class. Pupils read from books that contain the sounds that they already know. Staff provide effective support for pupils who struggle with their reading.

This helps them to catch up with their peers. Pupils develop into fluent and accurate readers.

Most pupils respond well to the school's high expectations for their behaviour.

They typically have positive attitudes towards their learning. Children in the early years settle in quickly and learn to follow clear, well-established routines.

Pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly.

The school monitors pupils' levels of attendance and has implemented appropriate strategies to address absences. However, too many pupils remain persistently absent. This means that these pupils experience less learning and wider opportunities than they should.

The school supports pupils' personal development well. Pupils learn how to be safe outside of school and how to protect their physical and mental health. They develop their leadership skills through a range of roles, including being librarians, worship monitors, house captains and 'mini police'.

They know that their learning can contribute to future vocations, such as in science, engineering and design.

Governors offer effective support and challenge to the school, with a focus on improving the quality of education that pupils receive. Staff told inspectors that they are proud to work at the school.

They appreciate the steps that the school takes to help them to fulfil their roles well. This includes counselling sessions and considering staff's opinions before implementing any changes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In one or two subjects, teachers do not check that pupils' prior knowledge is secure before moving onto new learning. Over time, this hinders some pupils from building on what they already know and limits how well they achieve. The school should ensure that teachers build on pupils' prior learning, so that they learn all that they should.

• Too many pupils do not attend school frequently enough. As a result, they miss out on important learning and the wider experiences that other pupils benefit from. The school should strengthen its work with parents, so that levels of persistent absence continue to reduce.