SIAMS Report February 2016 Bugthorpe CE Primary School, Bugthorpe, York YO41 1QQ
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National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools Report Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Bugthorpe York YO41 1QQ Previous SIAMS grade: Good Current inspection grade: Good Diocese: York Local authority: East Riding of Yorkshire Date of inspection: 26th February 2016 Date of last inspection: May 2011 School’s unique reference number: 118000 Headteacher: Angela Ekers Inspector’s name and number: Doug Masterton 483 School context Bugthorpe Church of England Primary School has 75 children, aged 4 to 11 years, and is situated in a rural district of East Yorkshire some 14 miles to the east of York. It serves the socially mixed community of nearby farms and villages. Children are predominantly of White British heritage. An average proportion of children have special educational needs. A lower than average proportion of children are eligible for free school meals. The executive headteacher is responsible for Bugthorpe and one other primary school in a nearby district. The school is situated close to the parish church. The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Bugthorpe as a Church of England school are good Bugthorpe has improved as a church school since the previous inspection. All aspects are securely good and improving. Children learn in a climate of care and trust derived from Christian values. They achieve well and develop a high spiritual maturity nurtured through their religious education (RE) and collective worship. Strength of leadership by the head teacher has enabled Bugthorpe to successfully collaborate with another church school, bringing strengthened provision. Areas to improve Establish a process to monitor children’s spiritual development in addition to their academic progress, incorporating their own self-assessment of applying Christian values in their lives. Systematically weave understanding and exemplification of Christian values into all appropriate aspects of the school curriculum. Enrich the range of activities within collective worship and monitor their impact, particularly by gaining feedback from children, thus helping it become the beacon feature of school life. Explore ways in which school collective worship can draw more richness and inspiration from local liturgical traditions. The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners Bugthorpe School has a proud and well-expressed character drawing inspiration from twelve explicit Christian values such as humility and forgiveness. These appear prominently within the school web site and they are taught specifically through RE, collective worship and also at other times, for example, being reflected within work on literacy. Educational provision in school supports all children who, by their own conduct, help reinforce a ‘blanket’ of care and encouragement that stems from the ‘favourite’ school values of friendship, forgiveness and truthfulness. Bugthorpe Church of England School is thus a safe, secure and loving community. It has demonstrated its capacity to nurture all children and particularly those having health, emotional or social difficulties. In consequence, all children make good academic progress from their respective individual starting points and score appropriately in national tests. Children also grow to become enthusiastic, well-behaved, respectful of those holding alternative ideas, keen to learn and open to other points of view. The school is thus a harmonious family where children, who all work in mixed-age classes, cooperate happily and constructively together. There is a good rapport of respect and friendship with the adults responsible for them. Although somewhat geographically and culturally isolated, measures are in place to teach children about other religions and cultures. However, there have been only limited opportunities for contact with their peers from other faith backgrounds, particularly Islam. RE has a full allocation of time and class scrap books record a rich range of studies and activities undertaken by children. These often spill over into other areas of learning. Not only can children recall Bible stories, but also the ethos within school develops their ability to review and discuss them respectfully and critically in the light of their own emerging consciousness of faith. The impact of collective worship on the school community is good Collective worship has a high profile within daily life in school. Its impact is evident in the good conduct and informed conversation of children and also in their adoption of school values. Planning systematically addresses these values, as well as the church calendar, resulting in acts of collective worship relevant to children’s lives and routinely including Bible stories, particularly about Jesus, together with music and prayer. The outcome is that children can reflect on aspects of Christian belief and can see their relevance to their everyday lives. There is a well-established tradition of children making a major contribution choosing the themes, stories, prayers and taking the lead. Children are taught how to pray and how to write their own. Thus they develop a mature attitude to prayer using it within their collective worship and at other times of day. Space in each classroom and an outside area for reflection offer them opportunities for thought but individual prayers are not yet shared with the whole school and wider community. School collective worship challenges children to consider decisions and actions they might take. They are aware that prayer can inspire the community to apply school values and respond to need. Collective worship at Bugthorpe School incorporates an Anglican representation of the nature of God through the Trinity. Parents value the tradition that children go to the village church at least once each term especially on special days such as Ash Wednesday, an occasion when the local worship tradition makes a highly memorable impact on children’s understanding. The parish priest takes great care to teach them respect for the nature of the Sacraments. Collective worship planning covers both schools for which the headteacher is responsible and challenges a range of staff to plan, lead and evaluate specific daily acts. Governors monitor school collective worship but evaluation by children themselves is not well developed. Evaluation has yet to steer collective worship, towards maximising the full potential impact of music, drama, Biblical content, local liturgical traditions, theological understanding and children’s own creativity. NS 03 2015 SIAMS Inspection School Report The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good Bugthorpe School has improved following the previous inspection. Leaders and managers make regular use of nationally recommended tools to evaluate effectiveness as a church school and there are clear strategies in place to develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children. Most significant is the clarity of the school mission and the now obligatory inclusion of looking at the development of church-school distinctiveness at each key meeting of governors. This discipline has led to direct improvement of provision and collective worship. It has also underpinned the measures that secure children’s good academic progress. These aspects are now securely good, with some areas such as children’s behaviour and the Biblical dimension to collective worship becoming outstanding. The school vision or mission is firmly based on explicit Christian values which are understood and respected by parents who are very pleased to observe their children growing academically, socially and spiritually. They also praise this school community that has purpose and strength to care for every child who attends, whatever their health, personal circumstances and needs. Critical and accurate self- evaluation is well established among staff and governors but current input from children is less evident. The headteacher offers effective leadership bringing vision, objectivity and a pragmatic approach concerning the introduction of changes needed for school improvement. Her skills were recognised by the governors of another Church of England Primary School in the diocese, resulting in her current responsibility to lead work in both schools. With staff responsibilities, such as that for collective worship, covering two schools, there are increased opportunities for the development of staff skills for church-school leadership. However, these have yet to be fully exploited. Perhaps indicative of current staff preparedness is the fact that the whole school curriculum has not yet been systematically examined to identify the precise ways in which all taught subjects and activities can, when appropriate, promote the specific Christian values of the school. School managers actively encourage and welcome the participation and views of all stakeholders in school life and work. The school participates in local community events and fundraising activities. Although the parish church is nearby, links to the worship of the local church community are not strong. The school has also not taken full advantage of diocesan networks to develop opportunities for children to have greater awareness of other faiths and cultures and to interact with their peers of different ethnicity. Arrangements for collective worship and RE meet statutory requirements. SIAMS report February 2016 Bugthorpe CE Primary School, Bugthorpe, York YO41 1QQ NS 03 2015 SIAMS Inspection School Report .