Bishop Justus CofE School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 February 2025

The school has experienced significant challenges since the previous inspection. Supported by the trust, it is working hard to raise standards and ensure that Bishop Justus is a place where pupils want to be. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve have been too low. Published outcomes show that pupils' achievement is significantly below national averages. In some areas, the school's improvement work has had a positive impact. The sixth form is a strength of the school. Students have positive attitudes to their studies. They learn well and feel supported by their teachers. However, in many areas of the school this improvement work is still in its early stages. For example, whilst classrooms are calmer and more purposeful, too many pupils display boisterous behaviour when moving around the school site. These pupils do not always respond to staff's requests to meet basic behaviour standards. Pupils can join in with clubs, such as music, basketball and cheerleading. Older pupils volunteer at a local primary school. There are opportunities to travel abroad. For example, pupils studying religious studies recently visited Rome. However, the wider opportunities for pupils to understand how to become active citizens or develop their talents and interests are not as rich or as broad as they should be.

What the school should improve

• Pupils are not consistently supported to build a coherent body of knowledge over time. While there has been work to develop the curriculum, this is still at its earliest stages and pupils have gaps in their learning. The school should continue to ensure that the new curriculums are fully embedded. Staff must have the knowledge and skills to plan and implement the curriculum effectively, so that pupils know more and remember over time and consolidate the learning in their long-term memory.
• On occasion, teachers do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning and develop misconceptions. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' learning systematically and respond to any gaps or misconceptions swiftly so that pupils achieve well in all subjects.
• Sometimes, pupils do not behave calmly or follow the rules during unstructured times. The expectations of pupils' conduct at these times are not as high as they are in lessons. This has a negative impact on the experiences of some members of the community, particularly younger pupils. The school must ensure that there are systems in place to support positive behaviour at these times, so that pupils move around the school calmly and respectfully.
• The programme to promote pupils' wider development is not as rich and broad as it should be. As a result, some pupils do not gain sufficient opportunities to expand their interests and talents, develop their character or understand how to become active citizens. The school should ensure that opportunities for enrichment, leadership and character development are strengthened and expanded to support pupils' wider personal development.
• The school and trust's oversight of some areas of the provision does not provide sufficiently precise information about where there are weaknesses. In these cases, this means that the actions taken by leaders do not directly address weaker practice. The school and trust must ensure that leaders accurately identify areas of weaker practice and address these robustly.

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