Bitterley CofE Primary School (Aided)

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 October 2023

Pupils are happy and enjoy school. They appreciate the opportunities they have to take on responsibilities. These include sports leaders, a pupil safety committee and the worship crew. Pupils have meetings, make decisions and create action plans to help make life at school even better. Pupils are particularly proud of their school grounds. The school council has made plans to improve activities at lunchtime and playtimes, including turning the old early years outdoor area into an outside classroom for reading and board games. The school has clear routines in place to keep pupils safe. Pupils know that they can speak to any adult if they have concerns. They can also spend time with one of the school dogs if they are having difficulties. As a result, pupils feel safe and cared for in school. They feel fully included in everything the school does. There have been many changes at the school recently. Pupils have helped to improve the behaviour policy and say that behaviour has improved. They understand the need to treat everyone with care and respect. They say that if bullying happens, they know that an adult will deal with it for them. There have been changes to the way that the curriculum is organised. Pupils say they enjoy their lessons. Their improved attitudes to learning have led to improved outcomes in English and mathematics. There are high expectations for all pupils, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well.

What the school should improve

• The school is in the process of revising the curriculum for some subjects. As a result, the specific knowledge and skills that pupils need to know and remember in these subjects is not yet precisely identified or sequenced. The school should ensure that the precise knowledge and skills are identified and sequenced in a logical order in all subjects to enable pupils to achieve well across the curriculum.
• In some subjects, leaders have a clear understanding of the standards that pupils are reaching, what is working well and what still needs to be improved. However, other subjects are not checked as effectively, so this information is not as detailed across the wider curriculum. The school should fully establish detailed monitoring across all subjects so there is a clear understanding of how well pupils are achieving and what further improvements could be made to the curriculum in all subjects.
• On occasion, pupils with SEND do not have work adapted precisely enough to enable them to fully access the learning. When this happens, they do not achieve as well as they might. Leaders should ensure that all learning is appropriately matched to the needs of pupils with SEND to enable them to fully access the learning and achieve highly across the curriculum.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)