‘A long journey’ for Bisham CE Academy to scoop Good Ofsted rating

It has been ‘a long journey’ for Bisham CE Academy, which has achieved a Good rating from Ofsted.

Laura Morel, head of the school, has ‘high expectations’ moving forward after the school received a Good rating – recovering from previous Inadequate and Requires Improvement ratings prior to its conversion to an academy.

The school, formerly Bisham CE Primary School, was rated 'Requires Improvement’ in 2016 – with criticisms of its leadership, quality of teaching, personal development and outcome for pupils.

At the time, Ofsted wrote that teaching ‘is not yet reliably good’ and there was not a well-established systematic teaching of core skills, such as writing and maths.

Prior to that, it had been rated 'Inadequate' and placed in special measures by Ofsted in 2014.

The school converted to an academy in 2017 and became Bisham CE Academy.

It is now under Ashley Hill Multi Academy Trust.

“We take in mixed age classes, which has been quite a difficult challenge,” said Laura.

“We’ve been able to use the broader expertise of (the trust) to improve in terms of planning and training.”

This November, it had its first inspection after gaining academy status.

Ofsted marked it as Good across the board.

“Teachers use their good subject knowledge to plan interesting tasks,” Ofsted wrote.

“However, sometimes they do not take enough account of what pupils already know.”

Leaders also showed ‘a well-thought-out approach’ to identifying any pupils who may have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

Ofsted said that, to improve further, the curriculum could include a modern foreign language.

“We’re constantly looking at improving the curriculum offer,” said Laura.

She added that the school has done ‘huge amount of work’ on well-being, coming back from COVID.

“We hear lots of concerns in the news about children not wanting to go back to school and really struggling,” she said.

“The children here are happy to come back.”

One thing the academy is ‘particularly proud of’ is the positive feedback on Parent View, Ofsted’s questionnaire on schools for parents.

“The parents are really happy with the school and have a good relationship with us,” said Laura.

“We’re very ambitious for our children and our Christian values shine through.”

The Royal Borough said the latest round of inspections means schools judged to be Good or Outstanding by Ofsted has risen to a record 97 per cent in the borough this year – above the national average of 86 per cent.

Since Ofsted inspections resumed in September 2021, six schools have been inspected.

In total, 64 of the 66 schools are currently judged to be Good or Outstanding, with 22 schools, or 33 per cent, considered outstanding.

The proportion judged to be Good or Outstanding was 94 per cent prior to these latest inspections and 86 per cent back in 2017.

Eton Wick First School has also increased its rating from Requires Improvement to Good.