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21
Sept 2023
Bishop Monkton school retains ‘good’ Ofsted rating
Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School, near Ripon, has retained its ‘good’ rating by Ofsted.
Government inspectors visited the school for two days in July and published their findings in a report yesterday.
It was the school’s first full inspection since 2018, but it has achieved consistent ‘good’ ratings since 2006.
The report found the school to be ‘good’ in all five categories – including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.
It said leaders make their vision for pupils to be "healthy, happy, and vibrant individuals" a reality, adding:
Inspectors praised the 140-pupil school for its “impressive” list of clubs and events on offer to pupils outside the daily curriculum.
They said pupils relished a residential visit to Le Touquet, where they were encouraged to speak French, and choir members have performed at Harrogate’s Royal Hall.
Read more:
- Ofsted says Holy Trinity Junior School in Ripon ‘requires improvement’
- Only one Harrogate district secondary school rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted
Inspectors said pupils feel “safe in school” and, despite some concerns about the behaviour of a few pupils, bullying is “rare.”
Pupils said they enjoyed coming to school, which is reflected in the high levels of attendance, inspectors added.
They said:
The curriculum was described as broad and balanced and the report praised staff for their approach to special educational needs.
'Inconsistencies between staff members'
Some pupils, however, are less expressive when writing, and their understanding and application of grammar and punctuation are not well developed, the report found.
It said some pupils "have difficulty spelling common words" but added this may be attributable to the disruption in teaching during the pandemic.
Despite pupils understanding the new behaviour policy and many collecting rewards for positive behaviour, inspectors added there were some "inconsistencies between staff members" in the application of the behaviour policy.
To improve, Ofsted suggested leaders should ensure that the writing curriculum is on a par with the national curriculum, and provide teachers with training on the structuring and teaching of writing.
It added:
Headteacher 'thrilled' with report
In response to the report, headteacher Sally Cowling said:
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