St Bernadette Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School

St Bernadette Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School Gladstone Road, Hengrove, Bristol, BS14 9LP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well. Standards by the end of Year 6 are high in reading and writing. In mathematics, where several pupils reached Level 6 last year, standards are even higher and well above national figures.  The support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well managed and helps the majority of these pupils to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Good teaching encourages pupils to make good progress from when they arrive in Reception to the time they leave in Year 6. Teaching is particularly strong in Years 5 and 6.  Senior leaders and governors closely monitor the school’s progress in key areas. Their use of pupil premium funding ensures that those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are helped to catch up.  The school’s leaders and management make a strong contribution to the drive for improvement and have developed a purposeful

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

environment where pupils behave well and work hard.  The improved collection and analysis of information are used well to set high expectations for all staff and to improve the quality of teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Teaching is not yet having an outstanding impact on all pupils’ achievement. Teachers sometimes do not set sufficiently precise targets for different groups of pupils to fully extend their knowledge and understanding and spend too much time talking in lessons.  Teachers marking is regular and informative but pupils are not always given time to respond or to evaluate their own work.  Monitoring of the quality of teaching does not always focus on the progress made by different groups or swiftly follow up points for development to move all teaching to outstanding.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 14 lessons taught by eight different members of staff and conducted lesson observations jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors heard a sample of pupils read, looked at the past and present work in books across the school, including those of pupils in Year 6 who were away from school on a residential trip during the inspection.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, a representative of the local authority, teachers who lead on English and the coordinator for pupils with special educational needs, as well as members of the governing body.  The inspectors also took account of 20 responses to the online Parent View survey and 13 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Other aspects of the school’s work were examined. Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s information on pupils’ progress, plans for improvement and records relating to pupils’ safety, their behaviour and attendance.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the school’s view of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of those services.

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Inspection team

Mark Lindfield, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector David Williams Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  A below average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families. There are currently two children of service families in the school.  The proportion of diabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  A higher than average proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that pupils’ achievement is outstanding by;  ensuring that pupils of different abilities are provided with clear and precise targets that challenge them to do their best  ensuring an appropriate balance of teacher talk and time for pupils to apply their skills and extend their learning  providing regular opportunities for pupils to evaluate the quality of their own work and allowing them time to respond to teachers’ comments.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by;  swiftly following up on identified areas for improvement to move teaching from good to outstanding  focusing more closely on the progress made by different groups of pupils in lesson observations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From their starting points, pupils make good overall progress across the school despite relative weaknesses in teaching in some year groups. They make particularly rapid progress in Years 5 and 6. In their last two years of school, high-quality teaching helps pupils to make three years’ progress in both mathematics and reading and good progress in writing.  Currently, Year 6 pupils’ attainment is above average in English and mathematics, with a large proportion of pupils reaching high standards. Nearly half of all pupils in the class are in line to reach the higher Level 5 in reading and mathematics this year.  Attainment in mathematics is a strong feature of the school’s work. In 2012, a far higher proportion of pupils than average reached the highest Level 6 and the school is confident that a higher proportion than average will reach similar standards this year. Pupils in Year 5 confidently completed an investigation, spotting patterns and beginning to devise algebraic formula to

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The achievement of pupils is good

explain their findings.  The majority of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff take care to complete detailed assessments of pupils’ needs. Well-organised and short periods of intensive support help those pupils who have fallen behind to catch up and those with additional needs to make progress.  Pupils supported by pupil premium funding are narrowing the gap in achievement as they move through the school. Although still behind by the time they leave the school, they have made up ground against the national average in mathematics, reading and writing.  Children from an early age build a sound knowledge of letters and their sounds. They continue to develop their reading skills in Year 1 so that the vast majority of pupils are able to read a wide range of different letters and sounds in the end of year reading check. As they move

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The achievement of pupils is good

through the school, pupils read with increasing confidence, reaching high levels of fluency in a range of challenging texts.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well. The majority make the progress expected in writing and better progress than expected in reading and mathematics from the time they arrive in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching in all subjects, including English and mathematics, is good overall. This represents an improvement since the last inspection and is the reason for the improvement in pupils’ achievement. Some inconsistencies remain in aspects of teaching which prevent it from being outstanding.  Teaching across the school is characterised by good relationships, pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and teachers’ use of a range of strategies to encourage pupils to deepen their knowledge and skills and explain their ideas. Pupils respond well, are productive and make good progress.  Teachers’ lesson planning is detailed and regularly sets different activities for different groups of pupils. Teachers often set pupils different tasks from the outset of the lesson and set higher ability pupils off to a brisk start. However, on occasion, the tasks set for different pupils are vague and do not challenge pupils sufficiently to do their very best work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers often use questioning effectively to check on pupils’ understanding or to challenge their thinking. In the majority of lessons, teachers listen carefully to pupils’ responses to check the extent of their learning and to provide further explanations where necessary. In a small minority of lessons, teachers spend too much time explaining the work to pupils and this holds pupils back.  Teachers frequently assess and record the progress made by pupils. This information is used well to review pupils’ progress and to set targets for improvement that have helped to raise teachers’ expectations and provide greater challenge for pupils.  The curriculum supports good quality teaching and encourages the development of mathematics, reading and writing skills across the curriculum.  Marking has improved across the school and now regularly provides both complimentary messages and points for improvement. As a result, pupils have a good understanding of what

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The quality of teaching is good

they have achieved in their work and what more they need to do to improve further. However, pupils are not always given time to check their own work or go back and make corrections in response to teachers’ comments.  Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to the good progress made by disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, pupils who speak English as an additional language and those in receipt of pupil premium funding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils display positive attitudes and enthusiasm towards their learning. They are eager to engage with adults and show kindness and consideration to each other so that the school is a friendly and welcoming place to learn.  The promotion of pupils’ spiritual development is a particularly strong feature. Pupils make outstanding progress because they are given frequent opportunities to consider key concepts of faith and spirituality. Pupils in Year 5 showed a deep understanding of religion and faith during a humanities lesson.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. From the time they arrive, pupils work cooperatively, share and take turns and show respect for each other. In a small minority of lessons, some off-task behaviour occurs as pupils lose concentration.  School leaders have done much to promote the importance of good attendance. Consequently, attendance has improved and fewer pupils miss lessons. However, overall attendance remains

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

average as a small proportion of pupils have high absence rates because of their medical needs or taking holidays in term time.  Pupils with more challenging behaviour are well supported and make good progress in developing their personal skills. The school makes effective use of external services to help staff to support those pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable.  Pupils are positive about school and report that overall they feel safe in school. They have a good understanding of what kind of behaviour constitutes bullying and know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Pupils feel that the school is a safe place but a few express some concerns of rough and inappropriate play. Detailed records provide evidence of the school’s strategies that are used to address any incidents and maintain good behaviour.  Most parents and carers who responded to Parent View say their child feels safe; the school

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

makes sure its pupils are well behaved and the school effectively deals with bullying.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has raised expectations and set a clear direction, shared by governors, senior leaders and staff, to move the school forwards. This has led to improvements in the quality of teaching and has raised pupils’ achievement.  A more detailed analysis of pupils’ progress is used effectively to measure the school’s performance. Teaching assistants are now deployed more carefully to provide specific programmes of support that are helping disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and pupils who speak English as an additional language to make better progress.  The school’s development plan is clear, accurately identifies the key improvement areas and is strongly focused on raising pupils’ achievement. Senior leaders and governors use a range of data and information to monitor closely the progress the school is making.  Performance management systems for teachers and teaching assistants are securely in place.

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The leadership and management are good

Senior leaders draw on information from discussions with pupils, lesson observations, pupils’ work and data on pupils’ progress to raise staff expectations. Observations of teaching provide staff with an overall assessment of pupils’ achievement but do not focus sufficiently on the progress made by different groups of pupils to fully hold teachers to account for the achievement of all pupils.  Monitoring of teaching and learning identifies good practice and areas for teachers to improve. However, senior leaders do not always swiftly follow up with further monitoring to secure rapid improvement.  All safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. They are securely in place and carefully followed up to ensure pupils’ welfare and safety. Leaders effectively promote equality within the school so that all groups of pupils are encouraged to improve their achievement and ensure the school is an inclusive community.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good support for the school that has helped to drive improvements in the key areas of teaching and achievement. They have provided good support for governors, which has helped them to develop their roles and to deploy resources more effectively. Local authority support has helped the school to develop procedures to track pupils from their starting points in Reception class and has also led to improvements in the quality of marking across the school to provide greater guidance to pupils on how to improve their work.  The governance of the school:  provides valuable support for pupils, staff and senior leaders  knows the school well and, in partnership with the headteacher, uses performance management effectively to reward good teachers and to hold staff and leaders to account for raising pupils’ achievement  uses the pupil premium and other resources to overcome barriers to learning and help pupils

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The leadership and management are good

to catch up in their reading, writing and mathematics manages resources well in order to support pupils’ achievement.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 109254 Local authority Bristol Inspection number 422510

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 211 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nancy Thomas Headteacher Barbara Lee Date of previous school inspection 24–25 January 2012 Telephone number 0117 377 2373 Fax number 0117 377 2379 Email address head.st.bernadette.p@bristol.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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