Bowsland Green Primary School

Bowsland Green Primary School Ellicks Close, Bradley Stoke, Bristol, BS32 0ES

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Overall effectiveness

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

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Progress in writing is slower than in reading and mathematics and varies widely throughout the school.  The standard of writing produced by many pupils is not as good as it should be.  Some more-able pupils are not achieving as well as they should. Teachers’ questions do not make pupils think deeply about their learning.  Many pupils do not show a pride in their work. Presentation is untidy and much work is incomplete. A few pupils are not interested in their work and do not do their best work.  Teachers do not always set work at the right level for pupils. Marking is inconsistent and does not always help pupils improve their work.  Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve.  Leaders, managers and governors have not ensured that teaching and achievement have remained good.  The school improvement plan is not focused enough on the school’s key priorities.  Governors have not been effective in driving

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

improvements and do not know enough about the impact the pupil premium is having on eligible pupils’ progress.  Subject leaders have not had enough opportunity to observe teaching in their subject areas. Some are not clear about their roles and responsibilities.  Leaders have not ensured that school policies, procedures and assessments are carried out consistently across all classes.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils make good progress in reading and developing their phonic (the sounds that letters make) skills.  The school’s promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has resulted in it being a harmonious community in which pupils from different backgrounds get on well together.  Pupils are happy and proud of their school. They conduct themselves well in lessons and around the school. Pupils feel very safe in school.  Attendance is well above national levels.  The headteacher has managed the school skilfully during a period of transition, with many staff changes.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons involving 11 teachers, and two assemblies. Three of the lessons were observed jointly with school leaders.  The inspectors held discussions with school leaders, staff, governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documentation including improvement plans, the systems for tracking pupils’ progress, the arrangements for safeguarding pupils and samples of pupils’ work. They heard groups of pupils reading and spoke with others about behaviour and safety arrangements at the school.  Account was taken of the 85 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the views expressed by those parents and carers who spoke with inspectors at the start of the school day. Consideration was also given to the 28 responses from staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Michael Bartleman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Heather Barraclough Additional Inspector Geoff Mason Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils come from a White British background. An increasing proportion of pupils come from minority ethnic groups, the largest of which are of Indian and African heritage.  Around one pupil in four is disabled or has special educational needs supported through school action. This is above average. Around one pupil in ten is supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, which is also above average.  Around one pupil in seven is supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, in the care of the local authority or with a parent or carer in the armed forces). This is below average.  The governing body manages a daily before- and after-school club.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and increase the proportion of pupils making consistently good progress, particularly in writing, by ensuring that:  more-able pupils are challenged in their work and by teachers’ questions  all groups of pupils are interested and involved in their lessons and develop positive attitudes to their learning  marking informs pupils what they have done well, and what they need to improve further  activities in lessons develop pupils’ phonic knowledge and skills, spelling, punctuation and sentence construction, so they are able to complete more challenging writing tasks  teachers have high expectations and insist on high standards of presentation in pupils’ books.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers, including governors, by:  making sure that there are clear roles and responsibilities for senior and subject leaders  ensuring the school improvement plan is sharply focused, with precise timescales and success criteria  making sure that school policies and procedures are consistently carried out  developing the role of subject and key stage leaders in checking school developments, pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching  making sure that governors hold leaders and managers fully to account for providing an acceptable standard of education and for their use of the pupil premium.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement is not yet consistently good across the school. More-able pupils are not given challenging enough work, particularly in writing.  Attainment in mathematics and reading is higher than in writing because many pupils lack confidence with their phonic, punctuation and grammar skills. This limits their ability to complete more challenging writing tasks successfully.  Children enter the school with levels of development at those expected for their age. Although they are keen to learn, their curiosity and willingness to learn are not always exploited by staff to ensure that children achieve as well as they could. The achievement of children in the Reception classes requires improvement.  Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have varied since the previous inspection. In 2013 attainment at the end of Year 6 was above national levels in reading and mathematics and at national levels in writing. However, few pupils exceed expected levels, which shows that many

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils did not make good progress in Years 3 to 6.  The school’s data on the attainment and progress of current pupils show that achievement is improving, although there are a significant proportion of pupils in each year group who are not making enough progress. Progress varies too much between groups and across different subjects.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups make better progress than their classmates.  The school has worked effectively to improve the teaching of phonics, and this has started to develop pupils’ knowledge more securely. Following disappointing results in the phonic screening check in 2012, there was a strong improvement in 2013 to above national levels.  Pupils have many opportunities to read for a variety of purposes in lessons. The improvements in guided reading were evident in the activities provided in some classes. The additional support provided for pupils who do not read with confidence, including the ‘listening dog’, has ensured

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

that their progress is similar to that of their classmates. Attainment in reading is above national levels in Year 6.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to that of their classmates due to highly focused one-to-one and group sessions.  Pupil premium funding is used to provide additional teaching assistants, to fund visits and nurturing activities, including breakfast club, and additional after-school clubs. The attainment of pupils supported by the pupil premium in Year 6 in 2013 was the equivalent of two terms below their classmates in English and mathematics. Most eligible pupils currently in the school are making similar progress to their classmates.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not yet consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils can make up previous lost ground and achieve well throughout the school. Despite training, not all teachers use assessment information well enough to plan activities that effectively challenge more-able pupils. This means that tasks do not move pupils’ learning forward rapidly.  Teachers do not always explain activities clearly enough so that all pupils know what they are expected to learn. This results in pupils sometimes losing sight of the purpose of what they are learning, and teachers do not routinely check to see if pupils are finding tasks too hard or too easy. Lessons do not always proceed with a sufficient sense of urgency, and then pupils work too slowly and do not complete tasks to a high standard.  Despite recent improvements, not all teachers provide comments in marking which acknowledge what pupils have done well and where they need to improve further.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the better lessons, relationships are strong and teachers and teaching assistants question pupils effectively, securing good understanding. In a Years 1 and 2 class, pupils were fully involved in rewriting the story of James and the Giant Peach. The activity ensured that pupils had good opportunities to discuss and share their ideas with each other before writing.  Most of the parents and carers who responded to the Parent View survey believe that teaching is good. Inspection evidence did not confirm this view. However, school records of the monitoring of teaching and work in pupils’ books show that teaching is improving and this is having an increasingly positive impact on pupils’ achievement.  Children’s ‘Learning journals’ are good indicators of the impact of improving teaching in the Reception class. Adults intervene at appropriate points to enhance children’s learning and regularly assess and record their progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although most pupils conduct themselves well around the school, attitudes to learning for many are not good enough. Too many pupils do not show a pride in their work. Work in books is scruffy, untidy and often incomplete. A few pupils are slow to settle at the start of lessons. Pupils and a few members of staff express reservations about pupils’ behaviour and the ways leaders manage it. Rewards are not used consistently to encourage good work and positive attitudes to learning.  Around the school and in the playground, pupils from different backgrounds relate well to one another, taking good care of younger pupils. They learn to appreciate difference and diversity. The school is effective in promoting positive relationships. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  Teachers encourage pupils to discuss their work and work together which develops their social

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

skills well.  Pupils take on some responsibilities, for example as buddies, manning the school office at lunchtime and as councillors, which develops their personal skills well. Pupils spoken to expressed a wish for further opportunities to take responsibility.  School records confirm that pupils’ conduct is good on a daily basis and is improving over time. The few pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour are supported well.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils learn how to keep safe, for example, when using the internet. They have a good knowledge of all forms of bullying. Pupils say bullying is rare and have confidence in school staff to sort it out should it happen.  Attendance is above average, which reflects pupils’ enjoyment of school, the effective work of school leaders in tackling absence, and the support they provide for individual pupils and their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

families.  Strong links with health and social care professionals, together with staff who know their pupils well, help to give sensitive support for pupils whose home circumstances may make them potentially vulnerable.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management are not good because school systems and policies have not been monitored effectively to ensure consistent approaches across the school. Recently, enough has been done to address weaknesses in teaching and to maintain the school’s very positive ethos to show that there is capacity to improve further.  School improvement plans do not always specify dates by which planned actions are to be completed and do not set precise targets for the improvements of pupils’ achievement, by which their success could be measured.  Until recently, the school has not developed the skills of subject leaders or involved them in checking the quality of teaching or standards in their subject area. The introduction of phase leaders with responsibility for age groups is having a positive impact on the improvements made in teaching and learning. However, not all staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The teaching of writing is not secure enough across the school. In 2013 Year 6 pupils did not make sufficient progress in writing and although the school has introduced a specific focus on writing, this is not being carried out effectively enough across all year groups.  The school’s monitoring of assessment data, pupils’ work and the quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. The school now has a clearer picture of its strengths and weaknesses. Detailed reports highlight the progress of all pupils in each class, including a focus on specific groups or individuals. These provide the basis for half-termly discussions with senior leaders but have yet to address inconsistencies in pupils’ progress.  Parents and carers are very positive about the work of the school, although a few would like additional information on their child’s progress and a few do not think the school responds

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The leadership and management requires improvement

quickly enough to their concerns. Those from minority ethnic backgrounds speak highly of how well their children have settled and the progress they make. Inspection evidence supports this view.  The funding available through the pupil premium is used appropriately to help pupils known to be eligible for free school meals to take a full part in school life, and receive, where appropriate, specific resources and adult time. However, the data are not analysed in sufficient detail to judge the effectiveness of the support.  The headteacher uses findings from lesson observations and other monitoring activities to support and challenge staff. Expectations have been raised. The checking of performance targets and the setting of new ones for individual staff ensure a sound focus on school priorities.  The curriculum provides a good range of activities which pupils find enjoyable. The school uses this curriculum well to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Effective use of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

visits locally and further afield, including residential camps, enriches the curriculum and enhances the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world.  The school makes effective arrangements to see that pupils are safe and that adults appointed to work in the school are appropriately qualified and experienced.  The school is strongly committed to ensuring equality of opportunity, although leaders recognise that the more able pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders are now focusing on individual pupils in danger of underachieving. This is in order to allocate resources, including the pupil premium funding, as effectively as possible.  The school has used the new primary school sports funding to arrange for sports coaches to increase participation in after-school sports and inter-school competitions. The headteacher has appropriate plans to check regularly what impact these initiatives are having on pupils’ well-

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The leadership and management requires improvement

being and healthy lifestyles. However, at this stage, it is too early to evaluate their impact.  Effective support from the local authority and regular visits from the school improvement partner have helped leaders manage the school during a period of transition. The school works effectively with a range of other schools in the local area to share teacher training and to check the accuracy of assessments.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is in a state of transition. Governors spoken to during the inspection know the school’s strengths and what it needs to do to keep improving. Governors are supportive and some visit the school regularly. They are increasingly well informed about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. Governors are now making the most of their training. However, they do not have a good understanding of the management of teachers’ performance and the implementation of the national Teachers’ Standards and how they affect pay rises and promotion, or the effect of support for pupils supported by the pupil premium. They are not sufficiently involved in school self-evaluation or checking the school improvement plan. Governors monitor spending carefully and ensure that it fulfils statutory duties, such as ensuring the school meets safeguarding requirements.

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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 130257 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 441074

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 299 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sarah Drake Headteacher Clare Whitaker Date of previous school inspection 5–6 October 2010 Telephone number 01454 866766 Fax number 01454 866765 Email address school@bowslands.org.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

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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