Uphill Primary School

Uphill Primary School Old Church Road, Uphill Village, Weston-Super-Mare, BS23 4XH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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.  Achievement has improved significantly since the last inspection. Pupils now reach good standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teaching is consistently good. Consequently, all pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress.  The attainment gap that existed between pupils eligible for free school meals and other pupils has closed.  Pupils have positive attitudes to their work and are keen to learn. They enjoy school and behave well.  Leadership, including governance, is good and leading to improved outcomes for pupils. The senior leaders have created a highly effective staff team which is focused on making the school as good as it can be.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 In some lessons pupils do not have the challenge and support they need to make outstanding progress.  The engagement of parents and carers is not yet making an outstanding contribution to the progress pupils make.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection 20 lessons and parts of lessons were visited. Eight observations were carried out jointly with senior members of staff.  The views of pupils were gathered in lessons and at break times. One inspector also met formally with a group of Key Stage 2 pupils.  Inspectors considered the 25 responses to the staff survey and the 55 responses to Parent View, the online parent and carer questionnaire. All three inspectors spoke with parents and carers and considered a number of additional comments received during the inspection.  A range of documents were looked at during the inspection, including information on pupils’ current levels of achievement and rates of progress, records of governing body activities, the school improvement plan and records relating to safety, attendance, safeguarding and behaviour.  Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to some Year 1 pupils read.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, the inspector 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

Phillip Minns, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Anne Barrett Additional Inspector George Long Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Uphill is larger than the average sized primary school. It has a breakfast club managed by the governing body and an after-school club that is managed privately.  The majority of pupils come from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional funding given to the school by the government for certain groups, including those eligible for free school meals) is lower than average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is in line with the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching enables pupils to make outstanding progress, by:  developing the skills of all additional adults so that they provide consistently good support  ensuring that pupils are given time to respond to teachers’ comments in marking  making sure that all pupils have sufficient challenge in lessons to enable them to make more than expected progress in lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the engagement of parents and carers with the school, including those who find working with the school more difficult.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the time of the last inspection pupils did not make quick enough progress and did not reach the standards that they were capable of. This is not now the case.  Children join the Reception class with levels of development that are broadly typical for their age. Children do well in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They move into Year 1 well placed to start the next stage in their learning.  Improvements to the teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) result in more pupils being able to reach the expected standard by the end of Year 1. This is leading to improvements in pupils’ reading by the end of Year 2. Consequently, more pupils reach the higher levels of reading by the end of Year 2.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 are currently on track to reach standards that are higher than the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because teaching is more consistently

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The achievement of pupils is good

good, particularly the teaching of mathematics.  The attainment gaps between pupils eligible for the pupil premium and other pupils have narrowed significantly in both English and mathematics. Targeted additional support and the good day-to-day teaching these pupils receive have brought their attainment in line with other pupils in the school.  The weaknesses in the teaching of mathematics identified at the time of the last inspection have been remedied. A consistent approach to the teaching of calculation has been established. Teachers’ use of the information they have about what pupils understand and can do has improved. Consequently, all pupils now make good progress. Achievement in mathematics is now in line with achievement in reading and writing.  More-able pupils are well catered for and make good progress. An increasing number are able to reach the higher levels and make greater than expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good. The individualised support they receive, combined with the good teaching they receive in lessons, has resulted in improvements to their achievement since the last inspection.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics because teaching is consistently good. In the best lessons many pupils made more than expected progress. This was because tasks were well planned to closely match their needs. Also teachers set activities that were hard enough to make pupils think and stretch their understanding.  Pupils enjoy learning and have good relationships with the adults working with them. Consequently they make good progress. Teaching is not yet outstanding as some pupils do not consistently have higher levels of challenge to help them make outstanding progress over time.  Many teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. This is because they understand the needs of the pupils and are clear about what the teacher wants them to achieve. However, this is not yet always the case. Pupils’ learning slows when teaching assistants are not clear about their role and how they support the lesson’s objectives.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers assess pupils’ progress well. They use the information to plan subsequent lessons that build on their prior learning. Sequences of lessons are well-thought through so that pupils are able to explore ideas in a variety of ways.  Teachers make their expectations clear for different groups of pupils. The needs of the most- able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are met well. Consequently, all pupils make at least good progress.  Pupils’ work is marked well in all subjects and classes. Teachers provide guidance to pupils on how to improve their work and celebrate their good work. However, pupils do not fully use the comments made by their teachers to help them improve their work. Consequently, pupils are not learning as much as they can from the feedback.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Policies are well thought out and applied consistently. Pupils are polite and courteous in lessons and around the school. They understand the consequences of poor behaviour and are confident that the school deals promptly and fairly with their concerns.  Pupils are happy in school and feel safe and most parents and carers agree with them. Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning and enjoy coming to school.  Pupils value the opportunities they have to contribute to the community of the school. They believe that roles such as the school council and playtime buddies make their school a happier and safer place.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe is good. Risk assessments are detailed and thorough. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in school and the local environment. They understand how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Although attendance was below the national average in 2013 it has now improved to be in line with it. There have been very few exclusions in recent years.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding as attendance, although improved recently, has been below average for some time since the last inspection.  Pupils have a very good understanding of all types of bullying. Although they say little bullying occurs, they are confident that adults listen to them and take their concerns seriously.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governing body acted decisively following the last inspection. They addressed the issues that caused the school to require improvement. Consequently, pupils now make good progress.  Leadership is sharper than it was before, such as in the way that staff are held to account more rigorously through monitoring of their work. School improvement activities are sharply focused on key priorities. These changes have led directly to the better outcomes that pupils achieve.  Leadership and management are not outstanding. This is because measures to improve the quality of teaching have not yet resulted in consistently outstanding teaching over time and the school could do more to engage all parents and carers.  Senior leaders have improved the way they manage the performance of teachers since the last inspection. This is now very effective. Clear targets focus teachers on the outcomes pupils

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The leadership and management are good

achieve. As a result, teachers are held to account and any promotion is justified.  Staff benefit from focused additional training. This includes sharing good and outstanding practice in the school. Senior leaders regularly check the quality of teaching through observing lessons, examining pupils’ work and providing constructive feedback. As a result, the quality of teaching that pupils experience as they move through the school has improved.  The school is committed to equality of opportunity and works hard to ensure that all pupils do well. Effective systems are in place to foster good relationships and tackle discrimination.  Most parents and carers support the school and say that their children feel safe and happy. A few parents and carers expressed concerns about some aspects of the school. The issues raised were explored during the inspection but found to have been dealt with effectively by the school.

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The leadership and management are good

However, it is clear that parents and carers would like senior leaders and governors to devise ways of them being more involved in supporting the school.  Subject leaders provide teachers with good support. Activities such as those involving the whole- school sharing of pupils’ work enable them to develop teachers’ subject knowledge and check pupils’ progress and work. Their work makes a good contribution to the improvement of teaching.  Pupils get plenty of opportunities to develop their skills in reading, writing and mathematics across a range of subjects. These opportunities promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. A good example of this was the visit of a guide dog trainer and puppy. This enabled pupils to think about the needs of others and also provided a rich reason to write.  The local authority has provided the school with good support since the school was judged to

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The leadership and management are good

require improvement. Regular meetings have provided the headteacher and governing body with both support and challenge. This has supported the school’s improvement work.  The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and have high expectations of pupils and staff. They use a good range of information to ensure they know how well the school performs compared with other schools locally and nationally. They challenge and question school leaders and have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They have implemented rigorous procedures to manage the performance of the headteacher and make sure pay rises for staff are deserved. Governors ensure that funding is well used and has a direct impact on outcomes for pupils. This can be seen in their current commitment to increased mathematics teaching, which has led to improved outcomes for pupils. They closely monitor the spending of

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The leadership and management are good

the pupil premium grant and funds available to improve school sports. They ensure these monies are used appropriately. The governing body ensures that its members have up-to-date training so that they can fulfil their roles well. They ensure that statutory requirements for safeguarding are met.

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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 109095 Local authority North Somerset Inspection number 431672

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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 Community School School category Primary Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 304 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Stewart Castle Headteacher Chloe Langson Date of previous school inspection 26 September 2012 Telephone number 01934 626769 Fax number 01934 414011 Email address uphill.pri@n-somerset.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

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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