Barton Hill Academy

Barton Hill Academy Queen Ann Road, Barton Hill, Bristol BS5 9TX

p.1

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

p.1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

p.1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

p.1

Early years provision Requires improvement

p.1

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment have resulted in pupils achieving standards below those expected for their age, especially in reading.  The legacy of underachievement has prevented disadvantaged pupils achieving the standards of which they are capable.  The teaching of phonics is not yet consistently good enough, so pupils are not properly equipped to fulfil their potential in reading.  The quality of teaching is too variable across the school. For example, teachers do not consistently provide pupils with the guidance necessary to enable them to develop their skills in English and mathematics.  Teachers’ expectations, especially for the most able pupils, are not yet challenging enough to improve outcomes.  Teaching assistants do not have the skills they need to support pupils effectively in their learning.  Teachers do not have a secure knowledge of what pupils know, understand and can do.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

They do not plan and adapt their teaching well enough across a range of subjects.  Middle leaders lack the training to be able to provide the support and guidance to staff to raise standards in their subjects.  Behaviour in lessons is typically calm. However, when tasks are not sufficiently challenging, pupils can lose focus and learning time is lost.  Staff in the early years do not plan activities and resources with sufficient precision to ensure that all groups of children make good progress. This is particularly the case for the most able, boys and those from ethnic backgrounds.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The current leadership team has implemented systems and approaches to improve the quality of teaching, learning and behaviour. Pupils are making faster progress than previously.  The capacity of leaders and governors for improvement is now effective.  Pupils are polite and friendly and enjoy coming to school. Leaders ensure that vulnerable pupils receive the support they require. Attendance is improving quickly.  Pupils are safe. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.1

Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders: – implement the school’s agreed approaches to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment consistently to rapidly raise standards and improve pupils’ progress – provide training for subject leaders so that they take greater responsibility in raising standards across the curriculum – check the effectiveness of the work of teaching assistants to ensure that they support pupils effectively to make good progress – rigorously check that staff apply the school’s behaviour policy so that learning is not affected.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – teachers have high expectations of what all pupils can achieve, especially the most able – teachers assess pupils’ progress accurately and have a clear understanding of what pupils need to learn next – teachers adapt learning in lessons and, where work is too easy or too hard, amend

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

activities appropriately – phonics teaching is regular, consistently of the highest quality, and phonics learning is accurately assessed so that pupils, especially boys, do not fall behind. – teachers and support staff consistently address pupils’ misunderstanding when learning basic skills in reading and mathematics.  Improve early years provision by ensuring that: – teachers plan activities to enable children to make strong progress from their starting points, especially boys – staff develop the range of resources to reflect children’s cultural backgrounds and so support their learning.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The leadership team has accurately identified and is acting on the school’s key priorities and areas identified for improvement. Leaders’ capacity and determination to move the school forward is very evident. However, there continues to be inconsistency in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Consequently, although pupils are making faster progress, they are not yet working at standards expected for their age.  Leaders are acting quickly and successfully to tackle the legacy of poor teaching and learning. For example, the quality of teaching in Year 6 has significantly improved, resulting in pupils making faster progress. In addition, leaders have introduced effective and targeted coaching and mentoring activities to improve the quality of teaching quickly. However, leaders acknowledge that there is more to do to ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently strong across the school to enable pupils to achieve

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

well, especially in reading.  Leaders are focusing on developing the capacity of middle leaders to enable them to raise standards in their subjects. However, it is too soon to see the full impact of this work.  Leaders accurately evaluate the impact of additional funds for disadvantaged pupils. For example, the use of these funds to provide focused interventions in the nurture classroom is having a positive impact on behaviour across the school. However, the barriers faced by disadvantaged pupils to their learning are not diminishing quickly enough.  Leaders support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Additional funding is allocated to adapt learning, through training and providing appropriate resources, to support pupils’ personal development. However, the academic progress of these pupils remains variable.  The planned curriculum meets statutory requirements. It provides pupils with

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

opportunities to learn about a range of subjects along with social, moral and cultural topics. This develops pupils’ understanding of the world and helps them to reflect on their ambitions for the future.  Leaders have improved behaviour across the school. They have renewed the school’s vision and behaviour policy to reflect higher expectations. The focus on the school’s values of RESPECT (Responsibility, Excellence, Success, Pride, Equality, Compassion and Tenacity) is shown by most pupils in their behaviour. Strategies have been introduced to promote positive behaviour. These are having an impact on pupils’ attitudes to learning and behaviour. However, some staff do not yet apply these strategies consistently across the school.  The use of the sport premium has increased pupils’ participation in physical education. Through extra-curricular activities and external partnerships, pupils have enjoyed a

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

range of sports, including a football club and swimming. Pupils are enthusiastic about outdoor activities.  Parents are happy with the school. The vast majority of parents who responded to the online Parent View questionnaire reported that they are happy with the leadership of the school and feel that their child is safe.

p.3

Governance of the school

 Governors now in post are ambitious for the school and have a realistic understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement. They regularly monitor the progress of the areas identified for improvement and are gaining a critical understanding of the impact that the school’s actions are having on pupils’ outcomes. Directors from the Venturers Trust are providing clear support to the school, including the appropriate setting of the school’s strategic direction.  Governors have an understanding of the performance of different groups of pupils. However, over time, they have not challenged leaders with sufficient rigour to check on outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Governors are now taking steps to ensure that additional money is targeted effectively to raise outcomes for these learners.  Governors challenge leaders on the performance of teachers. Through effective

p.4

Governance of the school

appraisal systems, they have taken action to address poor teaching. As a result, there are increased expectations for staff to raise outcomes for all learners.

p.4

Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders have created an effective culture of safeguarding in the school. They have introduced systematic processes to report concerns, which are acted on immediately. This has addressed previous identified shortcomings in the school’s safeguarding policies and practice. Consequently, the care and well-being of the most vulnerable pupils has become a priority.  Staff are trained in the identification of risk. They undergo further training relevant to the school’s context and understand the procedures to report concerns.  The school’s liaison with external agencies is effective. Key staff follow up concerns promptly and ensure that pupils are kept safe. Staff work in partnership with families to ensure that pupils at risk are protected.  Pupils feel safe in school. They reported that incidents of bullying are now unusual, but if they do happen, they feel confident that adults would listen to them and take

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Th e quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate. Leaders, until recently, have not provided staff with the training and support to enable them to develop pupils’ skills and deepen their knowledge. This has resulted in a legacy of underachievement and poor outcomes. Consequently, pupils do not make the progress that they are capable of.  Teachers do not have consistently high expectations of pupils’ learning. In the past, assessment information about what pupils know, understand and can do has not been accurate. Consequently, pupils were not challenged enough. Leaders have now implemented an agreed assessment system, which is being implemented by all staff. Nonetheless, some staff require further training to be able to use the information they keep about pupils’ progress to plan their next steps precisely.  Teaching is not adapted well enough for different groups of pupils. Work is often too

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

easy for the most able pupils and middle-ability pupils, and, at times, too difficult for the least able. This slows pupils’ progress. For example, in a Year 4 mathematics class, pupils became restless as they had to complete a basic problem-solving task, which was well below their ability, before moving on. This resulted from the inconsistent use of the school’s assessment system.  Teachers do not always have a clear understanding of what pupils have achieved in their learning and so do not adapt activities appropriately. This is particularly the case for the most able. As a result, pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.  Teaching does not consistently support pupils to learn to read well. Some pupils read widely and often. However, in a Year 3 class, teachers have low expectations of pupils who can read. Consequently, these pupils do not have the opportunities to read more widely, and explore their understanding of the books they are reading.

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Where teaching is stronger, teachers question pupils to deepen understanding and set appropriate activities to extend pupils’ knowledge. Teachers use resources effectively. For example, in a time challenge, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were provided with appropriate resources to assist their understanding of writing three-digit numbers. However, teaching remains inconsistent across the school and, consequently, progress is too variable.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils talk responsibly about how the school helps them to keep safe. Pupils said that they feel safe because ‘adults are there to protect us’ and class rules help them to keep safe. When using the internet, older pupils understand what to do and who to talk to if they feel concerned. However, this awareness is not yet as evident in younger pupils.  Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils are polite and friendly. They talk positively about the school and the changes that have recently taken place. To make the school a better place, pupils said that that they would ‘make everyone kind’ and ‘change the displays’.  Pupils have a good understanding of fundamental British values, democracy and equality. Through assemblies, external partners and other social, moral, spiritual and cultural activities, they understand the different communities within the school and gain

p.5

Personal development and welfare

a deeper knowledge of the world they live in. Pupils said that they ‘get along together’. However, the inspection found that resources in the early years do not reflect the cultural diversity found in the school.  Teachers support pupils’ emotional resilience well by providing pupils with nurture activities. Pupils are supported through a range of appropriately adapted activities to develop their emotional and social skills, and build resilience to learn alongside their peers.

p.5

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  In some lessons, pupils become restless and lose focus when activities are not challenging enough or well matched to their needs. This is more evident in lessons where teaching is weaker, resulting in some low-level disruption.  The school is a calm and orderly environment. Pupils are respectful and move around quietly. Without exception, pupils were courteous and spoke to inspectors and adults politely. Pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtime is appropriate.  Pupils’ attendance has improved and is just below the national average. Rates of persistent absence have fallen due to the school’s tenacious approach to tackling non-attendance.

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 The standards in reading and mathematics have remained below national standards. Over time, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have not made good progress from their different starting points. As a result, pupils are not well prepared for the next stages of their education.  Weak teaching over time has meant that pupils achieve standards which are below those expected for their age, especially in reading and mathematics. Leaders have implemented strategies to improve teaching, but, although pupils are now making faster progress, the legacy of underachievement is still evident.  Standards in pupils’ reading remain below those expected for their ages at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Weak teaching has led to basic skills, such as the decoding and the sequencing of words, not being developed further. As a result, pupils cannot deepen their comprehension skills to fully understanding the context of what is being read.

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

Thus, pupils’ reading remains below expected standards.  Standards in the Year 1 phonic screening check remain below the national average. Stronger teaching in this year group and a renewed focus on delivering high-quality phonics teaching are resulting in some improvement. However, this work is at the early stages of development in Year 1.  The most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged. The quality of teaching is not yet enabling these pupils to attain the higher standards, especially in English and mathematics. A legacy of low expectations for these pupils means that they have not achieved the outcomes they are capable of.  The school’s work with greater rigour to evaluate the impact of the additional funding is helping disadvantaged pupils to make improved gains in their learning. However, disadvantaged pupils do not yet reach the standards expected for their age at the end of Year 6.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

to address their social, emotional and mental health needs. Their attendance and achievement are improving although their academic progress across the school remains variable.

p.7

Early years provision Requires improvement

 The early years provision requires improvement because the progress that children make from their starting points is variable, particularly that of the most able. Many children start school with skills that are below those typically expected for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy.  The new early years leader has a clear vision of how to improve the quality of provision. She has an accurate picture of the children’s starting points and has high expectations for pupils’ attainment. Good routines are now established to raise the standard of provision. However, the impact on pupils’ learning and development, although improving, is not yet good.  Boys continue to underachieve. Girls, in contrast, achieve a good level of development. The variability in attainment between boys and girls continues to impact on the Year 1 phonics screening check, where pupils’ attainment remains below the national average

p.7

Early years provision Requires improvement

in reading.  Resources are adapted well to suit pupils’ developmental needs and encourage independence. However, the range of resources to reflect the cultural diversity of the school is limited. For example, the reading books available do not offer pupils the opportunity to understand and reflect on their cultural identity.  Children are safe. Staff know the children well, and demonstrate sensitivity and care when supporting their personal needs. Adults model the development of language with care, and this is reinforced through songs and stories. For example, an adult used the rain shower outside as a cue to sing ‘It’s raining, it’s pouring’, to enhance language development.  Children behave well. Staff have high expectations for children’s behaviour. They support children to respond appropriately when they are playing independently or in group activities. Consequently, children learn to communicate well and play alongside

p.7

Early years provision Requires improvement

each other positively.  Children transfer smoothly into the early years and key stage 1 because adults ensure that arrangements are well planned. Parents contribute to the early years profile. This helps the school to establish clear and consistent routines.

p.7

School details

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

p.8

School details

Email address info@bartonhillbristol.org

p.8

School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.8

Information about this school

 From September 2017, Barton Hill became part of the Venturers Trust, a multi- academy trust based in Bristol, formed through the merger of Colston Girls’ School Trust and Merchants’ Academy Trust. The trust is sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol. The work of the trust is overseen by a board of directors, and each individual school has its own local governing body.  Barton Hill is a larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for pupil premium is well above average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic families and who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The school provides a breakfast club, an after-school club and a wide range of extra- curricular clubs for pupils.  The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its

p.8

Information about this school

website.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.  In 2016, the school met the government’s floor standards. These are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6.

p.9

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited classrooms and the majority of these visits were made jointly with the leaders of the school. Pupils’ learning was observed in all year groups.  Meetings were held with school leaders, staff, the chair of the governing body and the director of school improvement from the Venturers Academy Trust. Inspectors also held meetings with four other governors and with the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors took into account responses to questionnaires completed by staff and pupils.  Inspectors looked at the school’s evaluation of its own performance, its improvement plan, a number of key school policies and the minutes of meetings of the local governing body.  They also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to seek their views and listened to a selection of them read.

p.10

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of 15 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including a number of free-text responses. Inspectors also spoke to a number of parents during the inspection.

p.10

Inspection team

Diana Denman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.10

Inspection team

Linda Rowley Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

p.11

Inspection team

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.

p.11

Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

p.11

Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.11

Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspection team

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

p.11