Fishponds CofE Primary School

Inspection of Fishponds Church of England Academy Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3UH

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 9 and 10 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at school. They are confident and successful in their learning. They are proud to live up to the school’s Christian values. They learn about how these values are reflected in a range of world religions and cultures. Pupils enjoy taking part in a wide range of after-school activities. These help them develop their skills in sport, music and cookery.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite, collaborate well in their learning and show respect for each other’s opinions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high and consistent expectations of pupils’ behaviour. From early years onwards, staff help pupils to reflect on their behaviour and to manage their feelings. Staff care for pupils and keep them safe. They are highly skilled in supporting pupils’ emotional needs. Pupils say that staff help them to restore relationships when there have been fallings-out or rare cases of bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities. They are proud to act as school councillors and digital leaders. Pupils take responsibility for raising money to support international, local and national charities. For example, Year 2 pupils used their harvest celebration to raise money to provide a school bus for children in the Dominican Republic.

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better?

Leaders are determined that each child in the school will succeed. They have brought about many improvements in the curriculum and in managing pupils’ emotional and social needs. As a result, the quality of education that pupils receive is good.

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better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum with clear sequences of learning in each subject. These build on what children learn in the early years. As a result, pupils learn well across a full range of subjects.

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better?

Pupils enjoy reading and being read to in school. Leaders encourage a love of reading. This includes promoting reading for pleasure and pupils taking part in the ‘reading 25’ reading challenge. Staff love sharing books with pupils. This includes books that celebrate the different cultures within school. For example, staff were enthusiastic about how pupils responded to ‘The Proudest Blue’.

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better?

Pupils learn phonics as soon as they join the Reception class. There is a clear and structured phonics programme in place. Teachers choose books carefully so that pupils practise new sounds they are learning and develop confidence. As a result, pupils learn to read well.

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better?

In reading and mathematics, teaching builds securely on the assessment of pupils’ prior learning. As a result, pupils across the school read with understanding and 9 and 10 March 2022

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apply mathematics well. In other subjects, checks on what pupils know and understand are not as precise. Consequently, in these subjects, teaching does not build well enough on what pupils already know and understand. This can lead to gaps in pupils’ learning.

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Leaders and staff are skilled in identifying and assessing pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils follow the full curriculum and learn well.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to respecting people’s differences. They know that it is wrong to judge someone based on their gender, appearance or beliefs. Pupils have a good understanding of what makes a healthy relationship. They know that it is their responsibility to seek help if they are aware of anyone being harassed. This prepares them well to be responsible citizens.

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Governors support and challenge school leaders well. They know the school’s strengths and areas for development. Together with leaders from the trust, they follow up actions for improvement and check how these are having an impact on learning. Staff feel supported by leaders and appreciate that their workload and well-being are considered. Staff say they love being part of the ‘Fishponds family’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. All staff know how to recognise signs of abuse and neglect. They know that it is everyone’s responsibility to care for and keep pupils safe. Staff work well with other agencies and professionals to minimise risk of harm to pupils. Leaders have put effective safeguarding procedures in place, including pre-employment checks on staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, assessment is not used consistently well to check pupils’ understanding and inform future teaching. This slows pupils’ learning down. Leaders should ensure that assessment is used consistently well so that pupils can build on their prior learning to develop the knowledge they should in every subject. 9 and 10 March 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 9 and 10 March 2022

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School details

Website www.fishpondschurchacademy.bristol.sch .uk Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 April 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust.  The school uses one alternative provider.  The school manages its own before-school club.  The school’s latest Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place in October 2019.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography, history and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the 9 and 10 March 2022

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curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met the designated safeguarding lead, checked the single central record of adults working in the school and looked at safeguarding records.  Inspectors met governors, including the chair of governors, and a representative of the trust.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class, around school and at breaktimes.  Inspectors visited the before-school club.  Inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and by talking to parents after school.  Inspectors gathered the views of a range of pupils by considering the pupil survey, talking with the pupil council and having discussions with pupils.  Inspectors held discussions with staff and considered responses to the Ofsted

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Inspection team

Martin Greenwood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Emma Jelley Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 March 2022

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regulates and inspects to 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.

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