St Stephens Church School

Inspection of a good school: St Stephens Church School Richmond Place, Lansdown, Bath, Somerset BA1 5PZ

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Outcome

St Stephens Church School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this welcoming and inclusive school. Their individual successes and talents are celebrated. Pupils know the school’s values of ‘joy, love, courage and creativity’ well. They say that these values guide them to be kind, respectful and to try their very best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults have high expectations of how pupils should behave. Consequently, pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and courteous. Pupils and staff enjoy positive relationships. Pupils say that the adults believe in them, reassure them, and encourage them to take risks.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of opportunities the school provides outside of the classroom, including sport, art, music, visits and residential trips. These opportunities help them to become confident and resilient. Pupils understand what it means to be a good friend. They talk confidently about segregation and prejudice. Pupils appreciate that they have a voice.

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What is it like to attend this school?

While many parents commented positively about the school’s ethos, a small number raised concerns about bullying. However, pupils say that bullying is rare. They say that if it were to happen, adults would deal with it sensitively. Pupils are happy and they feel safe and cared for.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are ambitious for what all pupils can achieve. Staff are proud to work at the school. All staff talk positively about the impact of the new headteacher. Staff work well as a team and feel valued.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders ensure that there is a clear focus on developing a love of reading across the school. This starts in early years. Children enjoy listening to stories and singing songs. This supports the development of their communication and language skills well. Staff 28 and 29 June 2022

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benefit from the reading training they have received. Effective use of assessment means that staff are clear when some pupils struggle. If pupils fall behind, support is put in place quickly. However, some books are not matched well enough to the letters and sounds that pupils are learning. Consequently, pupils find these books too hard to read.

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Staff share this love of reading. Teachers, with the support of a local English hub and the trust, have thought carefully about the range of texts they want to share with pupils. As a result, pupils say that the books they read in class help them to learn about wider issues such as slavery and racism. They know why reading is important and read with increasing fluency and accuracy.

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Leaders have put in place a well-structured mathematics curriculum. Pupils say that they like mathematics. However, some say that their work, at times, could be more challenging. Staff support the children in the early years well to develop their mathematical understanding. They carefully plan opportunities for all children to be successful. Staff make effective use of assessment to check on what children know and to deepen their understanding. Children confidently and independently use the correct mathematical words when doubling numbers up to 10. They used this knowledge when creating their own ‘doubling potions’.

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Leaders are working systematically to identify what key knowledge pupils need to learn and when across the wider curriculum. In physical education (PE) and computing, they have identified clear sequences of learning to enable pupils to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. However, in some other subjects, the precise knowledge that pupils need to know is not clearly identified. This prevents pupils from building on their prior knowledge. In addition, teachers do not check well enough what pupils know in their subject areas. As a result, they do not have a clear understanding of what pupils already know and can do.

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Leaders are ambitious for what pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can achieve. They work closely with staff, pupils, parents and, where necessary, a range of external agencies. This ensures pupils receive support which is tailored closely to their needs. Consequently, most pupils with SEND learn confidently and successfully across the curriculum.

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Pupils know how the school expects them to behave. These expectations for behaviour, known in the school as ‘the golden 3’, ensure that pupils have positive attitudes to their learning. The school is a calm and purposeful place to learn.

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Leaders ensure that pupils’ personal development is promoted well. They provide a wide range of experiences for pupils to become good citizens. These include opportunities to take part in a local choral concert or to learn from visitors who talk to them about different jobs, such as archaeology. 28 and 29 June 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have instilled a ‘it could happen here’ culture across the school. As a result, staff are vigilant. Staff are well trained to spot any signs of concern and act quickly. Leaders ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families receive the support they need.

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Safeguarding

Leaders complete the necessary checks to ensure that all staff are safe to work with pupils. Pupils understand the importance of keeping safe, including when online. They know how to report concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not read books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Consequently, these pupils find their books too hard to read. Leaders need to ensure that the books that pupils read, particularly those in the younger years, are well matched to the sounds they are learning, to develop pupils’ fluency and confidence in reading.  In some wider curriculum subjects, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. This prevents pupils from building on their learning over time. Leaders need to ensure that the key knowledge pupils must know is identified and learning is sequenced effectively so that pupils know more and remember more over time.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Stephen’s C of E Primary School, to be good in March 2015. 28 and 29 June 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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School details

Local authority Bath and North East Somerset Council

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School details

Inspection number 10227699 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school converted to become an academy school in March 2018. It is part of the Bath and Wells Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust. The trust is responsible for 34 primary schools.  The headteacher took up her post in January 2022.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, groups of staff, and representatives from the local governing body and trust.  The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the lead inspector discussed the curriculum 28 and 29 June 2022

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with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning.  The inspector spoke to curriculum leaders about other subjects, including history, computing and music.  The inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  The inspector considered how well the school protects pupils and keeps them safe. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leads to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding. The lead inspector also scrutinised the school’s single central record.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the lead inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The lead inspector considered 154 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 150 free-text responses, and 32 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 June 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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