Blagdon Primary School

Inspection of Blagdon Primary School Bath Road, Blagdon, Bristol, Somerset BS40 7RW

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Inspection dates: 31 October and 1 November 2023

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Jenny Campbell. This school is part of The Lighthouse Schools Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Gary Lewis, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Adele Haysom MBE. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Blagdon Primary School is a friendly place where pupils get along well. They say something good happens every day. Pupils of all ages play well together. Older pupils look after younger ones. They treat everyone as equals and show respect towards each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils. Pupils progress well through the curriculum. Most pupils engage well in lessons. They listen to their teachers and respond with enthusiasm. When needed, teachers give timely reminders of expectations, which pupils follow.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and adults are positive. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They feel safe and happy and know that adults will help them if they have any worries. The school teaches pupils to be safe online and in the community. Physical health and mental health are promoted through the curriculum and in assemblies.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school supports pupils to understand the contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to the school and community. Pupils develop their understanding of why people seek asylum. Pupils welcome and support families who have joined the school. They enjoy the responsibilities they get on the school council and as house captains, librarians and breaktime monitors. Parents comment that the school knows its pupils well and provides a nurturing environment in which they can flourish.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all pupils. The curriculum is well designed and identifies the essential knowledge pupils need to know and remember. Pupils have opportunities to return to and build on their knowledge. The work they complete shows that they learn the curriculum well in most subjects.

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better?

There is a clear structure to the teaching of phonics. This means pupils build their knowledge well. Teachers’ strong subject knowledge supports pupils to learn and write sounds with precision. Adults address and correct misconceptions swiftly. This means pupils do not fall behind. From Reception Year, the phonics programme supports children to build on previous learning. This helps children to learn new sounds and read increasingly complex words.

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better?

Older pupils enjoy reading. They have access to a wide range of high-quality texts. They know that regular practise makes them better readers. Teachers share their joy of reading. Pupils engage with interest and enthusiasm when teachers read to them.

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better?

Pupils are keen to share their ideas, and they actively take part in lessons. They can talk confidently about their current learning. In some subjects, however, they struggle to recall past learning. This is because they do not have enough opportunities to revisit their previous knowledge and remember it over time. This 31 October and 1 November 2023

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makes it difficult for some pupils to build their knowledge well in these subjects. For example, they can talk with confidence about more recent learning in geography about slum dwellings, but they find it hard to recall their knowledge of what they have learned before.

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The school ensures that pupils have support to overcome barriers to learning and experience a wide range of opportunities. All pupils have opportunities to take part in school trips and attend sports clubs and breakfast club. The school ensures that all pupils have a range of texts to keep and read at home.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need to succeed and learn the curriculum alongside their peers. Resources and the help of adults mean they access learning and progress well through the curriculum.

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Communication and language are central to the early years foundation stage. The school designs opportunities to develop communication and language through teaching and modelling it during role-play activities. For example, adults demonstrate how to greet customers in a shop. This also provides opportunities for children to develop their personal and social skills. The school gets to know the children before they start school. This means relationships are already built, and children settle into school well. Children listen and respond with enthusiasm to questions. Teachers check on children’s understanding and use this to reshape learning activities.

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The curriculum goes beyond the academic. It supports pupils to further develop their understanding of the world. They learn about people from other places and how they have overcome adversity. The school encourages pupils to be respectful of differences between people. Pupils demonstrate this in their day-to-day interactions with each other.

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The school has high expectations for pupils’ attendance. These expectations are communicated to parents regularly. There are robust systems in place to monitor individual attendance. If attendance starts to fall, the school takes effective action to improve it. This includes completing individual plans with parents to agree actions. These are reviewed regularly and are leading to improvements for pupils who have been persistently absent.

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Staff feel well supported to carry out their roles and receive the help they need to manage their workload and well-being. Trustees and governors provide support and challenge to ensure the school continues to improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 In some curriculum subjects, pupils do not have enough opportunities to revisit their previous knowledge and remember it over time. This makes it difficult for some pupils to build their knowledge well in these subjects. The trust needs to ensure the curriculum supports pupils to recap and remember previous learning.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 31 October and 1 November 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Blagdon Primary School converted to become an academy in October 2019. When its predecessor school, Blagdon Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate overall.  The school is part of The Lighthouse Schools Partnership.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and geography. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with 31 October and 1 November 2023

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subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, including history and design and technology.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other school leaders, teaching staff and administrative staff.  The lead inspector met with governors, trustees and the chief executive officer.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to an adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. In addition, they met with pupils to hear their views.

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 The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the survey for pupils and staff.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Greenwood Ofsted Inspector 31 October and 1 November 2023

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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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