Horfield Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Horfield Church of England Primary School Bishop Manor Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bishop Manor Road, Bristol BS10 5BD

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 16 and 17 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils and wants them to achieve. However, it is in the early stages of bringing about changes to the curriculum, including in the early years. The school recognises there is more to do. As a result, pupils do not yet receive a good quality of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk confidently about the school values. Most pupils are polite and kind to one another. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils feel safe. During social times, pupils play well together. However, sometimes adults do not respond quickly enough to help resolve any fallings-out pupils have. Therefore, pupils do not always share their worries with adults in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to take part in the wider aspects of school. They enjoy the responsibilities the school offers, such as being a representative for the eco-council or a well-being champion. All of this helps to develop pupils’ leadership skills. Opportunities for pupils to develop their interests include engineering, netball and archery club. However, the school does not have an accurate understanding of who attends the clubs.

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better?

The school has been through a challenging time since the previous inspection. There have been many changes to staff, which have caused the school to feel unsettled. This has had an impact on staff morale and hindered the school’s drive to improve. Parents who responded to Ofsted Parent View reflected this. Many parents feel that the school does not deal effectively with concerns they raise.

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better?

The school has made changes to improve the curriculum. It has started to identify the important knowledge it wants pupils to learn. In mathematics, pupils develop their understanding of number, including timetables and number bonds, by revisiting and practising these. This helps pupils to tackle more complex concepts and build on what they know and can do. While there are early signs of pupils making better progress through the mathematics curriculum, some of the work on the wider curriculum is in the early stages of development. In these subjects, the most important knowledge is not clear and there are gaps in what pupils know and remember.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. It promotes a positive culture. Children learn to read as soon as they start in Reception Year. Adults use assessment effectively to identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Additional support helps pupils to catch up. The books pupils read match the sounds they know. This helps them to become confident and fluent readers. Older pupils love to read. They talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors.

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better?

Systems and processes to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not effective. Pupils’ needs are not clearly understood and, at 16 and 17 April 2024

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times, work does not match their needs well. Staff do not have the expertise they need to adapt learning so that these pupils can progress well through the curriculum. Some parents of pupils with SEND share this concern.

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In some subjects, teachers check pupils’ understanding and make sure they remember what they have learned. However, in the wider curriculum, the use of assessment is not well developed. In these subjects, the school does not have an accurate understanding of the impact the curriculum is having on pupils’ learning.

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From Reception Year, children take turns and cooperate with one another. Routines are well established. Most pupils follow the schools’ high expectations of behaviour. However, some pupils call out in lessons and do not move around the school safely. This is more apparent when pupils are not under close supervision. Pupils say that bullying does happen. Some pupils are not confident that it would be resolved by adults.

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The personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They learn about the importance of consent and healthy relationships. Pupils are respectful of one another. However, pupils do not fully understand protected characteristics. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Despite this, their understanding of fundamental British values is limited.

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Many governors are new to the board. They are committed to make the necessary improvements to the school. Even so, they do not have sufficient understanding of their statutory responsibilities, including those related to safeguarding. Governors do not hold leaders to account and check in sufficient depth the information the school reports to them. Therefore, they do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

While pupils are safe at this school, inspectors found some shortcomings in the safeguarding processes and procedures. The school does not have a clear induction process so that all new members of staff have up-to-date training. In addition, checks on some adults who work at the school are not completed in a timely manner. This means that not all staff know how to report concerns, and the school is not completing all pre-employment checks in line with statutory guidance. Governors are not checking the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures with enough rigour. However, pupils are not at immediate risk of harm. 16 and 17 April 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not ensure that all new members of staff have a clear induction and up-to-date safeguarding training. In addition, pre-employment checks for some staff are not completed in line with statutory guidance. The school must ensure that all staff, including those new to the school, have a well-developed understanding of safeguarding processes and that all pre-employment checks are completed within the statutory timeframe.  Governors do not have a strong understanding of their statutory responsibilities. They have not challenged the school sufficiently well. The school does not work as a joined-up team, and a significant number of parents do not feel that their concerns are addressed. Governors should ensure that they are fully equipped to carry out their duties effectively and to hold the school to account for its actions to bring about the necessary improvements, including raising staff morale and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

responding to parental concerns in a timely manner.  The processes to identify pupils with SEND to ensure their needs are well met are not effective. Some pupils have learning that does not match their needs, and the adults do not understand these pupils’ needs well. This is hampering pupils’ achievement over time. The school needs to strengthen all aspects of SEND provision so that adults can support pupils with SEND well and pupils fulfil their potential.  In some wider curriculum subjects, the key knowledge the school wants pupils to learn has not been identified. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge well. The school does not have an accurate understanding of the impact of the curriculum in these subjects. The school needs to identify the most important knowledge it wants pupils to remember and then check pupils’ understanding.

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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 16 and 17 April 2024

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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). 16 and 17 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 November 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant staffing changes since the last inspection.  This school is part of the Diocese of Bristol. The school’s last section 48 inspection was in May 2017, where it was judged to be good.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provider.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued 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 reading, mathematics, science and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, 16 and 17 April 2024

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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.  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 in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a familiar adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspectors spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments, and by talking to

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parents before school. The inspectors also evaluated the responses to Ofsted’s staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Wendy D’Arcy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Gower Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 April 2024

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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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