Redfield Educate Together Primary Academy

Inspection of Redfield Educate Together Primary Academy Avonvale Road, Redfield, Bristol, Bristol, BS5 9RH

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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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The acting headteacher, Sarah Phillips, is responsible for this school and one other. This school is part of the Educate Together Primary Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Sam Nowak, and overseen by a board of trustees, co-chaired by Kate Aldworth and Kathy Brown. 21–22 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not receive a good quality of education. In some subjects, the important knowledge and concepts that pupils need to learn are not set out clearly enough. As a result, pupils do not build a deep understanding of each subject over time. This means they do not learn as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They describe it as a place which enables them to ‘express their personality’. Pupils understand how the school’s values help them to feel part of a community and be understanding of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has clear systems in place to manage behaviour. Most pupils are polite and well mannered. However, the expectations of some staff are not high enough. In the early years, for example, learning is disrupted as some children struggle to settle and do not follow instructions well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff take time to form positive relationships with pupils. Pupils know there are adults who they trust to help them with any concerns they may have. This enables pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value their roles as ‘change makers’ and members of the eco team. They talk with pride about their work to promote mental health by creating a mindfulness garden.

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better?

The school has endured a turbulent period of staffing and leadership instability. The trust acknowledges that this has led to a decline in standards that are evident in the most recent published outcomes. The recently appointed acting headteacher has brought stability to the school. Robust plans are now in place to bring about the necessary improvements. However, it is too early to see the impact on the quality of education that pupils receive.

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better?

The school understands the importance of reading. It ensures that pupils read and listen to a range of texts which builds their understanding of the world around them. Pupils love reading. They say that reading makes them feel that they are ‘inside a book’. Older pupils read a range of texts with increasing accuracy and expression. Pupils learn to read through a carefully sequenced phonic programme. Most pupils learn and remember new sounds well. Pupils read books that match the sounds they learn. This helps them to build fluency and confidence with their reading.

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better?

In some subjects, teachers have the subject knowledge they need to teach the curriculum effectively. This helps pupils build their knowledge well over time. In mathematics, for example, older pupils use their previous knowledge of shapes to confidently calculate the missing angles in a triangle. However, there are other subject areas where staff subject and pedagogical knowledge is not secure. In geography, learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ needs. Teachers do 21–22 May 2024

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not use assessment to check with precision that pupils have retained knowledge over time. As a result, some pupils struggle to recall their current learning about the physical features of different continents or make links to what they have learned before. This slows the progress pupils make though the curriculum.

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In the early years, the curriculum is not designed well. It does not make clear the small steps of learning that build children’s knowledge progressively. Staff do not design tasks to address children’s gaps in language or to extend their learning. As a result, many children are not well prepared for Year 1.

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The school is improving its systems to identify and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Where the support is effective, pupils with SEND progress through the curriculum well. For example, pupils develop their language skills, using words such as ‘mischievously’ in their writing. Despite this, the quality of this support varies across the school. This hampers the progress that some pupils with SEND make.

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Pupils play well with one another during social times. However, some pupils display negative attitudes to their learning and do not take pride in their work. The school has effective systems in place to track the attendance of pupils. This is leading to improvements in rates of attendance, particularly for those pupils who are persistently absent.

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The school’s ‘Learn Together’ curriculum is well designed. It enables pupils to develop their knowledge of concepts such as equality and to understand the importance of positive relationships. Despite this, pupils lack a secure knowledge of faiths and cultures different to their own.

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Trustees and local governors have an accurate understanding of what the school needs to do to improve. While staff appreciate the recent leadership changes, some have mixed views about their workload and the support they receive to manage pupil behaviour.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some of the wider curriculum subjects, the school has not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. This means that pupils do not learn more and remember more of the curriculum over time. The trust needs to ensure that all subjects identify the knowledge that pupils must learn, and when. 21–22 May 2024

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 Some teachers lack the necessary subject knowledge to teach their subjects well. They do not use assessment well enough to check that learning is secure or adapt learning to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. Pupils find it difficult to remember their learning, have gaps in their knowledge or struggle to access their learning because of this. The trust needs to ensure that teachers deliver the planned curriculum effectively to help pupils know more and remember more.  Expectations of behaviour are not high enough in some parts of the school. Some pupils do not show positive attitudes to their learning and disrupt others. The trust needs to ensure that staff have consistently high expectations of behaviour for all pupils.  The expectations for what children can achieve in the early years are not high enough. Children do not gain the knowledge and skills they need to learn well

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across the curriculum. As a result, they are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. The trust needs to ensure that there is a suitably ambitious early years curriculum that enables children to become confident and independent learners.

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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). 21–22 May 2024

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School details

Chair of trust Kate Aldworth (Co-chair of trustees) Kathy Brown (Co-chair of trustees)

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Headteacher

Sarah Phillips (Acting headteacher) Website www.redfieldet.org.uk

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Headteacher

Date(s) of previous inspection 22 and 23 March 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The acting headteacher has been in post since May 2024.  There have been staffing and senior leadership changes since the last inspection.  There is a before- and after- school club managed by the governing body.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) 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. 21–22 May 2024

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the acting headteacher, subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met with the co-chairs of trustees, the chief executive officer and representatives from the local academy board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics PE and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of pupils’ work and spoke to pupils about their learning.  Inspectors spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single

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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.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Darren Preece Ofsted Inspector 21–22 May 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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