Barley Close Community Primary School

Inspection of Barley Close Community Primary School Barley Close, Mangotsfield, Bristol BS16 9DL

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 14 and 15 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Since the previous inspection, the school has prioritised the development of the curriculum. It is determined that all pupils will be successful. However, the curriculum developments are at an early stage. The curriculum does not yet support pupils to build their knowledge well over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They feel safe. They know that adults are there to help them if they have any worries. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. This begins in Reception Year, where routines are well established and adults have high expectations. The early years curriculum meets the needs of the children well. However, some older pupils struggle to concentrate when the curriculum is not ambitious enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is working hard to improve attendance. However, the high rate of absence is not reducing quickly. Pupils miss out on important learning too often.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is a strength. Pupils enjoy listening to the inspirational athletes from their community. Pupils learn about economic and financial management through the ‘bumble bees of honeywood’ project. This helps to prepare them for the future. Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs which the school offers, including football and yoga.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and ambitious. However, the curriculum developments are at an early stage. The school does not have an accurate understanding of the impact the curriculum has on pupils’ learning. Despite the fact that there are plans in place to rectify this, it prevents the school from fully understanding what is working well and addressing any shortcomings that may exist.

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better?

Reading is a priority for the school. From the moment children start in Reception Year, they learn to read. The strong focus on communication and language is an integral component of the early years curriculum. This supports children’s oracy skills and develops their use of ambitious vocabulary across all areas of learning. Adults are appropriately trained to teach phonics effectively. They quickly identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Pupils receive the support they need to catch up. Beyond phonics, there is a structured reading curriculum in place. This supports older pupils to understand concepts such as inference and retrieval. Adults read books to pupils from a wide range of authors. This makes daily ‘book talk’ an enjoyable experience for pupils.

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better?

The curriculum is not yet well sequenced to support all pupils to build their knowledge well. In mathematics, pupils are not secure with the basic number facts such as timetables and number bonds. This inhibits their ability to tackle more- complex problems because they lack fluency in the basic foundations. Some subjects are further developed than others. For example, in science, the school has designed 14 and 15 May 2024

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a curriculum that precisely identifies what pupils need to learn and remember. The strong focus on developing scientific vocabulary and opportunities to revisit previous learning helps pupils to build knowledge. However, this is still in the early stages of development.

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The school has prioritised the support it provides for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adults understand pupils’ needs well. However, these pupils experience the same weaknesses in the curriculum as other pupils.

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Most pupils are polite and well mannered. However, some pupils lose focus in lessons and become disengaged because the curriculum is not sufficiently well sequenced and gaps in their knowledge are not addressed. Some pupils say they find it hard to concentrate on their learning at times.

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Attendance of pupils across the school is low. The school has worked hard to improve attendance for some individuals. However, the information the school holds about pupils’ attendance is not analysed well. This hampers the school’s ability to spot patterns and tackle absence effectively.

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The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum supports pupils to understand the importance of how to be a responsible citizen. Pupils know that a democratic process is a fair approach to selecting leaders. They experience this first hand through the appointment of class ‘learning detectives’. The school promotes healthy living through the PSHE curriculum. Pupils can explain the dangers of smoking and alcohol. They learn how to swim and how to safely cross the road. Pupils talk confidently about how to keep themselves safe online. The ‘start small, dream big’ project provides opportunities for pupils to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workshops at university. All of this widens pupils’ horizons and prepares them well, as they look to their adult life.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is not well designed and sequenced. This means that pupils do not build a secure schema of important knowledge and they have gaps in their understanding. The school needs to design a well-structured curriculum, so that pupils build on what they know, and then check what pupils remember.  The processes for analysing and monitoring attendance are not rigorous enough. Too often, pupils miss out on important learning. The school should ensure there is a systematic approach to resolving attendance issues and make sure that pupils catch up on missed learning. 14 and 15 May 2024

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 The school does not yet understand the impact the curriculum has on pupils’ learning. As a result, it does not have an accurate understanding of what pupils know and remember or any gaps they have. The school needs to ensure that all aspects of its work are evaluated effectively so that pupils build knowledge well over time.

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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). 14 and 15 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 June 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative providers.  The school runs a before-school and after-school club.

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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 met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, special educational needs coordinator, members of the local governing board and representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and science. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the 14 and 15 May 2024

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curriculum, 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.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments and the staff surveys.

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Inspection team

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

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Inspection team

Sandy Hayes Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 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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