St Werburgh's Primary School

Inspection of St Werburgh’s Primary School James Street, St Werburgh’s, Bristol, Bristol BS2 9US

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding 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 Helen Faulkner. This school is part of the Cathedral Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer Neil Blundell, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Eastwood. 10 and 11 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are at the heart of this diverse and inclusive school. Leaders have high expectations and want all pupils to achieve well. The school values of ‘kindness, curiosity and commitment’ are evident in the way pupils interact with adults and their peers on a day-to-day basis. The school supports pupils in making the right choices.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and enjoy coming to school. They value their friendships. Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to their learning. Pastoral support is strong. This enables pupils to engage effectively in their learning and their own personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They are polite and considerate towards others. Pupils live up to adults’ high expectations of behaviour. They understand the importance of being ‘respectful, responsible and safe’. The school is a calm and purposeful place to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places high importance on developing pupils as individuals. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the education and the opportunities the school provides. One commented, ‘The school goes beyond teaching the bare bones of the curriculum and help my child thrive as an individual and grow important skills for life.’ Diversity is celebrated. Pupils are highly tolerant and accept everyone’s uniqueness.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all. It provides a wealth of experiences for pupils to develop their resilience and become lifelong learners. A culture of teamwork and respect exists across the school community. Staff appreciate the range of opportunities that support their own development and expertise.

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better?

Reading is prioritised and is central to the school’s curriculum. High-quality texts support pupils’ enjoyment of reading. Reading is lived and breathed at the school. There is a sharp focus on ensuring all children learn to read. The structured and consistent approach to the teaching of phonics helps children become confident and resilient readers. Books match the sounds children are learning. Careful checking of what children know and can do ensures those who struggle keep up. Older pupils talk confidently about the books they read in class. They understand the importance of mastering the skill of reading.

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better?

The school has implemented a well sequenced curriculum that maps out the specific content and knowledge they expect pupils to know and remember. Vocabulary forms an integral part of the curriculum design. For example, in mathematics, a focus on the explicit teaching of vocabulary supports pupils to develop their reasoning and explanation skills, including for those in early years. In history, pupils are able to recall and explain terms, such as ‘deforestation’ and ‘polytheistic’ in reference to the Mayan civilisation. However, for disadvantaged pupils, strategies to address gaps in 10 and 11 July 2024

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their learning, particularly in writing and mathematics, remain in the early stages of implementation. As a result, some of these pupils are not as well prepared as their peers for the next stage in their education.

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The school tailors learning to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, colour coding in music supports pupils with SEND to play glockenspiels with increasing confidence and success. Careful and rigorous identification and ongoing checks of pupils’ needs ensure swift support is put in place. Parent and child voice forms the co-production of individual plans.

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Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. Established routines from the early years result in respectful and supportive relationships. As a result, pupils across the school are ready to learn. If pupils dysregulate, staff act with sensitivity and care to re-engage them.

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Pupils’ personal development is a high priority within the school’s curriculum and beyond. The school provides opportunities to enable pupils to think about their future. For example, the school holds a careers fair to enable older pupils to consider and develop their aspirations. Pupils receive a wealth of wider enrichment opportunities identified through the ‘Passport of Experience’. They know how to be a good friend and have detailed knowledge about discrimination. Explicit and sensitive teaching through the curriculum and assemblies supports all pupils in being secure and confident in their understanding of difference. Pupils study a range of religions and have many opportunities to visit places of worship. Within the diversity of the school, pupils systematically reflect on their own and the beliefs of others with care and respect.

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Governors and trust leaders share the same ambition as the rest of the school community. They support the school through relevant challenge to build on the school’s current successes. Decisions taken are made in the best interest of pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Strategies to address gaps in learning for some disadvantaged pupils, particularly in writing and mathematics, remain in the early stages of implementation. As a result, some disadvantaged pupils do not progress as well as their peers through the curriculum. The trust should ensure that a high focus on meeting the needs of this group of pupils is embedded so that all pupils are ready for the next stage of their education. 10 and 11 July 2024

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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). 10 and 11 July 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Werburgh’s Primary School is part of Cathedral Schools Trust.

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Information about this school

 St Werburgh’s Primary School converted to become an academy in August 2021. When its predecessor school, St Werburgh’s Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.

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Information about this school

 The school uses two registered alternative provisions.

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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. 10 and 11 July 2024

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 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.

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 Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, other senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the deputy designated safeguarding leads, a representative from the academy trust and members of the local governing body.

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.

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 Inspectors considered the 124 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 86 free-text responses, 31 responses to the pupil survey and 37 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Robinson Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 July 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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