Henbury Court Primary Academy

Inspection of Henbury Court Primary Academy Trevelyan Walk, Henbury, Bristol BS10 7NY

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

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The headteacher of this school is Jake Howarth-Brown. This school is part of Trust in Learning Academies, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Sue Elliot, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anne Rutherford. 1 and 8 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to belong to this caring and welcoming school. Through positive relationships with each other and adults, pupils demonstrate the school’s values of being confident, playful, respectful and working as a team. If pupils feel anxious, they know they can speak to an adult or use the worry box to share concerns. This ensures that pupils’ voices are heard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over time, the curriculum has not equipped pupils with the knowledge they need to achieve well. Too many pupils leave the school not ready for the demands of secondary education. The school has raised expectations of what pupils can achieve and made bold changes to improve the curriculum. However, some changes are recent and have not had time to fully impact pupils’ learning, especially in upper key stage 2.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Well-established routines and high expectations of pupils’ behaviour start in the early years. Children settle in quickly. The school’s ‘golden rules’ guide pupils to make the right choices in their work and play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that respect and tolerance are important. They proudly talk about the different flags in the hall that celebrate each pupil’s diverse cultural background. Special events like the Iftar during Ramadan and ‘cultural week’ develop a sense of belonging.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Many factors have negatively impacted pupils’ learning over time. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, low attendance and a weak curriculum. Published outcomes show that not enough pupils leave the school in Year 6 able to read, write or apply mathematics sufficiently well for their age. With expert support from the trust, the school is now moving forward at pace.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Curriculum development is at the forefront of the school’s work. Recently, the school has introduced a more ambitious curriculum. It sets out the important knowledge pupils need to learn and the order in which it will be taught. Pupils are beginning to link learning across subjects. For example, in geography, they learn how rivers are formed. This helps them understand the importance of the River Nile to Ancient Egyptian civilisation. However, in some subjects, the school does not carry out effective checks to ensure that teachers teach the curriculum as intended. Some staff do not cover content in sufficient depth. This limits the breadth of knowledge some pupils acquire.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In some subjects, a legacy of a weak curriculum remains for some pupils, especially those in upper key stage 2. Some struggle with spelling, grammar and problem-solving. This is because they have not mastered the basics in the preceding years. Rightly, this continues to be a priority for the school, including for pupils who need support to develop their reading fluency.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school does not routinely check what pupils know and remember in lessons and over time in some subjects. Therefore, some gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not identified 1 and 8 October 2024

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quickly enough. However, it is more positive for reading. In the early years, children gain a love of stories, songs and rhymes. A clearly structured phonics programme is in place. Staff use ongoing checks to pinpoint and help pupils who need extra support. As a result, more pupils than previously are remembering the sounds they need to read.

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The school has set out the most effective way to teach the curriculum. For example, in mathematics, staff use practical equipment to help pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn new concepts. Pupils with SEND have their needs identified early. Staff work closely with parents and specialists. This successfully supports children in the early years with speech and language difficulties.

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The school has raised expectations of attendance. It works with families and takes swift action if a pupil’s attendance declines. Consequently, the school is beginning to see improvements in attendance. Equally, specialist staff provide support to pupils who may struggle with their behaviour. They give pupils strategies to manage their emotions so they can learn alongside their peers. As a result, incidents of poor behaviour have been reduced. Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning.

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The school plans a range of experiences beyond the classroom to prepare pupils for modern life. For example, visits to the Houses of Parliament support pupils’ understanding of democracy. ‘Golden time’ activities such as choir and cooking develop pupils’ interests and cultural experiences beyond the classroom. Older pupils proudly take on leadership responsibilities as school councillors. They learn to be positive advocates for others.

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School leaders want the best for pupils. They have cultivated a strong culture of teamwork. Staff appreciate how leaders consider their workload. Directors and trustees ask searching questions of school leaders about the quality of education so that it continues to improve at pace.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A legacy of a weak curriculum remains for some groups of pupils, notably in upper key stage 2. As a result, some pupils have not mastered the essential knowledge and skills to support fluent reading, writing and mathematics. The trust should continue to eradicate the legacy of underachievement so that pupils achieve consistently well in all subjects and are ready for the next stage of their education.  In some subjects, the school does not use assessment with enough precision to check what pupils know and remember both within and over a series of lessons. As a result, some gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not identified or closed quickly enough. The trust needs to ensure that staff are equipped with the knowledge to use assessment 1 and 8 October 2024

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effectively to check on pupils’ understanding and to inform future learning.  The school has not checked the impact of the curriculum in some subjects with enough rigour. Consequently, some staff do not cover content in sufficient depth. This limits the breadth of knowledge pupils acquire. The trust should ensure that the school strengthens its checks and evaluation of the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 1 and 8 October 2024

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School details

Chair of trust Anne Rutherford (Interim)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 Changes to leadership have occurred since the previous inspection. The headteacher took up post in September 2021.  The school joined Trust in Learning Academies, a multi-academy trust of primary and secondary schools in Bristol, in August 2023.  The school currently 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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 1 and 8 October 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  The inspection started on 1 October 2024. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. Inspectors returned on 8 October 2024 to complete the inspection.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher and other school staff. Inspectors met with the interim chair of trustees. They also met with the executive trust directors and the CEO of the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the

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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 computing and geography.  Inspectors listened to pupils in Years 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 reading.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors met the designated safeguarding lead; checked the single central record of adults working in the school; took account of the views of 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 during breaktime and lunchtime. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how the school supports their workload and well-being.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day. They considered responses

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to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

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

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Inspection team

Dale Burr, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough His Majesty’s Inspector 1 and 8 October 2024

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