Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School Station Road, Flax Bourton, Bristol BS48 1UA

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Steve Lung. This school is part of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Gary Lewis, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Adele Haysom.

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School to be outstanding for overall effectiveness, before it opened as an academy. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 23 and 24 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning at this school. They are eager to learn and play with their friends. Consequently, pupils have high rates of attendance. Recently, the school has raised its expectations of what pupils can achieve academically. Pupils now learn more across the curriculum than they did in the past. However, the school knows there is still more to do in this respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has implemented a new behaviour policy. It has ensured that both staff and pupils understand what is expected of them. As a result, most pupils typically behave well. A minority of parents and carers do not share this view. However, staff deal effectively with any poor behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The early years is a strength of the school. Staff welcome children with open arms and help them to feel comfortable in their new surroundings. Children acquire new learning well as a result. Older pupils are courteous and articulate when talking to visitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures it prepares pupils for life beyond the locality. For example, it has twinned with a school in a contrasting location. This helps pupils to develop their understanding of diversity in modern Britain. Pupils learn to become independent through residential trips.

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

The school, governors and the trust have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. By the end of key stage 2, most pupils achieve the expected standard in English and mathematics. This ensures that they are ready for their next stage of education. However, leaders recognise that too few pupils achieve the higher standard in these subjects. The school has changed much of the curriculum in order for pupils to learn more. These changes have been sensitively made to avoid impacting negatively on staff’s workload.

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

The curriculum is ambitious in what it expects pupils to know. Pupils learn content in a logical order that helps them to build on prior learning well. Pupils demonstrate effective recall of their learning. For example, pupils can talk confidently about key historical figures.

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

Alongside the changes to the curriculum, the school has invested in training for staff to deliver it effectively. Teachers value this input and feel it has helped to improve their teaching. Leaders provide effective, regular feedback to staff that helps them to improve their teaching further.

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

However, some improvements in teaching strategies are not fully embedded. For example, although teachers regularly check on what pupils know, they do not always use this information to inform their teaching. Consequently, sometimes pupils complete work that is too easy and does not deepen their understanding. 23 and 24 April 2025

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Pupils learn the phonics curriculum well. This is because it is implemented to a high standard. This starts straight away in the Reception Year. Teachers have strong subject knowledge that enables them to spot pupils who need extra help. Staff give these pupils effective support, enabling them to catch up and keep up. Pupils read books that closely match the sounds they know. This helps them to become fluent and confident readers. High outcomes in the 2024 phonics screening check reflect this success.

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The school has made improvements to its systems for identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It regularly checks to see if these pupils require further support. However, there remains variation in how well this support is implemented. Sometimes, pupils are set targets that are not precise enough, or teachers do not make the adaptations that these pupils need consistently. When this happens, pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they could.

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The school has an effective personal development programme. It has carefully organised this so that pupils’ character development is placed at the heart of it. Older pupils learn to be caring and compassionate. For example, they support children in the early years in a buddy system. Pupils learn about world events and moral issues during assemblies. This helps them to become sympathetic world citizens. The school has strong links with its community. For example, the school choir sings in a local care home. The school council gives pupils a voice in the school and helps them to understand how democracy works.

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Most parents have positive views of the school. They rightly consider that the school has a warm and welcoming feel. However, a minority of parents do not feel concerns are dealt with effectively. The governors and trust are aware of this. They ensure that any concerns are dealt with in line with the trust policies. The school and the trust make additional checks to ensure that pupils learn in a positive, safe environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On some occasions, teachers do not consider well enough what pupils can already do. When this happens, they provide pupils with work that is not ambitious enough and does not deepen their knowledge as much as it could. The trust should ensure that staff provide pupils with tasks that enable them to develop a rich body of knowledge.  On some occasions, staff do not follow the agreed processes for pupils with SEND. They do not set targets that are precise enough or ensure that pupils receive the adaptations that they require consistently. As a result, some pupils with SEND struggle to learn the curriculum as well as they could. The trust should ensure that staff routinely provide pupils with SEND the support that they require to make progress through the curriculum. 23 and 24 April 2025

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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). 23 and 24 April 2025

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School details

Website www.flaxbourton.n-somerset.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Lighthouse Schools Partnership.  This is a Church of England school in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The school had its last Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools in December 2022. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within five school years of this date.  The headteacher took up his post in September 2023.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. 23 and 24 April 2025

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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with the trust’s executive leaders, the headteacher, groups of staff, groups of pupils, the CEO of the trust, the chair of the trust and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted Parent View and by talking to parents. The inspectors also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jason Edge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

James Oldham His Majesty’s Inspector 23 and 24 April 2025

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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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