Easton CofE Primary School

Inspection of Easton CofE Primary School Beaufort Street, Easton, Bristol, Bristol BS5 0SQ

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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 Clare Welbourne. This school is part of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership Multi-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 (CEO), Gary Lewis, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Adele Haysom. 29 and 30 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and welcome at this diverse, inclusive school. The school’s vision of ‘being different, belonging together’ helps pupils to appreciate the common ground that people of different faiths, cultures and backgrounds share. This helps pupils and their families to feel welcome and included in the school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has recently raised its expectations of what pupils can achieve. It is developing a curriculum that is broad and ambitious for all pupils. Published outcomes show that pupils do not achieve well enough. In contrast, pupils attending ‘The Meadow’ specially resourced provision and those in the early years are well prepared for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get high-quality pastoral support, which helps them to settle into the school and to manage any challenges they face. The trips and visitors that the school arranges enhance pupils’ learning and broaden their horizons. For instance, work with universities has raised pupils’ aspirations for their futures.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. The school environment is harmonious and calm. Praise and rewards remind pupils of the high expectations that staff have of their conduct. Learning is rarely interrupted by poor behaviour. Pupils show respect and kindness in their relationships with others.

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

The school has experienced a period of significant turbulence and uncertainty prior to joining Lighthouse Schools Partnership Multi-Academy Trust in January 2025. Leaders have identified the right areas to focus on in order to improve the quality of education. However, work to broaden the curriculum is at an early stage.

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

Pupils remember what they have learned. They talk about their learning with confidence and accuracy. However, their written work does not consistently show what they know and can do. This stops them from achieving as well as they could. The school has begun to focus on improving pupils’ writing.

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

Teaching consistently focuses on building pupils’ vocabulary, starting with the very youngest children in the early years. This particularly supports the large number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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

Most of the work pupils complete is well aligned to the knowledge and skills that staff want them to build. However, it is not clear exactly what pupils should learn in some curriculum subjects. Additionally, checks on pupils’ learning are not made consistently well. This means that gaps in pupils’ knowledge persist. The school is beginning to improve the consistency of how well assessment is used.

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

Pupils of all ages love reading, particularly when they read about children who they see as ‘just like me’. Staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. Children in the early years 29 and 30 April 2025

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begin to learn to read as soon as they start school. However, too many pupils beyond the early years cannot read well enough. The school has put new systems in place to address these gaps so that pupils are beginning to catch up.

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The school accurately identifies pupils’ additional needs. Staff provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those for whom English is an additional language. Consequently, these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers. The curriculum for pupils attending the specially resourced provision is highly appropriate for their needs.

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Pupils learn about relationships in an age-appropriate way. The way that the school supports pupils when they have disagreements helps them to understand how to resolve differences they may have with others. Pupils know how to stay safe, including online, and how to maintain good physical and mental health. Children in the early years learn to manage their feelings and to cooperate with others.

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Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Frequent discussions help them to explore complex topics, share their views and understand how to respectfully disagree with the views of others.

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The school uses the strong relationships they build with families to act in the best interests of children. For instance, understanding the barriers to attendance that pupils face has informed action to remove these. As a result, absenteeism has reduced.

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The school is ensuring that staff have the knowledge that they need to teach the curriculums that are being developed. It has taken staff well-being and workload into account, being careful in how it prioritises improvements that are being made.

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Those responsible for governance have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. There are robust systems in place to ensure leaders have the oversight that they need to help the school improve. The trust is providing precise expertise to ensure that the school provides a high-quality education that prepares pupils well for their futures.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The recent changes that the school has made to the curriculum and assessment are not embedded. The curriculum is not broad enough and the school is not able to assure itself that pupils gain sufficient knowledge. The trust and school must implement the broader curriculum and assessment effectively in all subjects. 29 and 30 April 2025

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 The school does not ensure that pupils are able to demonstrate their knowledge in their written work. Pupils’ writing is not of consistently high quality and does not communicate all that they know and can do. The school needs to ensure that pupils communicate their knowledge in their written work so that their writing reflects the curriculum that they learn.  The school has been too slow to take action to improve the curriculum. As a result, pupils have not learned a broad and ambitious curriculum that prepares them well for their next stage in education. The school and trust must ensure that they take prompt and robust action when needed, and that they check on the impact of their actions.

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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). 29 and 30 April 2025

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. This provides education for 12 pupils with autistic spectrum disorder.  The school is part of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership Multi-Academy Trust, which it joined in January 2025, shortly before the inspection took place.  This is a Church of England school, within the diocese of Bristol. The most recent inspection under section 48 of the education act took place in 2017, and the next one should take place in 2025. Section 48 inspections focus on the impact of a Church school’s Christian vision.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  Few pupils receive their entire primary education at the school. Many pupils leave and arrive throughout each year. 29 and 30 April 2025

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 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.  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.  An inspector met with those involved in local governance, a representative of the diocese, the chair of trustees and staff from the multi academy trust, including the CEO.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and the views of staff Ofsted’s online survey. No pupils completed Ofsted’s online survey.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors spoke to pupils and staff in meetings and around the school site.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and history.  For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the 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 reading curriculum, visited a selection of lessons and reviewed pupils’ work in other subjects, including art and English.

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Inspection team

Sarah Favager-Dalton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Vaughan Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 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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