Tortworth Primary School

Tortworth Primary School

Address: Tortworth, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 8HG Unique reference number (URN): 150017

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

New leaders have prioritised improving the quality of curriculum and teaching. They recognise where they need to make further improvements and respond accordingly. The school, with the support of the trust, has revised the curriculum so that it is more ambitious for pupils.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have focused on ensuring that teachers have the expertise they need to teach the new curriculum effectively. For example, using the Tortworth lesson structure to enable pupils to revisit prior learning and make links between their learning over time. Consequently, the quality of teaching is typically effective in supporting pupils to understand and remember their learning. This is benefiting all pupils, but particularly those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders are acutely aware that pupils are not currently achieving as highly as they should. As a result, they are prioritising making sure that pupils have the foundational skills they need to be successful. For example, teachers are specifically focused on ensuring that pupils have the oracy skills and vocabulary needed to talk about their learning. Where pupils have gaps in their understanding, caused by previous classroom experiences, staff provide additional support to help pupils catch up.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders are clear that all pupils, especially those who have barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, should thrive at the school. They use additional funding, such as the pupil premium, appropriately to support pupils. For example, providing reading interventions or mental health support. Where the school uses alternative provision, it is in the best interests of pupils. The school works closely with other professionals, such as social care and health professionals, to advocate for pupils experiencing challenging times in their lives. Leaders are also proactively seeking ways to work more closely with families to support pupils. For example, through review meetings and invitations to guest professional events held at the school.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have strengthened systems for identifying the individual needs of pupils. Teachers have the information they need to plan how to adapt their teaching to meet pupils’ needs. The improvement in the quality of teaching seen across the school is particularly beneficial for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders now have closer oversight of how well pupils are progressing with their learning. This means that interventions can be more sharply focused on supporting pupils to catch up and keep up with their peers.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

School and trust leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and priority areas for improvement. There is a clear commitment to rapidly make the changes needed for the benefit of pupils. The new leadership of the school has prioritised raising the quality of teaching so that pupils can achieve more and are supported to overcome any barriers to their learning. Leaders provide professional learning opportunities for staff so that they can be successful in their roles. This includes working in partnership with other schools in the trust to share expertise. Those who are new to the teaching profession receive additional mentoring and support. The actions that leaders are taking are beginning to make a difference. During this period of change, leaders have remained considerate of the workload and wellbeing of staff. As a result, staff are highly positive about working at the school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Trustees and local committee members understand their roles in both challenging and supporting the school. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities for areas such as safeguarding and finance. However, they recognise that pupils have not achieved highly enough or attended as well as they should. While the school has made some progress in these areas, they remain key priorities for the future. Equally leaders recognise that recently some parents have been unhappy with their children's experience at the school due to frequent changes of staffing. Therefore, the trust has provided additional resources to support the school to resolve these issues.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have planned a personal development curriculum that includes taught lessons as well as carefully chosen opportunities such as assemblies and guest speakers. Leaders ensure pupils learn about local risks such as the railway. They understand what is important in a healthy relationship as well as how to use the internet safely. Consequently, pupils know how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Pupils know that adults will help them with any concerns, such as feeling upset or worried. This helps them to feel cared for.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils are kind and respectful to each other. They have enjoyed learning about different religions and cultures. Pupils particularly relish debating topics so that they can consider different views. For example, considering the impact of deforestation on the environment. Pupils talk confidently about how the school values mirror those that are important in modern Britain. The school council is currently working to improve the Peace Garden by seeking everyone’s views; an example of democracy in action. Pupils are keen to take on additional responsibilities. For example, helping to care for Bella the school wellbeing dog or acting as hall helpers serving lunch to younger pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils enjoy a range of trips and extra-curricular activities. A particular highlight for pupils is the school camp, which help to develop their confidence and teamwork skills. Pupils are proud to represent the school, such as playing for the school football team. Leaders commit to ensuring all pupils take part in additional activities. They have significantly increased the opportunities taking place during the school day to assist with this. For example, the lunchtime Fitness Frenzy session has a high take up from pupils of all ages.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils and children in the early years are not as well prepared for their next stage of education as they should be. Pupils learn to read confidently and accurately. However, the quality of their written work and their mathematical understanding are not of the same standard. The recent published outcomes and the current work produced by pupils reflects this. This is hindering how successfully pupils can move on to their next stage of education.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have made improvements to the curriculum and enhanced the quality of teaching, including raising staff expectations about what pupils can achieve. However, the gaps in what pupils know and can do, caused by their previous classroom experiences, remain. Leaders are now increasingly identifying these gaps and supporting pupils to catch up and keep up with their peers. Nevertheless, these gaps continue to negatively impact pupil achievement, particularly for the oldest pupils.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders have raised expectations for attendance and communicated these clearly with pupils and their families. Leaders have put in place systems to track and monitor pupils' attendance. Staff work with pupils and their families to understand their individual barriers to attending school. They plan appropriate support in response. The early impact of this work is positive with overall attendance starting to rise. However, the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school remains high. Consequently, these pupils are not benefiting from all the school has to offer.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils are clear about the school rules and appreciate it when teachers consistently apply these. This means that pupils typically behave well in lessons and around the site. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and adults. They are not concerned about bullying because, on the rare occasion it happens, they know adults will help them to resolve it. Where pupils need additional help to change their behaviour, leaders act swiftly and in the best interests of children. This has led to a reduction in the number of suspensions. Pupils are proud to achieve rewards for the effort they have made with their learning.

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Early years Needs attention

Children in the early years are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they should be. New leaders are clear about the changes needed to improve the quality of education within this phase and have begun to act. They have introduced a new curriculum to better meet the needs of children. For example, introducing diverse high-quality texts to develop children’s language skills. However, this work is recent and therefore the positive impact on children’s knowledge and understanding is not currently fully realised.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders have provided training for staff to raise their expectations of what children can do. Staff have now established routines across the day so that children can practice the skills they have learned and build their independence. There is ongoing support for staff to ensure that phonics is consistently taught well and that pupils develop the foundational skills for writing. However, these changes are also recent and therefore the gaps in children’s knowledge and understanding caused by their previous experiences remain.

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Early years Needs attention

Children are happy and their trusted adults make them feel safe. Staff build positive relationships with families so that they can work together to support children. Leaders have strengthened systems for identifying the individual needs of children. This means that help is now focused on supporting pupils to make progress from their starting points.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils at Tortworth Primary School enjoy school. They trust adults and know that they are safe. Staff know pupils well as individuals. Staff identify pupils’ barriers to learning and/or wellbeing and provide help to overcome these. Leaders have recently introduced a new curriculum and raised expectations for what pupils should know. However, their previous inconsistent classroom experiences have resulted in gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. As a result, the quality of pupils’ written work and their depth of mathematical understanding are not as high as their reading accuracy and fluency. While leaders are providing pupils with the support they need to catch up, this work is recent and the full impact is not yet evident.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils have respectful relationships with adults and each other. Pupils in Reception are warmly welcomed into the school. The clear school rules mean that pupils typically behave well and bullying is never tolerated. Leaders have raised expectations for regular attendance with pupils and their families. Attendance is starting to improve; however, it remains below that of pupils nationally. Leaders are clear that too many pupils are persistently absent from school. This is impacting on how well they achieve.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are proud of their school. They relish the recently introduced student leadership roles. For example, play leaders act as positive role models, including everyone in activities at lunchtimes. Pupils understand why the school values are important both in the school and the wider community. For example, they recognise why respect for others and responsibility for their actions are part of being a positive citizen in Britain. The school, with the support of the trust, has widened the range of trips and clubs available to pupils. This helps pupils to find new talents and interests such as learning to play golf or performing in the choir.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that they continue to address the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding so that pupils in all phases have the skills that they need to be ready for their next stage of education. Leaders should ensure that teaching is of a consistently high quality across all subjects and phases. Leaders should ensure that their attendance strategy is quickly improving attendance and reducing persistent absence of pupils so that they attend well.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 1 July 2026

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School and pupil context

Leaders should ensure that the Early Years provision enables children to make a positive start to school by securing solid foundations in key skills such as letter formation, reading and listening skills.

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About this inspection

The school is part of the CSET 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, William Roberts, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Simon MacSorley.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with school and trust leaders. Inspectors also spoke with teaching staff, support staff and representatives of those responsible for governance.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The Headteacher joined the school in September 2025. During this academic year there have been a significant of staffing changes across the school, including in senior leadership roles.

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About this inspection

The school makes use of 1 unregistered alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support. National average: 3.5%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (final) 67% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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