Schools & FE · Report card

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Stoke Gifford

Inspected 15 Sept 2026 · published 9 Oct 2026 · URN 109228

Original PDF ↗

Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

James Oldham (lead), Caroline Musty, Hannah Williams, Lakmini Harkus

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

Achievement verified
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Early years verified
Expected standard
Inclusion verified
Expected standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
15 Sept 2026
Inspectors verified
Caroline Musty, Hannah Williams, James Oldham, Lakmini Harkus
Postcode verified
BS34 8SG
Name on report verified
St Michael's Church of England Primary School,
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
109228

Page 1 of 15

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

positive

The school is good overall, with strong safeguarding, attendance and personal development, but some teaching and monitoring needs strengthening.

Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe. Attendance is typically in line with or above national averages, and pupils behave well and are kind to each other. Published key stage 2 outcomes are generally in line with national averages, although some pupils do not deepen their knowledge enough and leaders do not always monitor new teaching approaches closely.

Going well

Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
Attendance is typically in line with or above national averages.
Pupils behave well and are kind to each other.
A broad extracurricular programme helps pupils develop talents and confidence.

To improve

Some pupils do not deepen their knowledge enough, so their work sometimes lacks detail.
Teaching does not always check that pupils have gained the most important knowledge and skills.
Leaders do not monitor the progress of pupils with SEND rigorously enough.
Leaders do not always monitor the implementation and impact of new teaching approaches.

Summary written by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the report text. It can miss nuance: the report itself is the record.

Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementExpected
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
Early yearsExpected
InclusionExpected
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+76Very positivemore positive than 55% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praiseeffectivepositiveconsistentlyeffectivelyambitioussecurethrivehigh expectations

Criticismconcernslackgapsabsencenot respectfullowernot precise

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1500w+76
Leadership242w+78
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve59w+56

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Leadership & governance46
“Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils with additional needs.” p.3
Teaching & assessment15
“They generally receive effective teaching and suitable adaptations if they have additional needs.” p.5
Progress & outcomes14
“Published outcomes at key stage 2 are consistently in line with national averages.” p.2
SEND & inclusion11
“For instance, pupils with SEND are typically set ambitious targets.” p.3
Attendance9
“For example, leaders have worked effectively to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.” p.2
Maths6
“They have started to gain the foundations they need to read, write and use number confidently.” p.5
Curriculum6
“A well-planned curriculum gives pupils an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.” p.4
Parents & families6
“Leaders build positive relationships with families.” p.2

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 15
Words of findings: 1,852; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 45, typical 43
Average sentence: 12 words
Next steps: 3; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 5%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 53%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 34%

Full report text

Stoke Gifford

Address: Ratcliffe Drive, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS34 8SG Unique reference number (URN): 109228

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Achievement Expected standard

Published outcomes at key stage 2 are consistently in line with national averages. These accurately reflect pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics. Pupils generally build their knowledge and skills well in other subjects, such as history and art. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress and typically achieve well. Disadvantaged pupils broadly achieve in line with their peers nationally.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Pupils generally secure the foundations that they need in reading, writing and number. The school’s phonic screening check outcomes have been sustained in line with national averages over time. Leaders have made improvements to the teaching of number. As a result, the published outcomes from last year's multiplication tables check do not reflect current pupils’ achievement.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Pupils are generally prepared well for their next steps. However, some pupils do not deepen their knowledge enough. This is reflected in the quality of their work and responses, which sometimes lack detail.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils’ attendance overall is typically in line with, or above, national averages. Some groups of pupils attend particularly well, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders ensure that attendance is given a high priority. Leaders carefully track and analyse the attendance of all pupils. This means that they are quick to identify when attendance is falling, and to offer timely interventions. Leaders build positive relationships with families. As a result, they overcome barriers to attendance together. For example, leaders have worked effectively to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school has a calm and positive atmosphere. Pupils behave well at social times and in lessons. Pupils are kind to each other. Bullying rarely occurs. Leaders are quick to take action if pupils are not respectful of one another. As a result, any form of abuse or discrimination is not tolerated. Pupils are generally motivated to learn and cooperate well with each other. On the whole, they live up to leaders’ expectations in classrooms, such as when listening to staff. When necessary, leaders make suitable adjustments and adaptations for pupils with SEND.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that pupils follow a broad and logically-ordered curriculum. For example, pupils build on their knowledge of number when learning mathematics later. In music, pupils write their own compositions and develop their instrument playing over time.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

On the whole, leaders have an accurate view of the quality of teaching. Teachers generally have the subject knowledge that they need to implement the curriculum. However, teaching sometimes does not check that pupils have gained the most important knowledge and skills. This sometimes hinders the progress that pupils make.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching generally ensures that pupils gain the foundations that they need. Pupils practise new skills, such as using their phonic knowledge to read with increasing accuracy and confidence. They typically secure the necessary handwriting skills. Leaders generally ensure that gaps in pupils’ basic skills are closed quickly. New approaches to develop pupils’ spoken and written language have started to strengthen this work further.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Pupils who face additional barriers to their learning, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, typically receive the teaching that they need. Leaders ensure that staff are aware of pupils’ needs and know what adaptations to make. Staff generally implement these well.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

Children receive the care and support that they need to thrive in Reception Year. Staff quickly form warm relationships with children and their parents. This enables children to make a smooth transition into the school. Children who have additional needs, such as identified or emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive extra care and help.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

Leaders have planned an appropriate curriculum to build children’s knowledge and skills. For example, children have opportunities to develop their physical abilities. They learn self- care, such as how to wash their hands. Effective classroom routines help children in readiness for key stage 1. For example, children learn to ‘walk and explore’.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

Teaching generally ensures that children gain secure foundations in preparation for reading and writing. Staff typically use assessment well to check children’s progress and inform next steps in learning. Leaders place a suitable emphasis on improving children’s communication skills. On the whole, staff develop children’s language well. This means that children broaden their vocabulary while they are learning.

p.3

Early years Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate view of the quality of the early years provision. They take effective action to check its impact and make improvements when necessary.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff know pupils’ needs well. Recent improvements to the identification of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have had a positive impact. Leaders work well with external professionals to assess pupils with SEND. Staff communicate effectively with families to ensure that they are part of planning and reviewing support.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils with additional needs. For instance, pupils with SEND are typically set ambitious targets. On occasions, however, leaders do not monitor rigorously enough the progress that pupils make towards these targets. As a result, staff do not make precise enough changes to the support that they provide. Staff are aware of the needs of pupils who face other barriers to learning. For instance, leaders provide appropriate information to staff about pupils known (or previously known) to social care. This enables staff to provide the right care and support to these pupils.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders maintain effective oversight of the learning and experiences of pupils who are disadvantaged. Leaders target pupil premium funding appropriately, such as to improve pupils’ attendance. This has successfully resulted in reductions to disadvantaged pupils’ absence.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They take action to make improvements, such as their recent work to enhance the identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. In many areas of the school’s work, leaders have embedded changes which are having a positive impact on pupils. For example, leaders have ensured a positive extracurricular experience for all.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Through an appropriate professional learning programme, leaders develop staff teaching expertise, including for those newest to teaching. Leaders collaborate with other schools and professional partners to improve the curriculum and teaching. However, at times, leaders do not monitor the implementation and impact of new teaching approaches. This sometimes hinders improvements intended to raise achievement further.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors perform their role well. They have a clear vision, are reflective, and hold leaders to account. For instance, governors provide ongoing challenge to leaders to help maintain the culture of safeguarding. Leaders provide governors with suitable insights into the school’s work. This helps governors to assure themselves of the school’s effectiveness. Governors support leaders to ensure that they manage resources effectively.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors and leaders are considerate of staff workload and wellbeing. They take proactive steps to support staff.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders engage well with parents and the wider school community. For example, leaders make connections with local industry and universities. Parents speak highly of the care and support that their children receive. This is underpinned by the school’s effective communication with home.

p.4