A primary school in north Bristol has seen its educational standards decline as a result of a previous curriculum which meant pupils were “not ready for the demands” of secondary education. Henbury Court Primary Academy, on Trevelyan Walk in Henbury, was inspected on October 1 and October 8.
During the inspection, inspectors rated the school as ‘Good’ in three key judgments, however both the quality of education and the leadership and management were rated as ‘Requires Improvement’. Prior to the changes in the way schools were judged, the quality of education was a limiting factor in what one or two-word judgement a school would have received.
The primary school has 279 pupils on its school roll and last year joined the Trust in Learning Academies. The previous Ofsted inspection, in March 2019, had rated the school as ‘Good’ across the board.
Pupils are “proud” to attend the “caring and welcoming” school, as they build positive relationships with each other and adults. This means that they are confident, playful and respectful, if pupils feel anxious then they know they can speak to an adult or use the worry box to share concerns.
High expectations of pupils’ behaviour start in the early years and alongside well-established routines, pupils settle in quickly. Pupils understand that respect and tolerance are important.
The curriculum has had some recent changes but has not yet impacted pupils’ learning. The report said: “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 two.”
This decline has been affected by many factors, including the Cobid-19 pandemic, low attendance and a weak curriculum. Published outcomes have shown that not enough pupils leave year six able to “read, write or apply mathematics sufficiently well for their age”. Support from the trust has meant some progress is being made.
The development of the curriculum is now a priority of the school, having implemented a more ambitious curriculum. Pupils are beginning to link learning across subjects, but in some subjects, effective checks are not being carried out to ensure that teachers teach the curriculum as intended. Some staff do not cover content in enough depth.
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The report said: “In some subjects, a legacy of a weak curriculum remains for some pupils, especially those in upper key stage two. Some struggle with spelling, grammar and problem-solving and this is because they have not mastered the basics in the preceding years.
“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 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.”
The school has set out the best way to teach the curriculum which helps pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn new concepts. Pupils with SEND have their needs identified early which enables the school to support them in the early years.
Attendance across the school has improved and specialist staff support pupils who may struggle with their behaviour, as a result incidents of poor behaviour have been reduced. A strong culture of teamwork from school leaders and directors asking questions of school leaders means the quality of education continues to “improve at pace”.
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