A primary school in south Bristol where “the learning journey is an adventure” has been praised by Ofsted during an inspection in December. West Town Lane Academy, on West Town Lane in Brislington, was judged to have maintained a ‘Good’ educational standards in an ungraded inspection on December 3 and 4.
The primary school, with 645 pupils on its school roll, was rated as ‘Good’ in 2019 and the inspection in December confirms that the school remains as ‘Good’. Ofsted praised the school for its environment, which makes pupils feel secure.
Inspectors said that Mable the dog helps to sooth pupils’ anxieties, carefully designed classrooms provide a calm space to learn and little library areas and a family of hens creates an environment which helps pupils develop into “confident and curious individuals”. Staff help create a caring ethos around the school.
Pupils work hard in lessons and build their resilience and determination. They are proud of their school and of their work. Pupils told inspectors that bullying incidents are rare.
The report said: “Clear, strategic thinking at all levels drives school improvement. School leaders, including governors, analyse and evaluate all aspects of the school’s work effectively. There is a determination that the school does all it can to help pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well.
“Working on the right priorities at the right time helps to secure consistently high standards. The school uses a wide range of external expertise to ensure that staff receive high-quality professional development. These opportunities are closely matched to the school’s improvement priorities.
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“Teachers skilfully encourage pupils to be fully involved in their learning. Pupils recognise that the school helps them to become resilient learners. They proudly and readily identify examples of work where they have kept trying, even when they have found something more difficult.
“The curriculum from nursery onwards is designed well and the school checks how well pupils learn in different subjects, and adapts how the curriculum is delivered as needed. This helps most pupils to learn the curriculum successfully, including pupils with SEND, whose needs are swiftly and accurately identified by the school. However, for a few pupils who are working below expectations, assessment information does not identify exactly what pupils need to learn next.”
Reading has been prioritised at the school, stories and songs are the basis of learning in the early years and by the end of pupils’ time at the school, they read widely and write with skill. Teachers are skilled at delivering the phonics programme.
Pupils who fall behind in the phonics programme are identified. However, at times, pupils do not receive the support they need to develop their reading fluency as well as they should.
The report said: “The school works in partnership with parents and carers to ensure that pupils arrive at school on time and attend well. Careful tracking of patterns of attendance ensures that the school is swift to identify any pupils whose attendance declines. Recent work to support families to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils has been successful.
“The school provides a strong programme of personal development for pupils. The school’s work to support pupils to develop their character is a strength. Pupils benefit from a rich range of extra-curricular activities and experiences, such as listening to visitors talking about different careers, which helps pupils to raise their aspirations and to be confident about what they can achieve.
“Community links are strong and used to further enhance pupils’ learning. Pupils experience a wide range of responsibilities, such as being healthy heroes or anti-bullying ambassadors. As a result of these wide experiences, pupils are respectful of others and kind to each other.”
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