Ofsted said that the “quality of education that pupils receive is not yet good” as a result of an inspection of a primary school near Bristol. Severn Beach Primary School, on Ableton Lane in Severn Beach, was previously rated as ’Good’ in 2019, but has seen standards drop slightly.
Whilst the behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision at the school was rated as ‘Good’, the quality of education and leadership and management was judged as ‘Requires improvement’. Inspectors found that the curriculum and the systems in place to monitor the impact of actions taken prevented the school from achieving better when they visited the South Gloucestershire school on September 24 and 25.
The 149 pupils on the school roll enjoy attending the school, describing it as a “kind place”. They feel safe and value the “warm and respectful” relationships with staff.
Severn Beach Primary has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour which starts in the early years, as a result, pupils are polite and well-mannered. There is a calm atmosphere across the school as pupils follow school rules well.
The report said: “Despite this, the quality of education that pupils receive is not yet good. Pupils do not always remember important knowledge in some subjects, they then struggle to make links to what they have learned before. This means they do not learn as well as they should in these subjects.”
The curriculum
Ofsted found that the primary school is ambitious for all pupils and with support from the Castle School Education Trust, it has ensured that the curriculum makes clear what pupils need to know and when. But this vision is yet to be “fully realised” and the implementation of the curriculum does not enable pupils to build knowledge well enough throughout the school.
The report said: “The school has put in place systems to monitor and evaluate the impact of its actions. In some cases, these are well used to improve the quality of education pupils receive.
“However, at times, the school does not yet use these systems as effectively as it could. For example, the reasons for gaps in pupils’ knowledge in some subjects are not yet considered with enough precision. This prevents the school from accurately understanding what is working well and addressing any shortcomings that may exist.
“Published outcomes in September 2023 were significantly below national averages in phonics. With the support of the trust, the school is responding to this and it has recently adopted a new sequenced phonics programme. Staff value the training they receive, which helps them to understand this new approach.
“However, it is too early to see the impact on pupils and there are still inconsistencies in the delivery of the phonics curriculum. While children in the early years learn and remember their new sounds well, this is not yet the case for some older pupils. Some books are not well matched to the letters and sounds that pupils are learning, as a result, they are not securing phonics knowledge as quickly and effectively as they could.”
In some subjects, the curriculum is implemented better by teachers, including mathematics. But in the wider curriculum, checks that teachers make are not yet used well enough to identify gaps in knowledge or to inform future learning.
The school has effective systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The individual support plans are described as “precise” and pupils with SEND progress through the curriculum well.
“Children in the early years are eager to learn”
The report said: “Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning. Children in the early years are eager to learn and follow instructions carefully. Pupils of all ages enjoy the range of activities on offer to them during social times.
“The school manages attendance effectively. It works well with families to understand and resolve attendance issues. As a result, most pupils attend school regularly.”
The personal development on offer at the school is “rich and varied” and pupils develop their character by completing different projects and schemes outside the school, including with a local university.
Trustees and local governors have an accurate understanding of what the school does well and where it needs to improve, an improvement where previously the oversight had not been as “rigorous”.
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