Filton Avenue Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality and consistency of teaching to raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics, particularly in key stage 2, by ensuring that teachers:
  • quickly identify and respond to pupils’ misconceptions and common errors, including in spelling, punctuation and grammar, to write with increased accuracy for meaning
  • use assessment information to plan work that is well matched to pupils’ needs and builds on what pupils already know, understand and can do, in particular for lower-achieving pupils, those who have SEN and/or disabilities, as well as disadvantaged pupils
  • deepen pupils’ mathematical knowledge, understanding and reasoning in number and calculation to reach the standards of which they are capable.
• Improve the effectiveness of all leaders and managers, including governors, by ensuring that:
  • robust strategic plans and actions for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities have precise milestones and expectations to raise achievement
  • effective teaching with high expectations of pupils across the curriculum, including science, the arts and humanities, is firmly established
  • the quality of teaching is evaluated accurately to hold teachers to account and raise standards. An external review of governance and of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders in various roles, including governors, have been too slow in tackling weaknesses to raise pupils’ achievement. Since the amalgamation of the junior and infant schools in September 2015, pupils’ outcomes in key stage 2 have been poor. However, leaders are now starting to take the right actions which are securing the necessary improvements.
• Leaders’ evaluations of the quality of teaching are overly generous. They have focused their monitoring too much on what teachers do rather than on pupils’ achievement. As a result, leaders have not intervened well enough, and teaching remains too variable between classes, year groups and subjects.
• Leaders have taken the right steps to eliminate inadequate teaching. Consequently, there is now a firm foundation of teaching, with the growing capacity to raise standards.
• Leaders’ vision and their strategic planning to raise achievement for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities are not sufficiently detailed or rigorous. For example, these priorities are not well defined in the school development plan or reflected in teachers’ appraisals. Therefore, the focus on these vulnerable pupils is reduced and pupils do not achieve well.
• Leaders do not evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum or check the quality of work in other subjects. As a consequence, pupils do not reproduce the same standard of work across the curriculum, for example when writing in science. Furthermore, leaders have not evaluated pupils’ knowledge and learning in other subjects or how well the school’s curriculum is providing a platform for high-quality cross-curricular learning.
• However, leaders, including governors, show a determination to improve the school. They recognise that the achievement of pupils is not good enough, especially in key stage 2. The recent actions undertaken by leaders, including personalised training and professional support for teachers and targeting additional interventions for vulnerable pupils, are making a difference to raise standards.
• Leaders ensure that systems are in place to identify pupils who are not making good progress. This leads to pupils being targeted for specific support. However, the quality of support plans for pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, is variable. This results in pupils making inconsistent progress, including some who are not catching up quickly.
• Senior leaders invest well in staff development and recognise the importance of this to improving the quality of teaching. They have a comprehensive range of continuing professional development and training available to staff. For example, newly qualified teachers are very well supported and have the early stages of their career well catered for. Leaders use both internal and external providers effectively to develop teachers. This has been effective in improving the overall quality of teaching, particularly in the past year.
• Leaders do not evaluate the quality of the school’s curriculum well enough. They ensure that a range of activities and subjects for pupils are on offer, including physical education and music. However, the quality of education in other subjects is underdeveloped. As a result, pupils are not acquiring a full body of knowledge to help them learn in a range of situations.
• Senior leaders ensure that any alternative provision used to support vulnerable pupils is appropriate and well matched to the pupils’ needs. Leaders communicate effectively with other external professionals to check the progress pupils are making. Pupils are benefiting socially, emotionally and academically from well-considered and planned placements, including for those with highly complex learning and developmental needs.
• Leaders understand the context and diversity of the school’s community. This is reflected in their approach to preparing pupils well for life in modern-day Britain. For example, pupils talk with authority and conviction about terror attacks that have occurred in the United Kingdom and the consequences of these. Pupils are respectful and learn about a wide range of different cultures and religions, such as Ramadan. They are tolerant and understand the importance of individual liberty and the rule of law.
• Leaders have implemented a robust strategy for the teaching of phonics. This results in pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language (EAL), making strong progress.
• Leaders ensure that additional funding, including for SEN and the pupil premium, is accounted for and allocated to appropriate activities and provision, such as for reading interventions. However, the effectiveness of the funding, especially for disadvantaged pupils, is not rigorously checked. For example, there is no governor currently identified as the pupil premium lead. This lack of rigour leads to continued underachievement for some pupils.
• The sports premium is used effectively. Sports lessons and activities, such as swimming, contribute towards pupils enjoying sport and physical exercise. Pupils are also taught about mental health and well-being. Consequently, they have a good awareness of how to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.
• School leaders engage with external support and moderation. They have increasingly sought the views of external professional partners to support their school improvement work. However, they have not evaluated key aspects of their work, such as commissioning a pupil premium review. This has slowed the rate of improvement in the school.
• Leaders are well supported by parents and carers, and relationships between home and school are strong. Of parents who responded to Parent View, 90% would recommend the school. Parents also told inspectors that communication with school leaders and pupils’ behaviour are improving well.

Governance of the school

• Governors are not yet sufficiently strategic, probing or stringent in challenging leaders or following up issues to ensure that weaknesses are tackled quickly, for example the pupil premium strategy.
• Governors now ensure that appropriate systems and processes are in place to challenge leaders. For example, performance management is fully established and some ‘link’ governors have made visits to check leaders’ work, including for SEN and EAL provision.
• Governors check safeguarding arrangements and ensure that these are fit for purpose. However, the inspection found an aspect of the single central record’s administration that had not been previously identified by governors. This was readily resolved during the inspection and did not place any pupils at risk of harm.
• Governors work well with school leaders and have established positive relationships with staff. This enables governors to undertake visits and audits in an open and supportive manner. As a result, governors are starting to gather useful first-hand information to inform their decision-making.
• The newly appointed chair of the governing board from September 2017 is enthusiastic and committed. She reflects the willingness of the current governors to work with the trust in continuing the school’s improvement. However, despite the trust improvement plan being in place, trust representatives acknowledge that there is more that still needs to be done to secure the necessary improvements towards being a good school, notably in pupils’ achievement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders are tenacious and diligent in their safeguarding duties. There is a strong culture of safeguarding, effectively promoted through the strong work of the inclusion and pastoral team. As a result, staff are well trained and take effective action on behalf of pupils to keep them safe. This includes high-quality mental health and emotional support, counselling and therapies.
• Leaders work well with the full range of external partners and agencies. They are not complacent and ensure that any concerns are acted upon swiftly. Staff monitor pupils closely and follow the advice of others, including the police and social services, to ensure pupils’ safety.
• Pupils say that they feel safe. They know how to stay safe in a range of situations. For example, they can explain the behaviour and anti-bullying policy and how anti-social behaviours affect others. Pupils have confidence in staff, who intervene and act quickly to support pupils when this is needed.
• Staff ensure that pre-employment checks and vetting arrangements are fully in place. Safeguarding and child protection training and induction for new staff are compliant with statutory requirements. As a result, staff are knowledgeable and know what to in different situations to listen and respond appropriately to pupils.
• Pupil plans for positive handling sometimes lack detail. Leaders have already identified this and actions are under way to ensure that specific plans contain all necessary information. Staff are appropriately trained in this area. An analysis of records shows that action taken to positively handle pupils with challenging behaviour is reasonable and proportionate.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is not good enough in the range of subjects and across classes.
• Teachers’ expectations of pupils are not high enough. For example, talented writers are not supported or challenged to produce high-quality, subject-specific writing in science or geography. As a result, pupils are not using and applying their knowledge and skills most productively in a range of situations or contexts.
• Teachers do not consistently identify common errors or misconceptions in pupils’ basic knowledge and skills. These include spelling, punctuation and grammar in writing, as well as calculation and reasoning in mathematics. In particular, lower-achieving pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities are not given the precise support and challenge needed to overcome barriers. Pupils sometimes repeat errors which are not tackled quickly enough and prevent them from reaching the standards of which they are capable.
• Teachers do not consistently match work closely enough to the different needs of the pupils, for example in key stage 2 mathematics, where pupils are expected to multiply decimal numbers but do not understand what a decimal is. Teachers’ planning does not start with what the pupils know, can do and understand. This slows pupils’ learning and the progress they make towards age-appropriate expectations.
• However, there are pockets of strong practice in the school. In these cases, teachers and teaching assistants provide effective support, including through interventions and targeted recovery work. These help pupils to gain confidence and start to catch up with their peers.
• The teaching of writing is improving well. For example, writers are able to show changes in mood or formality. They describe events, characters and plots with interesting and varied word choices. The introduction of high-quality texts to model writing is supporting pupils in a range of genres, such as plays, including ‘Macbeth’. This is enabling pupils to compose extended pieces of writing which hold the reader’s attention.
• Teachers and teaching assistants build effective relationships with pupils. Pupils are well supported to contribute positively in lessons, for example to ask questions or express a point of view. During the year, the climate for learning has started to improve strongly so that pupils are now feeling secure and able to learn in lessons.
• Teachers have also established good partnerships with parents. The overwhelming majority of parents say that they feel that their child is making good progress. In particular, parents feel that their children are being well supported with reading, including some whose children are receiving targeted interventions.
• The teaching of phonics is good. There is a systematic approach to teaching letters and sounds with effective assessment information being gathered and used by teachers. This enables pupils to catch up well, including the majority who start school with limited phonic knowledge and those pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Despite improvements, low-level disruption still interrupts pupils’ enjoyment and their learning in some lessons. Pupils’ behaviour deteriorates when their needs are not being met and their attention is not held in lessons.
• Pupils’ academic outcomes and their progress still prevent some pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, from being ready for the next stage in their education. Differences for pupils in being unable to catch up with their peers quickly inhibit them further and prevent them from meeting benchmarks to help them in the next stage of their education.
• Staff have a high regard for pupils’ mental and emotional well-being. The use of interventions and high-quality therapeutic work supports vulnerable pupils well. As a result, they enjoy attending school and feel valued within the school’s caring approach and ethos.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Leaders have worked tirelessly and diligently to improve pupils’ attendance, including for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils’ absence, including for those who have had persistently high absence, has fallen significantly since September 2017. In fact, persistent absence is now in line with the national average, from being in the worst 10% of schools in the previous year.
• Leaders have used exclusions reluctantly and with the full endorsement of other professional agencies and experts. These are still higher than the national average, including some pupils who are repeatedly excluded.
• School leaders hold a wealth of information about pupils and know them well. However, leaders do not analyse or evaluate this robustly to intervene and therefore reduce the number of exclusions further.
• Pupils are keen to learn. They conduct themselves well around the school and show respect towards one another. Behaviour logs and records show that pupils’ behaviour is improving well. This is further corroborated by pupils, who told inspectors that the new behaviour policy is starting to make a difference to behaviour, particularly in lessons.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Since the amalgamation of the infant and junior schools, pupils’ achievement has not been good enough, particularly in key stage 2. The necessary improvement has taken too long. However, checking pupils’ knowledge and scrutinising their work confirms that pupils’ achievement is now rising securely across the school.
• However, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics remains too variable. Some pupils are not taught well enough to secure the accelerated progress they need to catch up. This is particularly true of prior low-attaining pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those eligible for the pupil premium are starting to gain ground in reading, writing and mathematics, especially in lower key stage 2. However, pupils do not consistently reach the standards of which they are capable, and differences persist when compared to national non-disadvantaged pupils, including for the most able pupils.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make varying rates of progress. For example, pupils in Year 2 do well, whereas some in other classes make limited progress. Assessment information is not used precisely to pinpoint next steps well enough, which inhibits good progress for all.
• Standards in mathematics are now rising for the majority of pupils. However, some still lack key knowledge of number and related facts, including fractions and decimals, to do well. In particular, prior low-attaining pupils have difficulty in reasoning or explaining their mathematical thinking, which is a barrier to good progress.
• Pupils’ achievement in writing is improving. Pupils show an appetite and willingness to write for a variety of reasons. Narrative writing, stories and poems in English books are often sustained, varied and lively. However, some pupils still have difficulty in editorial skills for writing, including spelling, punctuation or grammar, which prevents them from communicating their ideas fluently as writers.
• However, teachers’ expectations of writing across the curriculum are not high enough. As a result, those who produce high-quality work in their English books fail to reproduce this standard in other subjects, including the most able.
• Limitations in the curriculum mean that pupils are not developing a strong foundation in other subjects, including science, history and the arts. Consequently, pupils’ ability to transfer skills and knowledge effectively in a range of situations is impeded. This slows their progress and reduces pupils’ readiness for secondary education.
• Pupils’ reading skills are improving. This is based on a clear rationale in key stage 1 (including phonics) and shifts in the school’s culture, for example all classes study a high-quality text as part of their topic work. However, the lowest-attaining pupils and those have SEN and/or disabilities make inconsistent progress because support plans do not target next steps well enough.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. They are identified quickly and supported through a range of well-targeted interventions and strategies to do well.
• Historically low outcomes in key stage 2 are now improving rapidly. For example, combined reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 has risen from 21% in 2016 to 40% in 2017. Assessment information based on a range of moderation shows that this is set to rise to 65% for the current Year 6 cohort.
• Pupils are taught their letters and sounds well in the early years and key stage 1. Pupils typically arrive in the Reception Year with very limited phonic knowledge. However, a robust phonics strategy enables pupils to catch up well. This provides a good platform for developing their reading further in key stage 2.
• Strengths in key stage 1 ensure that outcomes compare well to the national average in reading, writing and mathematics, including at the higher standards. Given their prior starting points, pupils make steady progress and are usually well prepared for key stage 2.

Early years provision Good

• Teachers and staff ensure that children get off to a good start. Effective assessment practice means that the children’s needs are quickly identified and the right provision is put in place to help the children succeed.
• Teachers and staff have high expectations of the children. They do not allow excuses. As a result, children are effectively challenged and supported to start catching up quickly, often from low starting points.
• Teachers plan exciting activities that are well suited to the children’s needs and interests. The indoor and outdoor learning spaces are a hive of well-directed activity, including to support children’s early communication, literacy and language. As a result, the children are motivated and make good progress across the curriculum. However, on-entry assessments to check children’s knowledge of letters and sounds when children first arrive sometimes lack precision. This can marginally slow the progress for a few children.
• Staff establish meaningful relationships with the children. They interact purposefully to deepen children’s understanding and help them to gain independence. Children respond well to adults and each other to create a happy and vibrant Reception Year. This prepares them well for key stage 1.
• Staff involve parents effectively in their children’s education in the early years. Transition into the Reception Year is well managed through a range of high-quality activities to support the children and parents, including home visits, visits to pre-school providers and ‘tea and tissues’ sessions. Consequently, children settle into routines quickly to start making strong progress.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective. This is managed and coordinated in line with the rest of the school’s processes and policies.
• Leaders and managers have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the early years provision. They rightly recognise that outcomes are strong, including for children who speak English as an additional language. However, they are not complacent and understand that differences between the school’s disadvantaged children and their non-disadvantaged national counterparts are still too wide.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 138668 City of Bristol 10048290 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 728 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Jane Walton Executive Headteacher Anne Rutherford Telephone number 01179030302 Website Email address www.filtonavenue.com info@filtonavenue.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils at the end of key stage 2.
• The former junior school on the same site was closed in September 2015. At this time, the infant school’s age range was extended to incorporate the juniors and amalgamate the two schools to form Filton Avenue Primary. The infant school was already an academy, having joined the Trust in Learning multi-academy trust in September 2012.
• The school is much larger than the average primary school. It has 728 pupils on roll.
• Pupils are taught over two sites. The Lockleaze campus has 557 pupils between the Reception Year and Year 6. There are three classes in each year group. The Orchard campus, which shares the site with the Orchard secondary school, has 171 pupils taught in single classes between the Reception Year and Year 5.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above the national average. This is 37% compared to the national average of 24%.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average. This is 34% compared to the national average of 21%.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average. This is 15.1% compared to 12.2%.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons across all year groups, including the early years, on both campuses. Most of these visits were undertaken with other senior leaders. Inspectors also took the opportunity to speak to pupils about their learning and to look at the work in their books.
• Inspectors had discussions with the executive headteacher, senior leaders, including the head of schools and special educational needs coordinators (SENCos), teachers and support staff throughout the two days of inspection. In addition, the lead inspector spoke to members of the local governing body, the chair of the trust board and the chief executive officer of the trust.
• Inspectors talked to groups of pupils, including conducting a tour of the school with pupil ambassadors.
• Inspectors looked at documents provided by the school, including via the website. These documents included the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, records of pupils’ achievement, safeguarding records and the single central record of pre-employment checks on staff. Inspectors also reviewed the trust’s improvement plan.
• In making their judgements, inspectors took into account 69 responses to Parent View. The inspectors also spoke to parents at the start of the inspection. The lead inspector also took account of individual letters and emails sent directly to the school or through Ofsted. In response to these, the lead inspector scrutinised additional information relating to site security, including risk assessments.

Inspection team

Stewart Gale, lead inspector Jen Edwards Wendy D’Arcy

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector