Bhylls Acre Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Under the astute leadership of the headteacher, the school has improved rapidly. The headteacher has been highly effective in developing the capacity of middle leaders to introduce major improvements in teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics.

Leaders have built a highly cohesive staff team where teachers and teaching assistants are inspired and supported to do well. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are at least in line with and often above average across the school. Pupils are consistently well taught and make good progress.

Children's skills develop well in all respects in the language-rich environment of ...the Reception class. Teachers use assessments of pupils' work very well to give pupils very clear feedback and encouragement on how to improve. As a result, the pupils are highly reflective about the standard of their work and ambitious to raise it further.

Pupils behave well in class and are orderly, polite and respectful in corridors and assemblies. They are self-confident, and relish the opportunity to take leadership roles. The governing body now monitors the work of the school closely and holds leaders fully to account for performance.

Leaders are swift to identify and challenge underperformance through careful tracking of pupil progress and monitoring of teaching. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Pupils' progress in science is constrained by a lack of opportunity to develop their practical and investigative skills. Pupils are not reflective enough about religious and cultural differences in Britain.

Children in the Reception class sometimes lack practical opportunities, including in the outdoor area, to develop their imagination and initiative. Some gaps remain between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and others, and between boys and girls in writing.

Information about this school

This is a smaller-than-average primary school where the number on roll has declined since the previous inspection.

The large majority of pupils are White British, although a minority of pupils are drawn from many other heritages. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is greater than that found in most schools. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged (those known to be eligible for free school meals, and those looked-after children in public care) is below average.

A relatively low proportion of students are disabled or have special educational needs. One child is looked after in public care. The school meets the current government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.

When the school was last inspected in March 2014, it was placed in special measures, and has subsequently received four monitoring inspections. The current headteacher was appointed in September 2014. No support is now provided by any local or national leaders of education; this support ended prior to the third monitoring inspection in June.