Horfield Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils and wants them to achieve. However, it is in the early stages of bringing about changes to the curriculum, including in the early years.

The school recognises there is more to do. As a result, pupils do not yet receive a good quality of education.

Pupils talk confidently about the school values.

Most pupils are polite and kind to one another. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils feel safe.

During social times, pupils play well together. However, sometimes adults do not respond quickly enough to help resolve any fallings-out pupils have. Therefore, pupils do not always share their worries with... adults in school.

Pupils are keen to take part in the wider aspects of school. They enjoy the responsibilities the school offers, such as being a representative for the eco-council or a well-being champion. All of this helps to develop pupils' leadership skills.

Opportunities for pupils to develop their interests include engineering, netball and archery club. However, the school does not have an accurate understanding of who attends the clubs.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has been through a challenging time since the previous inspection.

There have been many changes to staff, which have caused the school to feel unsettled. This has had an impact on staff morale and hindered the school's drive to improve. Parents who responded to Ofsted Parent View reflected this.

Many parents feel that the school does not deal effectively with concerns they raise.

The school has made changes to improve the curriculum. It has started to identify the important knowledge it wants pupils to learn.

In mathematics, pupils develop their understanding of number, including timetables and number bonds, by revisiting and practising these. This helps pupils to tackle more complex concepts and build on what they know and can do. While there are early signs of pupils making better progress through the mathematics curriculum, some of the work on the wider curriculum is in the early stages of development.

In these subjects, the most important knowledge is not clear and there are gaps in what pupils know and remember.

The school prioritises reading. It promotes a positive culture.

Children learn to read as soon as they start in Reception Year. Adults use assessment effectively to identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Additional support helps pupils to catch up.

The books pupils read match the sounds they know. This helps them to become confident and fluent readers. Older pupils love to read.

They talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors.

Systems and processes to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not effective. Pupils' needs are not clearly understood and, at times, work does not match their needs well.

Staff do not have the expertise they need to adapt learning so that these pupils can progress well through the curriculum. Some parents of pupils with SEND share this concern.

In some subjects, teachers check pupils' understanding and make sure they remember what they have learned.

However, in the wider curriculum, the use of assessment is not well developed. In these subjects, the school does not have an accurate understanding of the impact the curriculum is having on pupils' learning.

From Reception Year, children take turns and cooperate with one another.

Routines are well established. Most pupils follow the schools' high expectations of behaviour. However, some pupils call out in lessons and do not move around the school safely.

This is more apparent when pupils are not under close supervision. Pupils say that bullying does happen. Some pupils are not confident that it would be resolved by adults.

The personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They learn about the importance of consent and healthy relationships. Pupils are respectful of one another.

However, pupils do not fully understand protected characteristics. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Despite this, their understanding of fundamental British values is limited.

Many governors are new to the board. They are committed to make the necessary improvements to the school. Even so, they do not have sufficient understanding of their statutory responsibilities, including those related to safeguarding.

Governors do not hold leaders to account and check in sufficient depth the information the school reports to them. Therefore, they do not have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

While pupils are safe at this school, inspectors found some shortcomings in the safeguarding processes and procedures. The school does not have a clear induction process so that all new members of staff have up-to-date training. In addition, checks on some adults who work at the school are not completed in a timely manner.

This means that not all staff know how to report concerns, and the school is not completing all pre-employment checks in line with statutory guidance. Governors are not checking the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures with enough rigour. However, pupils are not at immediate risk of harm.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not ensure that all new members of staff have a clear induction and up-to-date safeguarding training. In addition, pre-employment checks for some staff are not completed in line with statutory guidance. The school must ensure that all staff, including those new to the school, have a well-developed understanding of safeguarding processes and that all pre-employment checks are completed within the statutory timeframe.

• Governors do not have a strong understanding of their statutory responsibilities. They have not challenged the school sufficiently well. The school does not work as a joined-up team, and a significant number of parents do not feel that their concerns are addressed.

Governors should ensure that they are fully equipped to carry out their duties effectively and to hold the school to account for its actions to bring about the necessary improvements, including raising staff morale and responding to parental concerns in a timely manner. ? The processes to identify pupils with SEND to ensure their needs are well met are not effective. Some pupils have learning that does not match their needs, and the adults do not understand these pupils' needs well.

This is hampering pupils' achievement over time. The school needs to strengthen all aspects of SEND provision so that adults can support pupils with SEND well and pupils fulfil their potential. ? In some wider curriculum subjects, the key knowledge the school wants pupils to learn has not been identified.

This means that pupils do not build their knowledge well. The school does not have an accurate understanding of the impact of the curriculum in these subjects. The school needs to identify the most important knowledge it wants pupils to remember and then check pupils' understanding.

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