Hotwells Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

At Hotwells Primary School everyone enjoys being a part of the school community.

The inclusive, nurturing ethos means that pupils feel safe and well looked after. They enjoy coming to school and take pride in their work.

Leaders' have created a culture of positive behaviour in the school.

Their expectations are clear and pupils feel that staff treat everyone fairly. Pupils know the systems for rewards and sanctions. They enjoy having their achievements recognised in different ways.

Leaders' recent work to review the behaviour system means staff respond to incidents with consistency.

Pupils play and learn together harmoniously, including the ...very youngest children. They share and collaborate well.

Pupils are adamant that bullying does not happen. They understand there are sometimes incidents of meanness but are confident that adults deal with these swiftly and effectively.

The new Hotwells Passport sets out leaders' commitment to ensuring a breadth of rich experiences for pupils.

Pupils enjoy a range of activities such as links with the university, residentials and performing at Bristol Cathedral. Pupils value these character-building experiences and the confidence they develop from trying new things.

Parents are highly positive about the school.

They appreciate the approachability of staff and the ways teachers help them to support their child's learning.

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

Leaders' vision for the curriculum is to develop ambitious, creative, local and global citizens. This vision is a clear thread through the content of the curriculum.

Pupils' learning is well sequenced, so that they know more, remember more and can do more over time.

Subject leaders have a good understanding of their subjects. They have developed clear expectations for the delivery of their curriculums.

Teachers use this guidance well to help pupils to learn successfully across the curriculum. For example, teachers' focus on key vocabulary helps pupils to understand what they are learning.

Leaders ensure that learning to read is a priority for all pupils.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They use this expertise to ensure that pupils learn to segment words and blend sounds securely. The books that pupils read match the sounds they know.

As a result, pupils develop fluency and understanding. Older pupils learn a range of reading strategies that they apply to a variety of texts that they find interesting and enjoyable.

Pupils develop fluency in their mathematical recall.

Teachers ensure that most pupils build carefully on the knowledge they already have. This enables them to apply, for example, their number knowledge to problem-solving and reasoning activities. Children in the early years have lots of opportunities to practise key concepts.

Nonetheless, the curriculum for Reception children in this area is sometimes not ambitious enough.

Children in the early years have a wide range of resources to help them learn. This allows for lots of choice and for children to follow their individual interests.

Occasionally, however, teachers are not choosing appropriate activities and resources to match the intended learning. This can slow down children's progress through the curriculum.

Leaders accurately identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders work with teachers to set out clear plans to support most of these pupils to learn effectively. However, for some pupils with SEND, the intended learning is not precisely matched to their starting points. This means pupils sometimes struggle to keep up and catch up.

Pupils learn about positive relationships. They understand diversity and the reasons that some people might be discriminated against. Through assemblies and a comprehensive personal, social and health education curriculum, they learn tolerance and to respect the uniqueness of individuals.

There is an energy within the school. All members of the school community feel the positive impact of joining the trust. Governors work well with trust leaders to fulfil their strategic duties.

Teachers feel well supported and energised by the collaboration with partner schools. Parents appreciate the improvements to resources and learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is at the heart of what they do. They know their pupils and families well, so they are able to respond quickly to concerns or needs. This means pupils and families get the right help at the right time.

Parents appreciate the help given throughout the pandemic.

Staff benefit from regular training and updates. They have a secure knowledge of signs of abuse and risks to pupils in the local area.

They follow school processes to record and report concerns, which gives leaders a detailed oversight of every child.

Pupils also understand different risks and types of abuse in an age-appropriate way. They know how to stay safe online.

If they have any worries, they share these with trusted adults or through the worry boxes in the classrooms.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers do not always adapt learning precisely enough for pupils with SEND. This means pupils sometimes struggle to build on prior learning.

Teachers need to make sure that learning is precisely matched to pupils' individual starting points, so they are able to know more and remember more across the curriculum. ? Sometimes, teaching within the early years provision is not always well thought through This means that children do not necessarily consolidate the intended learning. Leaders need to ensure that the provision is carefully designed to enable pupils to consolidate new knowledge and skills.

Also at this postcode