Westbury-On-Trym Church of England Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Westbury-On-Trym Church of England Academy continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school.

They speak openly about the kindness that their teachers and other adults show them and about how they feel valued. Pupils behave well and have lovely manners. They enjoy taking responsibility for their own learning, be it developing games and activities at lunchtime, in the leadership of online safety or in their roles as global citizens.

Pupils find learning to be engaging, enjoyable and challenging, whether it is making toast in the early years, acting out the letters and sounds by building words together in Year 1 or re-enac...ting the battle scene from Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' in Year 6.

Pupils feel safe. Parents and staff agree.

Bullying is rare. If it happens, teachers and other staff deal with it swiftly. Pupils' attendance is very good.

As part of the school's strong family culture, pupils are cared for and supported to be the very best.

Pupils enjoy a wealth of opportunities to learn inside and outside the classroom. They are supported well by the community and volunteers, as well as by the adults in the school.

Some pupils said they would like even more trips in key stage 1.

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

Leaders, teachers and other staff have high expectations of pupils. Learning is a journey upon which pupils are taken.

Teachers plan carefully for each pupil's needs.

Pupils learn the national curriculum subjects in a well-organised way, building their knowledge in each subject year by year. Curriculum leaders have been appropriately trained to develop plans that set out what pupils will learn in a logical order.

Teachers bring these plans to life skilfully in many subjects. For example, in history, teachers give pupils plenty of chances to remember previous learning. However, in a few foundation subjects, such as art and design, some teachers lack confidence and subject knowledge.

Furthermore, some of the subject leaders are new in their role. They have not yet had time for sufficient development of skills. Consequently, the quality of education in these subjects is not as strong.

The headteacher and other leaders expect the best in a school where all succeed. This is demonstrated through the school's values, or 'Westbury Ways', and in the way in which there is a sharp focus on younger children, those who join the school and those who might not have made sufficient progress. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well.

Disadvantaged pupils also make strong progress. Leaders have considered carefully how they can craft a curriculum which develops curious learners. This work builds upon educational research.

Links between subjects are regularly reviewed.

Reading is a central part of the curriculum. The school's approach makes reading engaging and memorable for children.

Books are carefully chosen to link to curriculum subjects. Pupils enjoy the enthusiasm with which teachers read to them. Pupils in key stage 2 retain their passion for reading.

Pupils who fall behind get the help that they need to become more confident readers. Building on pupils' interests fosters a love of writing.

Staff encourage pupils to take part in extra-curricular and enrichment activities.

They make sure that pupils have good opportunities to develop social skills as well as academic ones. The school has strong links with the local church and community. Pupils raise funds for local charities and often sing with the local and wider community.

The school works hard to communicate well with all stakeholders. Staff ensure that parents are kept up to date about school events and their child's progress.

The early years provides children with a great start to their education.

The learning areas are well organised and vibrant. The good range of resources helps children to develop their skills and broaden their knowledge. Children get along happily and share their learning and their play proudly with visitors.

Leaders and governors work hard to keep improving the school. Leaders are careful to support staff and train them well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well aware of the individual safeguarding needs of pupils. They know the signs that may indicate that a pupil is at risk. Adults understand the importance of passing on concerns accurately and promptly.

Records show that leaders provide appropriate support when a pupil or their family is in need of additional help. Leaders work well with other agencies to make sure that pupils are kept safe. All pupils learn about online safety.

Governors make sure that the school carries out the necessary checks on staff who work with pupils. The record of these checks is accurate.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The school has made substantial improvements to its curriculum since it was last inspected.

Leaders have reviewed subject content in all curriculum areas, but some subjects are not yet as well established as others. This is because some leaders are new to role and have not yet had the same opportunity to ensure a consistently high quality of education across all classes. Leaders should ensure that staff have the support they need to develop all curriculum leaders across the school.

. Leaders also need to ensure that all teachers have sufficient specialist knowledge of each subject, including an understanding of relevant pedagogy, so that they can help all pupils learn as much as possible.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Westbury-On-Trym Church of England Academy to be good on 20–21 January 2016.

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