Ofsted
Dear Parents/Carers,
We have now received the final report from OFSTED following our inspection on the 10th and 11th October 2022. The full report will be published on the OFSTED website on Thursday 1st December 2022. However, we are allowed to inform parents and carers of the outcome in advance.
The Ofsted inspection in October was the first since the school became part of the Gatehouse Green Learning Trust family of five schools in Bristol. The grades that can be awarded are Outstanding (1), Good (2), Requires Improvement (3) or Inadequate (4). In recent years the term ‘Requires Improvement’ has replaced the previous grading of ‘Satisfactory’ in the new OFSTED framework.
Following Ofsted’s inspection of Ashton Vale Primary School in October, the school has been rated Good in the areas of Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development and Early Years provision but it has been recognised that because of our newly developed curriculum, the Quality of Education and Leadership and Management requires time for improvement and continued development.
The report highlighted areas where the school is achieving good results, specifically commenting on the schools work in the subjects of reading and maths as well as pupils’ behaviour and personal development.
- Leaders prioritise reading. Pupils read a range of texts and talk positively about the books that adults read to them. Children begin learning to read as soon as they start in Reception. Staff teach phonics well.
- Subjects such as mathematics, are well organised and important knowledge carefully sequenced, starting from the early years.
- Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils feel safe and value the positive relationships they have with staff.
- Pupils show positive attitudes towards their learning. They behave well in lessons and during social times.
- Pupils’ personal development is strongly linked to the values of the school.
- Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming and friendly school which lies at the heart of its local community. They talk positively about the school’s values of ‘heart, equality and aspiration’. Pupils say these values help them to be kind, respectful, and positive”.
The school was pleased that Ofsted recognised that the staff are building a foundation for the pupils and the school to continue to grow and develop from.
- The new headteacher is ambitious for what pupils can achieve.
- Leaders have designed a curriculum that sets out the important knowledge that pupils need to know.
Importantly, the report recognised that arrangements for safeguarding at the school are effective.
In order to improve further, because of the ‘newness’ of our curriculum:
- Subject leaders need time to fully develop their subject areas to ensure that it builds on what pupils have previously learned and understood.
- Leaders need to continue to work to develop the use of assessment across some subjects.
- Governors need to ensure they gain an accurate view of the quality of education provided and then challenge leaders to bring about improvements.
Against the backdrop of covid and the associated challenges of the last few years, we are so proud that our pupils are happy and achieving good personal development at our school. We are delighted that Ofsted has recognised the recent work we have put into our core curriculum and understand what we have put in place to develop our vision even further.
/docs/Ofsted/Ashton_Vale_Primary_Final_Report_PDF.pdf
