About Colston's Primary: OFSTED Report

Inspection carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act, on 5-7 December 2007

Description of the school

Colston's Primary is a larger than average urban community school that serves an area in the centre of Bristol. There is a higher proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups than that nationally. The school has a breakfast club and after school provision. There is a lower than average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

Key for inspection grades

Grade 1	Outstanding
Grade 2	Good
Grade 3	Satisfactory
Grade 4	Inadequate

Overall effectiveness of the school

Grade: 3

Colston's Primary is a satisfactory school with some good features, particularly in pastoral care. The vision of the headteacher in promoting an inclusive school permeates throughout. All pupils are welcomed warmly into the supportive school environment. There are positive relationships with parents and others in the local community. There are good links with outside agencies who contribute to meeting the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

On entry to the school, although children are in line with age expected levels, most have particular strengths in personal development and language skills. However, their mathematical awareness is less secure. They make sound progress throughout the school, leaving Year 6 with good literacy and satisfactory numeracy skills. Overall, their standards are good, making an effective contribution to their economic well-being. The leadership and management have a good knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses that has come about through an accurate self-evaluation. Since the last inspection they have addressed the needs of the more able pupils and been successful in raising attendance and are now exploring and employing strategies to improve provision for underachieving pupils, particularly in mathematics. Currently, the satisfactory teaching ensures that pupils make appropriate progress although more needs to be done to improve their knowledge and skills in mathematics. This includes making sure that the needs of all pupils are consistently being met in all classes so that they can make good progress in relation to their abilities.

The personal development of pupils throughout the school is good. They care for each other and play well together in the playground, in a cohesive community atmosphere where all are valued and accepted. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils know how to keep safe and healthy. They enjoy supporting the school through the council which suggests ideas for improvement. Pupils also make a good contribution to the community in which they live. Their behaviour in classes and the playground is generally good and whenever difficulties arise these are dealt with effectively. Attendance, while satisfactory, has improved since the last inspection.

The school has robust procedures to care for pupils when in school and out on trips. Pupils feel safe and secure within this stable community. However, pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are not identified early enough.

The curriculum overall is good. There is a broad range of activities that support their learning including visits out and visitors to the school. Opportunities to extend pupils' personal and social skills are exploited. There are good links with English to promote their speaking and listening and writing skills although similar links with their mathematical and information and communication technology (ICT) skills are less well developed. Nevertheless there is much creativity within the curriculum to stimulate pupils' interest and enjoyment.

Effectiveness of the Foundation Stage

Grade: 3

Children begin school with a wide range of abilities for their age. Their personal and social skills coupled with their language, creative and physical development are strong. Their knowledge and understanding of the world when they arrive is also a positive feature. This means that when they start school they are ready and able to access the Foundation Stage curriculum. They develop effective speaking and listening and early reading skills. Their personal development continues to flourish. However, they do not acquire early mathematical skills as quickly, because they are beginning from a lower starting point. The leadership of the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Pupils make satisfactory progress during the year as a result of effective planned activities to engage them and meet their interests. Their progress is reviewed regularly although it is not yet being used rigorously enough to address the needs of all the children. Nevertheless, they are well cared for and are taught how to keep themselves healthy and safe.

What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teaching is focusing on the needs of all learners in each lesson, particularly in mathematics, to maximise progress.
• Identify and support pupils who may need extra support as early as possible.

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

Achievement and standards

Grade: 3

After a satisfactory start in the Foundation Stage most pupils begin Year 1 with both literacy and personal development skills that are above the levels expected for their age and mathematical skills that are in line with expectations. In Years 1 to 6 most continue making satisfactory progress although some pupils underachieve, particularly in mathematics. This is owing to the need for more focused teaching to meet their needs. This has been recognised by the leadership and new initiatives have been put in place to remedy the problem. At the end of Year 6, pupils leave with standards that are above average overall, as a result of the high standards reached in English. However, standards in both mathematics and science are broadly average.

Personal development and well-being

Grade: 2

The personal development of pupils is a high priority. The impact of this can be seen in how much pupils enjoy their schooling. In particular, pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills are outstanding. They generally have good relationships both with staff and other pupils and especially appreciate the cultural diversity in their school. This can be seen in the playground where pupils play well together. When there are occasional difficulties, the buddy system helps to resolve them. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They use their knowledge of safety in a school where there are many stairs and corridors to navigate. They also know how to keep healthy by eating sensibly and taking enough exercise. Through the school council, pupils make a good contribution to school life such as planning the anti-bullying week. They also raise money for charities such as 'Children in Need'. By the time they leave in Year 6 they have developed effective skills that contribute to their future economic well-being.

Quality of provision

Teaching and learning

Grade: 3

Teaching ensures that pupils make satisfactory progress throughout the school. There are good relationships between staff and pupils that result in good behaviour in lessons. Pupils are willing to learn and teachers plan interesting lessons to engage them. Lesson objectives are shared with pupils and planning generally caters for different needs. Teaching assistants give good support in English lessons where focused groups support learning for all. These are not evident in numeracy lessons where some underachieving pupils lack support and consequently do not make enough progress. The expectations of teachers vary between classes, in both the standard and presentation of pupils' work. This results in some classes achieving more than others during the year.

Curriculum and other activities

Grade: 2

The school provides a rich programme of activities to support pupils' learning throughout the curriculum. The lessons are planned well and make good use of people outside of the school community to share their expertise. Pupils enjoy opportunities for first hand learning through visits and these help to support their effective personal and social development. They learn much about different cultures through their own experiences and have links with a school in Mozambique. There are extra-curricular activities on offer and many enjoy taking part in them. Good opportunities exist for pupils to practise the skills they have learnt in literacy, although the school needs to include more planned links to extend their numeracy skills. There are some ICT links although these could also be enhanced.

Care, guidance and support

Grade: 3

The pastoral care of pupils is a particular strength in the school. The headteacher works tirelessly to realise his vision of a school where all pupils, regardless of their age, sex or background, are cared for within a community that accepts and celebrates each individual's identity and culture. This successful integration of all is an exemplary. The care for pupils' health and safety is paramount and robust procedures are in place to ensure this. Pupils are taught how to keep safe and healthy. Although pastoral care is a strength of the school, supporting their learning needs further development. Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are not identified early enough so that the progress they can make during the rest of their time at the school is more limited. Although pupils have longer-term targets, guidance on how to improve their work is not consistent across the school.

Leadership and management

Grade: 3

The leadership and management, including governors, have a good knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses. There have been some improvements since the last inspection, particularly in the provision for the more able pupils and attendance. Assessment data are analysed thoroughly and the progress of different groups of pupils are checked. In particular, minority ethnic pupils progress in line with their peers. The senior leadership team is now beginning to address the progress of underachieving pupils although it is too early to assess the impact of its actions. Much time and energy supports the very good pastoral support and personal development of pupils. Subject leaders understand what needs to be done and have identified curricular targets. They need to develop their monitoring and evaluation skills to be able to show the impact on pupils' progress. The development of pupils' English knowledge and skills is good and teaching assistants support this area well. There is less support for mathematics and this, coupled with a lack of focused groups, is the reason why some pupils do not make such good progress. Parents are generally happy with the school, commenting that there is a strong community ethos where they feel welcomed and valued. A very small minority would appreciate more opportunities to give their views. The school has generally made improvement since the last inspection demonstrating its satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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