Roundhill Primary in Bath shows some improvement but remains under special measures, according to Ofsted’s latest findings
Bath: So, Ofsted recently checked in on Roundhill Primary School, and they said the school has made some progress. But here’s the kicker: it’s still rated as ‘Inadequate’ and is under special measures.
The inspectors swung by on November 27 and 28, following a previous inspection back in June 2023. That visit didn’t go so well, and the school got the ‘Inadequate’ label. Even though they’ve made some strides since then, it’s not enough to change that rating, according to BristolLive.
These monitoring visits are a bit different from the full inspections. They don’t give a new grade but check how the school is doing since the last big review. So, no new report comes out from these visits.
The findings are shared in a letter to the headteacher, Kirby Littlewood, and it gets posted online. This time, it was written by His Majesty’s Inspector, Jason Edge.
The main takeaway from the letter was that while leaders are making progress, there’s still a lot of work to do before the school can shake off the special measures label. The inspector also advised against hiring early career teachers for now, but they’ll revisit that in future inspections.
Since the last check in June, some staff have left, and others are on long-term leave. The school has been using agency staff to fill in, but there are still some gaps in staffing, as reported by BristolLive.
In September 2024, a bunch of new teachers came on board, and some of them have taken on leadership roles. However, the early results for phonics and key stage two tests were pretty weak, showing that staffing issues and curriculum problems are still hanging around.
On the bright side, the school is starting to see some benefits from having a more stable teaching team. They’ve got a broader curriculum in place, and teachers are raising their expectations for what students can achieve, especially the older kids.
Teachers are now following agreed lesson structures, which helps them implement the curriculum better. English lessons are going better too, thanks to teachers knowing their stuff when it comes to phonics and keeping tabs on what the kids are learning.
But there are still some hiccups. Sometimes, students get tasks that don’t really help them learn. Writing has improved, with kids writing more often and their handwriting getting better.
However, the long-standing issues with the curriculum mean there are still gaps in what students know. The school is working on it, but some teachers aren’t quite connecting the dots between what kids have learned before and what they need to learn now.
For students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), things are still in the early stages of getting better. Some kids aren’t getting their needs identified quickly enough, which is especially tough for those with more complex needs.
The letter also mentioned that the school has raised its expectations for student behavior. Most kids are doing well, but a few are having a hard time adjusting, leading to more suspensions.
To help with this, the school has set up a ‘nurture base’ to support some students socially and emotionally, but it still needs some work. They haven’t quite figured out how to balance academic learning with this support.
The Partnership Trust is backing the school and knows that more staffing is needed to keep the improvements going. They’re keeping an eye on progress and have pinpointed areas that need urgent attention, especially regarding SEND.
