Roundhill Primary School in Bath is no longer in special measures.
Roundhill Primary School on Mount Road in Bath
The school is now graded by Ofsted as ‘needs attention’ following an inspection in January. The report has been published this month.
Ofsted’s newly introduced report card system offers more detailed information for parents and providers and a five-point grading scale. The grade is exceptional, followed by strong standard, expected standard and needs attention, with urgent improvement at the bottom.
Roundhill Primary School in Mount Road, Southdown, has had a turbulent time in recent years. It was rated as Inadequate by Ofsted in June 2023, and later that year The Partnership Trust, which runs the school, received a Termination Warning Notice from the Department for Education’s Regional Director who said she needed to be satisfied that the trust had the capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the school.
There were two monitoring visits by Ofsted in 2024 and one in 2025. At all three inspectors said that school leaders had made progress to improve the school, but more work was necessary to get Roundhill out of special measures.
Now the special measures have been lifted but the team of three Ofsted inspectors who visited the school earlier this year say that many improvements are still needed.
Pupils’ achievement is low but has started to improve. Historically, pupils’ attendance has been too low but leaders have introduced “clear systems” to raise expectations and improve attendance.
Leaders have begun to improve the behaviour culture across the school. However, the report says there is still more to do.
Among the other findings are that leaders acknowledge that there is much more to do to improve the personal development and wellbeing programme for pupils.
The report praises Roundhill as being a place “where everyone is warmly welcomed” and where “the curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious”.
It also highlights the influence of the new senior leadership team, with staff describing feeling “valued, listened to and supported”, and morale across the school described as high.
Parents and carers are said to be generally positive about the school and appreciate the improvements leaders have made
The new Ofsted report card includes ‘school and pupil context’. Data shows the school has a capacity for 420 pupils but there are currently only 259.
The school is well below average for attainment compared to the national average but also has a much higher percentage of pupils in receipt of free school meals. Just under 50% of pupils are eligible compared to 26.3% nationally.
The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school is 29.73%, almost double the national average of 15%.
Roundhill’s headteacher Emma Cooper said: “This Ofsted report is a huge milestone for our whole community and reflects the hard work of our children, staff, governors, families and trust colleagues.
“While there’s still more to do, we are proud of how far the school has come and are excited about the next chapter for Roundhill.”
