Roundhill Primary School in Bath is making some progress towards the removal of special measures but more work is needed, says Ofsted.
Roundhill Primary School on Mount Road in Bath
The school at Mount Road in Southdown was rated as Inadequate by Ofsted in June 2023 and in October of that year The Partnership Trust, which runs the school, received a Termination Warning Notice from the Department for Education’s Regional Director for the South West.
Hannah Woodhouse said she needed to be satisfied that the trust had the capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy.
Roundhill Primary School was formed in 2015 when Southdown Community Nursery and Infant School amalgamated with Southdown Junior School.
It joined The Partnership Trust in 2018 after being put into special measures.
At the 2023 inspection, Ofsted acknowledged the school’s “very turbulent time”, with a period of higher than usual staff turnover alongside several long-term absences.
It rated the school’s leadership and management and the quality of education as Inadequate. Early years provision, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, and their personal development were all said to require improvement.
At a monitoring visit last summer, the inspector noted that leaders had made progress to improve the school, but said more work was necessary for it to be no longer judged as requiring special measures.
The inspector carried out another monitoring visit at the end of November and has now published his findings.
Again, he acknowledges that progress has been made to improve the school, but says more work is necessary to get the school out of special measures.
He says: “Since the June 2024 monitoring visit, several staff have left and a small number are on long-term absence. A shortage of support staff means the school is using agency staff to cover these roles.
“However, a small number of roles remain unfilled. In September 2024, several new teachers joined the school and some of these staff also have leadership responsibilities.
“Provisional 2024 results for the phonics screening check and Key Stage 2 national tests were very weak. This reflects the long-term issues with staffing, as well as the curriculum and its implementation.”
He says the school is now starting to experience some of the benefits of a more settled, permanent teaching team. A broad curriculum is in place and is being implemented with greater cohesion, and teachers have increased expectations of what pupils can do.
However, because of the long-term inadequacies with the curriculum, pupils still have numerous and varied gaps in their knowledge and understanding.
The inspector observes: “The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is still in the early stages of improvement … Some pupils do not have their needs identified early enough. This means they do not get the support they require.
“This is particularly the case for those with the most complex SEND needs.”
The letter adds: “The school has increased its expectations for pupils’ behaviour. This is making encouraging strides. However, a few pupils have struggled to adapt to the changes. Consequently, suspensions have risen.
“Additionally, the school has created a ‘nurture base’ provision to support a small number of pupils socially and emotionally. This is beginning to improve their behaviour. However, the provision needs further refinement.”
The inspector acknowledges that The Partnership Trust has carried out checks on the school’s progress and identified accurately where the school has improved and which areas need “further urgent work”, specifically SEND.
He also says that the trust has helped subject leaders make necessary changes to their subject curriculum so that pupils know more and remember more: “While the school has continued to make improvements in its curriculum, the trust is aware that further staffing at all levels needs to be provided so that any improvements are sustained and effective.”
A spokesperson for The Partnership Trust told the Bath Echo: “The latest inspection findings mirror the views and thoughts of all associated with leading Roundhill Primary School.
“Real and tangible progress has been made, particularly around areas like behaviour and curriculum development. Staffing has also stabilised.
“We are also pleased that this gave the inspectors the confidence that the trust provides ‘effective support’.
“That being said, we all acknowledge that more needs to be done. The building blocks have been put into place, and we now need to further embed good practice and new ideas to help the school continue on the positive trajectory we are on.”
