Cotham Gardens Primary School in north Bristol is now in special measures after Ofsted’s critical report highlighted serious educational shortcomings and leadership issues.
Bristol: A primary school in north Bristol has been put into special measures. Ofsted found that Cotham Gardens Primary School isn’t providing an acceptable education. It was rated ‘Inadequate’ in two key areas, despite being previously rated ‘Good’.
Liz Geller, the Chief Inspector, visited the school in December. She and her team decided to place the school into special measures due to poor education quality and leadership issues.
The school has 482 pupils and is run as a single academy trust. CEO Chris Seaton mentioned that the education quality has been “severely compromised” over the years. He assured that “rapid change” is underway to improve the situation.
The report criticized the school for lacking the ability to make necessary changes. It stated that pupils do not receive an acceptable standard of education and are unprepared for future learning.
Support for students with special educational needs is also lacking. The school has struggled to identify and address these issues, which worsened due to unstable leadership.
While students feel safe and happy, the school’s behavior expectations are not high enough. Disruptions in learning occur, and staff inconsistently apply behavior policies.
Some leadership opportunities exist for students, but they are limited. The report highlighted that the curriculum lacks proper oversight and checks.
The trust board is working to improve the situation. They are ensuring better monitoring of the curriculum, but the school still struggles to identify areas needing improvement.
Pupils often face gaps in learning, leading to disconnected lessons. This makes it hard for them to build on their knowledge and progress effectively.
Students with special educational needs are not receiving adequate support. Although reading is prioritized, the curriculum lacks a focus on vocabulary development.
Ofsted noted that the governance at the school lacks the capacity to improve education quality. Recent changes in the trust board aim to bring stability.
Efforts are being made to improve attendance, but behavior issues still disrupt learning. The school’s personal development provision lacks coherence.
The Chief Inspector strongly advised against hiring early career teachers for now. In response, CEO Chris Seaton acknowledged the challenges but emphasized the hard work being done to improve education quality.
