New head turns school around
ST Matthias and Dr Bell's Primary School in Fishponds has been celebrating after being taken out of special measures by the learning watchdog Ofsted.
The Church of England voluntary aided school was said by Her Majesty's Inspector Mo Roberts to have improved rapidly under the outstanding leadership of new head teacher Mike Eatwell and had a strong capacity to get even better.
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She said the school was now satisfactory in all the key areas of pupil achievement, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety and leadership and management.
"Positive leadership and management ensure that the school's clear vision for improvement is becoming a reality," Ms Roberts reported.
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The 434-pupil school in Fishponds Road was placed in special measures in June 2010, when standards were said to be unacceptably low.
It has been revisited regularly by inspectors and on the fifth monitoring inspection was judged to be satisfactory, although Ms Roberts said work was still needed to raise results.
"Pupils' attainment is now closer to national expectations and their progress is more rapid than previously, so that most of those who were behind their peers nationally are closing the gap," the report said.
Children were said to be confident and fluent readers, although their writing skills lagged behind.
Year 6 children were working hard to tackle the legacy of previous underachievement in maths and were determined to exceed their targets.
Pupils' progress was being tracked in detail and staff held to account.
"Teaching has improved in recent months and that observed during the inspection was largely good. The teaching in the nursery is consistently outstanding."
To improve further, Ofsted said, the school needed to improve quality and consistency of teaching, accelerate pupil progress and raise attainment, and develop subject leaders.
Ms Roberts said attendance levels were above target.
"Attendance has risen substantially and pupils enjoy their learning," she said.
"Parents and carers from the increasingly diverse community are welcomed into the school and involved in numerous school events. This proactive approach is helping to develop a strong school community."
Mr Eatwell said the school was delighted with the report and felt optimistic about the future.
"Staff have worked incredibly hard, parents have been fantastic and we have had great support from governors," he said.
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