Bedminster Down School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 February 2025

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Staff encourage pupils to 'have belief and be determined'. The school's historic published outcomes show some improvement in pupils' achievements, although they remain below expectations. However, current pupils in the school receive a good quality of education. They are well prepared for their next steps. Most pupils are happy at school. They develop positive relationships with staff. In many lessons, pupils listen attentively and concentrate on their learning. Where low level disruption occurs, staff usually manage it well. Around the school, staff are highly visible. As a result, pupils feel safe. However, during social times, some pupils repeatedly display poor behaviour that is disruptive to school life. A minority of parents and carers are concerned about the standard of behaviour at the school. Pupils are positive about the range of extra-curricular opportunities available to them. These include skateboarding, indoor bowls, gardening and cheerleading. Pupils can develop their sense of responsibility and leadership skills as members of the school council. They are proud of the changes that they have made to the school. These include upgrades to facilities and organising games for use in social times.

What the school should improve

• Pupils' overall attendance is low. Too many pupils are persistently absent from school. Consequently, many pupils are missing large amounts of learning time and have gaps in their knowledge. This hinders their academic achievement. The trust should ensure that the strategies in place are effective, and that the school continues to work with pupils and their families to improve attendance.
• The sanctions used for poor behaviour do not do enough to deter repeated negative behaviour. As a result, some pupils receive frequent sanctions and miss out on aspects of learning when they persistently break the rules. The trust should ensure that the school's behaviour system and use of sanctions support pupils to secure an improvement in their conduct over time.
• The school has introduced several new systems and processes to support improvements. However, the school has not carefully evaluated what is working well and what is not. Therefore, the schools' oversight of these improvements is not precise enough. The trust should ensure that new initiatives are carefully monitored and reviewed as they are implemented so that standards continue to improve.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)