Elm Park Primary School in Winterbourne has been praised by Ofsted for its kindness, family ethos, and strong academic ambition following its latest inspection

05:00, 06 May 2025Updated 08:04, 06 May 2025

Elm Park in Winterbourne

A “tangible family ethos” and unwavering commitment to kindness and inclusion have seen Elm Park Primary School in Winterbourne, South Gloucestershire, maintain its strong performance in its latest Ofsted inspection.

Inspectors who visited the school on Tuesday, February 4 and Wednesday, February 5, 2025, found that “Elm Park Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The school, which has 185 pupils aged four to eleven, had previously been rated as good.

The report opens with a striking portrayal of school life: “Elm Park Primary School is all about kindness. Pupils experience kindness and respect from staff and each other each day. Pupils appreciate how safe and secure they feel at school, and how much they enjoy their learning.”

This commitment to a nurturing environment is more than just surface-level. Inspectors noted that “a tangible family ethos ripples through the life of the school,” adding that “each day starts with a warm welcome and kind words.” This ethos is matched by strong behaviour and community spirit. “Leaders at all levels ensure that everyone is valued and included. Consequently, pupils behave well. They work hard and are polite and caring of each other.”

Staff and leaders at the school, under the leadership of headteacher Carol Bond and chair of governors Sandra Allen, are described as driven by a clear vision: “They are driven by the vision of ‘inspiring, enriching and achieving’.” This has been backed up by a redesign of the curriculum and a stronger partnership with parents. The report states: “Since the previous inspection, the school has set about improving engagement with parents. Parents now have frequent opportunities to engage in the life of the school and in their child’s learning and increasing numbers of parents take advantage of this.”

Curriculum development has been a particular strength, according to Ofsted. “The school has redesigned its curriculum. Drawing from available local expertise, the school now has a solid curriculum, which develops pupils’ understanding from the Reception class upwards.” Teachers are “confident in their knowledge of the curriculum and provide clear explanations and models for pupils to follow.”

A strong focus has also been placed on early reading, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Inspectors praised the school’s systematic approach: “To ensure that more pupils gain early phonics skills the school set about changing the approaches to teaching phonics. Training and development for staff as well as investment in high-quality materials have secured a consistent approach.” Catch-up support is also proving effective: “Well-organised catch up sessions provide the extra help that pupils need. The school carefully checks how successfully pupils are improving early reading skills. Fewer and fewer pupils need extra catch up due to the successful programmes now in place.”

The school’s work to assess and reinforce pupils’ retention of key knowledge was also noted. “The school has developed assessment systems to check how well pupils actually remember important key knowledge in the subjects they learn. Pupils are excited about their learning. They successfully recall key facts and vocabulary from previous learning themes, such as the Mayans or the water cycle.”

However, writing remains an area for improvement. “The school is currently working on improvements to writing. The quality of handwriting is inconsistent across the school. Some pupils develop a clear, fluent style, but at times, weak letter formation is not picked up and addressed.” Furthermore, some gaps in understanding are not always identified: “The checks that are made on how well some pupils have understood this knowledge are not accurate enough. This means that gaps in knowledge or misconceptions in how to apply this information are not addressed. Consequently, some pupils do not develop the depth and quality of writing that the school intends.”

Despite this, the wider enrichment offered at Elm Park is impressive. “The school ensures that pupils benefit from a wide, rich range of extra activities, trips and experiences. These supplement pupils’ learning well, developing their characters, and supporting pupils to be well prepared for their next steps.”

Attendance has also been prioritised. “Ensuring that all pupils attend well is a key priority for the school. There is unwavering consistency of key messages to families about ensuring that children attend school.” The result? “Over time, attendance is steadily improving.”

Staff morale appears high. “Staff appreciate the supportive approach to managing their workload. They feel valued and are proud to work at Elm Park Primary.”

Inspectors found safeguarding arrangements to be effective.

Carol Bond, headteacher at Elm Park Primary School said: “We are incredibly proud of the report, which recognises the ongoing kindness, dedication, passion, and hard work of our staff, pupils, and wider school community. The report highlights the nurturing and ambitious environment we have created, ensuring that every child is supported to thrive both academically and personally.

“As we continue our journey, we are focused on further enriching our Connected Curriculum, providing even more opportunities for our children to explore, learn, and grow. As part of our Connected Curriculum, we are excited to celebrate STEM Week offering engaging activities that foster curiosity, creativity, and a love for learning across all subjects.”

Elm Park Primary, which previously underwent an inspection in November 2019, has undergone leadership changes since then, with both the acting headteacher and deputy now appointed to their roles on a permanent basis.

This was an ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005, designed to assess whether the school had sustained its performance since its last full inspection. Ofsted concluded that it had – and highlighted the school’s clear values, inclusive culture, and strong sense of community as cornerstones of its continued success.