Ashton Vale Primary School

Ashton Vale Primary School is a friendly, inclusive primary school where pupils behave well, feel safe and are supported to meet high expectations. Following a previous inspection that judged the school as requiring improvement, this inspection found the school to be good across all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of Excalibur Academies Trust, and trust support is described positively, including for staff workload and well-being. The curriculum has been redeveloped and strengthened since the previous inspection and is well designed from Reception to Year 6. Reading is central to the school’s work, and children learn to read as soon as they start school, with effective support for those who fall behind. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported, attendance is prioritised and improving, and pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer, including leadership roles, clubs and visits. The main area for improvement is that in a few subjects, staff do not use what they know about pupils’ learning to shape teaching and activities. As a result, pupils do not routinely build securely on prior knowledge or move on to more complex learning when they are ready. The trust and school should ensure teachers have the training and pedagogical expertise to address this.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly, work hard and consistently meet adults’ high expectations.
• Behaviour and attitudes are good, with a calm, polite and orderly environment.
• The school’s ‘Heart’ values underpin everyday life and help pupils understand respect and tolerance.
• Pupils’ well-being and mental health are well supported through warm and trusting relationships with staff.
• The curriculum has been redeveloped and strengthened since the previous inspection and is well designed from Reception to Year 6.
• Reading is the bedrock of the curriculum, with effective phonics teaching and support for pupils who fall behind.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, including through adapted resources and external agency support.
• Attendance is prioritised, and bespoke actions have led to sustained improvements.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain, including through leadership roles, clubs and visits.
• Trustees and the trust support the school well and staff appreciate consideration for their workload and well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, assessment information is not used to adapt teaching and activity choices, so pupils do not routinely build securely on prior knowledge or move on to more complex learning when ready.
• Teachers in those subjects need further training and pedagogical expertise to use what they know about pupils’ learning to shape the curriculum and teaching.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ashton Vale Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.2% of pupils at Ashton Vale Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ashton Vale Primary School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.4% of pupils at Ashton Vale Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Ashton Vale Primary School received £7,531 and spent £7,705 for each of its 162 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £82,000 (£506 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Excalibur Academies Trust, income was £7,945 and spending £8,027 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Ashton Vale Primary School is part of Excalibur Academies Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Ashton Park School Bristol
• Luckwell Primary School Bristol
• Compass Point Primary School Bristol
• Cabot Primary School Bristol
• Redland Green School Bristol
• Fairfield High School Bristol
• May Park Primary School Bristol
• Oare Church of England Primary School Marlborough
• St John's Marlborough Marlborough
• Nythe Primary School Swindon

What is Ashton Vale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ashton Vale Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Ashton Vale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ashton Vale Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Ashton Vale Primary School have?

Ashton Vale Primary School has 147 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ashton Vale Primary School cover?

Ashton Vale Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Ashton Vale Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ashton Vale Primary School?

Ashton Vale Primary School is at Avebury Road, Ashton Vale, Bristol, BS3 2QG.