School report
Inspection of Merchants’ Academy
Gatehouse Avenue, Withywood, Bristol BS13 9AJ
Inspection dates:
19 and 20 March 2024
Overall effectiveness
Inadequate
The quality of education
Inadequate
Behaviour and attitudes
Inadequate
Personal development
Inadequate
Leadership and management
Inadequate
Early years provision
Inadequate
Sixth-form provision
Inadequate
Previous inspection grade
Requires improvement
The headteacher of the primary phase is Geeta Verrell. The headteacher of the
secondary phase is Guy Swallow. This school is part of Venturers Trust, which means
other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is
run by the interim chief executive officer, David Moran, and overseen by a board of
trustees, chaired by Gail Bragg.
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils’ learning is severely compromised by poor behaviour. In recent months, older
pupils have experienced a sharp rise in incidents such as fights and assaults. Pupils
often defy the reasonable requests of staff. While the school has been able to
restore order to some degree, there remains an uneasy atmosphere. The school
does not always provide a safe environment.
In the secondary phase, pupils receive confusing messages about how they should
behave and how this will be managed. A significant number of students in the sixth
form behave anti-socially. Older pupils sometimes experience bullying and
intolerance from their peers. The school does not know who is affected and so
cannot protect these pupils effectively.
Pupils’ attendance is very low. Over time, many pupils have missed a lot of school.
As a result, they have significant gaps in their knowledge, including of reading and
mathematics. The curriculum does not address these gaps effectively. Therefore,
these pupils continue to fall behind and do not fulfil their potential.
Despite all of this, there are many examples of positive relationships between staff
and pupils. Pupils of all ages told inspectors that there are adults within the school
who they can trust with their worries. Children benefit from their experiences in the
nursery. Primary-aged pupils are responding well to clearer expectations. In the
secondary phase, including the sixth form, there are some classes in which pupils
learn successfully.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do
better?
The trust has failed to sustain improvements to pupils’ behaviour and attendance
since the last inspection. At times, pupils’ conduct is dangerous. This affects the
well-being of both pupils and staff, leading to widespread absences. The school has
changed its approach to behaviour management on many occasions. Consequently,
pupils and staff are not clear on what is expected of them. In the secondary phase,
pupils make limited progress through the curriculum due to frequent disruption and
absence. Staff do not feel supported to manage pupils’ behaviour.
The school’s curriculum is not designed or taught in a way which enables pupils to
learn successfully, considering their starting points. Many pupils are disadvantaged
and also have an identified special educational need and/or disability (SEND). The
strong start that children make in the nursery is not sustained. The school is not
ambitious for all children. For example, some children do not learn phonics from the
start of the Reception Year. Therefore, some of the most disadvantaged pupils are
held back when they should be learning to read. This makes it very difficult for them
to ever catch up with their peers.
Pupils experience a reduced curriculum while the school tries to address significant
gaps in their knowledge. Pupils in key stage 2, have not learned mathematics topics
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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appropriate to their age, because the school limited the scope of the curriculum for
an extended period of time. A significant proportion of pupils in key stage 3 learn a
reduced curriculum in English and Spanish because they need support with the
basics of reading.
Expectations of pupils with SEND are too low. In the Reception Year, activities to
promote independence among all children are restricted because the school does
not consider these opportunities appropriate for some pupils with SEND. In key
stage 3, some pupils with SEND have not followed a full curriculum alongside their
peers. The school has taken recent steps to address this. However, pupils with SEND
are not ready to learn the secondary curriculum, due to the limits placed on their
learning over time.
Pupils do not build up their knowledge and understanding of the curriculum
successfully, due to their frequent absences from class. This challenge is so
widespread that teaching is not able to keep up with the number of pupils who
require help to make up missed learning. Therefore, pupils are not well prepared for
their examinations. The curriculum in the sixth form does not match students’ needs
and aspirations. All of this means that many do not leave the school with the
qualifications they need.
Some primary-aged pupils receive support in managing their relationships with
others. In the secondary phase, however, pupils with social, emotional and mental
health needs find it hard to manage social situations due to unclear boundaries and
a widespread culture of poor behaviour. As a result, the school places a significant
number of pupils, including those with education, health and care (EHC) plans, in
unregistered alternative provision. Often, this does not meet their needs. For
example, pupils are not always offered a full-time education, or teaching to support
their personal development, and they do not receive their entitlement to the support
set out in their EHC plans.
Pupils in the primary phase are helped to understand puberty and the importance of
healthy relationships. Secondary-aged pupils are offered a curriculum which covers
increasingly complex issues as they grow older. However, pupils, including students
in the sixth form, often miss these lessons due to lateness or absence. This limits
their social and moral development, and the opportunities they have to develop an
understanding of other people, for example from different cultures and
backgrounds.
Careers education is basic, and many pupils do not benefit from some of its key
features, such as work experience and independent careers advice.
Over time, the trust has failed to support the school with its challenges. As a result,
the quality of the school’s work has deteriorated. The quality of education is not of
an acceptable standard. The trust does not have the capacity to bring about the
improvements necessary. The school is reliant on external support for guidance.
Some early signs of improvement in behaviour have given staff reason for optimism.
However, it is too soon to tell whether these improvements can be sustained.
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.
The trust has left pupils at risk of harm because it has not established a culture of
vigilance across the school that is underpinned by robust safeguarding practices.
Over time, safeguarding concerns reported by staff have been left unresolved. The
school has only recently established a clear system for checking that reported
concerns are followed up. The school does not yet have confidence that it
understands the risks to secondary-age pupils well enough. There is work to do
before the school can be sure that staff will notice and report the signs that older
pupils may be at risk. High rates of staff absence and turnover mean that pupils are
often supervised by staff who do not know them well. This reduces the chance that
the subtle signs that pupils may be engaging in risky behaviour will be spotted.
A serious deterioration in the standard of behaviour in the secondary phase has
resulted in pupils and staff coming to harm. Fights often break out between pupils,
requiring staff to physically intervene. Pupils and staff are unsettled by the
knowledge that their friends and colleagues have suffered injuries. Although there
are signs that these incidents are less frequent, some pupils and staff do not yet feel
safe in school. These ongoing feelings of unease are associated with high rates of
absence among pupils and staff with many choosing to leave the school.
Very high levels of persistent and severe absence, affecting pupils of all ages,
increase pupils’ exposure to local risks such as gang activity and exploitation. The
school carries out a high volume of welfare checks and works proactively with the
police and other safeguarding partners when there is an acute concern. However,
the trust’s failure to establish a coherent strategy for building a culture of regular
school attendance has left pastoral teams overstretched and unable to meet the full
range of welfare needs.
What does the school need to do to improve?
(Information for the school and appropriate authority)
The trust has not established a culture of vigilance across the school.
Consequently, the school cannot have confidence that staff will notice and report
information that might help to safeguard pupils. This places pupils at increased
risk of harm. The trust should ensure that all staff fully understand the signs that
pupils may be at risk and that they report any indications or concerns
immediately.
The trust has allowed dangerous behaviour and defiance from pupils to spread.
Pupils and staff worry that they may be hurt or injured in school. The trust should
assert firm expectations and support the school to implement a clear and
consistent approach to managing behaviour. This will help to reassure pupils and
staff that the school is a safe place to study and work.
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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A very large proportion of pupils are routinely absent from school. This severely
limits the impact of the curriculum and pupils’ educational outcomes. When pupils
do attend school, they are not punctual. This limits what they learn further, and
they also miss out on important personal development opportunities. The trust
should establish a coherent strategy for improving attendance and punctuality
across the school.
In the primary phase, including the early years, expectations of pupils’ reading,
writing and mathematics are too low. As a result, many pupils do not secure
knowledge of phonics or develop the basic skills in writing and mathematics well
enough for their age. These pupils start key stage 3 without the knowledge and
skills they need to learn the curriculum successfully. The trust should ensure that
staff have high expectations of all pupils so that they have every opportunity to
learn the curriculum content expected for their age.
The trust has not ensured that, from the early years to the sixth form, the
curriculum meets pupils’ needs. Pupils with SEND, many of whom have social,
emotional and mental health needs, experience an impoverished curriculum
because, over time, the school has not been successful in supporting them to
manage their behaviour, and has not addressed significant gaps in their learning
effectively. The trust should ensure that all pupils learn a broad curriculum which
urgently addresses any gaps in their knowledge and supports their personal
development.
Having considered the evidence, we strongly recommend that the school does not
seek to appoint early career teachers.
How can I feed back my views?
You can use Ofsted Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school,
or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted
Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as
part of their inspection.
The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a
school.
Further information
You can search for published performance information about the school.
In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with SEND; pupils who
meet the definition of children in need of help and protection; pupils receiving
statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise
meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes
pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after
children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through
adoption or another formal route).
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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School details
Unique reference number
135597
Local authority
Bristol, City of
Inspection number
10297970
Type of school
All-through
School category
Academy sponsor-led
Age range of pupils
3 to 18
Gender of pupils
Mixed
Gender of pupils in sixth-form
provision
Mixed
Number of pupils on the school roll
1,303
Of which, number on roll in the
sixth form
114
Appropriate authority
Board of trustees
Chair of trust
Gail Bragg
Headteacher
Guy Swallow
Website
www.merchantsacademy.org
Dates of previous inspection
26 February 2020, under section 5 of the
Education Act 2005
Information about this school
Merchants’ Academy is an all-through school. It includes nursery and sixth-form
provision. The primary and secondary phases occupy neighbouring sites. The
primary phase is located at Hareclive Road, Withywood, Bristol BS13 9JW. The
secondary phase is located at Gatehouse Avenue, Withywood, Bristol BS13 9AJ.
The school is jointly led by one primary and one secondary headteacher. The
secondary headteacher joined the school in March 2024.
The school is part of the Venturers Trust, a multi-academy trust which comprises
8 academies in the City of Bristol. The trust is sponsored by the Society of
Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol.
The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average.
The proportion of pupils with SEND is well above average.
The school uses 7 alternative providers, 6 of which are unregistered.
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which
requires schools to provide pupils in Years 7 to 13 with information and
engagement about approved technical education qualifications and
apprenticeships.
Information about this inspection
The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education
Act 2005.
In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief
Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is
failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons
responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the
capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.
Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education
provision.
This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19
pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic
with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.
Inspectors held discussions with the interim chief executive officer of Venturers
Trust, the primary and secondary headteachers, members of the primary and
secondary senior leadership teams, and two trustees, including the chair of the
trust.
Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English,
mathematics, geography and hair and beauty. For each deep dive, inspectors held
discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers,
spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.
Inspectors also discussed the curriculum and visited lessons in other subjects.
To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single
central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and
considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive
culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.
Inspection team
Lydia Pride, lead inspector
His Majesty’s Inspector
Matthew Morgan
Ofsted Inspector
Caroline Musty
Ofsted Inspector
Dale Burr
His Majesty’s Inspector
Helen Coulson
Ofsted Inspector
Inspection report: Merchants’ Academy
19 and 20 March 2024
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services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.
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