Beacon Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality and impact of teachers’ assessments of what pupils have learned to ensure that pupils’ learning and understanding are embedded and deepened, and their progress accelerated further.
• Improve the efficacy of leaders in monitoring and evaluating standards across the school, including the assessment of subjects beyond English and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The principal’s relentless drive for excellence is shared by staff, parents and pupils. Her determination to create a school that serves and celebrates its pupils and the wider community is evident. She has created a close sense of teamwork between staff and parents, to the benefit of the pupils.
• The principal and senior teacher lead the school very effectively. They have a clear vision of how the school can improve further and have put plans in place to make this a reality, for example through the training and development of new teachers to meet the difficulties in teacher recruitment.
• Leaders have secured a culture of care and challenge which brings out the best in each pupil. The school’s warm and welcoming environment immediately captures the imagination of pupils and adults alike. Year 3 pupils told an inspector how much they loved coming to school and this was echoed by the parents that inspectors spoke with on the school playground. Pupils are encouraged to be industrious and inquisitive learners from their arrival at the school, with children in the Reception class often heard asking each other, ‘Are you a busy worker?
• Parents are unanimously praiseworthy of the school’s leaders and staff. Communication between school and home is undoubtedly a strength of the school. Parents feel their views and opinions are valued and that nothing is too much trouble for staff, particularly in times of family need or crisis.
• The school’s advisory council acts as a valuable and effective source of information to and from the school’s leaders. Although they have no governance role, council members believe that this arrangement provides them with a valuable insight into the operation of the school. Leaders listen to and act on ideas shared at advisory council meetings. They utilise the skills and professional experience of council members to enhance the pupils’ education, along with the stature of the school within the community.
• Subject leaders are increasingly effective in their roles, even at this early stage of the school’s development. They have identified many of the strengths and areas for improvement in their subjects. The principal has prioritised the delegation of roles and responsibilities, ensuring that staff are supported through a wide range of training and development opportunities.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is well catered for through the breadth of the curriculum and ethos of the school. Respect for everyone, and the environment, is instilled in the pupils from their first day at school and this is evident through the fine condition of the school building and the work done with the local eco-centre. Pupils are proud of the roles of responsibility they are entrusted with and have an understanding of citizenship that is appropriate for their age.
• Leaders use the additional funding provided by the pupil premium and physical education and sport premium effectively. Disadvantaged pupils achieve well because additional support is pinpointed at an early stage and its impact assessed regularly. Pupils have access to a very wide range of extra-curricular activities and sports, with leaders analysing participation rates to ensure that pupils of all backgrounds and abilities have equality of opportunity and access.
• The trust offers very good support to the school and its leaders. Trust officers have a detailed understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development because they have been associated with the school from the bidding, design and build stages. The trust has been very effective in securing good-quality leadership for the school and identifying the potential of school leaders who share best practice within the local area and wider trust network.
• Leaders’ monitoring and assessment of standards in subjects other than English and mathematics are not yet well enough developed. While procedures for reviewing pupils’ progress and attainment are well established, the impact of these systems on raising standards across the curriculum is not yet secure.

Governance of the school

• The trust board and chief executive officer take responsibility for the governance of the school. Through meetings with officers and regular updates sent to the trust, school leaders are held rigorously to account for pupils’ progress and attainment. As a result, challenging targets are in place for each child, with a particular focus on those pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Trust officers hold the principal to account during their regular meetings. Officers check the accuracy of the principal’s judgements on the school by observing lessons and scrutinising pupils’ work. As a result, pupils make progress that is at least good from their starting points.
• The principal’s evaluation of the school’s performance is broadly accurate and informs the plans for further school improvement. Teachers’ performance targets are closely linked to the school’s priorities for improvement. The trust provides the principal with significant challenge to ensure that pay awards reflect teacher performance.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The principal and trust officers are clear about roles and responsibilities relating to safeguarding, safer recruitment and health and safety that would normally be discharged by a governing body. The school’s processes and procedures for these are well established and thorough. The school administrator has a vital role in ensuring that information on both of these areas is transmitted to the central trust in line with clear time expectations, and she discharges this role very well.
• Leaders ensure that staff training on safeguarding and child protection is regular and effective. All staff are vigilant for, and knowledgeable about, the signs of pupils who may be at risk of harm and the steps they need to take if such a situation arises.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of each pupil. The very positive relationships between adults and pupils help to create a calm and purposeful atmosphere in classrooms and around the school. The staff’s desire for each pupil to succeed is evident at all times.
• The teachers ensure that teaching assistants understand their role in supporting the pupils’ learning. This strong teamwork, combined with well-directed questions, ensure that pupils usually make good progress during lessons.
• The teachers set tasks that are usually well matched to pupils’ abilities. All pupils, including the most- and least able, relish the additional challenges designed to extend their learning. The teachers ensure that groups of pupils, such as those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the support they need to make progress that is at least as good as that of other pupils during lessons.
• The teachers manage pupils’ behaviour consistently well. Pupils are eager to learn and keen to accept new challenges. This love of learning extends to homework, with parents telling the inspectors how much their children enjoyed the tasks set and how this stimulates discussions and investigations at home.
• The pupils enjoy reading and the school places a high priority on the development of strong reading skills. Phonics is taught well and this provides pupils with a solid platform on which to build their reading skills. The pupils’ reading books are appropriate to their abilities and pupils use their developing phonic knowledge to successfully decode unusual or unfamiliar words.
• The teachers and teaching assistants display good subject knowledge in lessons. This was evident in a Year 3 mathematics lesson on fractions, when adults used accurate vocabulary and expected the same in return from the pupils. The pupils were expected to use their developing knowledge to solve mathematical problems, accessing additional resources such as counters if they needed to support or check their calculations.
• Teaching, learning and assessment are not yet outstanding because teachers are not sharp enough at assessing and identifying the next steps in pupils’ learning. Their feedback to pupils on their work is not sufficiently incisive, and misconceptions in learning are not addressed consistently well. As a result, pupils’ learning is not well enough embedded and errors in basic skills, for example in writing, are repeated over time.
• In subjects other than English and mathematics, assessment practices are not yet well enough developed to ensure that learning tasks are well matched to pupils differing abilities. As a result, pupils often undertake the same tasks, regardless of their ability.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• From their point of entry into the school, pupils are taught the fundamental British values of respect, tolerance and understanding. All of the school’s staff act as excellent role models for the children. Adults and children show immense pride in the school and the part they play in making it an enjoyable place to work and learn.
• The leaders, teachers and teaching assistants have the highest aspirations for each pupil. They encourage pupils to have a go at new challenges, celebrating success but also encouraging resilience when things don’t go so well. The teachers encourage teamwork and collaboration from an early age and this is reflected in the pupils’ strong desire to help and support each other.
• The school’s curriculum and wealth of extra-curricular activities help to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. Visitors from the local community, including the emergency services, are used to enrich pupils’ learning. Pupils’ involvement in, and service to, the wider community are encouraged, for example through the choir attending community events.
• Pupils and their parents agree that the school is a safe place. Year 3 pupils told an inspector that when pupils very occasionally fall out, they know that adults will help them to deal with any problems. Pupils are taught about how to stay safe, for example on the internet, at a level that is appropriate to their age and experiences.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school and at different times of the day is exemplary. They are polite, courteous and thoughtful to each other and to adults. Pupils of all ages are excellent ambassadors for the school, talking willingly, confidently and engagingly to adults. In one example, a pupil made sure that they showed an inspector all of their favourite parts of the playground including the friendship bench; in another example, a pupil explained to an inspector that the school council badge they were wearing showed their role of responsibility, which they delightfully described as being that of a ‘thermonitor’.
• Behaviour logs show that incidents of poor behaviour are rare and dealt with promptly. The leaders review records regularly to ensure that any patterns or trends are identified and addressed quickly.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved since the school opened and is now in line with the national average. Leaders monitor pupils’ attendance very closely and challenge absences promptly. The work of the school’s family support worker and close links to the education welfare officer have ensured that rates of persistent absence are very low.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The majority of pupils make progress that is at least good over time. As a result, most pupils attain well and are well equipped for the next stage of their education.
• Leaders follow the performance of specific groups of pupils closely, particularly where they may be at risk of underperformance, for example pupils who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The principal and senior teacher meet with teachers regularly to ensure that any decline in a pupil’s progress is addressed promptly. As a result, all groups of pupils, including the most able, achieve well.
• The majority of children enter the school at levels of development that are below typical. From their starting points, children make good progress and achieve well in the early years.
• Pupils’ attainment in the Year 1 phonics screening check shows that they continue to make good progress. For the past two years, the proportion of pupils achieving the standard exceeded the national average.
• 2016 achievement information for pupils leaving key stage 1 shows that the proportion of pupils meeting or exceeding the expected standard in reading and writing was higher than the national average. Pupils’ outcomes were broadly in line with the national average in mathematics and science. The most able pupils achieve well. The proportions of pupils attaining at a greater depth were above the national average in writing and mathematics and in line in reading.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. The most able and least able disadvantaged pupils achieve well over time, particularly in relation to their starting points. Nevertheless, although the difference between disadvantaged pupils attending the school and non-disadvantaged pupils nationally is diminishing, it is not yet closed. However, internal school assessment information shows that pupils who have attended the school since it opened achieve particularly well.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress and attain well in relation to their starting points.
• Outcomes are not yet outstanding because work in pupils’ books shows that pupils’ progress is inconsistent. Teachers miss opportunities to embed and deepen pupils’ learning and progress is not as good as it could be, as a result.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Provision in the early years is outstanding. Indoor and outdoor learning spaces are well planned and resourced. Children develop good learning and social skills very quickly and this enables their learning to flourish at a quick pace. The close links and effective communication between staff and parents ensure that children in the early years are kept safe.
• Dynamic leadership and excellent teaching enable children to thrive. The teacher and teaching assistants have a very good understanding of children’s individual development needs. Consequently, children make very good and often outstanding progress, ensuring they are well equipped for the next stage of their education.
• Leaders have targeted resources, such as the pupil premium, effectively. As a result, children who are disadvantaged, including the most able, make excellent progress, from their starting points.
• The staff work seamlessly as a team because the early years leader is very effective in communicating her vision of high-quality early years learning. Children are well supported in their learning, allowing them to perform at their best in all areas of their development.
• The staff assess children’s learning needs accurately and promptly. The teacher and teaching assistants have a very good understanding of the learning needs of the children, including the most able. They plan learning opportunities for children that enhance their physical, social and academic development. Parents are encouraged to share ‘wow’ moments from home and staff use these to support their own assessments of each child’s next steps in learning.
• The children have a very good start to their school career. The children and their parents have a comprehensive induction programme, as well as home visits before they join the school. The children are well behaved and follow instructions quickly, enabling them to maximise their learning opportunities. Consequently, after only a short time in school, they understand the class routines and display caring attitudes towards each other.
• The children apply themselves to their learning for extended periods of time. The teacher plans activities that cater for the children’s varied interests, taking a lead from the comments of the children and their parents. For example, for one homework, children were asked to talk to their parents about an adventure. This was then used for the starting point for taking a trip to the moon, using the book, ‘Whatever Next!’ as inspiration. In preparation, children were making jam sandwiches and passports for the trip and they were eager to see the space rocket that classmates were building from crates in the outdoor area.
• Children arrive in the early years from a range of nursery settings, with the majority at levels of development that are below that which is typical for their age. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of the early years is above the national figure.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139702 Lincolnshire 10021388 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 121 Appropriate authority The Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer with responsibility for governance of the academy Wayne Norrie Principal Telephone number Website Email address Corinna Wright 01754 879211 www.beaconprimaryacademy.org cwright@beaconprimaryacademy.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Beacon Primary Academy opened as a new primary school in September 2014 and is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Currently, the school has classes for pupils from Reception to Year 3 and will expand by one extra year group each year until there is a Year 6 class. After a period in temporary accommodation, the school took possession of new purpose-built premises during spring 2015.
• The school is part of the Greenwood Academies Trust. The trust provides a variety of services to the school and acts directly as the governing body to the school.
• Children in Reception attend the school full time.
• Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and the school has a much lower than average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish on their websites.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. They observed the teaching of early reading skills and listened to pupils reading. Inspectors talked to pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors held meetings with the principal, subject leaders, a representative of the school’s advisory council and officers from the Greenwood Academies Trust.
• Inspectors spoke to parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 22 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s own self-evaluation of current performance and plans for improvement; the school’s most recent information on the achievement and progress of pupils; information relating to the safeguarding of pupils and the school’s most recent information relating to the attendance of pupils.

Stephen McMullan, lead inspector Paul Lowther

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector