Beaumont Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the proportion of pupils who achieve the higher standard in mathematics and writing at the end of key stage 2 by:
  • using assessment information to identify those pupils who are likely to achieve the higher standard at the beginning of key stage 2
  • ensuring that teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are consistently high in writing and mathematics
  • ensuring that teaching challenges the more able pupils in mathematics and writing and accelerates their progress
  • giving pupils the opportunity to practise their mathematical knowledge in the wider curriculum.
• Use assessment information more effectively to ensure gaps in pupils’ learning are clearly identified and acted on in subjects such as history and geography by:
  • identifying the skills and knowledge that leaders expect pupils to learn in each subject
  • developing a consistent approach to assessment in subjects other than English and mathematics so that teachers in each class know what to assess and when to assess it
  • using assessment information to identify pupils’ strengths and misconceptions in the wider curriculum.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher is highly focused on improving every aspect of the school’s provision. Her vision for the future is shared by governors and staff. Senior and middle leaders share the headteacher’s high expectations. Middle leaders know their roles and responsibilities well and carry them out effectively.
• Senior leaders’ thorough monitoring of the school’s provision gives them an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Self-evaluation is accurate. Leaders use it effectively to plan the next steps in the school’s drive for continuous improvement.
• Leaders make regular checks on the quality of teaching and of pupils’ work. They ensure that the most effective teaching techniques are shared. Teachers value and respond well to advice about how they can improve aspects of their practice. This has led to pupils learning better and making improved progress.
• Leaders hold meetings with staff each half-term to evaluate the progress of individual pupils. This enables leaders to target additional help effectively to those pupils who are not doing well enough.
• Teachers benefit from observing effective teaching at a nearby outstanding school. The newly qualified teacher is well supported, as are more experienced colleagues on joining the school. They settle quickly into the school’s routines and rapidly meet leaders’ expectations.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through assemblies and topic work. Staff make good use of visits, for example to the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the science week to further extend pupils’ spiritual and cultural awareness.
• Pupils’ preparation for life in modern Britain is well planned. The school’s values encourage pupils to be caring, respectful and to celebrate differences. In assemblies, pupils are taught about values such as self-belief and the right to make choices.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. The curriculum for English and mathematics is carefully planned. Pupils’ experience of the wider curriculum is good. The science curriculum gives pupils a broad experience of biological and physical science.
• The funding the school receives through the sports premium is used effectively. For example, the recently installed running track which pupils use for the daily mile.
• Assessment procedures in subjects other than English and mathematics are not good enough to enable teachers to know accurately how well pupils are making progress or to readily identify pupils’ next steps in learning. Although leaders monitor what is taught in the curriculum, their monitoring of pupils’ progress in subjects other than mathematics and English is less effective.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and use their expertise to undertake them well. Governors share the same high expectations for the school as the senior leaders. Their knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for development is good. For example, in order to have a better understanding of how well pupils are learning, a governor attends the school’s half termly meetings about pupils’ progress.
• Governors use performance management well to support and challenge the headteacher. Targets are linked to next steps in the school’s improvement, which is used to inform the performance management of all the teachers.
• Governors make sure that leaders are accountable for the additional pupil premium and service premium funding that they receive for some pupils. The effective use of this funding is ensuring that the progress made by disadvantaged pupils is at least as good as that of all other pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders and governors have established a culture of safeguarding where all adults in the school work effectively to protect children from risk. They respond quickly to any concerns about the safety and protection of pupils and children.
• The school works closely with a variety of external agencies to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Staff keep safeguarding records meticulously in order to provide a detailed account of concerns and of the actions they took. The school is highly effective at identifying and following through concerns and seeking the involvement of other agencies promptly.
• All staff and governors have undertaken training to ensure that they are confident in dealing with and reporting any safeguarding concerns. The school’s three designated safeguarding leaders have undertaken suitable training to undertake their role effectively. Staff new to the school are trained in safeguarding as part of their induction.
• Leaders and governors responsible for staff recruitment have been suitably trained to manage the process safely.
• Teachers and governors have undertaken training to enable them to protect children from radicalisation and extremism.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Typically, teachers’ plan learning so that work is set which challenges and interests pupils of all abilities. This enables pupils to make good progress, and they enjoy their learning.
• Leaders’ drive to ensure that teaching is consistently effective is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress. Teachers and teaching assistants have received high-quality training. Subject leaders have received training that has equipped them to be able to ensure their subject areas are taught well across the school.
• Teachers ensure the work of teaching assistants is carefully planned. As a result, teaching assistants make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning.
• The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics develops pupils’ knowledge and skills in these subjects well. The daily guided reading session is highly effective in developing pupils’ confidence to read and extend their vocabulary. Phonics is taught well enabling pupils to successfully sound out unfamiliar words. When reading, pupils are able to work out the meaning of new and unknown words and to make good use of dictionaries to find this out when they are unsure.
• In both key stages, work in books shows that pupils make good progress in their writing. Letter formation and the use of punctuation develop quickly in key stage 1. Good use is made of extended writing, which has had a positive impact on pupils’ use of grammar. The use of writing in the wider curriculum, for example history and geography, is extensive.
• From work seen in books in both key stages, the teaching of mathematics is well planned. Consequently, pupils experience a wide range of mathematical skills and knowledge.
• In mathematics, times tables are taught effectively. Pupils actively take part in a timed session to see how quickly they can solve tables up to the twelve times table, and they enjoy this challenge. It prepares them well to apply their knowledge of multiplication facts to help solve mathematical problems.
• Pupils respond well to questioning which develops their learning. It provides helpful guidance to pupils on what they have learned and what they need to learn next. Teachers are becoming increasingly effective at using assessment to help pupils learn, although this practice has yet to be fully established across the school in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teachers regularly check the accuracy of their assessment of pupils’ work in reading, writing and mathematics through working with another school and representatives of the local authority. As a result, the assessments teachers make of how well pupils are learning are accurate.
• When pupils arrive at the school, teachers check what they already know and can do in reading, writing and mathematics. They typically use this information to plan sequences of learning that will effectively build on pupils’ starting points.
• Sometimes, the tasks teachers set are not a good match for pupils of different abilities. For example, where this happens the most able find the work set undemanding.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils’ welfare is effectively managed. Where needed, the school takes swift action to ensure vulnerable pupils are well cared for.
• Relationships between pupils and between pupils and adults are good. Pupils treat each other with respect and in discussion listen to each other’s views.
• The early morning breakfast club effectively helps pupils settle into the school’s daily routines.
• At breaktimes, pupils readily take part in activities such as the daily mile. They play well together and are well supervised by adults. Quiet areas are provided for those pupils who prefer somewhere to sit and take part in less active play. Pupils say that they feel safe at playtimes and are confident that they can talk to an adult should they need to.
• Induction of pupils new to the school and of new entrants is a strength. Staff identify the learning and welfare needs of pupils quickly. Leaders are acutely aware of the needs of those pupils who join throughout the year from service families. As a result, pupils quickly settle into the life of the school.
• Leaders engage well with parents. The majority of parents spoken to say that communications from the school are timely and helpful.
• The promotion of personal and social development is effective and is taught as part of the wider curriculum. For example, pupils learn to explore their feelings, emotions and their self-control, and how to manage anger.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Absence is slightly above national averages for primary schools. Leaders are effective at monitoring attendance and are quick to follow up absence. The attendance for each class is monitored and good attendance celebrated. Unexplained absence of individual pupils is quickly followed up. As a result, pupils mostly attend well.
• Decisive action taken to improve pupils’ punctuality has resulted in far fewer late arrivals. The punctuality of pupils is good.
• Lunchtimes are orderly and well supervised. Pupils collect their lunch and eat in table groups. They engage well with each other.
• Typically, pupils behave well because teaching engages their interest.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Leaders have focused on raising attainment and accelerating progress in reading, writing and mathematics for all pupils. Work in books and assessment information indicates that progress is good across all year groups. Results at the end of 2018 indicate that outcomes for pupils at the end of Year 6 are good and have improved since 2017. In reading, writing and mathematics, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard was similar to the national average. At the end of Year 2, in 2018, attainment in reading and mathematics improved.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils is improving in writing and mathematics, but is still less than the progress of other pupils in the school. The numbers of disadvantaged pupils is too small to report by cohort.
• Pupils with SEN and/or disabilities make progress in line with other pupils in the school. This is because they benefit from good support for their learning, based on their individual need.
• In key stage 1, pupils make good use of their phonics skills in reading. However, results of the Year 1 phonics screening check declined slightly in 2018 and are below the national average.
• Work seen in books indicates that the progress made by pupils in other subjects such as science, history and geography is good. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics are not good enough to enable them to know how well individual pupils are learning.

Early years provision Good

• At the end of the Reception Year, the proportion of children who achieve a good level of development is close to the national average as a result of effective teaching.
• Leaders have a clear and accurate view of the strengths and areas for development in the provision. They have a strong determination that children will make good or better progress.
• Leaders effectively use assessment information so that they know accurately how well individual children and groups of children in the class are learning. The school makes good use of links with other schools and the local authority to check the accuracy of teachers’ assessments. Assessments show that children make good progress towards all the early learning goals.
• Because of effective teaching children make good progress from their starting points. Staff make accurate assessments of children’s learning and, as a result, quickly identify gaps in their learning.
• Staff have a good understanding of each child’s social and emotional needs. Relationships are warm and caring which results in children being happy, engaging well with their learning and feeling safe. Children behave well. They readily play independently and in groups.
• Leaders ensure that children make a smooth transition into school. Staff undertake home visits and visits to other pre-school settings before children join the class. This helps children settle into school well once they start. They quickly learn routines and establish relationships with other children and adults.
• Due to effective teaching, the development of pupils’ phonics skills is good. In a phonics lesson, children were practising the sounds made by different letters. They looked at how the letter S is written and could make the shape of an S with their fingers. Their knowledge of letter sounds is good.
• The outdoor learning area is vibrant and used well. It has been much improved since the last inspection. Activities are effectively linked to learning through structured activities and play. During an afternoon session, children engaged well in the outdoors area through tasks which reinforced the learning aim of the morning.
• Communication with parents is effective. Parents are encouraged to come into school and look at children’s learning journeys. Workshops for parents in phonics and reading are valued by parents.
• The good progress that children make in the Reception class prepares them well for their next stage in education when they join key stage 1.
• Children start school with skills and abilities that are less than seen typically in communication and listening. Their mathematical skills are better than their communication and listening skills. From these higher starting points, children make relatively less progress in mathematics.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 133605 Suffolk 10053232 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 Community 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 83 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mrs Stella Scanlon Mrs Mayleen Atima Telephone number 01473 825 120 Website Email address www.beaumontcp.co.uk admin@beaumontschool.suffolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24 25 May 2016

Information about this school

• This school is smaller than average with 4 mixed-age classes. Nursery-aged children and the reception class are taught together.
• Since the last inspection, considerable changes in staffing have taken place, including the headteacher who was appointed in September 2016.
• Over half of pupils come from service families.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the addition funding provided through the pupil premium is high. Pupils eligible for this funding are either those in receipt of free school meals or those from service families.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is high and well above the national average.
• The number of pupils who join or leave the school during the year is high.
• A breakfast club and after school clubs are provided by the school.

N

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed teaching in every class, with the majority of observations undertaken jointly with school leaders.
• The inspector looked through a range of pupils’ work from across the curriculum with school leaders and listened to pupils read.
• The inspector held meetings with leaders to review provision in a range of areas, including SEN and/or disabilities, pupils’ personal development, behaviour, and welfare and safeguarding.
• A meeting was held with the governing body.
• To gain the views of parents, the inspector met with some of them at the start of the day.
• The inspector took account of the online parent questionnaire, Parent View, completed by 26 parents and the comments made by 13 parents.
• The inspector looked at a wide range of documentation, including the self-evaluation summary, the school’s development plan and policy documentation.
• The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime and lunchtime, when pupils were moving around the school and during lessons.
• To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including the single central record, policies and procedures and the school’s records of behaviour and incidents.
• The inspector held a meeting with the school council and spoke to pupils during the course of the inspection.

Inspection team

Paul Hughes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector