Belmont Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning, and so raise pupils’ attainment, by ensuring that:
  • there is a greater consistency in the quality of teaching in key stage 2
  • teaching is matched to pupils’ learning needs to offer support and challenge for all abilities, particularly the most-able in key stage 2
  • children are encouraged to write independently within the Reception Year and are supported to identify and correct repeated errors.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The executive headteacher and the acting head of school provide effective leadership and display a strong determination to raise standards across the school. They have worked closely with the governing body to appoint experienced senior leaders to key positions. This gives the school strong capacity to sustain and develop the rapid improvements being made.
• Senior leaders nurture a positive school morale and strong sense of well-being for all pupils and staff. The school vision demonstrates a strong commitment to equality and inclusion as key values at the heart of the learning process. Parents are effusive in their praise for the leadership of the executive headteacher and the acting head of school.
• Senior leaders have developed clear monitoring procedures to evaluate the quality of learning in each classroom. This allows all staff to share best practice and to identify areas for further improvement. Teacher subject knowledge and areas for school development are supported through effective professional development training.
• Leaders recognise the need to develop the quality of teaching and learning to ensure consistency in all classrooms. Staff have access to demonstration lessons and team teaching with senior leaders who act as a mentor to less experienced staff. The work of senior leaders in this area is proving to have high impact on pupil outcomes.
• School leaders are outward-looking and have developed links with an outstanding teaching school to develop middle leaders. Middle leaders benefit from coaching and mentoring opportunities, to ensure that they have an active oversight and responsibility for the standards of achievement in their subject areas.
• The use of school assessment data to inform future planning, and to evaluate progress over time, is effective in ensuring that the needs of most pupils are being addressed. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. This is also true of disadvantaged pupils. Most-able pupils are yet to attain higher scores in key stage 2 that would see them in line with most-able pupils nationally.
• School leaders and governors oversee a rigorous cycle of performance management for all staff. Targets are reviewed each term and are linked to the quality of teaching, pupils’ outcomes and teachers’ professional development needs.
• Classrooms, corridors and the school grounds are bright and attractive environments to stimulate interest and motivate learning. School leaders offer breakfast club provision and a wide range of after-school extra-curricular activities. The curriculum is further enriched by visiting sports coaches who offer specialist sports activities. Pupils enjoy regular educational visits to museums and galleries, and older pupils enjoy residential visits.
• Support staff have positive impact on pupil outcomes, and model a patience and sensitivity that all pupils appreciate. The level of care offered to pupils is an aspect of school life that parents value highly.

Governance of the school

• Governors are experienced, skilful and knowledgeable. They have been successful in forming a hard federation of two schools under the leadership of the executive headteacher.
• Governors display a strong commitment to the future development of the school, and have added significant leadership capacity through the appointment of effective middle and senior leaders.
• Governors agree school improvement plans. They visit the school regularly to present effective challenge to leaders. Questions asked of leaders are linked to the progress being made against agreed school action plans.
• Governors ensure that the additional funding the school receives to support disadvantaged pupils is used wisely. They track progress carefully to assess the impact of this spend in meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils. Similarly, governors use the additional sports premium effectively to enrich and extend the physical education opportunities available to pupils.
• All statutory responsibilities are met fully by governors and they oversee a robust performance management cycle for all staff.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• School leaders and governors are vigilant, and have developed a strong culture of safeguarding to protect pupils from potential risk.
• Staff training on keeping children safe is thorough and is regularly updated to keep information current. All staff understand the clear procedures in place for reporting concerns about children’s safety and welfare.
• The designated safeguarding lead has developed a strong school team who assess potential risks, liaise with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and, where necessary, make referrals to social services. All records are detailed and well maintained.
• The school site is safe and secure and staff are highly visible at the start and the end of the day. Senior leaders have received training on safer recruitment, and all employment checks are in place.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• School leaders are aware that there is some variability in the quality of teaching in key stage 2. This has been identified and is being addressed effectively. In the small number of classrooms where teaching requires additional support, mentoring and team teaching have ensured that strong outcomes in pupils’ books are being maintained.
• Teachers have benefited from high-quality professional development training to strengthen their subject knowledge. Teachers have high expectations and they use questions skilfully to deepen pupils’ thinking. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their learning and to use reasoning skills to explain their answers.
• Assessment information is used well to inform future learning. Key skills in reading, writing and mathematics show progression across year groups, and outcomes over time show strong progress from pupils’ starting points.
• The challenge for most-able pupils is improving, but is not yet consistent across all classrooms. Outcomes for the most able can be variable, and do not always result in pupils’ work that demonstrates greater stamina and depth of learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress, and the additional funding received to support their learning needs is spent effectively. Support groups and catch-up programmes are proving effective, and show strong impact on the progress of disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with an education, health and care plan and/or disabilities benefit from strong, inclusive provision across the school. Teaching is matched to individual learning needs and is supported through a wide range of specialist therapies and interventions, for example the teaching of braille and speech and language support.
• Leaders have developed a rich provision of additional support to meet the learning needs of pupils who have SEN. Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to support pupils’ learning needs within the classroom, and additional catch-up support is available for reading, writing and number skills.
• The teaching of phonics is good, and pupils are encouraged to apply their knowledge of sounds in their writing. The teaching of reading and writing is also good, and is resulting in sustained improvements across year groups, particularly so in Years 1 and 2.
• Shared reading in key stage 2 offers greater opportunities to discuss ideas and to challenge understanding of text in relation to inference and deduction. Pupils have opportunities to edit and redraft their writing to improve outcomes. This is consistent across year groups, and current outcomes in Year 6 are strong.
• The teaching of mathematics is good, and clear strategies are in place to support calculation across year groups. Pupils benefit from being able to use a wide range of mathematical resources to support their understanding of number. Strong questioning from teachers encourages pupils to reflect on and explain their answers. New curriculum plans have been introduced to ensure full coverage of the mathematical curriculum to include shape, space and measures.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pastoral care and the support for pupil well-being is exceptional. Pupils report that they are listened to, and know that their views are valued and are acted upon. Pupils are very proud of their school and they report that the level of care that they receive is outstanding.
• A wide range of therapeutic strategies is in place to develop confidence, resilience, perseverance and the determination needed to thrive. For example, at playtimes, pupils with physical disabilities and pupils with issues of emotional well-being, such as self-confidence or self-esteem, are offered secure and supervised play space to share quiet and creative activities.
• School leaders are highly successful in articulating the school vision during assemblies and across the curriculum. Diversity is celebrated as a strength, and at the forefront of school values is the commitment to equality and inclusion. This is integral to the way that pupils see their school, and supports the level of care and respect that pupils offer to each other. This promotes positive citizenship and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils’ moral, spiritual and cultural education is rich and wide-ranging. Opportunities within the curriculum celebrate differences in faith, language and culture. Pupils show a strong understanding and commitment to everyone having the right to feel safe at school and in the wider community. Pupils are courteous, and listen well as they debate their views with others.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils present highly positive behaviours for learning. They are confident, articulate and very motivated. Pupils have empathy and show great sensitivity to the needs of others. They are very supportive and consistently demonstrate care and consideration of each other. Excellent behaviour is maintained in the playground and around the school.
• Parents report that their children feel safe and enjoy coming to school. Parents feel that communication between home and school has much improved, and teachers are willing to listen to any questions that they may have. Parents welcome the support they receive through workshops and social events and demonstrate full support for the leadership of the executive headteacher and the acting head of school.
• School leaders have worked closely with parents and carers to improve attendance. Calling home on the first day of absence is routine to ensure the safety of pupils. A range of motivational certificates and rewards are in place to encourage good attendance, and leaders have established close links with families to reduce the number of pupils who have persistent absence.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2017 pupil outcomes for Year 6, as reported in published data, were seen to be below the national average. However, when the number of pupils with an education, health and care plan and/or a statement of special educational needs, who could not access the test, is taken into consideration, outcomes for 2017 were in line with the national average.
• Similarly, when taking into account pupils with an education, health and care plan and/or statement of special educational needs, results in 2017 for the phonics screening check in Year 1 were in line with the national average.
• The number of pupils who met national expectations at the end of the Reception Year was above the national average. This prepares pupils well for Year 1, and current outcomes in Years 1 and Year 2 are strong.
• Pupils’ outcomes in 2017 at the end of key stage 1 were above the national average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Most-able pupils in key stage 1 attained a higher percentage of greater depth outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics than was the case nationally.
• Current school assessment information shows that sustained improvements are being made from pupils’ starting points. Where variability in teaching remains, support from senior leaders has secured the expected standards in pupil outcomes.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics in 2017 was seen to be in line with similar pupils nationally. Current disadvantaged pupils continue to make good progress.
• School leaders recognise that outcomes for most-able pupils in 2017 were lower at the end of the Reception Year, when compared to most-able pupils nationally. Most-able outcomes were above national averages in key stage 1, but this was not maintained in key stage 2. Leaders have delivered training to raise awareness of greater depth for most-able pupils in key stage 2, and current outcomes in books show evidence of improvement. Greater depth outcomes for most-able pupils in the current Year 6 are strong.
• Pupils with an education, health and care plan and/or a statement of special educational needs benefit from additional support and therapeutic intervention to make good progress from their starting points.
• Pupils transfer their literacy and numeracy skills across a broad and balanced curriculum. Subjects such as history, geography, religious education, art and design technology show evidence of the progression of key skills across year groups.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership of early years is effective, and school leaders have a realistic understanding of children’s starting points. Provision for early reading, writing and number meets a wide range of learning needs. The teaching of phonics and mark-making is good in the Nursery and this continues into the Reception Year.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is rising and in 2017 this was above the national average. This prepares children well for Year 1.
• The percentage of most-able children achieving higher outcomes at the end of the Reception Year is below the national average, and opportunities are sometimes lost for children to write independently and at greater length. Common repeated spelling errors, such as high-frequency words and a lack of capital letters and full stops, often go unchallenged.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective. The indoor and outdoor learning environments are safe and secure, and are used well to provide exciting play opportunities to develop speaking and listening.
• Vocabulary is modelled effectively across the early years, and children listen with enthusiasm to a wide range of well-loved books. Children enjoy sharing recounts of familiar stories, and they will use their sounds to blend and segment sounds within words to support their reading. For example, high-quality written outcomes were seen following on from children’s work based on ‘The very hungry caterpillar’.
• The teaching of mathematics is good, and children have a strong understanding of number. Children are confident in using number bonds 0 to 20 in addition and subtraction, and most-able children are seen to be confident when using larger numbers. Mathematical resources are freely available to support children’s understanding of shape, money and measures.
• The outdoor environment is used well to support collaborative activities and to develop children’s gross motor skills through the use of large climbing apparatus. Fine motor skills, such as being able to hold a pen and using scissors, are given constant rehearsal through creative tasks. Play activities in the outdoor woodland area reinforce concepts such as ‘how heavy’, ‘how long’ and ‘how big’ and give children opportunities to share and to take turns.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101422 Bexley 10045437 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 469 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janet Saunders Executive Headteacher Madelaine Caplin Telephone number 01322 432057 Website Email address www.belmont.bexley.sch.uk info@bwf.education Date of previous inspection 15–16 May 2014

Information about this school

• Belmont Primary is larger than the average-sized school.
• Governors have formed a hard federation with a local special school. The headteacher is executive headteacher across both schools.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as a second language is lower than the national average.
• The majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than the national average.
• The school includes resourced provision for pupils who have visual impairment, medical or physical needs.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited all classes, accompanied by senior leaders, to observe pupils’ learning.
• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, the acting head of school, the deputy headteacher, phase leaders, subject leaders, governors and the pastoral care leader.
• An inspector met with the head of school to discuss keeping children safe, to look at staff training records and to view the school’s single central record.
• An inspector spoke to the school improvement partner on the telephone.
• A wide range of documentation was made available for inspectors to view, including school improvement plans, the school’s self-evaluation, headteacher reports to governors, monitoring records and governing body minutes.
• Inspectors and senior leaders looked at pupils’ books to discuss the quality of learning and to track the progress being made by pupils over time.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils to hear their views and also listened to pupils read.
• Inspectors spoke to parents in the playground and took into account the 107 responses from Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

Tom Canning, lead inspector Andrew Rigby Jason Hughes

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector