Bean Primary School Ofsted Report

Inspection report: Bean Primary School, 28 June 2017

Page 2 of 11

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils helps them to make faster progress as well as supporting their well-being
  • checking the quality of teaching regularly and following up any concerns swiftly
  • developing the checks on teaching and pupils’ work so that they evaluate the quality and the progress pupils are making
  • analysing patterns in behaviour so that leaders understand the causes and triggers of incidents and try to prevent them in the future
  • sharpening improvement plans so that they focus on the most important things and have measureable milestones for governors to check against
  • providing governors with more regular information about how well groups of pupils are progressing.
• Improve teaching and learning so all pupils make faster rates of progress by:
  • always having challenging expectations about what pupils can achieve
  • using assessment information to plan activities that build on pupils’ previous learning
  • ensuring that the most able pupils receive appropriately challenging work
  • checking on the progress that pupils make in lessons and providing extra support or challenge where necessary.
• Further develop the curriculum by planning how pupils’ skills in different subjects will be developed as they move through the school. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Although they have successfully tackled the weakest teaching, they believe that teaching is currently stronger than it is. This is because leaders’ checks on teaching do not ensure that groups of pupils are making good progress in lessons and over time.
• When leaders check pupils’ work and teachers’ planning, they check it has been completed, rather than how effective it is and how it helps pupils to progress. Teachers are not given clear enough guidance to help them improve. For example, English and mathematics leaders have delivered training but have not had the opportunity to check how well it has been implemented in classrooms.
• Plans for school improvement are long and unwieldy. They lack clarity and clear milestones about what needs to be achieved and by when. It is unclear how governors will check that actions have been completed successfully.
• The curriculum is wide and varied. Pupils learn about many different topics and subjects and get to experience trips to places of interest. This includes a residential trip to the Isle of Wight in Year 6. Recent developments include an increased focus on music, scientific enquiry and outdoor learning. Despite the many strengths in the curriculum, leaders have not planned how pupils’ skills in different subjects will be developed as they move through the school.
• Pupils enjoy a variety of extra-curricular clubs that include a range of sports. Sport premium funding has been used effectively to improve rates of participation. Additional volunteer coaches, for example from a local cricket club, enhance the sporting provision for pupils.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is having a positive impact on their well-being and attendance through the effective work of the well-being manager. However, the funding is not used as effectively to help disadvantaged pupils to catch up in their learning with other pupils nationally.
• The deputy headteacher leads the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well. There is a strong focus on the social and emotional needs of individuals to ensure they get the support they need. Specific funding for these pupils is used wisely to provide additional support and teaching. However, this is not yet having a strong impact on progress for these pupils.
• After the previous inspection in 2012, the standards of behaviour and outcomes declined. Every member of staff who completed the online survey felt that the school was improving under the current headteacher’s leadership. One staff member wrote, ‘Bean Primary has been through some challenging times since the last inspection but there has been a huge turnaround... behaviour in the school has improved dramatically… the children really want to learn and develop their knowledge.’
• Although the majority of parents are happy with the school, a significant minority of parents are unhappy with the way that issues are dealt with. They find it hard to communicate effectively with some leaders to resolve issues that arise.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school and community well. The chair and vice chair have led the governing body diligently and have specific and relevant expertise. Governors keep up to date by attending regular training. This shows their determination to support and challenge the school effectively. Governors fulfil their statutory duties, for example around school finance and health and safety.
• Governors interrogate the published information they receive about pupils’ performance and ask leaders challenging questions about the information that they provide. Governors visit the school regularly to check things out for themselves. However, governors do not receive regular detailed information from leaders about the progress and behaviour of all groups of pupils in the school, nor have they asked for it.
• Governors commissioned an external validation of the school’s effectiveness. However, this did not place adequate emphasis on the progress of current pupils. As a result, the school’s self-evaluation is not accurate.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Training for leaders responsible for safeguarding and all staff is up to date. This includes training on the latest government guidance, and also training to raise awareness of extremism and female genital mutilation.
• The checks on staff and volunteers working in the school are rigorous and are recorded in line with the government requirements.
• There is very effective work with the most vulnerable families and other professionals. Processes for keeping records of this work are strong and secure. Leaders are not afraid to challenge other professionals when they are not happy with their actions to protect pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is inconsistent in quality across the school. Expectations are not consistently high enough. Assessment information is not used effectively to plan activities that challenge pupils to improve their knowledge, skills and understanding.
• The most able pupils are not challenged well enough. In mathematics, they sometimes have to complete many easy questions before trying more challenging problems. Adults rarely check that the most able pupils have chosen challenging books to read.
• Where teaching and tasks are not challenging enough, pupils sometimes become disengaged and this leads to off-task behaviour.
• Too many pupils require additional teaching because they have fallen behind. This is because teaching in class is not helping them to make strong enough progress, because expectations are often too low.
• Where teaching is stimulating, pupils enjoy their learning and have positive attitudes towards wanting to do well. For example, older pupils were very enthused by the opportunity to design their own mathematical logic problems. This allowed them to apply their problem-solving and reasoning skills well.
• When teachers use questioning and assessment effectively to check pupils’ understanding, they are able to skilfully adapt tasks to make them more purposeful. This speeds up pupils’ learning.
• Extra interventions for individuals and small groups, which are often led by teaching assistants, are engaging and interactive. They are helping pupils to catch up when they have fallen behind.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school has a very detailed understanding of the individual pupils and their families. The well-being manager is highly regarded by the whole community and leads the work to support pupils and their families very effectively.
• Throughout the school, pupils respect each other’s rights and behave responsibly. They have clear values and treat everyone equally whatever their background.
• Pupils are keen to take on additional responsibilities, ranging from being house captains to watering the plants in the sensory garden. These jobs help prepare pupils to be good citizens beyond the school.
• The physical health of pupils is well developed. Healthy eating is highly important in this school. Sport and physical activity are promoted well. During the inspection, a new all-weather games area was opened by a former pupil who has represented England in women’s football.
• Pupils actively promote anti-bullying messages. They understand what bullying means, and say it is quite rare and is dealt with well by staff. A small minority of parents are less positive about the school’s ability to tackle what they believe is bullying behaviour.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Staff, pupils and parents told inspectors how behaviour has improved significantly under the leadership of the current headteacher. Pupils play well together and have very few well-founded concerns about behaviour.
• The reduction in the use of exclusion and isolation has been due to the consistent use of agreed rewards and sanctions in the school. Pupils who have found it difficult to behave well in the past have improved over time. Leaders record behaviour incidents but do not fully analyse the information they collect to spot patterns.
• In classrooms, behaviour is good. Pupils are attentive and try to work hard, presenting their work neatly. Only when teachers’ expectations are too low does the pupils’ behaviour and pride in their work wane.
• Attendance is improving, including for groups of pupils with historically very low attendance. Persistent absence is falling. Leaders and the well-being manager have successfully instilled in pupils and their families the importance of attending school regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The lack of challenge slows the progress of current pupils across the school. This includes pupils who are disadvantaged or are the most able and also the relatively few able disadvantaged pupils.
• Despite the personal support they receive, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not typically make rapid progress. This is because expectations about what they can achieve are sometimes too low.
• Rates of progress across the curriculum are too variable. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to deepen and apply their skills well in a wide variety of subjects. However, in science, pupils’ investigative skills are improving.
• The structured teaching of phonics is not yet successful enough to improve pupils’ outcomes. Too few pupils meet the required standard in Year 1, although the vast majority catch up in Year 2. By the end of key stage 2, pupils’ spelling, as well as their use of punctuation and grammar, is not strong enough.
• Current pupils who are disadvantaged are no longer falling behind their peers. However, additional funding is not used well enough to help them catch up quickly with other pupils nationally.
• Pupils make the fastest progress in Year 2 and Year 6 due to additional interventions that support them to catch up. As a result, the majority of pupils achieve the expected standards at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2.

Early years provision Good

• Children make a good start to their education in the early years. They enjoy a range of adult-led and self-chosen activities, both inside and outside, that link to a theme. For example, during the inspection children were learning and exploring around the theme of teddy bears in preparation for a picnic at the end of term.
• Teaching in the early years is good. A local authority consultant has worked effectively with staff to implement effective routines and strategies that help children to make good progress.
• Phonics teaching in the early years is accurate and helps children to make good progress in developing their early reading skills.
• Across all areas of learning, children are making good progress. A higher proportion of pupils than that found nationally achieve a good level of development. Although children are well prepared for Year 1, leaders are aware that there is potential for some children to exceed the early learning goals in some areas of learning.
• Adults model positive relationships and this leads to a calm atmosphere. Children are confident and introduce themselves to visitors. They behave well and care for each other. When working with groups of children, adults ask questions and give prompts that skilfully deepen learning or develop play.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective and the welfare of children is of utmost importance. Children who have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well cared for.
• The deputy headteacher oversees the early years. However, there is scope for her to delegate some of the responsibility to the class teacher. One of the key priorities for leaders is to develop the involvement of parents in their children’s learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 118266 Kent 10032970 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 205 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Stephen Bonner Graham Reilly 01474 833225 www.beanprimary.schooljotter2.com/ office@bean.kent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 November 2012

Information about this school

• Bean Primary School is smaller than the average primary school.
• The headteacher was appointed in September 2014. The majority of teachers have joined the school since the previous inspection.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also below average.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes. When they visited classrooms, inspectors spoke to pupils about their work and looked at their workbooks. Inspectors were, at times, accompanied by the headteacher or the deputy headteacher when they visited classrooms.
• Inspectors met regularly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher throughout the inspection. They also held meetings with other leaders and teachers.
• Inspectors gained the views of pupils by talking to them informally around the school and in lessons. They met more formally with two groups of pupils. Inspectors heard pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read.
• The lead Ofsted Inspector met with five members of the governing body, including the chair, and held a telephone conversation with a local authority consultant. Her Majesty’s Inspector held additional meetings with the chair of governors and the local authority consultant.
• 35 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered. In addition, inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day. Her Majesty’s Inspector also read two pieces of written correspondence from parents.
• Inspectors considered 23 responses to the confidential staff questionnaire.
• A wide range of school documentation was scrutinised by inspectors, including safeguarding records, monitoring records, governors’ minutes, self-evaluation documents and records relating to behaviour and attendance.

Inspection team

Lee Selby, lead inspector (29–30 June) Graham Chisnell (30 June) Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Sean McKeown (30 June) Ofsted Inspector Lynda Welham, lead inspector (28 June) Ofsted Inspector