Beech Grove Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders, including governors:
  • support middle leaders to develop their leadership skills further
  • swiftly address weaknesses in teaching
  • ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is used effectively so pupils achieve well
  • develop and plan the wider curriculum for sufficient coverage and depth to ensure that pupils achieve well in all subjects.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and thereby the outcomes of pupils by ensuring that teachers:
  • set high expectations of what pupils can achieve
  • have good subject knowledge in a wide range of subjects
  • use assessment accurately to plan and adapt learning to meet pupils’ needs, including for the most able
  • develop pupils’ mathematical skills in problem-solving and reasoning activities more effectively
  • further raise expectations for pupils’ behaviour in lessons and for the quality and presentation of pupils’ written work
  • deploy teaching assistants effectively across the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Since the last inspection, there have been considerable changes to staffing, including at a senior level. The school has been through a very challenging period which has limited the school’s overall effectiveness. The appointment of the current headteacher has brought about much-needed stability to the school. Her determination and resilient leadership have reversed the decline in the school’s performance. She is supported well by the newly appointed senior leadership team.
• Leaders’ honest and accurate evaluation has identified the key priorities for improvement. Leaders’ action plans show the right strategies to bring about much-needed change. Despite signs of improvement, it is too early to measure the impact of many of these actions on improving outcomes for pupils.
• Leaders monitor the quality of teaching very effectively to ensure that all teachers are aware of what they need to do to improve. The training of staff is starting to improve their practice. However, variations in the quality of teaching remain. Leaders are successfully tackling teaching that is not yet good but recognise that more remains to be done to bring about consistently good teaching across the school.
• Leaders do not ensure that the wider curriculum is planned and taught in sufficient depth across the school. Leaders at all levels do not check pupils’ learning well enough in subjects other than English and mathematics. Too many pupils do not acquire a deep and rich knowledge in other subjects.
• Middle leaders are committed to improving standards in the subjects they are responsible for. However, they do not have the sufficient skills and knowledge they need to improve outcomes. Their understanding of what standards are like in the subjects they lead, and what needs to be done to improve them, is not clear.
• Leaders for English and mathematics have a realistic understanding of the standards in these subjects and check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. New initiatives have been introduced and standards in writing are improving across the school. However, leaders have been less successful at improving reading and mathematics.
• Leaders ensure that additional funding is used to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Effective plans are in place to support pupils’ academic, as well as social and emotional, needs. While these actions are enabling some disadvantaged pupils to achieve well, especially in writing, others do not yet make strong enough progress.
• The leader of SEND started in September 2018. He has put in place a plan to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND, including training additional adults in the classroom to support pupils more effectively. However, it is too early to see many improvements.
• The school has received support from the local authority and has actively sought out opportunities to work with other schools to improve teaching.
• The additional funding for physical education and sport is used effectively to provide support for teachers to improve their skills. Pupils benefit from a range of activities, clubs, sporting events and festivals. Local community sporting links have been particularly successful at promoting wider sporting participation.

Governance of the school

• Under the new leadership of the school, the governing body has gained a more comprehensive understanding of the strengths of the school and areas for further improvement. Governors have the knowledge and skills they need to hold leaders to account effectively. They share leaders’ high expectations and desire to rapidly improve the school. However, they know that they have not so far been fully effective in speeding up the rate of improvement in the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• Governors are committed to securing improvement. They are provided with detailed information by the headteacher about the school’s performance. Governors also visit to get a better understanding of how well the school is doing. As a result, the governing body has a better understanding of the weaknesses in school performance.
• Governors are knowledgeable about the additional funding for the pupil premium. They know how it is being spent to improve pupils’ outcomes.
• Members of the governing body attend regular training and are up to date with new initiatives.
• Governors are aware of their statutory duties and fulfil their responsibilities relating to safeguarding.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Procedures in place for the protection of pupils are well understood by all staff. Training ensures that staff have a good understanding of how to report any concerns appropriately. Records are well maintained and regularly reviewed by senior leaders. Leaders make timely referrals to the relevant body as soon as any concerns are raised.
• All members of staff have received up-to-date safeguarding training and ‘Prevent’ duty training to enable them to spot signs of potential radicalisation.
• The school has an effective safeguarding team. Together, they work well with a wide range of external agencies to safeguard pupils. Members of the team act in a timely manner to ensure that families and pupils receive early help from external agencies.
• Checks are in place to ensure that all adults in school are suitable to work with children.
• Leaders ensure that the school is safe by carrying out a wide range of risk assessments for any hazards or dangers around the school.
• Pupils are taught to stay safe and understand about online safety. Pupils say they feel safe around school. Most parents agree that their children are kept safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• There has been a lack of consistency in the quality of teaching over time. This has led to varied rates of progress across classes and subjects, so that some pupils have not made enough progress.
• While some teachers have high expectations of what pupils can learn, this is not evident in all classes. This is particularly the case with the most able pupils, who are not challenged enough to reach the standards they are capable of.
• Some teachers do not check what pupils can do carefully enough and do not plan work which is matched to pupils’ learning needs or which builds upon their prior learning. This leads to some pupils finding the work either too easy or too hard and does not help pupils, especially the most able, to make strong progress.
• Some teachers lack the subject knowledge needed to plan lessons across the curriculum that will help pupils understand what they are learning. In some classes, pupils do not have the knowledge and skills they need to complete tasks or do not move onto more challenging work.
• The presentation of pupils’ workbooks is too varied. Pupils do not take enough pride in their work and expectations of pupils’ handwriting are not consistently high enough.
• The effect of teaching assistants on pupils’ learning is variable in different classrooms. Where activities are well planned by teachers, additional adults in the class have a greater impact on the progress pupils make.
• The teaching of phonics is effective in ensuring that pupils grasp the basic sounds that letters represent. Pupils are moved on quickly to learn more complex letter combinations. Pupils use these skills to read words accurately.
• Teachers have embraced the new approach to the teaching of writing. Where teachers set high expectations and give effective feedback, pupils’ workbooks show that they are now making good progress in many classes.
• Where teaching is strongest, teachers use challenging questions to really make pupils think. Lessons are planned using what pupils already know. Teachers then adapt learning during the lesson and support pupils to improve their work. However, pupils have insufficient opportunities to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Leaders are committed to the welfare and personal development of pupils. Recent changes to senior leaders have meant that many of the school’s initiatives to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare are relatively new. As a result, leaders recognise that they have not had time to fully embed and review the impact these initiatives have made on pupils’ health and well-being.
• Pupils have a good understanding of British values and are accepting and welcoming of people’s differences. Pupils respect each other around school and are aware of different faiths and cultures. However, knowledge is limited to pupils’ immediate locality and they have little wider cultural awareness.
• Leaders provide a range of enrichment experiences for pupils to work with the local community. Pupils enjoy the many visitors they have in school and visits they make to local community events.
• Pupils are confident that if bullying takes place it will be dealt with quickly by leaders and teachers.
• Pupils are proud of their school and of the leadership opportunities that they are given. They particularly enjoy the new lunchtime clubs which many take pride in running.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Since the new headteacher was appointed, the behaviour of the pupils has improved significantly. Pupils are polite, courteous and well-mannered in and around school.
• Leaders’ tracking of behaviour shows that the vast majority of pupils typically behave well, but, where teaching is weak, low-level disruption often follows.
• In the playground, pupils play well together and staff are well trained to deal with any unacceptable behaviour.
• Pupils who spoke to the inspectors stated that there were still some occurrences of poor behaviour, but that these were increasingly rare. The reflection room is used by pupils who need time out to think about their behaviour.
• There is a small minority of parents who feel behaviour in the school is not well managed and that the school does not tackle bullying effectively.
• In the past, exclusions have been above the national average. Exclusions are now declining. Leaders are committed to reducing exclusions and supporting pupils with more-challenging behaviour in school.
• Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with the national average. Leaders have put in place clear procedures to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. Unexplained absences are quickly followed up. Leaders monitor pupils’ absence carefully and support is put in place for pupils’ attendance to improve.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over the past two years, by the time pupils reach the end of key stage 2 their progress has been below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Expectations of what pupils can achieve and the quality of teaching have not been good enough.
• Despite pupils leaving the Reception Year with a good level of development, the quality of teaching has not been good enough to secure good progress for pupils across key stage 1.
• The progress pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics varies between year groups. Pupils’ workbooks show that progress is inconsistent across the school. In some year groups, pupils are making weak progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is especially the case for the most able pupils, pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils’ achievement and knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects are too variable. For example, pupils do not have the correct scientific language and understanding to conduct scientific investigations expected by the end of key stage 2.
• The quality of pupils’ work is better in some classes than in others. However, too often, teachers accept poorly presented work and do not routinely challenge pupils to do better.
• Results from the Year 1 phonics screening check improved in 2018 to above the national average. Strong leadership and good teaching are improving pupils’ phonics skills.
• The school’s new approach to improving the teaching of writing is beginning to raise standards. Pupils are able to write at length using a good range of punctuation and grammar skills, as well as more varied and interesting vocabulary.
• In Year 6, pupils’ books show they are making strong progress and catching up as a result of highly effective teaching that challenges them to do well. Pupils’ work is of a high standard. Year 6 readers are challenged to regularly read a wide range of books. They are able to discuss them at depth.

Early years provision Good

• Children enter the early years with development and skills broadly typical for their age. Staff successfully help children to grow in their social abilities and to develop confidence.
• Children make good progress through the Reception Year and leave with a good level of development that is broadly in line with national averages. This is due to the quality of teaching in the setting.
• The early years leader has a clear view of how to improve the setting. She understands the strengths and areas to improve and, with the support of the headteacher, she has successfully improved the quality of teaching.
• During the inspection, teachers were observed using skilful questions to challenge children to think. For example, children were encouraged to find the fraction of a number of objects. Teachers’ probing questions made sure that children had understood this concept before moving onto other activities.
• Teachers’ planning ensures that children learn a wide range of skills by the time they leave the Reception class. Assessment is used accurately to plan learning that is well matched to children’s needs. Teachers then adapt learning to challenge children to do well.
• Teachers plan effectively for the most able children. However, sometimes opportunities are missed to challenge the most able writers to achieve as well as they can.
• Leaders’ work to involve parents in their children’s learning is having a positive effect. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their children’s learning with home-learning books. Parents really appreciate this partnership and helping to support their children’s learning at home.
• Children are engaged and interested in the activities on offer. Consequently, they behave well and learn cooperatively.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 123711 Somerset 10053162 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 323 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Emily Walters and Stephen Miles Claire Joyce 01823 662438 www.beechgrove.somerset.sch.uk beechgrove@educ.somerset.gov.uk Date of previous inspection January 2018

Information about this school

• Beech Grove Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.
• The large majority of the pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is broadly average.
• The headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher were appointed into their substantive posts in September 2018.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons in all the classrooms, many together with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors observed the teaching of small groups of pupils.
• Inspectors scrutinised some pupils’ work and listened to some pupils read. They spoke with a number of pupils about their views of the school and their opinions of behaviour and safety. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.
• Inspectors held discussions with leaders, staff, and governors and took into account 33 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.
• Inspectors considered a wide range of school documents. These included the school’s self-evaluation report, development plans, behaviour and attendance report, governing body documents and documents relating to safeguarding and the monitoring of teachers’ performance.
• Inspectors talked to some parents at the beginning of the day to seek their views about the school. They took into account 84 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and all additional views submitted.

Inspection team

Richard Lucas, lead inspector Paul Walker Marcia Northeast

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector