Beaconhill Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Beaconhill Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy attending Beaconhill Primary School.

They are proud to have a beach school and thrive from 'making the most of the coast.' Pupils appreciate the opportunities offered to them during these regular visits. They take pleasure in exploring the natural wonders within the local area.

Pupils have well-established routines and know what is expected of them. Staff have high expectations for pupils. Classrooms are calm and behaviour is good.

Pupils display good manners and are polite. They know the school rules and most pupils try their best t...o follow these. There are many rewards within school to promote good behaviour and regular attendance.

The 'Golden Table' is a popular lunch time award that pupils seek to achieve.

Pupils say they feel safe in school and that bullying is rare. When it does happen, adults deal with it quickly and effectively.

School leaders ensure that highly effective support is in place for a small number of pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour or emotions.

Leaders ensure that the school vision 'where children matter' is at the heart of everything staff do. Staff are keen to ensure that they provide pupils with a wide range of experiences that go beyond the academic.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

School leaders have carefully designed the curriculum to reflect the local area and incorporate the knowledge, skills and experiences that pupils need. There is an emphasis on developing language and vocabulary from the early years. Concepts are introduced, revisited and developed as pupils progress through the school.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have adapted the curriculum to help pupils close any gaps in their learning.A love of reading permeates across the whole school. All staff read to pupils daily.

Pupils enjoy their regular visits to the well-resourced school library. Staff are keen to ensure that pupils become confident, fluent readers. In the early years provision, children regularly hear and repeat songs, stories and rhymes.

This helps them to develop their speaking and listening skills and enrich their vocabulary.

Leaders have successfully implemented a new phonics teaching programme. All staff are well trained and deliver this program exceptionally well.

Staff model sounds accurately and pick up on pupils' misunderstandings quickly. Pupils who struggle with their phonics get the extra help that they need to catch up. The books pupils read match the sounds they are learning.

The mathematics curriculum is clearly sequenced to support pupils to know and remember key facts. Vocabulary is well developed and used appropriately. Teachers check pupils' understanding carefully and correct misunderstandings quickly.

Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to practise what they have been taught. Pupils use these new skills in other subject areas. This helps pupils to remember their learning.

Teachers successfully check pupils' knowledge and understanding in English and mathematics. However, leaders know that checks on pupils' learning in other subject areas are not as strong. In some subjects, teachers do not identify pupils' gaps in learning.

This means that some pupils are not learning as well as they could across the wider curriculum.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Staff make sure they are fully included in lessons and all aspects of school life.

Staff are well trained and successfully identify pupils' needs at an early stage. As a result, pupils with SEND enjoy their learning and access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

Leaders are highly committed to supporting pupils' personal development.

Pupils learn how to maintain healthy lifestyles, keep safe and gain support if problems arise. Relationships among pupils and staff are positive and respectful. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

They talk respectfully about different faiths, cultures and lifestyles. Staff encourage pupils to think about future careers and to build skills for life in a structured way. Pupils benefit from opportunities to learn beyond the classroom and the local community.

Pupils enjoy taking on additional responsibilities and benefit from a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.

The headteacher has worked successfully with senior leaders to create a dedicated staff team. Morale is high.

Leaders take positive action to make sure everyone's workload is manageable. All staff are fully committed to the school and share the headteacher's dedication to supporting the pupils and their families.

The headteacher and governors have a very clear vision.

They know the strengths and areas for development. Together, leaders are determined to see all pupils achieve well. Governors provide strong support and appropriate challenge for the headteacher and leadership team.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Staff are well trained and follow safeguarding policies and procedures consistently.

Staff share the responsibility for keeping children safe. They know the signs that could indicate a pupil is potentially at risk of harm. They know what to do when safeguarding concerns arise.

The headteacher acts quickly to protect pupils. She works effectively with external agencies to gain support for families. She is tenacious in seeking help.

The headteacher's records of actions taken in response to concerns are systematic and thorough.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Middle leaders do not monitor the implementation of their subject plans systematically. This means that areas for development are not identified and addressed quickly enough.

Leaders should ensure that there are clear systems in place to ensure effective monitoring takes place regularly. ? Teachers do not consistently make checks on pupils' learning in some foundation subjects. This means that teachers do not accurately capture what pupils know and can do in all subjects.

At times, teachers attempt to move learning on before pupils are ready. Leaders must continue to develop and implement a consistent approach to assessment in every subject so that pupils' skills and knowledge are checked accurately and pupils' next steps in learning are successfully supported.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2011.