Bearnes Voluntary Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school sits at the heart of the community it serves. Pupils demonstrate a strong sense of belonging.

They appreciate their teachers and friends. Pupils are happy, feel safe and attend well.

There have been changes to school leadership and staffing since the previous inspection.

The school is ambitious for pupils; nonetheless, these aspirations are not yet realised. In the early years and in some subjects, pupils achieve well. However, the curriculum does not support pupils in building their knowledge securely across some other subjects, including English and mathematics.

Academic achievement has been too low. This is reflected in the 2024 publish...ed results.

Staff have high expectations for behaviour.

Pupils live up to these. Many show positive attitudes towards each other and demonstrate the school's values. If bullying happens, the school is swift to act to ensure that all pupils receive the appropriate support to avoid future incidents.

The school makes sure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils, take part in trips and residential experiences. These opportunities broaden their horizons and help pupils to build resilience and confidence. Clubs like multi-sport events and cricket help develop pupils' interests.

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

Leaders are determined to stem the decline in the quality of education at the school. They have reviewed and strengthened the school's curriculum. However, recent improvements made by the school are still in their infancy.

On occasions, staff do not have sufficient expertise to ensure pupils learn the planned curriculum well. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge well.

Children get off to a positive start in the early years.

The school places a sharp focus on developing children's writing. For instance, children in the Reception Year independently write letters to Father Christmas. They also develop a secure knowledge of mathematics.

Children use vocabulary they have heard modelled by adults, such as 'one more than', to solve number problems.

In some subjects, the legacy of a weak curriculum remains. For example, many pupils in key stages 1 and 2 struggle with spelling, handwriting and the presentation of their work.

In subjects such as physical education (PE) and geography, staff check what pupils know and understand. However, in some subjects, staff do not routinely check pupils' understanding or adapt learning to ensure it matches what pupils are able to do. Consequently, in these subjects, there are some gaps and misconceptions in pupils' knowledge.

Reading is now a priority. Staff have the training they need to teach pupils to read well. Children learn to read from the start of the Reception Year.

They learn the sounds that they need to read words. Staff match books carefully to the sounds that pupils know. This helps them to build their reading fluency and confidence.

Children who need extra support receive daily practice to help them keep up with the phonics programme. However, until recently, phonics teaching throughout the rest of the school has not been as effective. Last year, the results of the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2024 were below the national average.

In addition, some older pupils have not secured enough basic phonics knowledge. This impacts on their reading fluency.

The school identifies pupils with SEND swiftly.

Skilled staff provide personalised care and support so these pupils learn well alongside their peers. Where pupils need support for their social, emotional and mental health, the school provides it. For example, sports coaches help pupils play structured games at lunchtime.

Pupils value the different sports on offer.

The school's provision for pupils' personal development is a strength. Pupils understand what it means to be a good friend.

They know how to stay safe online and the importance of not sharing personal information. Specialist assemblies linked to fire and water safety equip pupils with the knowledge to stay safe. Pupils also have opportunities to perform, such as the choir singing at the local supermarket.

Pupils are proud advocates. Pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain through the school's work on fundamental British values, such as democracy. Elected school council helps improve the school grounds and raises funds for a range of charitable causes.

Governors and trustees value the school and the contribution of the community to the school's work. They are not afraid to make decisions to improve the school. Most staff feel valued and supported in their roles.

They report that leaders consider their well-being and workload. Parents and carers are positive about the work of the school. They appreciate the thoughtful support it provides for their children's well-being and education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school is not addressing some deficiencies in how some subject curriculums are taught. This means that sometimes staff do not build pupils' knowledge well.

The trust should oversee the implementation of the curriculum and develop staff expertise so that teaching supports pupils to know and remember more across all curriculum subjects. ? Some pupils' written work contains basic handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. These errors are not routinely picked up by staff.

As a result, pupils repeat the same mistakes. The trust should ensure that the school's expectations for pupils' writing are clearly established and that teachers have the expertise to address errors. ? Some older pupils are not fluent readers and have gaps in their phonics knowledge.

These pupils have extra reading support, but this does not target and improve their phonics knowledge effectively. This means that they struggle to read new and unfamiliar words independently. The school should ensure that all pupils at the early stages of learning to read get effective help to meet their specific needs.

• In some subjects, teachers' checks on pupils' understanding are not specific enough, and staff do not readily address misconceptions. As a result, pupils continue with these misconceptions and do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers' checks on pupils' knowledge inform their teaching so that misconceptions are addressed.