Beckfoot Thornton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a mantra of 'No child left behind', and this is evident in the day-to-day experience of pupils. The school takes great care to support pupils' academic development and wider personal needs.

The conduct of pupils is impressive. Pupils welcome visitors and are keen to talk about their pride in their school. While pupils say that bullying occasionally happens, they are confident in the school's ability to deal with it properly.

Pupils feel safe in school and have an adult to speak to should they need extra support.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. Leaders make sure that pupils experience a broad curriculum that enables the...m to learn important knowledge across a range of subjects.

The school is developing a wider extra-curricular offer. There are many sporting opportunities open to all pupils, such as rugby, football and trampolining. The breadth of opportunities includes drama club, radio club and LGBTQ+ club.

These opportunities broaden horizons for many pupils.

The school is proud of the legacy left by others. It has recently opened a memorial garden where pupils and staff can reflect on the significant contribution others have made to the school and to themselves.

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

The school has developed a well-sequenced curriculum that helps pupils to experience a high-quality education. The curriculum has been planned to ensure that there is comprehensive coverage of the national curriculum alongside opportunities to explore wider concepts. The key stage 3 curriculum has been enhanced to enable pupils to experience a broad range of subjects.

The school has significantly increased the number of pupils studying the English Baccalaureate suite, with an increasing number of pupils studying a modern foreign language. This reflects the school's high academic aspiration for all pupils.

The school has high ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to do well.

Some pupils with SEND study a bespoke curriculum that is very well suited to their needs. This helps them to progress to their next steps. This support is not consistent for all pupils with SEND.

In some cases, support is less clearly specified, and this limits achievement for some pupils.

Leaders have prioritised reading. Staff read to pupils during 'Book Club'.

The books they read have been carefully chosen to give pupils access to a broad range of ambitious texts. The school has a well-planned reading programme for pupils who are at the earlier stages of reading. This is helping pupils to read increasingly well.

The school's actions to develop pupils' subject-specific literacy and vocabulary are starting to support pupils in these areas.Staff have high expectations of behaviour. Pupils respond well to this and move around the school calmly.

They are polite and courteous. Lessons have very little disruption, allowing pupils to focus on their learning. Pupils understand the behaviour system and value the use of praise and consequences.

The school has strong procedures in place to support pupils to attend regularly. There is now a clear strategy to help those pupils who struggle to attend. This means that there is proactive support in place for these pupils.

Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough, particularly disadvantaged pupils. Those pupils who are absent do not achieve as well as their peers who attend regularly.

Staff teach pupils about values such as respect and tolerance.

This is evident in the calm and welcoming environment. There are positive relationships between members of the school community. However, the careers programme is not implemented in a way that gives pupils a clear enough understanding of future pathways, particularly at key stage 4.

Leaders support staff and are mindful of their workload and well-being. Staff are proud to work at the school. The school and trust work very closely together to secure improvement.

The trust, the local schools committee and school leaders all know their role in supporting school improvement. Leaders are proud of the school and its place in the community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Persistent absence at the school is too high, notably for disadvantaged pupils. The school should intensify actions to secure better rates of attendance, particularly for some disadvantaged pupils. ? There is variation in the support provided for pupils with SEND.

The high-quality support available for some pupils is not consistently in place for all pupils with SEND. Support plans are not used to consistent effect. The school needs to work with staff to ensure that all pupils with SEND get the support that they need.

• The school's careers programme is not implemented well enough. This means that some pupils do not have a good understanding of careers. The school should increase opportunities for pupils to build a better understanding of future pathways.