Beech Green Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's values, 'believe, achieve and respect', encourage pupils to work hard and acknowledge the opinions of others. Pupils have opportunities to develop an understanding of living healthy lives, their community and differences between people.

For example, the Beech Green Values Award was recently presented to Year 6 for their promotion of increased diversity in reading books.

Pupils are polite and respectful. They feel safe and know they can talk to an adult if they have concerns.

For example, they can visit the 'regulation station' at breaktime. Pupils move through the school calmly and orderly. Routines and expectations are high.

Typically, ...lessons flow without disruption. Right from the early years, children know the school's expectations for behaviour.

A wide range of clubs and activities are open to all.

Pupils enjoy a range of educational trips and visits. They can often recall topics studied that are linked to trips.

Since the last inspection, the school has revised its curriculum.

The essential curriculum knowledge pupils should know and remember is now identified in most subjects. However, the quality of learning activities varies between subjects and year groups. Pupils are not able to secure curriculum knowledge sufficiently well in all subjects.

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

The school's knowledge and understanding of its strengths and weaknesses is developing. Its analysis of information, including checks on the quality of education, is in its infancy. Therefore, the school does not currently have an accurate overview of the impact of its improvement work.

Refinements to how information is analysed, including safeguarding records and actions, have started. However, the lack of accurate analysis and external checks means governors have not been able to hold the school to account with sufficient rigour.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum is well designed.

Barriers to learning that could inhibit children's development are accurately identified and overcome. Topics and themes are sequenced to build on children's knowledge over time. Teachers place vocabulary and oracy at the heart of the curriculum.

For example, teachers model speaking in full sentences and use guides and prompts for children to follow. The range of experiences planned for children, alongside exposure to a range of stories and rhymes, supports children in developing their knowledge across the curriculum. Children enjoy looking at books and listening to stories.

Reading is prioritised and underpins the school's curriculum. Extra phonics support is put in place for pupils who fall behind their peers. Staff are trained in the school's phonics curriculum to ensure they have the subject expertise to teach phonics effectively.

The impact of this is that fewer pupils need phonics catch-up support in key stage 2.

Older pupils have a positive view of reading. They enjoy the opportunities to visit the library and small group sessions to help them improve.

The teaching of strategies to increase pupils' reading fluency is at an early stage of development.

In Reception Year, children fully engage and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning through high levels of curiosity, independence and enjoyment. Continuous provision is effectively managed to ensure that children routinely develop and consolidate their knowledge and skills across the seven areas of learning.

All activities have a precise learning focus. Exciting opportunities exist for children to write, both indoors and outdoors. Many children choose to write without prompting.

When the curriculum is well-designed and implemented effectively, pupils know and remember more. When this occurs, pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are met. Pupils revisit important knowledge at the start of lessons that helps them to remember more.

Gaps in pupils' knowledge are accurately identified and closed. For example, in religious education (RE), older pupils can recall important facts.

However, some subject curriculums are new or still in development.

In these subject curriculums, the essential knowledge pupils should know and remember has not been accurately identified. Learning activities do not always help pupils to learn the curriculum's essential knowledge. Checks on pupils' knowledge are not accurate as some curriculum content is not clearly set out.

Support for pupils with SEND is not always effective in these subjects. This limits pupils' ability to build on prior learning. For example, aspects of the English and mathematics curriculums are not securely or consistently in place.

This results in outcomes that are below national averages, for example in end of key stage 2 writing and mathematics tests.

Pupils benefit from nurturing relationships with all staff. Some pupils have additional support to help them to recognise and respond to their feelings appropriately.

As a result, pupils regulate their emotions and play well with and alongside their peers. Most pupils attend school regularly. The school has begun work to improve attendance for pupils who do not attend as well.

Older pupils have a strong recall of the school's values and how these relate to fundamental British values. Pupils learn about fairness and respect. These values help pupils to make the right choices.

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 does not implement its new curriculum as intended. The important concepts in some subject curriculums are not sufficiently detailed or carefully sequenced.

This means pupils do not learn the curriculum's essential concepts successfully. The school needs to ensure important curriculum concepts are well-sequenced and sufficiently detailed and that the curriculum is implemented effectively. ? Learning activities do not always provide pupils with the opportunities to secure and deepen their subject knowledge.

When this occurs, pupils do not build on prior learning or make connections between concepts taught. The school needs to ensure learning activities enable pupils to apply their knowledge and skills to know more, do more and remember more over time. ? The school's expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low in Years 1 to 6.

When this happens, pupils do not reach their potential and outcomes are poor. The school needs to raise its expectations of pupils, providing appropriate support and opportunities to study an ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education. ? The school does not have an accurate view of the quality of education.

It does not accurately analyse the information it gathers. Consequently, leaders, including governors, do not have an accurate overview of the school's strengths and weaknesses. The school needs to ensure information about the quality of education is used to drive school improvement consistently and sustainably.

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