Belvidere Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Belvidere Primary School is a friendly place where pupils are happy and proud of their school. Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive.

Pupils say that they enjoy coming to school and that they feel safe. They warmly welcome visitors and enjoy sharing their learning.

Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.

However, the quality of education is not the same in all subjects. Sometimes, the work that pupils complete does not build on what they have learned previously. This is because the curriculum is not designed well enough.

Leaders have high expectations for pupil's behaviour. Pupils follow the 'Belvidere 6 Rs': respo...nsible, respectful, reflective, reliability, resilience and rejoice. Pupils behave well in lessons.

They are keen to hold open doors for each other and adults. At lunchtime, pupils treat each other with kindness. They get on well together and respect each other.

Pupils understand about the different types of bullying. They say that bullying is rare, but they trust adults to deal with it if it did happen.

Sporting and musical achievements are important to the school.

All pupils in key stage 2 learn to play a musical instrument.

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

Leaders want the best for pupils and have ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced. Leaders have recently made some changes to the curriculum, for example in English and mathematics.

However, in some subjects, including art and history, there remains more work to do to ensure that leaders identify the precise knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn. Teaching in these subjects is sometimes focused more on activities than on securing the essential knowledge needed. As a result, pupils do not always learn about things in the right order or acquire the knowledge and skills they need in enough depth.

Curriculum leadership has an impact on subject development. Where subject leaders have more expert knowledge, they have made improvements to the curriculum. However, some curriculum leaders do not know the right actions to take.

This is because they do not have the appropriate skills to check how well the curriculum helps pupils learn what they need to know.

Children get a good start to life in school in the early years. Staff have a clear understanding of how young children learn and the support that they need.

Curriculum planning in the early years is well sequenced and allows children to build on what they already know and can do. In Nursery, children quickly settle into school and develop very strong relationships with the staff and each other. Staff work skilfully with children in the Nursery to develop speech and language.

Children practise their listening skills so they can hear and recognise early sounds and letters. In Reception, this then moves swiftly on to more formal phonics teaching. There is a structured approach to reading across the school.

Pupils read regularly at home and in school. The books that pupils read are well matched to sounds they have been learning.

Pupils want to do well in school and try their best in lessons.

However, at times, staff's expectations of pupils are not high enough. For example, some work in books is very hard to read and staff do not pick up on repeated errors, such as forgetting to use a capital letter at the start of a sentence or for a name.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support and are fully included in all aspects of school life.

Where appropriate, pupils get extra help. For example, pupils with SEND may receive extra adult support or practical equipment to help them to learn.

Some aspects of pupils' wider development are well established.

Pupils enjoy having important responsibilities in school such as house captains and peer mentors. Pupils understand why they need to show respect to others. They welcome and respect everyone in school and celebrate their differences.

Leaders plan trips, visitors and experiences that enrich pupils' day-to-day experiences. The school provides good pastoral support and children know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. However, there are weaknesses in the sequencing and delivery of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural curriculum.

Pupils have very limited knowledge of different people's faiths. They also have very limited knowledge of British values such as democracy and tolerance.

Governors are proud of the school and want pupils to achieve well.

Staff, including early career teachers, say that leaders support their development and well-being. Staff are proud to work at the school. They believe that they are well supported and that leaders consider their well-being and work-life balance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff ensure that pupils are well looked after and supported. All adults receive the training that they need to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

When staff report concerns, leaders with responsibility for safeguarding follow these up in a timely way, working with agencies if appropriate.

Pupils feel safe in school and can talk to an adult or a peer mentor if anything is worrying them. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe both in the local area and when using the internet.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not identified and sequenced the key knowledge that they want pupils to remember. As a result, pupils do not develop a deep understanding of that subject. Leaders should ensure that particular knowledge and skills are identified precisely and pupils have opportunities to develop these, building on what has been taught over time.

• Pupils' knowledge of some aspects of British values and different faiths is limited. As a result, they may not be as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be. Leaders should ensure that pupils develop a better understanding of all aspects of British values and of different faiths.

• Some subject leaders are not leading and overseeing curriculum development effectively. In some cases, they lack the knowledge and skills to make the required improvements. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are supported to fulfil their roles so that they can improve the quality of education in their subject areas.

• Staff do not always have high enough expectations of pupils. Sometimes pupils' work is hard to read and staff do not identify or address repeated errors. Leaders should ensure that staff have sufficiently high expectations for pupils about their work so that common mistakes are not repeated.