Bentley High Street Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The highly skilled headteacher, alongside an effective senior and middle leadership team, has ensured that the school is improving at a rapid rate.

Although outcomes have fallen in recent years and require improvement overall, they are now strengthening considerably. Leaders have used their evaluations effectively to direct fast-paced improvements. Importantly, the quality of teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics has improved and is now typically good.

As a result, pupils' progress is strengthening. Leaders are taking steps to make sure that the quality of teaching improves even further. They know that the new approach...es to the teaching of writing, for example, still need to be fully embedded across the school.

In reading, most pupils, including children in early years, are making good progress. However, the achievement of lower-ability pupils in key stage 1 is sometimes held back because the teaching of phonics is not consistently good. The books pupils read are sometimes not well matched to the sounds and letters they know.

Teaching in early years has improved considerably. Learning gets off to a good start because staff plan to meet the needs of the youngest children well. Children, including two-year-olds, make good progress.

Pupils' behaviour is good in lessons and around the school. Incidents of poor behaviour, including bullying, have reduced substantially recently. Attendance has also improved and is now closer to the national average.

However, too many pupils are still absent regularly. Leaders have designed a curriculum that prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. It supports pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

Pupils speak with confidence about their understanding of other faiths and cultures. Pupils' progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is more variable. Sometimes, the most able pupils do not develop a deep enough understanding in some subject areas.

Leaders' plans to address this are well under way. Governors provide effective challenge and support for the headteacher because they have a clear understanding of the needs of the school.

Information about this school

This school converted to academy status in May 2017.

It belongs to the Inspiring Futures Academy Trust. The board of trustees has appointed a local governing body. The chief executive was the headteacher at the time of the previous inspection, before the school became an academy.

The current headteacher was the deputy headteacher at that time. The headteacher was promoted from the role of deputy headteacher to become head of school in 2015. She was appointed as substantive headteacher in September 2018.

The scheme of delegation is published on the school's website. There is clear separation of duties between the board of trustees and the chief executive. The chair of the local governing body is also a trustee.

The predecessor school was inspected on 18 March 2015 and was graded outstanding. This exempt school was selected for inspection because nationally published results of pupils' achievement by the end of Year 6 had declined over time. This school includes provision for two-year-olds.

This school is larger than typical. It includes pupils from 12 out of 17 possible ethnic groups. Most pupils, however, are of White British heritage.

Approximately one third of pupils are disadvantaged. This is slightly higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.