Bevington Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Since the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has been through a period of difficult change.

Pupils at this school are not receiving a high-quality education across their subjects. The number of staff leaving the school has been high and this has disrupted pupils' learning. Some improvements are emerging in mathematics and English.

In other subjects, the curriculum is not being delivered effectively.

Pupils say that they feel safe and that bullying is not common. They are confident that teachers would address bullying correctly.

Pupils say that all would be welcome in the school.

Most pupils are respectful towards s...taff and work hard during lessons. Some disrupt learning or choose not to take part in the set activities.

Pupils' behaviour when moving around the school and in the playground is not reliably positive. They are sometimes physical with each other and use poor language.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can learn to do, but these expectations are not yet realised.

Pupils do not achieve as well as they should across the range of subjects. Many do not learn to read quickly enough. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) sometimes have poor experiences in the classroom.

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

An interim leadership team was put in place in September 2022 and a new curriculum is now ready across subjects. This shows ambitious expectations of what pupils should know, starting from Nursery. The new curriculum outlines a broad range of subjects with depth matching that of the national curriculum.

Pupils are not consistently receiving this curriculum in the classroom. The school has not ensured that pupils consistently benefit from high-quality teaching. In Years 3 to 6 in particular, pupils do not have regular lessons in the full range of subjects.

This leads to a narrow and unbalanced curriculum that does not build up knowledge and skills across all subjects over time. Children in the early years have a varied experience. At times they benefit from high-quality interaction with caring adults.

However, these interactions are not frequent enough and some children can remain disengaged for periods of time.

Many pupils achieve well in mathematics and English by the time they reach the end of Year 6. However, there is not a consistent experience across subjects, and especially for pupils with SEND.

The ambition for what pupils with SEND can achieve is not high. Some benefit from being integrated into lessons. However, some pupils with complex needs are not receiving a high-quality education.

They are given simple work to complete, or allowed to opt out of work in classrooms without receiving support. On occasion, they receive extra sessions from external agencies. This is not well organised and pupils miss access to important learning at times.

Most staff involved in the delivery of early reading have been well trained and know how to deliver the programme effectively. Weaker readers, however, are not learning to read quickly. The additional time committed to them is infrequent and irregular.

This is because there is inconsistent staffing and a lack of capacity to prioritise these pupils' needs. Some pupils with the highest levels of need do not benefit from the expertise of staff and are allowed to opt out of learning to read.

The school has been successful in ensuring that pupils attend the school regularly.

Rates of attendance and punctuality are high and leaders work effectively with parents and carers to promote good attendance.

The school has established a new behaviour policy, but it is not yet applied consistently and fairly. The school does not support and oversee this area effectively.

Staff, including early career teachers (ECTs), are not confident in the management of pupils' behaviour. Some pupils demonstrate physically challenging behaviour, including those in the early years, and the school is not able to support these pupils well. The number of suspensions at the school is high.

Pupils who are vulnerable are more likely to be suspended than others and some do not reintegrate well back into school. As a result, a small number of pupils receive multiple suspensions.

The school's work to support pupils' wider development is variable.

Pupils do not receive regular lessons to develop their awareness of protected characteristics and positive relationships. This aspect of learning is not prioritised and quality teaching does not occur. Pupils do respect those who are different from themselves, however.

But overall, the school does not prepare pupils well for the next stage of their education.

Most staff report that their well-being and workload are taken into consideration. The proportion of ECTs in the school is high, and at times this means they do not have the opportunity to learn from more experienced teachers.

The oversight and governance of the school is inconsistent. Over time, those responsible have not challenged leaders sufficiently or held them to account in the interest of pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils are not helped to catch up in their reading quickly enough, including pupils with SEND. This means that they are unable to fully access the curriculum.The school should ensure that early reading is prioritised and that the weakest readers receive frequent and consistent support so they catch up quickly.

• Pupils are not consistently receiving a broad and balanced curriculum. This is because the new curriculum is not embedded and some subjects are infrequently taught, particularly at key stage 2. Pupils are not building up knowledge in a range of subjects, and are not prepared for their next stage of learning.

The school should strengthen its systems for checking that the curriculum is delivered as intended. ? Pupils with SEND are not receiving an ambitious, high-quality education. This means that their experience of the curriculum is limited, and they do not make sufficient progress.

The school should ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are met, that they have full access to the curriculum and achieve well. ? Sometimes pupils do not behave well and the behaviour policy is not consistently effective. This means lessons are disrupted, pupils do not follow positive routines, and that incidents of poor behaviour occur frequently.

The number of suspensions is high and pupils with SEND are disproportionately affected due to a lack of alternative support for them. The school should ensure that reasonable adjustments are made for pupils with SEND. Systems should be embedded effectively and staff supported to secure positive behaviour from pupils across the school.

• Pupils' wider development is not prioritised. This means that pupils do not securely understand key aspects of life in modern Britain, and are not ready for their next stage of schooling. The school should ensure that this area is prioritised and a high-quality programme implemented well.

• Governance of the school is not holding leaders to account sufficiently well. This means that poor quality is not being sufficiently challenged, and the strategic direction needed to make rapid improvements is not in place, to the detriment of pupils. The school should strengthen its governance arrangements to ensure that the necessary expertise, consistent systems and high-quality strategic oversight are in place to support and challenge leaders to improve the school.

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