High Beech CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish as members of the High Beech family. This small village school is friendly and welcoming. Pupils from all age groups enjoy playing together in the school's delightful forest environment.

Pupils feel and are safe. Each pupil has named three trusted adults they can talk to if they have any worries that they need to share. Bullying hardly ever happens.

Pupils are confident that the adults will sort out any problems if they arise.

Adults have high expectations for pupils' learning and their conduct around the school. Pupils understand these expectations.

They work hard and behave well. There is rarely any disruption to lessons. Consequent...ly, most pupils learn well.

Older pupils act as role models for younger pupils. They enjoy the responsibility of supporting their younger peers in the hall and outside.

Pupils benefit from a range of rich experiences that broaden their horizons.

Every class goes on trips to venues such as St Paul's Cathedral, a nearby museum or a local farm for a 'farm to fork' day. Pupils take part in memorable workshops such as Ancient Greeks day. The school's location in the heart of the forest offers pupils valuable opportunities to learn about the natural world.

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

Since the new leadership structure was established, senior leaders have focused on reviewing and improving the curriculum. Leaders have designed a curriculum from Reception to Year 6 that is broad and balanced. The school's small size means that most pupils are in mixed-age classes.

Leaders have planned a two-year cycle for the curriculum to avoid content being repeated. Teachers ensure that pupils learn the right knowledge and skills for their year group.

In most subjects, the curriculum sets out the important knowledge pupils should learn and when they should learn it.

Some subjects are still to be reviewed. In these subjects, leaders have not yet set out in detail the sequence of learning pupils should follow. They have not carried out as many checks on how well the curriculum is working as they have in other subjects.

As a result, pupils are less able to recall what they have learned in these areas.

The curriculum in the early years prepares children well for Year 1. In mathematics, for example, children in the Reception class have a secure understanding of numbers up to 20.

They can recall pairs of numbers that make 10 and can double numbers up to 10.

Leaders promote a love of reading. Pupils read widely and appreciate the importance of reading.

They talk with maturity and enthusiasm about their favourite books. Children begin learning to read as soon as they start school. In the early years and key stage 1, skilled adults teach daily phonics sessions with consistency.

They are quick to spot any pupils who are falling behind. Targeted support helps these pupils to catch up. Daily reading lessons develop older pupils' fluency and comprehension skills.

Teachers deliver the curriculum confidently. They check how well pupils are learning before moving on to new concepts. If teachers spot gaps in pupils' knowledge or understanding, they change their teaching to address these.

In the early years, adults assess pupils' learning through a range of adult-led and play-based activities. They ask carefully targeted questions to move children's learning on.

The school is very inclusive.

There are effective systems for identifying the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The support these pupils need to access the curriculum is provided quickly, sometimes with the help of external professionals. Pupils with SEND thrive at the school and achieve well in relation to their starting points.

Leaders are keen to build pupils' character, as well as their academic abilities. All pupils, including those in the early years, demonstrate the school's core values of perseverance, respect and thankfulness. Pupils understand and celebrate the differences between them.

They learn about healthy lifestyles and relationships in age-appropriate ways. They develop as active citizens by choosing which charities they would like to support. Year 6 pupils take on leadership roles as head prefects.

Through these roles, they support different aspects of school life. Sports and leisure head prefects, for example, act as playleaders at lunchtimes.

Members of the local governing body know the school well.

They support the leadership team while providing the right amount of challenge. The trust has a clear understanding of the school's strengths and next steps. Staff appreciate the professional development opportunities they get.

Governors and staff value the way the trust and the new leadership structure have strengthened the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff and governors are well trained in all aspects of safeguarding.

They know what to look out for and what to do if they are concerned about a pupil's safety. Leaders act quickly when a concern is raised. They liaise with external agencies for advice and support if necessary.

Leaders' systems for checking the suitability of adults who come to work at the school are robust. New staff do not start work until all the necessary checks have been completed.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in a range of different situations.

This includes when they are online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, curriculum leaders have not precisely mapped out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn or the order in which they should learn them. As a result, in these subjects, pupils' learning is not as secure as it could be.

Leaders should prioritise the remaining curriculum development needed. In doing so, they must ensure that pupils are supported to build their knowledge and skills sequentially. This is so that pupils know more and remember more of the content that they are taught in all subjects.

• Curriculum leaders' systems for checking the effectiveness of the curriculum are not fully embedded in all areas. This means that they do not always know when changes need to be made. Leaders should ensure that the system for evaluating the implementation of the curriculum is in place for all subjects so that any improvements needed are made quickly and all pupils are supported to learn well.