The Bewdley School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This welcoming and inclusive school is wholeheartedly focused on its pupils. Pupils settle in quickly when they arrive.

They understand that staff care for them and want them to succeed. Pupils feel safe and know they have support around them when they need it. They go on to do well in the subjects they study and appreciate the help they get to achieve.

Lessons are purposeful. Pupils behave well in classrooms. There is a healthy buzz on the corridors and in the dining hall.

Pupils are respectful, kind and polite as they move around the site. They appreciate the importance of being on time to lessons. Strong and effective pastoral care is available.

T...his helps those who need support to engage positively with the life of the school.

Pupils experience a range of different activities and opportunities that aid their personal development. Built on 'The Bewdley School' values, the school uses outside speakers and internal expertise to help pupils grow towards their next steps in education or into the workplace.

For example, sixth-form students have benefited from attending international trips and being involved in local charity work. Pupils take advantage of the range of clubs on offer, particularly those in art, music and sport.

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

The school has strengthened the curriculum to ensure that it is more ambitious from Year 7 to the end of the sixth form.

In all subjects, the learning is carefully sequenced. Pupils and students in the sixth form benefit from this and do well. Staff give pupils opportunities to regularly revisit work.

However, on some occasions, teachers move pupils on to new learning before their knowledge has been checked. This leads to gaps in pupils' understanding not being addressed or pupils not being ready for what they are asked to do next.

Pupils benefit from the school's focus on reading.

They make use of the school's 'reading hub', which provides a purposeful and calm environment to enjoy books. The school has expanded the support for pupils at the earlier stages of reading. Pupils are helped to become more fluent readers and enjoy a range of literature.

Recent changes in the school have improved the experiences of disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school understands their needs and assesses accurately what help is required. However, there is some variability in how well the curriculum is adapted for disadvantaged pupils.

For example, some pupils with SEND, particularly those who do not have an education, health and care plan, do not consistently receive the help they need to successfully access the curriculum.

The school's work to support pupils' personal development has been very carefully planned to ensure that all areas of pupils' wider development are supported. Pupils learn age-appropriate content in terms of relationships and how to keep themselves safe.

Students in the sixth form are well integrated into this and receive high-quality support with their development needs. They also make valuable contributions to the life of the school. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is considered across the curriculum.

They receive valuable input about other cultures and backgrounds.

The school is committed to providing a strong careers education. Through this, pupils engage with a wide range of employers and education providers.

Pupils can talk about the experiences they have had. Disadvantaged pupils receive targeted support to have constructive encounters with the world of work. Pupils are supported appropriately to choose their next steps in education, employment or training.

Students in the sixth form follow bespoke pathways to ensure they can aspire to and access high-quality destinations.

Leaders at all levels hold high expectations of pupils' conduct. When they are struggling, pupils are supported to reflect and self-regulate.

Pupils demonstrate that they understand the expected routines, particularly as they move around the school. They treat staff with respect and work together well in the classroom.

Leaders hold an accurate understanding of their work in several areas.

For example, they maintain a strong oversight of the behaviour and attendance of its pupils. However, in other areas the impact of the school's work is less well understood, for example with helping disadvantaged pupils succeed over time. This has led to pupils' experiences being sometimes inconsistent.

Governors have clear oversight of what the strengths and areas for development are. They act to support the school and help with strategic change over time. Leaders work together to bring in ideas which aid the school's development.

This contributes positively to pupils and staff being able to work and learn in this inclusive community. Staff stated that they appreciate leaders' renewed consideration of their workload and well-being.

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 always ensure that learning is adapted to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This means that they do not receive the support they need to make sustained progress through the planned curriculum. The school should ensure that adaptations to support pupils are implemented effectively and consistently.

• Sometimes, pupils' understanding is not always checked well enough before moving on to the next part of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge, or the work given is not always well matched to their needs. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding consistently well, especially that of disadvantaged pupils, to build knowledge more effectively over time.

• The school's evaluation of its work in the past has not always been sufficiently accurate in terms of impact. This has allowed inconsistencies to develop in the pupils' experiences. The school should ensure that leaders at all levels hold an accurate view of the impact of their work in order to further develop the provision for all.

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