Becket Primary School

Becket Primary School Monk Street, Derby, DE22 3QB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Good leadership and teamwork have ensured significant improvements in pupils’ progress, resulting from effective monitoring of teaching and learning.  Most pupils achieve well and make good progress given their individual starting points; these are well below national expectations when they start at the school.  The proportion of Year 6 pupils gaining expected levels in English and mathematics has risen markedly over the past three years and are in line with the national average.  Effective approaches to assessment have been introduced. These take into account not only pupils’ personal and academic progress but also how they learn and develop.  Teaching is good across all year groups, and some teaching and learning is outstanding.  Teachers work hard to get to know pupils and their families, and build working relationships so they may have suitably high expectations of their pupils.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 There is a good, consistent approach to behaviour management across the school. As a result, pupils behave well and feel safe.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good because they appreciate what their teachers have to offer; there is often great fun in learning.  The governing body is active in monitoring the school and works hard, alongside the staff, to help improve pupils’ life chances.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The school is still working to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching. This is focused on ensuring more specific planning for individual pupils and extending the ways teachers use questioning in lessons.  Staff and the governing body are still in the process of developing what is taught. This is to give pupils even wider experiences of the world beyond their locality, and help them apply the valuable skills they learn in school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons, of which two were joint observations with senior leaders. All class teachers with their teaching assistants, and visiting music teachers, were seen working with the pupils.  In addition, other direct observations of pupils’ learning were undertaken. This included hearing pupils from Years 2 and 6 read, attending an assembly, and observing the work of the Key Stage 1 nurture group.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documents including: development plans; policies; self-evaluation reports; monitoring files; safeguarding and curriculum materials; and information for parents and carers. Governing body documentation was examined, including the headteacher’s reports to the governing body, and other reviews of school performance.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, from Key Stages 1 and 2, and many informal opportunities were taken to talk with pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Discussions were held with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team, the class teachers, office staff, representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the eight responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and spoke individually with several parents and carers during the course of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Michael Miller, Lead inspector Additional inspector Ann Behan Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school. It shares its site with Becket Children’s Centre, which was inspected separately on 15–16 November 2011.  A well-above-average percentage of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  There is a breakfast- and after-school club for the school’s pupils. This is organised and managed by the governing body.  There are high levels of population transience in the area. Consequently, up to 25% of pupils enter or leave the school during the course of any key stage. Some only stay at the school for a year or two.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The percentage of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds is above average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is broadly average, but increasing in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disabled pupils or those with special educational needs, including those supported by school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs, is average. Most such pupils have speech, language and communication difficulties, behaviour, emotional and social difficulties, or specific learning difficulties.  On behalf of Derby City local authority the school hosts a nurture group for up to six Key Stage 1 pupils with a range of complex difficulties.  The school has achieved Healthy Schools status and has a bronze Activemark award.  The school meets the current floor standards which set the government’s minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Enhance teaching and learning, and ensure the momentum for pupils’ improved progress in literacy and numeracy is maintained across all year groups by:  building on the good opportunities being provided to enable pupils to gain wider experiences of the world to support the varied ways they learn  enriching what is taught to ensure additional opportunities for pupils to apply the skills they learn in even more creative and imaginative ways  increasing opportunities for pupils to undertake extended research and enquiry work in order to enhance their thinking skills  ensuring lesson planning makes more extensive use of the school’s good assessment systems to focus work for individuals as well as groups of pupils  applying more in whole-class situations the good questioning skills teachers demonstrate with small groups and individual pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards and pupils’ achievement are rising steadily across the school. Its good system for the assessment of pupils’ progress is ensuring the close and effective tracking and monitoring of each individual. This underpins not only the building of positive attitudes to learning, but also enables swift interventions if pupils show any signs of falling behind. It is proving an important tool in the school’s armoury ensuring equality of opportunity for all.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The impact of the tracking is also seen through the school’s records of the progress of its transient population of pupils, many of whom have experienced significant difficulties in their lives. It often takes staff time and patience to get to know these pupils, and help them gain the confidence to trust the school’s ways of working and expectations. Then the rate of their learning takes off and progress accelerates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children join either the Nursery or Reception Years with standards which are well below those expected for their ages. Their personal, social and emotional development, and communication and language skills are often underdeveloped. Their experience of life beyond their immediate family and locality is often very limited.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Raising attainment in language, literacy and, particularly, reading has and continues to be a key focus for the school. Since the last inspection, a reorganisation of staffing and teaching approaches in the Early Years Foundation Stage has led to improved achievement across the Nursery and Reception classes and into Key Stage 1. By Year 2, in 2012, attainment was below average, but the termly progress made by pupils was better than expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Key to pupils’ good achievement, including those in the nurture group, has been the increased focus, from the Nursery to Year 2, on children’s understanding of letters and sounds (phonics), and how they can apply these to enhance their reading skills. This is improving pupils’ access to learning across all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Parents and carers say that where their children’s speech, language and communication difficulties have been picked up early at the partner children’s centre, there has been seamless continuation of support when their children start at the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Discussions with pupils identified as being disabled or having special educational needs show they feel well-supported, and appreciate the added progress they are able to make, for example, through extra intensive courses to give them extended help when needed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 School data shows much accelerated progress, because of targeted 10-week language and communication courses, for pupils starting at the school speaking little or no English and for children with language delay. Together with good teaching assistant support, this gives these pupils improved access to learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There are relatively few more-able pupils, as compared with other schools, but the ways the teaching engages these pupils in learning leads to their good success at higher levels in the national tests.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Between Years 2 and 6, pupils continue to make good progress. In the summer 2012 tests, pupils achieved standards that are likely to be in line with the national average, which represents good achievement given their starting points.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Since the last inspection, sustained improvements in the quality of teaching have underpinned clearly the gains in pupils’ progress. Teaching is now consistently good across the school. Discussions with parents and carers confirm this. They appreciate the approachability of staff and the time teachers take to get to understand the individual learning needs of their children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good working relationships stem from equally positive, mutual expectations between teachers and pupils. Behaviour management is consistent across the school. This provides a good example of the positive approach to ensure that no pupil suffers any sense of discrimination. Teachers apply low-key but effective strategies; pupils say these are fair.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils appreciate the ‘attitude ladders’ in each classroom where they move named pegs up and down according not only to their success in learning but also to reflect their behaviour and responses to learning and each other. Pupils take joy at moving a peg up, and there can be a resigned sigh when moving one down, but this also plays a valuable daily part in the ways teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development day by day.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and understanding. Outstanding teaching was seen where specialist subject knowledge was put to excellent effect, as in music. Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and, together with the teaching assistants, communicate well their own love of learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are prepared to take calculated risks to set a personal example, whether working with a whole class or alongside individual pupils. In a Year 6 literacy lesson, pupils were surprised by the teacher when, after exploring their understanding of genre writing, they were challenged to embark on a year-long extended writing project in their chosen genre. Pupils were excited by the fact that their teacher also intended to do the work alongside them, when she read her first extract for their criticism.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Such lessons show the ways teachers are starting to resolve areas identified for improvement in school development planning. These identified that there have not been enough opportunities for pupils to apply the skills they learn in more creative and imaginative ways. The school is in the process of reviewing what is taught (the curriculum) to ensure sufficient, additional opportunities are provided to enhance pupils’ thinking, enquiry and research skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers show a professional approach to improving teaching and learning; this is reflected in their performance management targets, which are related well to pupils’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Key Stage 1 nurture unit is good. Pupils with a wide range of complex needs were being enabled to understand successfully what makes things ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’, and how they can identify such situations in their own homes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning mentors play an important role at the school in supporting pupils’ learning and personal development.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have developed good skills in questioning to check pupils’ understanding of their learning. Nevertheless, this tends to be applied and focused more effectively on individuals and small groups of pupils; it is less evident in whole-class teaching.  Important improvements supporting teaching can be seen in the ways teachers plan work for broad groups of higher, middle and lower attaining pupils. However, the information on each pupil, collected through the school’s ‘assertive mentoring’ assessment system, is not yet being applied consistently to aid appropriate planning for individual pupils in lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good, and they respond well to their teachers, and other adults, both in and outside of the classroom. They appreciate the ways staff continue to work to extend their learning and experiences of the world.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There are a few pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour consistently well throughout a school day, but the good behaviour management ensures any disruption to learning is minimal. Such pupils say they are grateful for the school’s approach to letting them have ‘cool-off’ time, and appreciate the pastoral support they receive from staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 While a couple of responses to Parent View indicated some concern about behaviour and bullying, no parents or carers spoken with by inspectors expressed any such concerns.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Discussions with pupils show they have a secure understanding of what constitutes bullying, and admit to occasional instances of unkind name-calling. However, it is not intended to be discriminatory or derogatory and pupils understand well why this would be wrong.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils were invariably polite and interested when talking with inspectors, and show good levels of respect for each other. Discussions with them show they understand their own and each other’s occasional failings. This reflects the good level of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and the school’s ethos.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils understand well how to keep themselves and each other safe. They respect the classroom environment and take active responsibility for each other’s welfare. They work cooperatively in lessons and play together productively in mixed age, gender and racial heritage groups. This reflects the school’s underlying approach to anti-discrimination.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The attendance of most pupils is average. There are occasional transport problems for families from outside the area who have been allocated places at the school by the local authority.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There are a few families where attendance is a persistent problem, but the school is assiduous in working with the education welfare officer and social services in monitoring and supporting such families. There is a good joint approach with the partner secondary school when there are siblings with similar attendance, personal or family issues.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is good partnership working, and strategic planning, at all leadership levels from middle leaders through to the governing body. This has ensured thoughtful self-evaluation and practical development planning. This is targeted well on securing the gains made since the last inspection and providing a firm base upon which to build for the future.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, supported well by the senior leadership team, show a determination to pursue excellence on behalf of the pupils. This was recognised in discussions with parents, carers and the pupils themselves. The local authority has provided helpful support with the monitoring of teaching and with school development planning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Performance management is effective, and focused well on ensuring pupils’ continued progress. This is linked well to professional development and a coaching approach to improve further the quality of teaching; this relates to enhancing lesson planning and extending the use of questioning in lessons to check pupils’ understanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 Joint observations during the inspection confirmed the accuracy of the senior leadership team’s professional understanding of the quality of teaching and learning. Discussions with staff show good levels of self-evaluation and self-criticism.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s arrangements for safeguarding its children, and the practical rigour of these, were confirmed during the inspection. Discussions and documentation, as well as practical action, from the governing body to the caretaker, confirm this.

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The leadership and management are good

 Families appreciate the school’s good curriculum, which promotes well literacy, numeracy, the arts and the sciences, and the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  ensures members of the governing body are well-informed  takes good care to monitor all aspects of school life in order to maintain and develop further the quality of teaching and learning and regularly monitors the impact of both performance management targets for teachers and the spending of the pupil premium to ensure pupils’ progress is good enough  works effectively with local charities and foundations to secure additional funding to support proposed creative curriculum developments, and to subsidise visits, visitors and other activities to broaden pupils’ experiences beyond the city centre.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 112717 Local authority Derby Inspection number 401296

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Wynn Headteacher Sue James Date of previous school inspection 15 December 2009 Telephone number 01332 347595 Fax number 01332 294625 Email address admin@becket.derby.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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School details

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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