Bevois Town Primary School

Bevois Town Primary School Cedar Road, Southampton, SO14 6RU

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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.  Pupils’ achievement has improved since the last inspection. The vast majority of pupils leave the school with at least average attainment, having made good progress from starting points well below the national average.  All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those eligible for pupil premium funding, achieve well.  Teaching is rarely less than good and is particularly strong in Reception and Key Stage 1. Effective support from skilled teaching assistants ensures that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional language benefit from this good teaching.  Pupils behave well both in lessons and around the school. They are well cared for and feel very safe. Pupils enjoy a wide range of extra- curricular clubs and their lunchtimes are enhanced by the activities led by sports coaches. Attitudes to learning are good.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Parents and carers are very positive about their children’s experiences at the school.  The strong leadership of the headteacher, supported by the assistant headteachers and governors, has succeeded in getting the staff to share their commitment to drive the school forward and strive to provide the best education they can for each child at Bevois Town. The leadership of the school checks the quality of teaching and learning robustly.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Teachers in Key Stage 2 do not always let pupils know exactly what to do to improve their own learning and do not always give more-able pupils hard enough work to help them achieve to their full potential.  In Key Stage 2, teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to write at length in subjects other than English.  Pupils’ attainment in mathematics is not as high as in English by the time they leave the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, three of which were jointly observed with the headteacher or assistant headteacher. The inspectors also observed senior leaders feeding back to teachers about the strengths and areas to improve in their teaching.  Inspectors also observed part lessons as part of learning walks around the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, assistant headteachers, middle leaders, the school council members, the Chair of the Governing Body, four other governing body members and a local authority representative.  Inspectors talked with pupils in lessons and listened to pupils read. They also looked at work in children’s books.  Inspectors examined a wide range of evidence including the school’s information on pupils’ recent progress, the school improvement plan and monitoring documentation, local authority monitoring reports and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors also took account of 14 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and two letters from parents or carers. In addition, inspectors spoke to parents and carers when they dropped pupils off at school. They also took account of the views of staff through the 23 staff questionnaires completed.

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Inspection team

Susan Payne, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Laver Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding provided by the government for children in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and other groups, is above average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds is much higher than average, as is the number of pupils whose first language is not English.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum standards for pupils’ attainment and progress expected by the government.  The governing body membership has completely changed since the last inspection.  The school is experiencing expansion of its pupil numbers, as it changes from a one-form entry

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Information about this school

primary to a two-form entry primary. The school is therefore undertaking a building programme to support this growth.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching that is outstanding, especially in Key Stage 2, by:  ensuring that pupils know, from marking, exactly how they can improve their learning and accelerate their progress to the next level  having higher expectations of what more-able pupils can achieve in lessons  focusing more on the quality and depth of learning rather than the processes to complete tasks  giving pupils more opportunities to write at length in subjects other than English.  Further raise attainment in mathematics at Key Stage 2, so that more pupils leave school with the highest levels, by:  ensuring that more-able pupils are given more challenging work at all stages in the lesson  ensuring that teachers’ marking in mathematics makes it clear to pupils how to correct the errors they have made and making sure that the pupils have time to do this.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children coming into the Reception classes have skills and abilities well below the levels typically expected for their age. As a result of good teaching and focus on improving how well children speak and listen, they make good, and occasionally outstanding, progress in developing skills in English and mathematics.  This is continued in Year 1, where in the most recent phonics check, which tested pupils’ ability to blend and read difficult or unfamiliar words, pupils achieved scores well above national expectations.  Pupils continue to make good progress across Key Stage 1 and, in 2013, Year 2 pupils reached the levels above those typically expected for their age.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, in all year groups, share in the good progress made by other pupils. These pupils benefit from additional support both in and outside lessons, enabling them to achieve as well as similar pupils nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium make good progress in English and mathematics. Their average points scores show that they usually make at least as much progress as other pupils in the school, and often do so at a faster rate than similar pupils nationally.  As a result of effective language support, pupils with English as an additional language, from varied ethnic backgrounds, share in the good achievement seen by other groups in school.  Inspectors saw examples of good progress in lessons during the inspection. For example, pupils in Year 1 were challenged to double numbers up to 10 in a mathematics lesson, which showed the teachers’ high expectations. Good progress was also seen in Reception classes, where children were expected to use subject-specific vocabulary, such as ‘small’, ‘smaller’ and ‘smallest’, when sorting objects of different sizes.  Occasionally, in Years 4 and 5, more-able pupils do not achieve as well as they could in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

This happens when these pupils spend too long on basic tasks which do not stretch their learning, or they are not encouraged early enough in lessons to move on to more appropriately difficult work. For example, inspectors saw all pupils in one class working on mathematics concepts with the teacher, even though a group of able pupils had already grasped those concepts.  Achievement in reading is strong because it is taught effectively across the school. During the inspection, inspectors heard pupils in the school reading confidently and accurately.  Although achievement in writing has improved over time, work in pupils’ books shows there are too few opportunities for pupils to write at length in subjects other than English.  Typically, pupils leave school at the end of Year 6 with levels of attainment which are broadly average.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is not yet outstanding because there are still variations in its effectiveness, but it is typically good and has been so for some time.  In the strongest lessons, teachers have high expectations of what the children can achieve. There is a brisk pace to lessons and no time is wasted. Teachers are skilled at asking questions that help pupils to think, to deepen their learning and to develop their vocabulary. For example, in a Year 6 English lesson the teacher showed high expectations by encouraging pupils to debate points and to make extended verbal responses to questions, to which pupils responded well.  Teachers use a good range of resources that help pupils engage well with their learning, such as the interactive whiteboards and techniques such as ‘talk partners’ and drama. This encourages pupils to learn by listening well and also working independently and collaboratively. For example,

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The quality of teaching is good

in a Year 1 literacy lesson, pupils worked in groups to act out a scene from the book that they were about to read, in order to help them to understand how the main character was feeling.  Teaching assistants supporting classes work well with individual pupils or small groups, carefully questioning pupils as a way of consolidating and improving their understanding. These pupils, who include disabled pupils and those with special educational needs or whose home language is not English, make good progress as a result.  Inspectors observed good teaching of phonics. Children in Reception and Key Stage 1 are able to tackle unknown words well and use sounds to read them. They develop their vocabulary, understanding and communication skills well, because of teachers’ high expectations, use of a range of resources, such as good quality storybooks, and varied approaches.  Older pupils have good reading skills which helps them understand and read better in other

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The quality of teaching is good

subjects of the curriculum and prepares them well for secondary school. Pupils throughout the school enjoy reading.  Where lessons are not as good as the best, teachers do not consistently challenge the more-able pupils to make fast enough progress. Sometimes they are expected to listen to the teachers talking to the whole class when they already understand what they need to do. Occasionally, more-able children are not moved on to more appropriate work soon enough.  Teachers usually mark pupils’ work conscientiously, especially in written tasks. However, teachers’ comments on some pieces of work are generalised and give praise but do not make it clear to the pupils how they are doing, in terms of standards, or direction of how they can improve their work. When advice is given, it is not often evident that the pupils have been given the opportunity to act on this.  Parents and carers agree that teaching is good and that their children make good progress, and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe at school and say they are well looked after by the adults around them. They, themselves, say behaviour is good, a view confirmed by staff, parents and carers, but point out that occasionally pupils do ‘fall out’. Bullying or incidents of unkindness are rare, and the pupils say that they have adults to turn to if necessary and they are confident that situations are dealt with effectively.  Pupils understand the different types of bullying that can occur, but do not believe that any of them are issues in this school. There have been no recent exclusions or racist incidents.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They collaborate very well when learning together, for example in Year 2 where children worked together in a personal, social and health education lesson to produce a drama sketch as part of anti-bullying week.  Pupils understand the behaviour policy well, with its combination of rewards and sanctions, and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

believe that they are applied consistently. Consequently, they behave well in lessons and when moving around the school. Behaviour is not yet outstanding because occasionally, when the pace of a lesson slows, pupils become distracted and begin to chat among themselves.  Pupils get on very well with each other around the school, for example at break times and lunchtimes. The school leadership has responded to a school council request for more equipment and activities at lunchtimes. This has included the provision of opportunities for children to participate in physical activities and games led by sports coaches. Pupils really enjoy this time; they say there is plenty of choice for everyone.  The school is developing its ‘caught’ curriculum to help pupils develop their understanding of ‘rights and responsibilities’ and to develop their capacity to become responsible citizens.  Attendance has improved and is now average. School surveys show that children enjoy coming

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

to school. A parent or carer wrote, ‘Both my children enjoy school. They attend every day.’

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s determination to aim for excellence is evident in her passion about the school and her drive to make improvements in how well children achieve by the time they leave the school.  The headteacher has systematically and successfully addressed the issues identified at the time of the previous inspection, supported by other leaders and the governing body. This is reflected in accurate evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for development and well-focused plans for further improvement, demonstrating the capacity of the school to improve further.  The school is developing a team of staff in charge of subjects who are monitoring the progress of pupils. After the previous inspection, the local authority provided expert advice and support to develop staff expertise in subjects like mathematics. The local authority acknowledges that the school is developing in the right way, with its own strengths from within, and also benefiting

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The leadership and management are good

from its links with other schools in the partnership between local schools. It is now confident of the leadership’s ability to continue improvement and maintain high standards.  Senior leaders check the quality of teaching through lesson observations and pupil progress reviews. Teachers have performance targets linked to pupils’ achievement and leaders make sure that decisions about teachers’ salary progression are closely linked to the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes. A clear system for professional development is linked to the needs of staff as well as those actions in the school improvement plan.  Teachers are using information on pupils’ progress to plan suitable activities for their pupils. The progress of all pupils is promoted well and, as an inclusive school, this equality of opportunity ensures all groups of pupils achieve well.  Classroom activities include engaging experiences to ‘hook in’ and motivate the pupils. Subjects

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The leadership and management are good

other than English and mathematics are taught through topics, with links being made between subjects. For example, the Second World War project in history, for Years 3 and 4, was linked to songs they were learning in music. Pupils’ learning was shared with parents and carers at a ‘tea party’, where they also enjoyed spam sandwiches, while watching a performance by the pupils.  There are good opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils particularly enjoy learning about traditions and festivals from different cultures from pupil ‘experts’. For example, some Year 5 pupils have recently shared their experiences of Diwali celebrations with their class.  School leaders ensure that resources, including the pupil premium, are used carefully for the benefit of pupils. Part of this funding has been used to provide teaching assistants, who support pupils in the classroom and in additional groups outside of lessons where specific needs are

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The leadership and management are good

identified. This has led to all pupils achieving equally well, regardless of background.  The school is using sports premium funding direct from the government to promote the fitness and health of pupils by providing a greater range of activities for them to choose from at lunchtimes.  Safeguarding procedures and systems are in place and meet statutory requirements. Parents and carers feel their children are safe at school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has become more effective since the previous inspection, with governors undertaking training to ensure that they are informed about local and national initiatives. It has become closely involved in promoting and monitoring school improvement. Governors now have a more secure grasp of their role in holding the school closely to account and ensuring continued improvement. They are involved in a range of first-hand monitoring activities and

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The leadership and management are good

now have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They visit school regularly and receive high-quality information which they use to check and challenge the performance of the school. They know about the quality of teaching and how their school compares to others through analysis of pupils’ progress information. They are involved in setting performance management targets for the headteacher and know there is a similar process in place for staff. Governors ensure efficient financial management. They check that funds for those pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding are used effectively to provide the additional support that helps these pupils to achieve as well as others; and that the sports premium is being used to raise the quality of provision for physical activity and pupils’ involvement in extra-curricular clubs.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 116088 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 426444

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 260 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Bailey Headteacher Alison Maybury Date of previous school inspection 15–16 September 2011 Telephone number 02380 221467 Fax number 02380 220700 Email address head@bevoistown.co.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, please

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School details

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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