Beaumont Lodge Primary School

Beaumont Lodge Primary School Astill Lodge Road, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, LE4 1DT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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 governance, identified during the school’s previous inspection, have led to improvements in the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ achievement.  Because teaching is now consistently at least good and some is outstanding, pupils make good progress throughout the school.  The way children are taught in the nursery has improved since the last inspection and they now make good progress.  Recent improvement in pupils’ progress is leading to higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers make accurate checks on how well each pupil is doing. They mostly use this information well to provide work that helps pupils make good progress.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They have good and sometimes excellent attitudes to learning.  Pupils enjoy school and are kept safe.  Leaders regularly carry out detailed checks on the quality of teaching and learning. They use

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the results well to help teachers improve their skills.  Since the previous inspection governors have sharpened their skills and their contribution in helping the school to improve. They ask searching questions and continue to be well informed about the school’s effectiveness.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always provide harder work when pupils, particularly the most able, are ready for it.  Some pupils dominate discussions when teachers do not ask questions that include pupils at all levels of ability.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons. Seven of the lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher or a deputy headteacher.  The inspector heard pupils read and looked at the work in their books.  Meetings were held with governors, the senior leadership team and some other staff with leadership responsibilities. Inspectors spoke to pupils both formally and informally during lesson observations and around the school. An inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s own judgements on its strengths and weaknesses, and the data it collects on pupils’ progress. Documents detailing the school’s arrangements for safeguarding were reviewed.  Questionnaire responses from 29 members of staff were analysed.  There were insufficient responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) for them to be

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Information about this inspection

published. Inspectors looked at the results of the school’s recent questionnaires, giving the views of 126 parents.

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Inspection team

David Speakman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Joan McPhail Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are White British. The proportion who come from a range of minority ethnic groups is above average, although fewer than average speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average. In this school, the additional funding is for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning by:  sharing examples of teaching that has led to outstanding learning across all staff  giving pupils more difficult work, particularly the most able, when they are ready for it  asking questions that include pupils at different ability levels, so all can take part in question and answer sessions.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children start school, their levels of knowledge and understanding are lower than is typical for their age. Children make good progress in Nursery and Reception and by the time they join Year 1 most are close to achieving the expected level for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In both Nursery and Reception classes a strong emphasis on children developing good personal skills contributes to good learning. Children concentrate for extended periods, both in teacher- led activities and those they choose for themselves. They have a lot of discussion with adults and begin writing in the Nursery, which gives them a good grounding in developing their communication and literacy skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 dipped in 2013. An unusually high number of the pupils concerned had significant barriers to learning and had started Year 1 with lower attainment than usual. Despite this, they still made expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This year, Year 2 attainment has risen again and is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. This reflects good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Since the school was last inspected, there has been good improvement in pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 2. In 2013, attainment at the end of Year 6 rose in reading, writing and mathematics. However, attainment in grammar, punctuation and spelling was below the national average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s detailed analysis of pupils’ progress shows a great improvement for the current pupils. The proportions making nationally expected progress since the previous inspection compare well with national figures. The percentage exceeding expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics is very high. This indicates that progress is currently at least good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school teaches reading well. The results of the Year 1 phonics (letters and the sounds they make) screening are good for all groups of pupils. The few pupils who did not reach the required level in 2013 have been given extra support; one-to-one tuition or small group teaching in phonics is improving their reading skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making good progress against their individual targets and in reading, writing and mathematics through effective and targeted support. Most are on track to make at least expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language achieve well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils make good progress. In 2013, the proportion achieving the higher levels was below the national average in reading and in grammar, punctuation and spelling. However, the school’s current assessment data show great improvement in these two areas, with many more pupils set to achieve the higher levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2013, despite making similar progress to other pupils, the attainment of Year 6 pupils supported by the pupil premium was on average one term behind the others in reading, two terms in writing and five terms in mathematics. Currently, eligible pupils are making good progress and their attainment overall is closing in on that of other pupils. Those in Year 6 are within a term of non-qualifying pupils in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has very close links with a specialist sports college. It uses the primary school sports funding on a specialist to teach physical education to pupils from Year 1, while providing class teachers with excellent training. As a result of outstanding teaching, pupils demonstrate physical skills and ability much better than expected for their age. During the inspection, Year 2 pupils were observed vaulting confidently, with excellent coordination, and evaluating their performance.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Leaders have worked successfully to overcome the difficulties caused by the turbulence in staffing reported at the time of the previous inspection. The staff are now more settled and senior leaders work effectively with them to improve teaching. As a result, teaching in all classes is at least good. This has had a great impact on pupils’ progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ progress is most rapid where teachers are alert to pupils’ responses and adjust the levels of challenge accordingly. In a Year 1 mathematics lesson, some pupils were finding difficulty in grasping new ideas so the teacher called the class together to clear up any misunderstandings. Conversely, in a Year 4 mathematics lesson, the pace of learning was accelerated when it was noticed that pupils were finding the work easy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Much of the teaching is lively and engages pupils’ interest and enthusiasm. In Year 2 literacy, pupils keenly wrote about their plans for a visit to Kenilworth Castle and developed high levels of enthusiasm for the visit, because of the lively way in which the task was introduced. Similarly, children in the Reception and the Nursery develop a great enthusiasm for writing. Boys, particularly, thoroughly enjoyed working on the Superheroes topic and showed high levels of enthusiasm for writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved since the previous inspection and is at least good throughout the stage. Adults record children’s achievements accurately, are fully aware of how well they are doing and carefully plan what they will learn next. Adults talk a lot with children, guiding their work through asking leading questions.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is marked regularly. Teachers point out what pupils have done well and identify key points for improvement. Pupils find this helpful.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants support pupils’ learning well. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, they work effectively with children. They support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs well so they make the same good progress as other pupils. Some are especially skilled in a range of support initiatives to support reading and pupils’ emotional well-being. They have a significant impact in such areas.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There are occasions when teachers benefit from the expertise of other staff. There is some ‘team’ teaching, where less experienced teachers develop their own skills by observing highly effective practice. However, the best practice is not yet shared widely enough to raise the quality across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers know the levels at which pupils are learning and ensure that pupils of all abilities are given sufficiently challenging work. Very occasionally more-able pupils are not provided with extension work that is demanding enough to move them on quickly, or keep them fully engaged. Occasionally, more-able pupils are allowed to dominate question and answer sessions when teachers’ questions are not posed carefully at the right level to include all ability groups.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils of all ages, including children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, have very positive attitudes and approach their learning with enthusiasm. They take care over their work and books are presented in a neat and tidy manner. Very little work is unfinished and there is evidence that pupils respond to teachers’ marking by completing ‘corrections’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are proud of their school and speak highly of it. This pride underpins their neat and tidy personal appearance, with all pupils from the nursery upwards wearing school uniform. They take excellent care of the buildings and grounds, which are free of any damage, graffiti or litter.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils speak well about behaviour. They fully understand how rewards and sanctions work, saying that the introduction of reward points is having a positive impact on behaviour. They say lessons are rarely interrupted by poor behaviour. Behaviour at break times is good and the ‘Red Hats’, older pupils with responsibility to support others during break times, are particularly effective in helping young children to settle in and stay safe. Adults spoken to at break times say that there is little trouble on the playground.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy school. They say ‘lessons are fun and this school is friendly’. They like school because they are expected to work hard and do their best. They feel they are making good progress. Attendance is average year on year, and pupils come to school on time.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe at school and are confident that any issues that worry them would be dealt with promptly and effectively. They show a good understanding of internet safety.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are aware of the different forms bullying can take and know what to do if they ever need help. They say bullying ‘is not an issue here’ and are confident that should it ever happen, it would be taken very seriously and dealt with effectively.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Just occasionally, pupils do not show enough initiative in their work. Even in these rare cases, standards of behaviour do not suffer.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff are exceptionally well led by the headteacher and now work as an effective team. At the time of the school’s previous inspection ‘a lack of continuity in staffing’ was reported. Since then the headteacher, supported very well by the deputy headteachers, has worked effectively on team building. This has had a significant impact on improving teaching and, in turn, achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Checks on the quality of teaching and learning are effective. Regular observations take place and teachers are required to account for the progress of their pupils in regular meetings. As a result teaching is now consistently good in all age groups and more is outstanding. Leaders set rigorous targets for the work of all adults in the school. These have been effective in improving teachers’ work.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership at all levels is strong. There have been some recent changes in personnel responsible for some areas of leadership. However, the headteacher and governors have made sure that those taking over are well prepared and skilled to step into their roles.  Leadership of the way disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are educated is good. Effective one-to-one and small group support is well organised and closely matched to the needs of pupils and the whole-school targets for improvement. Help and guidance are regularly checked against pupils’ progress to ensure quality.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is carefully planned to engage pupils’ interest and attention. There is an appropriate emphasis on developing literacy skills and mathematics, from the very earliest age. Good links between subjects ensure that learning is meaningful. This aspect of the curriculum is a key factor in forming pupils’ positive attitudes to learning. There is a good level of attention paid to creative aspects of the school’s work. Good art work displayed, the school’s sporting record and pupils singing with ‘gusto’ in assemblies support this view.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum, other experiences and the whole school environment support the good promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Of particular note is the pupils’ understanding of social and moral aspects, which is typified by the way pupils of different ages get on well and their good behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works well with the local education community. It has excellent links with the local sports college, and plans to develop the teaching of French using the expertise of the same college. The school also has strong links with the adjacent independent nursery, which helps with the induction of children new to school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The support provided by the local authority is good and has been an important factor in helping improve the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Finances are managed well. This is a well-equipped school, in which teachers have the resources to support them in effective teaching. The pupil premium is used to improve the progress of qualifying pupils by funding pupils to attend school clubs to give equality of opportunity, and purchasing learning resources for one-to-one or small group support. The school has made detailed arrangements for spending the primary school sports funding to improve and widen pupils’ opportunities to take part in sports activities and improve teachers’ expertise.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are proactive in dealing with important issues identified through regular monitoring, and through checking for themselves the impact they have on school improvement. Although judged good at the last inspection, they have reviewed fully their own strengths and weaknesses and have developed their own improvement plan.  A few new governors have joined since the previous inspection. In order to maintain their effectiveness, established governors ‘buddy’ newer ones so they soon develop the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to fulfil their role.  Governors are regular visitors to the school and have a good knowledge of how well teachers are doing through direct observations and discussions with staff. They are fully aware of how well the school is doing and how pupils’ achievement compares with other schools.  They challenge senior leaders on school improvement. They set clear targets in managing the

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The leadership and management are good

performance of the headteacher and staff, making sure teachers’ pay increases link to competence.  They make sure statutory requirements are met, including for safeguarding.

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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 120087 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 441930

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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 219 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sarah Williams Headteacher Dawn Solla Date of previous school inspection 21 February 2013 Telephone number 0116 236 6925 Fax number 0116 236 6823 Email address office@beaumontlodge.leicester.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 and 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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