Beulah Junior School

Beulah Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon, CR7 8JF

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 This is a good school. Standards have risen quickly since the last inspection due to strong and effective leadership.  Pupils make good progress across the school in reading, writing and mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve as well as others in the school. Those who speak English as an additional language also achieve as well as their classmates.  Teaching is typically good. Teachers make learning fun and relevant, which captures pupils’ interests and engages them.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide excellent leadership for the school. They have an accurate view of the school’s performance and know precisely what needs to be done to move the school forward.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strong feature of the school. Pupils have a good understanding of different religions and cultures.  Pupils’ good behaviour and positive attitudes to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning make a good contribution to their progress.  The governing body has a detailed knowledge of the school’s work and makes a good contribution to its development.  The care and welfare of pupils are central to the work of the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ progress is not yet rapid enough to secure outstanding achievement.  At times, the work set for pupils is not demanding enough, particularly for the most able pupils, so that their progress slows.  Pupils’ handwriting is variable in quality and so sometimes work is untidy.  Pupils do not often understand the targets set for them so they are not always clear about what they need to improve.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 24 lessons. Seven of these lessons were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with school staff, members of the governing body, parents and carers and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors observed the school’s work. They looked at a wide range of documentation including safeguarding documents, the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its own performance and pupils’ work in their books.  A discussion was held with a group of pupils, as well as informal conversations with them during lessons and at break times. Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about the books they enjoy.  Inspectors spoke to parents and considered 18 responses to the staff questionnaire. The online questionnaire (Parent View) had too few responses to give information.

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Inspection team

David Harris, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is a larger than average-sized junior school. There are 12 classes, three in each year group.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is above average. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for looked after children.  The school’s pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Just over half of pupils are from Black Caribbean or Black African heritages. Over a third of pupils speak English as an additional language. This is a higher-than-average proportion of pupils.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is lower than the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress to secure outstanding achievement by making sure that: - work for pupils is sufficiently challenging, particularly for the most able - all pupils present their work neatly - pupils develop a consistent handwriting style and use it when writing in a range of subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ understanding of what their targets are and what they need to do to reach them.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads by example and staff at all levels have a clear ambition and drive for the school to do the very best for the pupils. They have taken effective action to improve teaching and pupils’ achievement since the last inspection.  Leaders have led improvements to the quality of teaching. Joint observations with school leaders showed that their judgements are accurate and feedback to teachers focuses on ways in which they can improve their methods.  Middle leaders play their part in improving teaching and learning. They have received training from the local authority to support them in their roles and have developed their subjects well. However, initiatives in English to improve progress for the more able pupils in writing have not yet resulted in a greater proportion of pupils reaching higher levels in writing across all other subjects.  The well-planned range of subjects captures the interest of pupils. Visits to places such as London Zoo,

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The leadership and management are good

Kew Gardens, and the Isle of Wight help to enrich the pupils' learning. The curriculum celebrates the diversity of its pupils and uses it to foster good relationships and prepare them for life in modern Britain. Year 6 pupils were developing their understanding of slavery, as part of Black History Month. This enabled them to recognise and discuss the importance of mutual respect and tolerance.  There is a clear commitment to equality and ensuring there is no discrimination. All pupils, whatever their ability or background, have the opportunity to take part in the school’s activities.  Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils has enabled the school to provide extra staff to provide a wide range of support in literacy and numeracy to improve pupils’ achievement.  The additional primary school sports funding for physical education and sport enables the school to offer a range of clubs and staff training. The school provides a wide range of sports and physical activities for

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The leadership and management are good

pupils, including football, basketball and swimming. Pupils enjoy sport and participation in sport is high in the school.  Safeguarding arrangements are good and meet current requirements.  The school receives effective, well-targeted support and guidance from the local authority. This has provided a clear focus for senior staff and has helped them to make rapid improvement.  Improvements to teaching have not fully resulted in the highest quality of achievement for all pupils over a sustained period. This is why leadership and management are not outstanding.  The governance of the school:  Governors support the school well and are actively involved in guiding long-term development, aided by attending wide-ranging training. Governors know about the quality of teaching because the headteacher and deputy headteacher keep them well informed. They have a good knowledge about the school’s performance information and how it compares to other schools locally and nationally. Governors hold

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The leadership and management are good

the school to account robustly and meet their statutory obligations well. They know how salary progression is used to reward and support teachers’ practice and use the information about the quality of teaching well to inform their decisions. Systems for checking the school’s budget are very strong, including the monitoring of pupil premium spending. This enables governors to hold the school to account and decide whether it is making f a difference to pupils’ achievement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are proud of their school. They have very positive attitudes to learning.  Conduct in and around the school is good and pupils follow the school rules. When pupils come together, for instance in a whole school assembly, they are polite, courteous and show that the school is a happy harmonious community.  Pupils enjoy learning, including when supported by adults. They say there is very little poor behaviour around the school. School records and discussions with parents, staff and governors show that behaviour is typically good.  The pupils live out the school’s values of ‘success, unity, respect, pride and enjoyment’, which are at the heart of everything they do. The school promotes pupils’ personal development well, particularly through assemblies and within lessons.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding because work in books is sometimes untidy and pupils need

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Behaviour

to take greater care with their presentation.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils know how to keep safe in different situations and they say there is very little bullying. They feel very well supported at the school and are confident that problems are resolved quickly.  Pupils have a very clear and comprehensive understanding of fire, road safety, stranger danger and e- safety. They have a clear love of school and attend regularly.  Discussions with staff that support pupils with additional needs show the school has effective links with external agencies and is very active in supporting children and families who need additional help.  Attendance has improved over time and is now in line with national averages. The school monitors attendance and promotes the need for high attendance successfully to parents.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection and now enables pupils across the school to make good progress.  Work seen in pupils’ books, records kept by class teachers and senior leaders, and evidence gathered by the inspectors all demonstrate that the quality of teaching has improved over time.  Pupils respond well to teachers’ high expectations and the interesting activities planned for them. Pupils talk about their enjoyment of learning. The rich variety of topic work and well-structured activities interest pupils and help them to see the development of their skills, particularly in English and mathematics.  Through training, teachers are confident to teach mathematics well, especially in enabling pupils to use a range of strategies to solve problems. Consequently, pupils are making faster progress than previously.  Relationships, between pupils and with adults, are very strong. As a result, little or no time is lost during

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The quality of teaching is good

lessons in order to correct poor behaviour.  Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and those at the early stages of learning English. For example, individuals and groups of pupils receive support that focuses on their needs. In addition, for those at an early stage of learning English, there are opportunities to understand their learning using pictures and symbols.  Pupils’ written work is usually set at the right level of difficulty. There are times, however, when some of the work set is not sufficiently demanding, particularly for the most able pupils, so that their progress slows.  Reading is taught well through the school, and pupils enjoy reading a wide range of authors as a result.  Teachers generally assess pupils’ progress well. Teachers’ marking in pupils’ books helps them to improve their work. However, the use of individual targets for pupils is at an early stage. Too many pupils do not

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The quality of teaching is good

understand what their target is or what they need to do to achieve it.

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is good

 Pupils join the school with attainment below the national average. A high level of challenge and good teaching ensure that they achieve well throughout the school. Information provided by the school about the achievement of pupils currently in the school confirms that that they generally make good progress, especially now in reading and mathematics. Work in books confirms that pupils’ achievement has improved since the last inspection.  There are excellent systems to check upon pupils’ progress. This enables the school to identify pupils who are not doing well enough and to ensure they receive targeted support. This is a key factor in helping pupils accelerate their progress. These systems enable the school to support the many pupils at the early stages of learning English to make progress, which is good and in line with other pupils at the school and pupils nationally.  Throughout the school, the most able pupils generally make good progress and an increasing proportion

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is good

attained higher levels in reading and mathematics in 2014. Even so, their progress in some writing lessons slows, especially where teachers give them tasks that do not challenge them sufficiently.  In 2013, disadvantaged pupils’ overall attainment was below that of other pupils nationally and those in the school. They attained below other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics by two terms. When compared with other pupils in the school, their attainment was one term behind.  The school has taken robust and successful action to ensure that additional funding has an impact on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. School information indicates that the gap between their attainment and that of their peers, both nationally and in school, narrowed considerably in 2014.  Pupils from Black Caribbean and Black African backgrounds make good progress and their attainment is the same as that of other pupils in their classes.

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is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. They attain standards at Key Stage 2 that are in line with those achieved by other pupils in school and are in line with national averages.  The quality of pupils’ handwriting is too variable. Some pupils’ handwriting is well formed and consistent. This helps them to get their ideas down on paper efficiently and clearly. However, this is not the case for many pupils. Pupils produce good quality work for displays around the school but they do not use the same good quality handwriting when working in books, including their English books.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 101712 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 448956

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 355 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Celeste Henderson Headteacher Vivienne Luniak Date of previous school inspection 13–14 November 2012 Telephone number 020 8653 4921 Fax number 020 8771 5298 Email address office@beulah-jun.croydon.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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