Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Catherine Miller Headteacher Beacon Hill Community Primary School Beacon Hill Road Hindhead Surrey GU26 6NR

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 November 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in April 2013.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since joining the school in September 2016, you have formed a strong leadership team which possesses the ability and drive to improve standards across the school. Your focus on leadership development has been particularly impressive. Leaders at all levels are well trained and given just the right amount of challenge, trust and support to flourish in their roles. As a result, the quality of education the school provides has improved apace.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Pupils are polite and courteous. They enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer at the school. Pupils explained how they enjoyed crafts such as bracelet weaving and opportunities to learn martial arts such as judo. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, enjoy school, and this is reflected in their high levels of attendance. On the playground, pupils enjoy the equipment and activities on offer and show a great deal of care and kindness towards each other. Pupils report that poor behaviour and bullying are rare and when problems do occur, teachers are good at sorting this out.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

In class, pupils set to task with purpose and industry. They relish hard work and are resilient when they encounter challenges. For example, in Year 6, pupils learned to multiply fractions using clear, visual methods demonstrated by the teacher. Some pupils worked independently while others joined with their peers to identify errors and discuss their thinking. While pupils are respectful and tolerant, leaders rightly recognise that some pupils do not have a well-developed understanding of pupils of different abilities, beliefs and nationalities.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

At the time of the last inspection, leaders were asked to increase the effectiveness of the middle leadership team. These recently appointed leaders are ambitious and well trained. They work with you, the deputy headteacher and the special educational needs (SEN) coordinator to accurately identify the strengths and weaknesses in the school. They offer staff members useful coaching to improve their practice. Notably, their work in the core subjects has revitalised the teaching of English and mathematics. For example, in English, leaders have raised teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve. Consequently, pupils write using correct punctuation, a range of sentence structures and interesting vocabulary. Nevertheless, expectations of what children can achieve, and standards of writing in the wider curriculum, are not as high as those in English and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Child protection documents are detailed and well maintained. Following an external audit of safeguarding in 2016, leaders worked tirelessly to improve systems to safeguard pupils. For example, every staff member has been retrained in safeguarding and has studied and discussed key statutory guidance. Governors are diligent and check the records carefully to satisfy themselves that all required actions are completed.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Records show that when concerns arise, staff are quick to identify these and pass them on to leaders immediately. In turn, leaders take these referrals seriously and work with external agencies to get pupils’ families the help they need.

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Short inspection of Beacon Hill Community Primary School

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils complete termly internet safety lessons and worked with a global technology company to learn how to stay safe online. Pupils applied their knowledge of e-safety to produce a stage show, which they presented to parents.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, we agreed to look at: the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements; the quality of support for disadvantaged pupils; the quality of teaching of mathematics; how effectively leaders and governors identify and support pupils who fall behind; and how effectively pupils apply their English and mathematical skills across the wider curriculum.  Leaders and teachers know disadvantaged pupils well and put in place excellent support to help these pupils reach their potential. For example, disadvantaged pupils receive additional support in mathematics to help them learn and recall basic number facts. A high proportion of disadvantaged pupils also have SEN and/or disabilities. These pupils are supported well in class. Teachers and teaching assistants expertly guide these pupils to complete work which is closely matched to their starting points. As a result, disadvantaged pupils, including

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Inspection findings

those who have SEN and/or disabilities, make strong progress.  Last year, leaders identified inconsistencies in the teaching of mathematics. They worked with teachers and support staff to redesign the curriculum so that lessons took a more logical sequence. Pupils across the school now develop secure skills in the basics of number and calculation. They apply these to increasingly complex problems and are able to explain their reasoning. Pupils now make strong progress in mathematics.  Governors and leaders work closely to check standards in class. For example, governors accompany leaders on their monitoring visits to understand the process of evidence gathering and evaluation. Governors and leaders interrogate pupil outcomes to identify areas of weakness and redeploy resources effectively to help pupils catch up. As a result, pupils who fall behind are given just the right help they need to catch up.

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Inspection findings

 Standards in English and mathematics have risen over the past year across the school. Teachers work collaboratively to plan logical sequences of work and ensure that their expectations of what pupils can achieve are consistently high. Useful moderation work with other schools allows teachers to compare their pupils’ performance to those in other successful schools locally. Standards of writing in the wider curriculum are improving but are not consistently at the high standard seen in English.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 pupils’ work in other subjects matches the high standards seen in English and mathematics  pupils gain a greater understanding and appreciation of those from different cultures and backgrounds to their own.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, senior and middle leaders and four governors, including the chair of the governing body. I observed learning in five classes, all jointly with you. We looked at pupils’ work, including the early years learning journeys and pupils’ books. I analysed a range of the school’s documentation, including information about pupils’ achievement, the school improvement plan and safeguarding checks, policies and procedures. We discussed your evaluation of the school’s effectiveness. I considered the 69 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including 63 free-text comments, and spoke to parents at the beginning of the day. I met with six pupils from Years 1 to 6 and gathered the views of other pupils throughout the day.

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