Beaumont Primary School

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

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Mrs Valerie Fryer Headteacher Beaumont Primary School Wendover Drive Ladybridge Bolton Lancashire BL3 4RX

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 May 2018, 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 September 2013.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders express a clear vision that education is about more than pupils fulfilling their potential. They are ambitious for pupils to achieve as much as possible. Leaders use the success of ex-pupils to inspire current pupils. Pupils’ attainment remains above average and improving in the early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2. Many pupils achieve standards above those expected for their age. They make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and are confident, enthusiastic learners. When pupils leave Beaumont, they are fully prepared to continue their education at secondary school.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

Leaders have an in-depth knowledge of the needs of individual pupils and their families. They understand the school’s successes and prioritise the attention of staff to improve pupils’ education. Leaders judge the standard of staff’s work accurately. They enhance their reviews of teaching by working with fellow leaders or with experts from outside the school. Leaders consider thoughtfully how to improve teaching, learning and assessment. Governors challenge leaders about pupils’ achievements in reading, writing and mathematics. However, their understanding of the strengths and relative weaknesses of other subjects, where there is no national information, is underdeveloped.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

Learning areas are calm and arranged well to support pupils’ studies. Staff present pupils’ work attractively on walls throughout the school. Their displays to celebrate pupils’ writing are particularly impressive. Pupils benefit from extra-curricular activities including chess, cheerleading and walking. They said that they enjoy learning, including that gained through trips to see castles, farms and a Tudor house. History and English are among the most popular subjects among pupils. Pupils value the support they receive. Pupils agreed, ‘Teachers treat you fairly.’

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

Parents and carers said that leaders are approachable and often available to speak with them about any concerns. Parents are very complimentary about leadership, communication and their child’s learning, progress and well-being. Nevertheless, I found that pupils do not understand enough about democracy in their local area or nationally.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

Leaders have addressed the area highlighted for improvement at the previous inspection. Staff now give pupils much scope to think, share ideas and work things out for themselves. For example, I observed pupils in Year 6 actively debating how a fictitious character had made a mistake when counting backwards in tens. They identified a range of solutions, and staff challenged them to explain their reasoning. Leaders check that staff give pupils time to think about their learning and to work independently. Leaders make better use of the expertise of teaching assistants to help different groups of pupils to learn.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

This is an exciting time for you and for the school. You have led Beaumont successfully as headteacher for several years and recently announced your forthcoming retirement. The governing body is currently recruiting a new headteacher for the autumn 2018.

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

The leadership team ensures that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff and leaders give pupils many opportunities to learn about staying safe. For example, pupils learn to act wisely near the railway, which is a local concern. Governors double-check that staff address issues of internet safety regularly with parents and pupils. Leaders make certain that older pupils learn how to develop safe, healthy relationships. Pupils with whom I spoke said that they feel able to raise concerns with staff about their lives. Leaders give staff regular access to training on safeguarding. Governors ascertain how fully leaders help staff to understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They also check diligently the school’s wider arrangements for keeping pupils safe, for example by verifying the quality of staff’s risk assessments and accident records. Leaders and staff are vigilant about possible risks to pupils. Leaders maintain comprehensive records of

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Short inspection of Beaumont Primary School

concerns and make appropriate referrals to other agencies.

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Inspection findings

 A focus of the inspection was to consider the work of leaders to improve pupils’ reading in key stage 2. This is because some minority ethnic boys did not achieve as strongly in the national assessments in 2017 as they should have. Leaders review precisely how well pupils read in each year group. They ask themselves and staff challenging questions about how they can improve reading. Leaders’ plans to further improve pupils’ reading are thorough. Staff focus well on improving pupils’ comprehension skills, as well as their fluency and enjoyment of reading. School information indicates that current pupils, including those from minority ethnic groups, are making strong progress in their reading skills. Leaders and staff give pupils worthwhile opportunities to read widely and often. They make sure that many events take place to develop and celebrate reading.  Current pupils with whom I spoke, including those from minority ethnic groups,

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Inspection findings

are clear about what they need to do to improve their reading. They feel that staff support them to raise their confidence and skills. They praised the quality of group reading activities in Year 6 and said that they feel their teacher is a strong model of reading expressively. Parents and pupils said that home-reading arrangements work to their children’s benefit; for example, reading books are appropriately challenging and changed regularly. Staff also advise parents of worthy books their children will enjoy at home. Leaders ensure that the school library has a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. The library area is enticing. Staff’s well-planned approach to celebrating the work of different authors is very evident in their careful presentation of books in the Reception class.  I wanted to find out whether staff and leaders are maintaining the strong focus on pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, identified at the

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Inspection findings

previous inspection. You provided me with convincing evidence that leaders and staff have sustained many strengths. For example, pupils said that staff manage their behaviour consistently and that there are very few problems. They said that bullying is not an issue because it is rare and that staff deal promptly with concerns. Leaders keep records of pupils’ behaviour carefully. They check information in detail so they can address commonly arising issues. As we toured the school, pupils’ behaviour was very positive. In Year 2, pupils were so eager to greet me by name that this interrupted the lesson briefly.  When I spoke with a sample of pupils, I found them to be polite, confident and knowledgeable. They told me that pupils at the school from different ethnic backgrounds relate positively to one another. For example, one pupil said, ‘At this school, children… get on well. Skin colour is not a problem. It’s just that your skin

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Inspection findings

is a different colour.’ This is because staff teach pupils to respect diversity. I found that books available in the school library include a wide range of non- fiction titles about religion, diversity and differences between people. Pupils are aware of the beliefs and traditions of people of different cultures and religions. Pupils know about the success of famous Black people, such as Martin Luther King. Pupils recognise the achievements of famous disabled people, such as Stephen Hawking, Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci. Pupils have a good awareness of current issues in the world. For example, they know about the work of the president of the United States and could explain to me why they think that he is a controversial figure. Pupils understand the importance of choosing their own representatives for the school council. However, pupils cannot explain the meaning of democracy in a regional and national context.

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Inspection findings

 Given the school’s focus on teaching history, I looked at how successfully leaders are developing the history curriculum. Staff and leaders have good access to training and links with other schools. This gives them inspiration and challenge about how they teach and assess history at Beaumont Primary School. The history coordinator gives clear, passionate and knowledgeable leadership to the development of the subject. Staff use trips and artefacts thoughtfully to enhance pupils’ historical learning. For example, in their studies about the Second World War, pupils visited a real air raid shelter. Back in school, pupils looked at real items including soldier’s helmets. Pupils’ work in their books is becoming more worthwhile and meaningful. There is an increasing proportion of work that develops their skills, as well as their knowledge. There is less evidence of unchallenging colouring in of pictures. Improvements in the leadership of history

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Inspection findings

are beginning to impact positively on arrangements to develop geography. In both history and geography, staff are beginning to experiment and be more creative in how they plan their teaching.  Governors visit the school regularly. They speak with staff and pupils and join classroom activities and special events. Governors review the main priorities for improving the school. They challenge the information that leaders give them about the standards attained by pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. However, they are less aware of the strengths and weaknesses of subjects when no national data is available. This holds them back from challenging leaders as much as they could.

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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

 governors develop a more precise grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the subjects taught at the school where no national data is available  staff teach pupils to understand what democracy means locally and nationally.

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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 Bolton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and the deputy headteacher to discuss your self-evaluation and your plans for improvement. We also discussed the work of the school to safeguard pupils and support their behaviour. You and I visited a sample of classrooms and spoke with pupils about their learning. I met with the subject leader for history and looked at examples of pupils’ work in their books. I met with the subject leader for English to discuss the school’s work to develop pupils’ reading skills. I met with five governors, including the vice-chair of the governing body. I spoke by telephone with a representative of the local authority. I met with a group of eight pupils, chosen at random from Years 3 to 6, to discuss aspects of their personal development, behaviour and welfare. I spoke with pupils in classrooms and around the school. I spoke with some pupils from Year 6 about their learning to read. I reviewed responses from 46 pupils to an Ofsted survey. I spoke to several parents as they

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Information about the inspection

dropped their children off at school. I examined the 50 responses to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire. I considered a summary of responses from 28 staff to a recent school survey. I took into account a further three responses from staff to an Ofsted questionnaire. I checked a sample of your records about the safeguarding and behaviour of pupils. I reviewed your records of checks on the suitability of staff, volunteers and governors to work with pupils.

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