Beddington Park Primary School

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

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Mr Toby Cooke Executive headteacher Beddington Park Primary School Mallinson Road Beddington Lane Beddington Croydon Surrey CR0 4UL

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 22 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 February 2013.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

You are supported well by an effective governing body which shares your high aspirations for pupils. Your expectations are high and you make no excuses for this because you want pupils to succeed. In 2017, pupils achieved well at the end of key stages 1 and 2. Progress of key stage 2 pupils has improved since the last inspection. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics in 2017 was above average. Good progress is evident in pupils’ books. However, leaders acknowledge that progress in reading is not as strong.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

You are supported by two able and committed acting deputy headteachers who accurately identify the strengths and areas for development for the school. Leaders acknowledge that there has been a great deal of staff movement. This has been a concern for some parents. Leaders are committed to retaining good staff. They use professional development opportunities to motivate and challenge potential leaders; for example, the leaders of learning who spoke positively about their role and the responsibility they have for sharing what they have learned with other staff.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

You have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. During the inspection, all pupils behaved well in class and when moving around the school. Pupils said that behaviour is good and that behaviour incidents do not disturb learning. One pupil said, ‘Learning, sharing and growing together is our school motto and it accurately reflects our school.’ Pupils learn and play well together. Some parents said that behaviour and bullying in school was an issue. Pupils said that bullying is rare. When incidents do happen, they are dealt with swiftly. The school’s records confirm that there are very few incidents of bullying.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

You acknowledge that attendance for some groups is too low. You monitor attendance regularly and provide support for families. Pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly and enjoy the rewards for good attendance. Pupils are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They said that there is nothing that they would change. Case studies show that intervention is making a difference; however, attendance for some groups of pupils, particularly disadvantaged groups, remains too low.

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Short inspection of Beddington Park Primary School

Leadership of safeguarding is effective. Leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Referrals to social care are handled in a timely manner. Leaders make effective contributions to multi-agency meetings, providing detailed reports. The single central record of recruitment checks is thorough and meets requirements. The large majority of parents and staff said that they believe their children are safe in school and pupils said that they feel safe. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and have a good understanding of how to be protected when using the internet. They were able to tell me about what they had learned, including the process of ‘zip it, block it, flag it’. Pupils are confident that they can speak to an adult if they have a concern. Staff and governors have received appropriate training, including on the ‘Prevent’ duty and how to recognise the signs that pupils may be at risk of abuse, including female genital mutilation.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, we agreed three areas of focus. The first of these was to look at how leaders are improving pupils’ progress in reading. In 2017, progress in reading was in line with national figures, but not as strong as in writing or mathematics. Leaders have identified reading as an area for development. Many new initiatives have been introduced. However, these are in the early stages and the impact on outcomes is not evident.  Leaders have introduced a variety of interesting activities to develop pupils’ love of reading. The library is well resourced and the librarian has a key role in promoting reading. Pupil journalists and author assemblies inspire pupils to read regularly. Pupils who need the additional reading support get individual time on a daily basis. Teachers have been successful in developing children’s skills in phonics. Outcomes in the phonics assessment in 2017 were well above national

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Inspection findings

averages. A variety of stimulating resources are available to support learning in the early years. However, opportunities for children to read in early years are not always optimised.  The inspector read with pupils across the school during visits to classrooms. All pupils were able to access the learning within lessons and demonstrated an understanding of the text. A selection of pupils from Years 4 and 6 brought their regular reading book to read with the inspector. The majority of pupils read well, demonstrating strong language and comprehension skills. The majority of books were appropriate for pupils. Pupils said that they should ‘push their limits when choosing a book’. This was particularly evident with the Year 6 pupils, who understand that reading at home every day will improve their reading.  Overall, leaders are committed to improving progress for pupils in reading. They regularly evaluate assessment results and use this information effectively.

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Inspection findings

However, there are times when opportunities for developing reading skills are missed.  We next explored how leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils are supported to achieve well, particularly the most able. Leaders spoke about the way that the pupil premium funding had been used to support this group. Pupils have guitar lessons and each pupil in receipt of the funding has received their own guitar. The rationale for this is to develop more than just the academic achievement of these pupils. Pupils enjoy performing in assembly and celebrating their success. The funding has also been used to take pupils to the local bookshop for them to buy a book of their choice. The intention to promote a love of reading. Regular assessment ensures that intervention is appropriate and having an impact.  During visits to classrooms, the inspector spoke with the most able disadvantaged pupils. They said that are trying hard to improve their writing and

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Inspection findings

could share an example of how their writing has improved. One girl explained that you have to show what is happening rather than simply telling your reader. For example, ‘shivers trickled down her spine, forcing her to sweat’, instead of writing ‘she was nervous’.  Overall, progress for this group is evident and the gap between what they are achieving in comparison to other pupils is decreasing. However, the impact on outcomes, particularly for those achieving the higher standard across subjects, is not yet evident. The early morning club has improved lateness and attendance; however, attendance for this group remains too low.  Finally, we explored how leaders had successfully maintained such high standards since the last inspection, particularly in writing. Areas for improvement from the previous inspection report included ensuring that teachers’ expectation of what pupils can do are consistently high. This is evident in writing across all

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Inspection findings

year groups. As a result, progress is consistently high. Pupils enjoy writing. They are motivated and keen to do well.  Pupils are well supported by additional adults, but they also work well independently. They know what they need to do to improve their writing. The quality of writing is some cases is exceptional. Pupils spoke of the learning journey for writing. The journey begins with an exciting activity and then pupils have some independence over the choice of what they will write. For example, the Year 6 pupils went to visit the Oval to enjoy a sporting event. They could then choose their own sporting event to plan and write a recount.  Overall, pupils achieve very well and make strong progress in their writing. Part of this success is the individualised approach and pupils having some choice over what they write about. Leaders are right when they say that this is a strength of the school.

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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 make good progress in reading through consistently high expectations and effective use of reading opportunities  leaders improve the attendance of those groups who do not attend regularly enough, particularly disadvantaged pupils.

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

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, senior leaders, governors and the two designated safeguarding leaders. I looked at school documentation, including school improvement planning, minutes of meetings of the governing body and behaviour logs. I visited classrooms with you, your deputy and assistant headteacher, speaking with pupils and looking at their work. I considered the views of parents through the 65 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. In addition, the 10 responses to the staff survey were considered along with the 23 responses from pupils. I also reviewed a large sample of books to look at the standards of pupils’ work.

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