De Beauvoir Primary School

Inspection of De Beauvoir Primary School 80 Tottenham Road, Hackney, London N1 4BS

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 January 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 11 and 12 January 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Mutual respect is at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils are highly considerate of each other, adults and their environment. In classrooms and during less structured times, pupils help, listen and work together with compassion and understanding. This is because leaders and staff model this in the way they treat the pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is a particular strength. They behave extremely well in class and around the school. Pupils have exemplary attitudes and are highly motivated to do their best. Leaders have clear and appropriate systems to deal with any incidents of bullying, should they occur. Pupils said that leaders help them to sort out any problems fairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe. Parents and carers who responded to the online survey agreed. School staff form positive, trusting relationships with pupils and their families.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for every pupil. Leaders trust pupils with additional responsibilities, including as playground first aiders. Pupils carry out their duties maturely and responsibly. Leaders monitor closely how well pupils learn. They use this information to plan the next steps in pupils’ learning. This helps pupils to achieve well.

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better?

Senior leaders have strong subject knowledge. They think carefully about what they want the pupils to learn in different subjects. They deliberately choose content that interests and motivates pupils, and builds pupils’ knowledge and skills. Leaders sequence the most important knowledge and skills from the early years onwards. Leaders provide teachers with the training they need to teach the curriculum. Some teachers teach subjects outside their area of expertise. They rely on senior leaders’ subject knowledge or experts in other schools. Some teachers are growing their knowledge and skills to become experts and lead subjects. They work closely with senior leaders to check that teachers are teaching the right things.

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better?

Typically, teaching includes opportunities for pupils to recall prior learning. Leaders and teachers check that pupils remember important knowledge. This helps pupils to recall what they have learned before, and build what they are learning currently on what they have been taught previously. For example, pupils in Year 5 recapped their prior knowledge of multiplication and used this to calculate the area of shapes. Occasionally, teachers do not emphasise the prior knowledge enough. Where this occurs, pupils struggle to remember and build on this knowledge.

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better?

Children at the early stages of reading receive appropriate teaching. Teachers and teaching assistants help children to improve their language and communication when they join the school. Children start learning phonics in the early years. 11 and 12 January 2022

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Children who need it receive support to keep up. Teachers provide books for pupils to read at home and in school that match to the sounds pupils know. As a result, pupils quickly get better at, and more confident about, reading.

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Teachers make adaptions so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities successfully learn alongside their peers. Teachers and teaching assistants have been trained to identify any pupils who may need additional support. Leaders work closely with parents and external professionals to make sure that pupils get the right support.

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Pupils are highly attentive during lessons. They are very keen to learn and participate. They are very pleased about, and motivated by, receiving rewards and recognition for their extremely sensible behaviour. Pupils reflected on their behaviour with considerable maturity. They spoke honestly about the strategies they use to maintain their positive behaviour. Pupils value the support and guidance they receive from leaders in this regard.

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Leaders and staff organise visits linked to what pupils are learning. Some of these are temporarily paused due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers encourage pupils to follow healthy lifestyles. For example, pupils are taught to grow, harvest, and cook vegetables from the school’s edible garden. Pupils can talk to trained adults about their mental well-being. Pupils take on additional responsibilities, including as school parliament representatives and playground buddies. Pupils are encouraged to think about morals and values such as equality, respect and fairness. They explore these through the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education programme.

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Leaders engage with parents positively. They seek parents’ views on what happens in school. For example, leaders recently asked parents for ideas on what they should cover during Black History Month. Governors and leaders work effectively together to improve the school. They prioritise staff well-being and make sure that staff can manage their workload. Staff appreciate the support that leaders give. Leaders work closely with leaders in the partner schools. This approach is helping to drive improvements in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise the welfare and safety of pupils. Leaders train staff to spot the signs that pupils may need help and support. As a result, school staff are alert to specific issues that may be prevalent in the local area. They use the school’s systems to report any concerns. Leaders take swift action and seek advice from external safeguarding partners if necessary. Leaders use PSHE education and other opportunities to teach pupils about keeping themselves safe. Pupils are helped to understand different forms of bullying and harassment, including online. They learn where to get help should they need it. 11 and 12 January 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, teaching does not help pupils to recall prior learning. Where this is the case, pupils find it more difficult to remember and connect past learning with what they are learning currently. Leaders must make sure that teaching helps pupils to embed prior knowledge in all subjects.  When teachers teach subjects outside their area of expertise, they are reliant on senior leaders, including leaders in partner schools, to develop their subject knowledge. Leaders must continue with their plans to develop subject leadership in the school. This will enable subject leaders to monitor the implementation of the curriculum and support teachers with subject knowledge.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 11 and 12 January 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211662 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteachers Rebecca Mackenzie and Daniela Rader

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 and 31 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The deputy headteacher has taken on the interim role of head of school. The substantive headteacher is temporarily working at another school. The headteacher will return to her post at De Beauvoir Primary School in the summer term 2022.  Leaders provide off-site breakfast and after-school clubs. This provision is run jointly with Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School.  The number of pupils attending the school has fallen since the previous inspection.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 11 and 12 January 2022

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 Inspectors held meetings with the executive principal, the head of school, the deputy headteacher and other leaders.  Inspectors also met with representatives from the governing body and from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with leaders, staff and pupils about safeguarding. Inspectors looked at documentation, including records of pre-employment checks.  Inspectors looked at other school records and documents.  Inspectors reviewed staff and parent responses to Ofsted surveys.

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Inspection team

Andrea Bedeau, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Amanda Carter-Fraser Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 January 2022

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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