Abbot Beyne School

Inspection of a good school: Abbot Beyne School Linnell Building, Osborne Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE15 0JL

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 October 2022

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Outcome

Abbot Beyne School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Abbot Beyne is a welcoming, nurturing and caring school. Leaders have created a climate where learning is a priority, summed up by the shared motto, ‘Everyone a Learner. Everyone Learning’. The school’s values to ‘be respectful, be responsible and be resilient’ support this. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are high in most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school and say that they feel safe. They are polite and courteous to visitors. Pupils behave well. They move around the school calmly and act sensibly towards one another during social times. In lessons, pupils listen carefully and join in when asked to do so by their teachers. Occurrences of bullying are rare and pupils say that when it does happen, teachers will deal with it swiftly and decisively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide variety of enrichment and extra-curricular activities. These include tennis, football, rugby, creative writing and geography clubs. Many pupils embrace these opportunities, although leaders are working to encourage more pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities to attend.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum. Together with subject leaders, they have thought carefully about what pupils should know, do and understand in each subject.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In some subjects, including English and geography, plans go beyond the national curriculum. Teachers in English, for example, have taken into account the changes in society and chosen novels to reflect this. For example, novels centred around feminism are now studied to ensure the curriculum remains responsive and inclusive.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. In most subjects, they use this to question pupils in depth about their learning, including students in the sixth form. For example, in geography, teachers’ questioning supports pupils to analyse different censuses. This enables them to make evaluations and observations about the population. 11 and 12 October 2022

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In many subjects, teachers routinely check how well pupils have remembered the knowledge that they have been taught across different lessons and between different years. However, in some subjects, such as mathematics, teachers move on too quickly and do not check pupils’ understanding. As a result, teachers are less able to determine gaps in pupils’ learning and address forgotten or missed knowledge.

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The key stage 4 curriculum is varied, and leaders have an aspiration to increase the number of pupils who gain qualifications in the English Baccalaureate. Growing numbers of pupils are being encouraged to study modern foreign languages at key stage 4 to achieve this aim.

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Leaders prioritise pupils’ personal development. They have recognised the importance, particularly in response to the pandemic, of pupils fully understanding their roles and responsibilities in the school. For example, the ‘Onward Together’ programme in Year 7 provides a smooth transition from primary school and ensures that all pupils understand and support the school’s values. Pupils learn about various topics such as healthy eating, sexual health and well-being. Pupils, including those in the sixth form, are well prepared for the next stage of their education. They receive detailed careers information, advice and guidance.

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Pupils behave well in lessons. This has a positive effect on their learning. They enjoy warm and positive relationships among themselves and with their teachers. They have positive attitudes to their learning and are tolerant of others’ cultures and beliefs.

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Since the last inspection, governors have further developed their skills and knowledge through appropriate training. As a result, they have an accurate understanding of the school’s work and use this to make appropriate improvement plans. For example, they recognise that the attendance of particular groups of pupils needs to improve.

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Teachers are proud and happy to work at this school. They report that leaders care about them. Staff appreciate how leaders and governors think carefully about their workload and well-being. For example, teachers are able to carry out their own professional learning in a flexible way to enable them to manage their own time effectively. They say that leaders are very approachable and protect their physical and mental health.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders responsible for protecting pupils from harm discharge their duties diligently and thoroughly. All staff receive regular training on keeping children safe and understand the local contextual challenges facing the school. Staff know the steps they would take in school to identify and act on any concerns about a child. Leaders act quickly if any concerns are raised. They work with a range of external agencies to keep pupils safe when they are not in school.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know who to talk to if they are worried about themselves or their friends. Pupils know how to stay safe online. 11 and 12 October 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The checks on pupils’ previous learning are not used effectively by some teachers to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This hinders teachers’ ability to address pupils’ misconceptions or pick up on any missed learning. Leaders should support teachers to use appropriate assessment strategies to enable pupils to achieve well across the curriculum.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

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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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 October 2022

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form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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form

Date of previous inspection 24 and 25 May 2017

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Information about this school

 The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: English, mathematics and geography. 11 and 12 October 2022

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 For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, spoke with pupils, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and met with teaching staff.  Other subjects were considered as part of the inspection.  Information regarding pupils’ and students’ attendance and behaviour was scrutinised.  During the inspection, inspectors spoke with pupils about life at school and their work.  Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, subject leaders, teachers and governors.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding, including the school’s record of checks undertaken on newly appointed staff and the support provided for pupils.

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Inspection team

Neil Warner, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Melanie Callaghan-Lewis Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 October 2022

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