Beamont Primary School

Inspection of Beamont Primary School O’Leary Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA2 7RQ

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 October 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 12 and 13 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy members of this encouraging school community. They get on well together and make lots of friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the strong relationships that they forge with staff. They know that staff care about them. Pupils also appreciate the time that staff take to get to know them well. Pupils are confident that if they reported any concerns, including about bullying, they would be dealt with properly by staff. This helps pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), respond well to leaders’ high expectations of them. Pupils take great pride in collecting the praise points that they are awarded for their efforts. They behave well and are enthusiastic about their learning. Across the school, pupils achieve well in a range of subjects. However, because the early years curriculum is not well structured, younger children do not achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the clubs that they can attend, such as drama and football. They talked excitedly about the sports events and performances that are on offer to everyone.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to make a positive difference to their local community by raising funds for a local food bank. Older pupils enjoy carrying out the special jobs that they are given, such as play monitors and reading buddies.

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better?

Children in the early years are happy and confident. They mix well with each other and learn to take turns with their friends. However, leaders have not ensured that the expectations of what children in the early years should achieve are high enough. Leaders have not decided on the important knowledge that children in the early years need to learn. This means that the activities that staff design for children sometimes lack purpose. In addition, staff lack the expertise needed to make sure that children develop their communication skills fully. Leaders do not ensure that children learn all that they should to make a successful start when they enter Year 1.

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better?

In contrast, leaders have designed an interesting curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6 that is suitably broad and ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with SEND. Leaders have identified the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn in each subject. They have ordered this knowledge carefully so that pupils build on their learning and know and remember more over time.

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better?

Well-trained subject leaders use their expertise to provide helpful information for teachers to deliver the curriculums effectively. Subject leaders make regular checks on how well pupils understand the important curriculum content. 12 and 13 October 2022

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Teachers present information clearly and provide opportunities for pupils to practise and remember what they have learned before. This helps pupils to access new content with confidence. Consequently, in many subjects, pupils achieve well.

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In a few subjects, leaders’ curriculum thinking is less clear. This means that some teachers, when they design learning, lose sight of the most important knowledge that pupils need to know.

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Leaders place a high importance on teaching pupils to read. The early reading curriculum sets out clearly what pupils will learn and when this will be taught. Staff receive the training they need to deliver the phonics programme consistently well. Pupils practise their reading regularly with books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils who find reading more difficult receive effective support to help them to catch up. Consequently, most pupils become fluent and confident readers by the end of Year 2. Older pupils enjoy reading independently and are keen to discuss their favourite books and authors.

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Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified early. Teachers deploy a range of strategies effectively to ensure that this group of pupils can access the same curriculum as their peers. The support that pupils with SEND receive helps them to achieve well.

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Pupils are polite, well mannered and friendly. Pupils who sometimes struggle to regulate their own conduct benefit from sensitive support from well-trained staff. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning mean that teachers can deliver the curriculum without disruption. The atmosphere in the school is calm and purposeful. Leaders have been very successful in ensuring that pupils attend school regularly.

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Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to expand their horizons and to foster an understanding of the world beyond their school and local community. Through the curriculum, and in assemblies, pupils learn about people with different backgrounds, faiths and families.

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Governors play an active part in the life of the school. They offer appropriate support and challenge to school leaders.

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Staff, including teachers at the early stage of their careers, value the opportunities that they have for development. Staff are proud to work at the school and appreciate the approachability of leaders. Many parents and carers hold the school in high regard.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training so that they can stay alert to the signs which could indicate that pupils are at risk of harm. Staff have a clear understanding of how to report any concerns. 12 and 13 October 2022

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The members of the safeguarding team use their strong expertise and local knowledge to access suitable support for vulnerable pupils and their families. They demonstrate tenacity when following up and escalating their concerns if required.

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Pupils receive regular guidance about how to keep themselves safe. This includes learning about online safety and about some of the features of healthy relationships, such as consent.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ curriculum thinking in one or two subjects is unclear. This means that teachers are not sure of the important knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should be taught. This hinders pupils’ achievement. Leaders should ensure that they set out clearly the essential knowledge that pupils should know so that they are prepared for subsequent learning.  The curriculum in the early years is not structured coherently. This means that staff are unclear about what children need to learn. Leaders must ensure that the curriculum in the early years sets out the important knowledge and vocabulary that children need to know and remember in readiness for their future learning. In addition, leaders should ensure that staff in the early years are able to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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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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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. 12 and 13 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241418 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Beamont Primary School converted to become an academy in 2018. When its predecessor school, Beamont Community Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of the Warrington Primary Academy Trust.  Since the previous inspection, there have been several changes to the senior leadership team. There have also been several changes to the governing body, including the appointment of the chair of governors.  Leaders do not currently make use of alternative provision for any pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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. 12 and 13 October 2022

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 Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher and other leaders. They also spoke with subject leaders and members of staff.  Inspectors spoke with three trustees and four members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, during playtimes and lunchtimes, and around the school. They spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views on the school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  Inspectors checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. They reviewed documentation, checked attendance information and spoke to leaders, governors, staff and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some

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pupils about their learning and reviewed samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. Inspectors also considered other subjects on the school’s curriculum.  Inspectors spoke to parents and carers and considered their views which were shared through Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments received from parents. Inspectors also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to the survey for pupils.  Inspectors considered a range of documents shared by school leaders, including the school development plan, the minutes taken at governors’ meetings and leaders’ self-evaluation documentation.

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Inspection team

Janette Walker, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Kirkpatrick Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 October 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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