Beaufort Primary School

Inspection of Beaufort Community Primary School Hampshire Road, Derby, Derbyshire DE21 6BT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The interim headteacher of this school is Ian Dewes. This school is part of Odyssey Collaborative Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Ian Dewes, and overseen by a board of trustees chaired by Jane Green. 7 and 8 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave very well at this school. They work and play happily together. In lessons, pupils of all ages respond calmly and sensibly to teachers’ high expectations for behaviour. Pupils say that they enjoy receiving achievement awards and points for good behaviour. They also like helping out with jobs around school. As one pupil commented, ‘Teamwork makes the dream work!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many parents and carers say that their children are happy. They typically praise the school’s caring, nurturing ethos. The school provides strong pastoral support for pupils and families. Pupils’ physical and mental health and well-being are well supported.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils to develop as healthy, active young citizens. The ‘BRAVE’ values promote empathy and respect for everyone. Pupils say that they feel safe in school because ‘the teachers protect us’. There is always someone to talk to if they are worried about something or if they ‘just feel sad’. Pupils feel confident about how to keep themselves safe online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some aspects of the school require improvement. This is because the quality of education declined in recent years. Much-needed changes have been introduced. However, these improvements are very recent and the full impact is not yet realised.

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better?

The leadership of the school lacks stability, at all levels. To minimise the impact, the trust has provided significant support. This has been effective in accelerating the necessary changes across many areas of the school. These areas include subject leadership, the early years and the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

The school’s curriculum has been rewritten in all subjects. It now sets out what pupils should know, and be able to do, from the early years to Year 6. Teachers are in the very early stages of implementing this new curriculum. Their subject knowledge is still developing. It is too soon to evaluate the impact on pupils’ learning. Currently, pupils have limited recall of what they have learned.

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better?

In the core subjects of reading and mathematics, there is a positive picture. There is a well-planned and sequenced mathematics curriculum. Pupils make a strong start in learning to read. Teachers follow the systematic phonics programme consistently and with confidence. In lessons, teachers regularly check how well pupils are learning. They adapt the pace of lessons accordingly.

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better?

Other areas of the curriculum are less well developed. Pupils do not yet have detailed knowledge and skills across all subjects. However, the school has accurately identified what needs to improve. There is a suitable plan of action in place. 7 and 8 November 2023

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Until very recently, the needs of pupils with SEND were not accurately identified and assessed. Too many pupils were misdiagnosed as having SEND. Others spent too much time out of class, not fully included. The school did not ensure that staff were given important information about pupils’ needs. Staff could not adapt their teaching accordingly. Sometimes, promises made to parents were not followed through. The school has now responded urgently to this situation. Improved systems and greater collaboration have ensured that pupils with SEND now receive support that better reflects their needs. There is a clear plan to introduce further improvements to strengthen the provision.

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Children in the Reception class have recently been moved away from an area of the school that was unsuitable. They have joined the Nursery children, thus forming an early years unit. This new area provides a spacious, safe and well-equipped learning environment. The children have adapted well to this change. They follow familiar routines calmly, making the most of the activities provided to promote their development. They are now safe and well cared for. However, the leadership and staffing of the early years are temporary. Although a suitable early years curriculum is now in place, it is very new. Staff are still deciding how best to implement this curriculum coherently across both the indoor and outdoor provision.

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The school promotes pupils’ broader personal development well. Pupils can take part in a wide range of clubs and activities, such as gardening, gymnastics, recorders and multi-sports. These clubs are popular and open to all. Pupils understand the importance of respect and of treating everyone equally. They uphold the school’s values with pride.

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Governance is currently provided by the trust’s school improvement board. The board’s remit is to ensure that legal responsibilities are met and to secure the school’s rapid improvement. This work is in the early stages. The board recognises the importance of staff well-being and the impact of rapid change on staff workload. Staff say that workload is high, but they feel supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum intent is mapped and sequenced in all subjects. However, curriculum implementation is inconsistent in most areas. Teachers do not yet have secure subject knowledge across the curriculum. The school should ensure that the revised curriculum is consistently implemented across the school so that it supports pupils effectively to develop secure knowledge and skills in all subjects from the early years to Year 6. 7 and 8 November 2023

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 Until very recently, the needs of pupils with SEND were not accurately identified, assessed or met. Pupils with SEND were not served well by the provision made for them, which prevented them from achieving as well as they should. The school should ensure that its work to strengthen the provision for pupils with SEND allows these pupils to receive support that is precisely matched to their needs and that enables them to achieve the best possible outcomes.  The early years curriculum is in the early stages of implementation. There is no substantive leadership or staffing in this part of the school. As a result, not all children develop secure knowledge and understanding in preparation for Year 1. The school should ensure that the revised early years curriculum is embedded and implemented consistently, including the coordination of the indoor and outdoor provision, so that children in the early years develop secure knowledge

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and skills for future learning.  Leadership at all levels is not stable. There are many staff absences. Staff have not been sufficiently well supported to improve their expertise to deliver the new curriculum. Until very recently, governance was not effective in holding leaders to account for the school’s performance. Consequently, the school’s ambitious vision for pupils is not yet realised through strong practice in all areas. The school should ensure that the necessary strong leadership is in place to bring about the required improvements that will help realise the school’s ambitious vision.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 7 and 8 November 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Beaufort Community Primary School converted to become an academy in April 2019. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The chief executive officer from the multi-academy trust stepped in as full-time interim headteacher in October 2023, assisted by the school improvement leader from the trust.  A new substantive headteacher has been appointed and will take up post in January 2024.  At the time of the inspection, many leaders and staff were on long-term leave of absence. Supply teachers were in many classes, including in the early years.  The trust is providing support for curriculum leadership, early years and the provision for pupils with SEND by means of experienced teachers and leaders from elsewhere in the trust, on a temporary part-time basis.  In October 2023, an interim school improvement board was appointed, following

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Information about this school

the dissolution of the local governing body. This is expected to be in place until 7 and 8 November 2023

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autumn 2024, at which time a new local governing body is expected to be established.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the interim headteacher and other senior and curriculum leaders. Inspectors also met with leaders from elsewhere in the trust who are providing ongoing support for the school.  The lead inspector met with members of the interim school improvement board, the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer from the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, art and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their

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Information about this inspection

learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector observed some pupils read to a member of staff they know.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum, visited lessons and reviewed curriculum planning and samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.  Inspectors observed behaviour in lessons and at other times around school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Christine Watkins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Fielding Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 November 2023

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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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