Beech Green Primary School

Inspection of Beech Green Primary School St James, Quedgeley, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL2 4WD

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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 Good Previous inspection grade Good 16 and 17 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values, ‘believe, achieve and respect’, encourage pupils to work hard and acknowledge the opinions of others. Pupils have opportunities to develop an understanding of living healthy lives, their community and differences between people. For example, the Beech Green Values Award was recently presented to Year 6 for their promotion of increased diversity in reading books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and respectful. They feel safe and know they can talk to an adult if they have concerns. For example, they can visit the ‘regulation station’ at breaktime. Pupils move through the school calmly and orderly. Routines and expectations are high. Typically, lessons flow without disruption. Right from the early years, children know the school’s expectations for behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A wide range of clubs and activities are open to all. Pupils enjoy a range of educational trips and visits. They can often recall topics studied that are linked to trips.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Since the last inspection, the school has revised its curriculum. The essential curriculum knowledge pupils should know and remember is now identified in most subjects. However, the quality of learning activities varies between subjects and year groups. Pupils are not able to secure curriculum knowledge sufficiently well in all subjects.

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better?

The school’s knowledge and understanding of its strengths and weaknesses is developing. Its analysis of information, including checks on the quality of education, is in its infancy. Therefore, the school does not currently have an accurate overview of the impact of its improvement work. Refinements to how information is analysed, including safeguarding records and actions, have started. However, the lack of accurate analysis and external checks means governors have not been able to hold the school to account with sufficient rigour.

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better?

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum is well designed. Barriers to learning that could inhibit children’s development are accurately identified and overcome. Topics and themes are sequenced to build on children’s knowledge over time. Teachers place vocabulary and oracy at the heart of the curriculum. For example, teachers model speaking in full sentences and use guides and prompts for children to follow. The range of experiences planned for children, alongside exposure to a range of stories and rhymes, supports children in developing their knowledge across the curriculum. Children enjoy looking at books and listening to stories.

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better?

Reading is prioritised and underpins the school’s curriculum. Extra phonics support is put in place for pupils who fall behind their peers. Staff are trained in the school’s phonics curriculum to ensure they have the subject expertise to teach phonics 16 and 17 July 2024

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effectively. The impact of this is that fewer pupils need phonics catch-up support in key stage 2.

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Older pupils have a positive view of reading. They enjoy the opportunities to visit the library and small group sessions to help them improve. The teaching of strategies to increase pupils’ reading fluency is at an early stage of development.

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In Reception Year, children fully engage and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning through high levels of curiosity, independence and enjoyment. Continuous provision is effectively managed to ensure that children routinely develop and consolidate their knowledge and skills across the seven areas of learning. All activities have a precise learning focus. Exciting opportunities exist for children to write, both indoors and outdoors. Many children choose to write without prompting.

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When the curriculum is well-designed and implemented effectively, pupils know and remember more. When this occurs, pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are met. Pupils revisit important knowledge at the start of lessons that helps them to remember more. Gaps in pupils’ knowledge are accurately identified and closed. For example, in religious education (RE), older pupils can recall important facts.

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However, some subject curriculums are new or still in development. In these subject curriculums, the essential knowledge pupils should know and remember has not been accurately identified. Learning activities do not always help pupils to learn the curriculum’s essential knowledge. Checks on pupils’ knowledge are not accurate as some curriculum content is not clearly set out. Support for pupils with SEND is not always effective in these subjects. This limits pupils’ ability to build on prior learning. For example, aspects of the English and mathematics curriculums are not securely or consistently in place. This results in outcomes that are below national averages, for example in end of key stage 2 writing and mathematics tests.

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Pupils benefit from nurturing relationships with all staff. Some pupils have additional support to help them to recognise and respond to their feelings appropriately. As a result, pupils regulate their emotions and play well with and alongside their peers. Most pupils attend school regularly. The school has begun work to improve attendance for pupils who do not attend as well.

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Older pupils have a strong recall of the school’s values and how these relate to fundamental British values. Pupils learn about fairness and respect. These values help pupils to make the right choices.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 The school does not implement its new curriculum as intended. The important concepts in some subject curriculums are not sufficiently detailed or carefully sequenced. This means pupils do not learn the curriculum’s essential concepts successfully. The school needs to ensure important curriculum concepts are well- sequenced and sufficiently detailed and that the curriculum is implemented effectively.  Learning activities do not always provide pupils with the opportunities to secure and deepen their subject knowledge. When this occurs, pupils do not build on prior learning or make connections between concepts taught. The school needs to ensure learning activities enable pupils to apply their knowledge and skills to know more, do more and remember more over time.  The school’s expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low in Years 1 to 6. When this happens, pupils do not reach their potential and

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outcomes are poor. The school needs to raise its expectations of pupils, providing appropriate support and opportunities to study an ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education.  The school does not have an accurate view of the quality of education. It does not accurately analyse the information it gathers. Consequently, leaders, including governors, do not have an accurate overview of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The school needs to ensure information about the quality of education is used to drive school improvement consistently and sustainably.

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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 SEND; pupils who meet the 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). 16 and 17 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 19 and 20 April 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Beech Green primary school is maintained by Gloucestershire local authority.  The school does not use 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, staff, pupils and representatives from the governing body.  The lead inspector spoke on the telephone and at school with the local authority school improvement partner. 16 and 17 July 2024

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, RE and geography. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum 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.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  The inspectors also discussed the school’s curriculum and provision with leaders including the EYFS.  Pupils’ design and technology (DT), history and written work in books were sampled. Discussions were held with the DT and history subject leaders.  The inspectors observed pupils during social times and spoke with pupils and leaders about pupils’ behaviour and attendance and opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David New Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 July 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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