Benhurst Primary School

Inspection of Benhurst Primary School Benhurst Avenue, Elm Park, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 4QS

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Alice Larkman. This school is part of the Life Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Julian Dutnall, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Louise Douglas. 1 and 2 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Benhurst is a caring and welcoming school. Pupils are proud of the diverse school community. They feel safe and are kept safe. If pupils have a worry or concern, they can name a member of staff they would talk to and they know that it will be dealt with appropriately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve highly in all key stages. Pupils know that their teachers expect them to work hard and focus on their learning in lessons. Bullying does not happen often but, when it does, pupils trust staff take it seriously.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and respectful to one another. The new behaviour policy means pupils are rewarded for positive behaviour and they value this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with a diverse range of opportunities to broaden their experiences. There are after-school clubs such as karate and football. Pupils can contribute to school life, for example by becoming a member of the pupil parliament and representing their peers or by being a ‘resolution role model’ and helping younger pupils in the playground.

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

The school has created an ambitious curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge through their school journey. Some parts of this curriculum are more fully realised and embedded than others.

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

Children learn to read as soon as they start at school, listening to stories, music, and rhymes. Staff ensure that, if any pupil struggles, they are offered additional support to catch up. Pupils can use their phonics skills to blend sounds and read words, and the books read are at an appropriate level. Enjoyment of reading is fostered, for example, by the provision of a library, run by Year 6 pupils in the playground.

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

Pupils build knowledge and understanding from the early years. For example, in science pupils in Reception grow and nurture plants, by Year 1 they are labelling the different parts of plants and in Year 3 they examine what the parts of the plant do.

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

Most of the time teachers deliver the curriculum well. They have sound subject knowledge. Teachers ensure that they revisit prior learning at the start of lessons to ensure that pupils can recall and link it to new learning. For example, pupils were able to discuss the different kinds of empires they had covered in history lessons and recognise their differences and similarities.

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

For the most part, pupils learn the content that the school intends. However, in some subjects the curriculum the delivery is not as strong. Adaptations are not made 1 and 2 October 2024

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consistently to ensure all pupils can access and benefit from the learning at a suitable level.

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The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND as promptly as possible and, in most cases, ensures that support is in place to allow them to access the learning. This includes additional support from staff, and sensory activities.

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The school has a range of ways to secure pupils’ wider development. There are trips to museums and places of worship. Pupils access different after-school clubs. They contribute to the local community, for example singing in a local care home and raising funds for a nearby food bank. Pupils learn about important issues that affect their everyday lives and talk confidently about equality and how to stay healthy.

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Pupils’ behaviour is mostly appropriate, but there are times when learning is disrupted by pupils calling out and not concentrating on the lesson. The new behaviour rules are sometimes not consistently applied. However, this is not a common occurrence.

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The school is taking effective action to address any low attendance or persistent absence. This includes working with the attendance officer and ensuring they praise improvements and give rewards for pupils with good attendance, such as badges.

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There have been changes introduced in the school over the last few years. Some staff have struggled with the pace and number of these, but others expressed appreciation for the reduction in their workload and the improvement in training offered.

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Governors understand their safeguarding duties and are ready to challenge leaders to ensure the quality of education remains high. Most parents and carers have been supportive of recent changes, and appreciate the high standard of teaching and achievement at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Changes to the curriculum are not fully embedded and so the curriculum is not delivered in a consistent and knowledgeable fashion. In these instances, pupils do not develop the same depth of knowledge and understanding as they do at other times. The school should ensure it continues to support staff to develop expertise and knowledge, thus ensuring the consistency of delivery across the curriculum.  Staff do not apply the school’s new behaviour policy consistently. As a result, at times, the few cases of low-level disruption and inconsiderate behaviour are not addressed. 1 and 2 October 2024

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The school should work with staff and pupils to ensure that the behaviour policy is applied consistently, and pupils develop consistently positive attitudes to learning.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (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). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Life Education Trust, a multi-academy trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision for its pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 1 and 2 October 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  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.  The inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. They also held meetings with members of the local governing body and representatives from the trust.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics,

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art, and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  The inspectors also spoke with groups of staff and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work in other subjects.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys completed by parents and staff.

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Inspection team

Eleanor Ross, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Allan McLean Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 October 2024

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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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