Beechwood Primary Academy

L Inspection of Beechwood Primary Academy 31 Rockfield Avenue, Southway, Plymouth, Devon PL6 6DX

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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 senior head of school of this school is Paul Arnold. This school is part of Discovery Multi Academy 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), Alison Nettleship, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Julia Guy. 8 and 9 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this happy and caring school. Staff take time to build warm, secure relationships with pupils and their families. Pupils appreciate how well cared for they are by kind and nurturing staff. They know they can go to ‘the hut’ if they have any concerns. As a result, pupils feel safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years settle into school life well. Staff support them to learn the rules and routines quickly. This prepares children well for key stage 1. Pupils across the school are polite and well mannered.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high ambitions for all pupils. Classrooms are typically calm and purposeful. Pupils work hard. They are attentive to their teachers, and they try their best during lessons. As a result, most pupils achieve well across a broad range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many opportunities in place to broaden pupils’ horizons, for example, through whole-school trips and events. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), take part in these activities. There are many extra-curricular clubs available that pupils attend. These include football, coding and a choir. In assemblies, staff celebrate pupils’ achievements in and out of school.

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

The school has been through a period of change. With support from the trust, new leaders have addressed historical issues which limited pupils’ achievement. There is now a broad and ambitious curriculum in place. It identifies the content pupils should learn from the early years to the end of Year 6. Carefully sequenced lessons build on pupils’ previous learning. This supports pupils to develop their knowledge securely over time. Staff benefit from regular training. They appreciate opportunities to work with colleagues from other schools in the trust. This gives them the subject knowledge needed to design activities which help pupils to remember their learning. The school has well-developed approaches to assessment. Teachers check how well pupils are learning in lessons. This enables early identification of any errors and misconceptions.

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

The school has effective systems to identify pupils with SEND. Most of these pupils access the full curriculum alongside their peers. Occasionally, support for pupils with SEND is not effective. While they are well cared for, many do not get the help and support needed to achieve as well as they could. Some staff are not trained sufficiently well to use the information they receive about pupils with SEND. They do not make sure that the work these pupils complete is adapted to their learning needs. This limits these pupils’ ability to engage in learning. Consequently, they do not make the progress they are capable of.

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

The school has addressed previous weaknesses in the delivery of its phonics programme. In the early years and key stage 1, well-trained staff now deliver the phonics programme effectively. They make sure that pupils read books carefully matched to their phonics knowledge. Pupils use this knowledge to blend sounds and read words confidently. Teachers identify effectively any pupils who may not be keeping up with the pace of the 8 and 9 October 2024

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phonics programme. Staff support these pupils to catch up quickly. Across the school, leaders foster the love of reading. For example, through teachers reading to each class every day. A new school library gives pupils access to a wide range of literature and a space, where they can enjoy reading.

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Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct, both in the classroom and the playground. Previous issues with any poor behaviour at the school have been successfully addressed. From the time they first join, children in the early years learn to follow routines and listen carefully to teachers’ instructions. Throughout the school, classrooms are purposeful and productive places. Pupils of all ages play well together.

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The school has addressed historic low attendance successfully. Leaders track attendance and punctuality carefully. They take robust action to support individual families to ensure that their children attend school regularly. This approach has resulted in improvements in attendance.

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The school has developed an effective programme to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn about a range of important topics, such as equality, diversity and healthy relationships. They also benefit from opportunities to develop their leadership skills. For example, through taking on roles such as being school champions, sports ambassadors and mini-police officers.

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Staff enjoy working at the school and feel listened to. They are overwhelmingly positive about the support provided for their well-being. Local governors and trustees are ambitious for the school. They hold leaders robustly to account for their actions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The support for pupils with SEND is variable. Consequently, these pupils do not achieve well. The trust must ensure that all staff are suitably trained to provide effective support for pupils with SEND so that they learn and achieve well in the curriculum.

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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. 8 and 9 October 2024

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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). 8 and 9 October 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 and 18 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Discovery Multi-Academy Trust.  The senior head of school was appointed in September 2023. He is also senior head of school for Oakwood Primary Academy.  The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast club on the school site.

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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. 8 and 9 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders, the inclusion coordinator, and representatives from the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in following subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and physical education. For each deep dive, 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.  An inspector listened to pupils read to an adult.  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.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at social times. They spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. They also took into consideration the responses to the staff survey and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Mark Burgess, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Hannaford Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 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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