Shepton Beauchamp Church School

Inspection of Shepton Beauchamp Church School Church Street, Shepton Beauchamp, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0LQ

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Outstanding

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

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The executive headteacher of this school is Connel Boyle. This school is part of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Nikki Edwards, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Pam Cosh. 19 and 20 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well at this inclusive, ambitious village school. Staff expect a lot of pupils. Pupils respond very positively. They make a flying start from the moment they arrive in Reception. Staff know each pupil individually. They use this to adapt lessons to capture pupils’ interests and meet need, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps pupils learn the curriculum successfully, particularly in English and mathematics. They are well prepared for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. Pupils work hard in lessons and enjoy their learning. They behave particularly well around the school. Bullying is not an issue. Pupils recognise that staff care for them and sort issues out quickly, on the rare occasions this is necessary. This all helps to ensure that pupils are happy, enjoy learning and share in each other’s successes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are rightly positive about the experiences their children have. They recognise that pupils get plentiful opportunities to contribute to their local and wider community in stimulating ways. For example, pupils sing at key events and promote important issues, such as sustainability, at village fetes. Pupils learn to live by the school’s values of ‘respect, courage and kindness’.

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

Ambitious, thoughtful leadership has ensured that everyone is focused sharply on how provision can be continuously improved. The school engages with staff, parents and its pupils exceptionally well. Every decision considers carefully what is in the best interests of pupils. The school makes imaginative use of shared leadership with another school in the trust to share expertise. For example, shared work on the development of SEND provision is effective. Consequently, the school identifies and meets the needs of the range of pupils precisely. Pupils with SEND are included very successfully.

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

The school has an effective curriculum. Staff work collaboratively to maintain a sharp focus on what pupils need to learn. This has raised expectations, ensured learning is sequenced appropriately and strengthened how well the curriculum captures pupils’ interest. Teachers utilise what they know about pupils to plan learning across subjects in meaningful ways. This helps pupils, including those with SEND, remember relevant knowledge, which they apply with success. Nevertheless, the school knows there is more to do. Some subject planning is newer and needs time to embed. For example, in art and design, planning already ensures pupils learn about techniques to draw and paint using tone and mixing colours systematically. However, their knowledge of different artists and art from different cultures remains limited, because they have not learned enough of the newly developed curriculum.

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

Reading has the highest priority. High-quality texts underpin curriculum planning. The school has an established and robust programme for teaching reading. Pupils learn to read rapidly. When pupils are at risk of falling behind, staff use strong assessment and 19 and 20 November 2024

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targeted support to ensure they keep up. Pupils say they enjoy the books their teachers share with them. Collectively, this contributes to pupils’ love of books and stories.

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Pupils show strong attitudes to their work. They attend well. Staff establish positive relationships with pupils successfully. Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly way. They benefit from the clear routines of this family-oriented village school. Pupils develop into confident individuals.

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Pupils' personal development is promoted effectively. The personal, social, health education curriculum in planned carefully. It supports pupils to learn about healthy relationships appropriately. Pupils relish opportunities to debate and consider challenging moral topics. For example, what it means to live in multi-cultural Britian. Pupils enjoy the opportunities to take on leadership roles, contribute to the school and local community and contribute to the development of the curriculum they are learning. They share well- considered opportunities, such as the annual key stage 2 residential, with peers from the partner school. This helps pupils’ social development considerably.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some elements of the curriculum are not as established as others. This means that pupils’ learning is much stronger in some subjects than others. The school should continue to embed and develop the curriculum so that pupils’ learning is consistently strong in all subjects.

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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 19 and 20 November 2024

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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). 19 and 20 November 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust in 2020. The headteacher took leadership of the school, and the partner school, St Mary’s and St Peter’s Church School in Ilton, in September 2021.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school is designated as having a religious character. Its last inspection under the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) was in March 2022 when it was judged good overall. The next SIAMS inspection will take place by the end of 2027.  The school runs a before-school club three times a week.

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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 19 and 20 November 2024

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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.

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 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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and English. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also listened to some pupils read.  Inspectors met with leaders, including the executive headteacher, the senior teacher and the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspectors spoke to the deputy chief executive officer and two assistant directors of education from the trust. They also met with two local governors and the chair of

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the board of trustees.  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.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. They also considered the responses to the Ofsted staff survey.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including documents relating to governance, leaders’ evaluations, plans for school improvement and information about the school’s curriculum.

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Inspection team

Matthew Barnes, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Lovett Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 November 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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