Beckmead Park Academy

Inspection of Beckmead Park Academy Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BZ

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

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The headteacher is Samantha Hoyer. The school is part of The Beckmead 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), Jonty Clark, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Laurence Nesbitt. 1 and 2 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are ambitious for pupils. They help pupils to learn successfully. Staff understand pupils’ needs well and cater for each pupil individually. Staff and pupils are respectful towards each other. This helps pupils to feel happy and secure in school. They respond well to the personal approach. Pupils enjoy learning. They take pride in their high-quality work in books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have a shared understanding of the high expectations of pupils’ behaviour in and around the school. The school is calm. Pupils respond positively to the routines and clear directions that are in place. They celebrate the achievements of their peers in lessons and during whole-school assemblies. Pupils confidently express how they feel, including emotions such as anger, anxiety and sadness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feature strongly in all aspects of school life. They experience a range of opportunities to support their personal development. Pupils learn cooking skills and experience outdoor pursuits such as horse riding. They particularly value their swimming lessons and opportunities to develop strong physical skills.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school prepares pupils well for adulthood and their next steps of education, training and employment. Pupils receive helpful guidance through a well-thought-out careers programme. They learn the value of enterprise and financial management.

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

The school has secure systems in place to identify pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff support pupils well to achieve goals established in their education, health and care plans. Staff help pupils know what they need to do to improve their learning.

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

The school has undertaken a detailed review of the curriculum. Staff have carefully considered the important knowledge and skills they want pupils to know and understand. Staff revisit key content in the curriculum. Pupils’ learning builds logically over time. This helps pupils to learn successfully and draw on what they remember to inform new learning experiences. Staff teach pupils to apply knowledge and skills in new ways and in different contexts. Teachers use a range of sensory and practical activities to immerse pupils in purposeful learning experiences.

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

The school prioritises developing pupils’ phonics knowledge and follows a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Pupils in the primary phase develop their phonics knowledge well and with increasing accuracy in fluency. Staff help pupils in the primary phase who have fallen behind to catch up in their reading. This, however, is not fully embedded across other key stages for pupils who need additional support in reading. Staff provide regular opportunities for pupils to read aloud in class. Pupils are exposed to a range of carefully selected high-quality texts. They read with a smile and enthusiasm. There has been an increase in the number of pupils successfully entered for the end-of- key stage assessments and examinations. 1 and 2 July 2025

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Staff communicate the school’s high expectations of behaviour clearly. Staff and pupils contribute to the positive school culture that exists. Staff manage low-level disruptions subtly, but firmly. They show great care for pupils. They encourage pupils to be confident, resilient and believe that they can achieve highly. Staff encourage pupils to make the right choices. Staff use positive language and praise well. The school takes appropriate actions to support parents in making sure pupils attend regularly. However, some levels of persistent absence remain high.

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The school’s well-considered personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum supports pupils in their personal development. A focus on developing pupils’ character features strongly in all aspects of school life. The school’s careers education helps pupils prepare well for adulthood. They develop crucial independent life skills, including financial management.

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There have been some significant changes to the school’s leadership and staffing since the last inspection. Those responsible for governance have overseen these challenges and managed them well. The school is led by caring leaders who have an accurate overview of the school. Leaders and staff receive strong support from governors and trustees. Together, they share an ambitious vision for pupils and a commitment to driving continued improvements.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes structured opportunities for pupils to develop their reading skills, including reading across the curriculum, are not securely in place. This means occasionally some pupils are not appropriately supported in strengthening their reading skills. The school should continue to develop its approach to teaching reading across the curriculum so that all pupils develop their reading skills deeply.

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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. 1 and 2 July 2025

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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 July 2025

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School details

School category Academy special converter

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 May 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Beckmead Trust.  Most pupils at the school have an education, health and care plan, with social, emotional and mental health needs as the primary category of need. Many pupils also have additional needs as well, including communication and interaction difficulties.  The school runs alternative provision for other pupils in the local authority.  The current headteacher joined the school in September 2024. An assistant headteacher and two assistant headteachers took up posts in June 2025. A substantive deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher are due to join the school leadership team in September 2025.  The school currently operates from three sites. Primary-age pupils are on the Bramley Bank site. Some key stage 2 and 3 pupils are on the Beckmead site. There are additional key stage 3 and 4 pupils on the Tharreo House site.  The school does not use 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. 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the CEO, the chair and members of the board of trustees, the chair and members of the governing body, the headteacher, senior leaders and a range of staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English (including early reading), mathematics and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions with leaders and teachers about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with groups of pupils about their learning and considered pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  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

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Information about this inspection

the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  Inspectors looked at a range of policies and documentation relating to pupils’ welfare and education. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around the school.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and staff, including through Ofsted’s online surveys and free-text comments.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experiences at school.

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jacquie Fairhurst Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 July 2025

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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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