St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School

Inspection of St George’s Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School Hanover Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3BN

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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 Primary School 8 and 9 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending St George’s Beneficial. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive, caring and warm. This makes pupils feel safe. Playtimes are lively and happy. Pupils are friendly with each other. They make everyone feel welcome, especially if someone joins part way through a year. Right from the early years, children learn to communicate clearly. They are proud that they are learning how to look after their emotions and to maintain good mental health.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils want to do well at school. They stay focused on their learning because they want to live up to the school’s high expectations for their achievement. They take seriously teacher’s insistence that pupils try their best and persevere. The curriculum in English and mathematics is especially well organised, taught and learned. Pupils’ learning in other subjects is increasingly effective, although not as well developed as in English and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular clubs and activities, including sporting activities and day trips to places of interest. Pupils like that their school is at the heart of Portsmouth community life. They enjoy celebrating historical events with the rest of the city, such as the 80 th anniversary of D-Day and the school’s 270 th anniversary.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders and staff have raised expectations for pupils’ achievement. They have shown great determination to make sure that the curriculum matches the demands of the national curriculum, meets the needs of pupils and allows pupils to succeed. Leaders and staff have worked closely with governors, the diocese and the local authority to bring about these improvements. They are rightly proud of their work.

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

Children typically join Reception with lower starting points than others nationally. The early years curriculum prioritises developing children’s social, emotional and communication skills. Children learn to interact with each other calmly. They focus their attention on activities very well. Staff purposefully introduce children to new vocabulary, which children then use accurately. Consequently, by the end of the Reception Year, children gain confidence and are increasingly ready for key stage 1.

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

The school is quick to identify any additional needs that pupils may have. Pupils who speak English as an additional language receive expert teaching to quickly get to grips with the English language. Pupils with the most complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) spend mornings learning English and mathematics in the Reef. The calm environment in this class is well suited to meet their needs. Work is carefully adapted so that pupils’ learning deepens.

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

The curriculum in each subject sets out the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn and the order that they should learn it. Staff have good knowledge of the subjects Primary School 8 and 9 July 2025

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they teach. They are adept at showing pupils how to approach their work to get the best results.

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Reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised. In particular, staff teach the phonics and mathematics schemes with accuracy and consistency so that pupils become fluent in the basics of how words and numbers work. Staff carefully identify gaps in pupils’ learning and check how well pupils have learned new knowledge. High-quality extra teaching supports pupils very well to fill any gaps. As a result, although some previously published outcomes were not as strong as they should be, pupils now learn effectively in these subjects and are achieving increasingly well.

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The school recognises that the curriculum and teaching in some other subjects is less well established. Pupils are learning increasingly well in these subjects. However, pupils are not always able to link together ideas and deepen their understanding of some concepts. Sometimes, pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they might in these subjects because adaptations to learning are not as well targeted as they are in English and mathematics. The work to remedy these issues has already begun.

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The school is determined to help pupils to understand the world they live in. Pupils learn to be good citizens and how to have positive, friendly relationships with others. They understand that people of different faiths and backgrounds deserve to be treated equally and included. Pupils enjoy coming together to play sports and games and to cook for their families.

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Most pupils attend school regularly. Staff know pupils and their families very well. This helps them to quickly identify and address any barriers to pupils’ attendance.

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Staff thoroughly enjoy working at the school. They feel very well supported by leaders, including in the attention paid to their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils’ learning in foundation subjects is not as well developed as it could be. Consequently, pupils do not always connect new learning to what they have already been taught. The school should further refine its approach to ensure that pupils develop deep, detailed knowledge across all subjects.  Adaptations to learning for pupils who need support because of a special educational need are not always as specific as they should be in subjects other than English and mathematics. As a result, pupils with SEND do not learn as consistently well as they might. The school should ensure that staff are better informed about the specific needs Primary School 8 and 9 July 2025

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of pupils with SEND. Leaders should monitor the impact of the required adaptations on pupils’ 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). Primary School 8 and 9 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Lorraine Drinkwater

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 23 and 24 January 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in January 2024 as an interim headteacher. She took up the substantive roll in April 2024.  There is currently no nursery provision in the school. Children start in the Reception Year.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school is located in the city of Portsmouth in an area of high deprivation. Over half of pupils receive pupil premium funding, nearly half speak English as an additional language and approximately a third have SEND. Pupil mobility is high as approximately a third of pupils join or leave the school during the year.

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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 Primary School 8 and 9 July 2025

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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 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 headteacher, other senior leaders and staff. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The lead inspector met with some governors, including a representative from the diocese. The lead inspector also held telephone conversations with a school improvement adviser and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, communication and language, design technology and geography. 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’

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work. Inspectors also considered pupils’ learning in some 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 the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils formally and spoke with pupils informally during lessons and at playtimes.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Catherine Old, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Foster Ofsted Inspector Primary School 8 and 9 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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