Beacon Academy

Inspection of Beacon Academy Chatsworth Place, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire DN35 9NF

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The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Previous inspection grade Good

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This school is part of Wellspring Academy Trust, which means the trust have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Mark Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Cheryl Hobson. 24 and 25 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Standards at the school have declined since the previous inspection in 2020. Academic standards, and standards of behaviour, are poor. Although the trust’s support for the school has intensified recently, the school does not currently meet the needs of many pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils do not behave well. Some staff have low expectations of pupils. This means that poor behaviour is often unchallenged. Consequently, pupils frequently disrupt lessons. Many pupils show a lack of pride in their achievements. Pupils state that prejudicial language and bullying occurs and that this is not always dealt with effectively. However, pupils feel safe and most have a trusted adult to speak to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The activities that pupils attempt in lessons are often not matched to their needs. In many subjects, pupils do not receive effective feedback and are not challenged to think deeply. As a result, pupils do not achieve well or understand how to improve. This has contributed to poor outcomes in national tests and assessments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in the school’s enrichment activities. These include sport, arts, craft and reading, along with trips to theatres and sports events. There are some pupil leadership opportunities. However, other aspects of the school’s personal development offer require further improvement.

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

The school and the trust have not been successful in stemming a decline in standards since the previous inspection. Processes to check the quality of leaders’ actions are underdeveloped. Consequently, the school has not understood fully where improvements are most needed. The trust recognises this and, together with current leaders and those new to the school, has begun to make the changes needed. For example, staff are positive about recent changes to their workload and the support they receive. However, these changes, including changes to the curriculum, are in their infancy.

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

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. However, many teachers lack the expertise required to support pupils to develop a wealth of knowledge. Pupils’ understanding is not assessed effectively. Misconceptions are not identified. In several subjects, teachers do not know where gaps in knowledge are or provide meaningful feedback. As a result, pupils do not know how to improve. Teachers sometimes set work which is not matched to pupils’ needs. Consequently, some pupils lose interest in learning and make limited progress through the curriculum.

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

The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified effectively. However, there are limited adaptations made in lessons to meet their needs. The school does not ensure that staff have the expertise to provide effective support for pupils with SEND. 24 and 25 June 2025

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Pupils often struggle to recall their learning. They have limited command of subject- specific vocabulary. However, there are some notable exceptions. For example, in history pupils are more articulate about their understanding. Pupils find this subject interesting as ideas are well explained and questioning is used effectively to build their knowledge. In some other subjects, pupils spend too much time completing activities that do not meet their needs. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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The school’s provision for struggling readers is not effective enough. Pupils do not benefit from a clearly sequenced programme of support. Consequently, pupils do not improve their reading well enough as they move through the year groups. The school is in the early stages of improving their approach to reading. For example, reading for pleasure is promoted during form time. However, too few pupils read across the curriculum.

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The expectations of some staff are not sufficiently high or routinely enforced. The school’s behaviour policy is not consistently implemented. As a result, there is significant disruption to many lessons. The school makes effective use of alternative provision to support pupils with complex behavioural needs. A significant number of pupils do not attend school regularly. They miss too much important learning. The school’s work to improve attendance shows some early signs of impact for some pupils.

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Pupils experience a structured programme of personal development. Pupils are strongly supported in learning about different careers. The school has changed the structure of the personal, health, social and economic (PSHE) education programme this academic year. The PSHE curriculum supports pupils to learn, for example, about relationships, how to keep healthy and about different religions. However, pupils lack deeper understanding about fundamental British values and the importance of celebrating differences.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school, including the trust, have not taken effective or swift enough action to address the decline in standards that has occurred. The school should ensure that actions to address the school’s weaknesses are effective. This includes ensuring that staff have the expertise and knowledge to enact agreed actions.  The school’s quality assurance systems are not effective enough. This means that leaders’ perspectives about the school’s strengths and weaknesses are not accurate. Consequently, actions to improve the school do not happen quickly enough. The school should review the mechanisms in place for quality assurance at all levels and ensure that improvement actions are prioritised and robustly enacted.  Teaching is not adapted to meet the needs of pupils, including pupils with SEND. The work pupils are provided with is not demanding enough. This means that pupils do not 24 and 25 June 2025

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achieve as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers have the expertise required to provide pupils with demanding work and that teaching is adapted to successfully meet the needs of pupils with SEND.  Pupils do not benefit from a clearly sequenced programme of support for reading. As a result, pupils do not improve their reading well enough as they move through the year groups. The school should ensure that pupils receive a clear programme of support for reading and that pupils have regular opportunities to practise their reading.  Assessment is not used effectively to gauge what pupils know and remember about their learning. This means that feedback is not effective in supporting pupils to improve. The school should ensure that assessment is used effectively across all subjects and that pupils benefit from accurate feedback on how they can improve.  Some staff have low expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Additionally, the behaviour policy

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is inconsistently implemented by some staff. This results in poor pupil behaviour, which causes widespread disruption to learning. The school needs to ensure that staff have high expectations of behaviour and that they consistently implement the behaviour policy.  Strategies to improve attendance are not well developed or embedded. Too many pupils miss important learning. This impacts on the outcomes they subsequently achieve. The school should ensure that there is a well-developed and resourced strategy in place to improve pupils’ attendance.  The PSHE curriculum is undergoing development and is not currently having the impact that is needed. As a result, pupils have limited knowledge about key aspects of life in modern Britain and the importance of tolerance and respecting diversity. The school should ensure that the PSHE curriculum is fully developed and that pupils have a well- developed understanding of the importance of tolerance and respect for others.

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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 24 and 25 June 2025

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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). 24 and 25 June 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 An interim principal took up post in January 2025. The interim principal was not in school at the time of this inspection.  At the time of the inspection, the associate principal was covering the role of interim principal but had only been in this post for a short period of time prior to the inspection being carried out.  The school uses two external registered alternative provisions. It also has one on-site provision to support pupils who are at risk of suspension.  A new school building is currently in development on the school site. This is scheduled for completion in autumn 2025.  The school is part of Wellspring Academy Trust.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 24 and 25 June 2025

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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

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this inspection

 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 senior leaders, staff and pupils. They met with governors and a trustee. They met with the CEO.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, English, science, physical education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at elements of the wider curriculum.  Inspectors observed and spoke with pupils at various times of the school day.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; considered the views of parents; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors evaluated responses from parents to Ofsted Parent View, including their free-text comments. Inspectors also evaluated the responses that staff made to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Chris Carr, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Lane Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 June 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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