Beulah Junior School

101712 Unique Reference Number Croydon Local Authority 286158 Inspection number 26 °27 June 2007 Inspection dates Christopher Gray Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 356 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Ms N Hale Chair Mr M Roughley Headteacher 17 May 2005 Date of previous school inspection Beulah Road School address Thornton Heath CR7 8JF

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020 8653 4921 Telephone number 020 8771 5298 Fax number

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7 °11 Age group 26 °27 June 2007 Inspection dates 286158 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than most and serves an area of considerable deprivation. The proportion of pupils from ethnic minority groups is high although few are at the early stages of learning English. Pupils with learning difficulties represent a much bigger proportion of the school than usually found. The school holds the following awards: Healthy Schools, ActiveMark and Basic Skills Quality Mark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which has made big strides in the last two years. The headteacher's good leadership has united the staff in a determination to improve pupils' progress and raise standards. As a result, pupils now reach average standards by Year 6. Given their below average attainment on entry to Year 3, this represents good achievement. The school's previous designation as having serious weaknesses no longer applies. Pupils' personal development is good. They behave well in lessons and round the school and show much enjoyment of their learning. Their attendance and punctuality have improved steadily over the last two years. Pupils show an outstanding awareness of the need for a healthy diet and lifestyle. They explain why it is important to take lots of exercise and most do so frequently. Pupils have a good grasp of people's different beliefs and explain, 'Everyone has the right to believe what they want as long as they respect others.'

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good because teachers have very good relationships with their pupils and are successful in helping them want to learn. One young pupil said she enjoys Mathematics 'because we often play games for the whole lesson.' The curriculum is good and is enriched by many visits, some of which pupils say they will always remember, such as one to the Tate Modern Gallery. Provision for English and Mathematics is now good and teachers are preparing to replan the curriculum to link subjects together, to increase pupils' opportunities for using the skills they learn. A main focus of this is to increase the cross-curricular use of information and communication technology (ICT). The school gives its pupils good care, guidance and support. The improvements in pupils' progress in English and Mathematics have taken place because teachers make good use of a rigorous system of assessing pupils' attainment on a termly basis. This information is used well

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Grade: 2

in directing support to those pupils who may be falling behind, but it does not include targets whereby teachers can check that pupils are making the most progress they are capable of. Leadership and management are good. The school has made good use of the local authority and other bodies to raise standards in a short time and has its sights rightly set on raising them further. The headteacher and his senior team have a clear sense of purpose and make good use of monitoring to ensure that they reach the goals they set for the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Sharpen the use of assessment to make more use of target setting, in order to ensure that pupils make the best progress they can. • Plan more links between subjects, so that pupils make greater use of the skills they learn, especially their ICT skills.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well throughout the school. Standards by Year 6 were well below average three years ago and have risen steadily since to average levels. In 2006, measures of the value added by the school were average, but records show that these pupils made good progress in their last two years in the school. The current Year 6 have made better progress from a lower starting point, showing good achievement. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007 Pupils with learning difficulties make good progress and achieve better than their national counterparts. Ethnic minority groups achieve as well as others and the performance of Black Caribbean pupils is very good compared with that of the national group. Pupils with English as an additional language achieve well, both those at the early stages and those who have achieved some fluency.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well being are good. They enjoy coming to school because they feel they have a big part to play in its development. Members of the school council take their responsibilities very seriously. As one pupil said, 'Teachers listen to us because we have helped to improve the school.' Their sense of responsibility is shown by the fact that they raise around £1,000 every year for a range of charities. Pupils benefit from excellent, healthy, active lifestyles. They are proud of the school's healthy award and speak enthusiastically about the salad bar at lunchtime and being able to drink water whenever they need to. They are well prepared to move on to the next stage of their education. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils behave well, though a few sometimes need reminding of what is expected. Teachers have focused extensively on developing pupils' personal skills in a range of ways, resulting in pupils' growing confidence

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Grade: 2

and self-esteem as they get older. Pupils demonstrate the school's values by respecting others and developing personal responsibility. Bullying is rare but pupils state that when it does happen it is dealt with very effectively. Pupils have a strong sense of fairness, which contributes significantly to their good behaviour. One Year 6 boy summed it up well: 'Teachers teach us to be empathetic.' When asked what that means, he replied, 'Feeling someone else's pain.'

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good because, as one parent wrote, 'Teachers are hard working.' Another commented, 'My son's class teacher is truly involved in her pupils' development, not only educational but has taught them how to be good citizens and kind human beings.'Teachers use modern technology well to make new ideas clear. For example, some Year 6 pupils were solving a difficult problem about the interpretation of graphs. By switching screens and overlapping sheets on the interactive whiteboard, the teacher enabled pupils to make simultaneous use of information drawn from a number of different sources. Marking of pupils' work is good, especially in literacy. Teachers generally meet pupils' needs well and teaching assistants play an important role in this, particularly in supporting lower attaining pupils. However, the challenge teachers plan for higher attaining pupils is not always given to them

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Grade: 2

till they have finished work which they can already do.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. Emphasis on physical education and healthy eating encourages pupils to develop outstanding healthy lifestyles. The 'Big Writing' programme has been effective in improving pupils' standards in writing. Teachers establish some links with subjects across the curriculum, such as between literacy and history. However, they do not consistently plan links 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007 across the curriculum, to increase the opportunities for pupils' creativity. The school is working towards this, particularly developing the use of cross-curricular ICT. Pupils have good opportunities to visit museums and art galleries, and visitors and theatre companies help bring the curriculum to life. The school also offers a range of well-attended school clubs. Celebrations of festivals, Black History Week, book week and 'curriculum trails' make learning interesting and exciting. A parent wrote appreciatively, 'Staff are involved in a

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Grade: 2

number of after school activities especially the literacy and numeracy trails that parents also enjoy'.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support offered by the school are good. Pupils' personal development is a high priority and staff respond to pupils' concerns promptly. The school makes good use of outside agencies to support and guide pupils. Risk assessment is rigorous and parents are confident that their children are safe. Child protection procedures are firmly established and all staff have received appropriate training. One pupil observed, 'You always know you're safe in school because there are plenty of adults around.' The needs of pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities are identified early and support is very effective. Pupils who are at the early stages of learning English are very well supported. The school is piloting the Black Children's Achievement Programme. This high focus is proving successful in improving the progress and achievement of Black Caribbean pupils. The school has implemented effective systems for tracking pupils' progress to improve standards.

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Grade: 2

However, systems do not use targets as a means of checking that the progress that pupils do make is the best they are capable of.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior managers are good. The school attaches great importance to staff training and development to improve teaching and learning. The concise and good quality of the school's self-evaluation indicates that the senior managers know the strengths and areas for further development well. Leadership of subject managers is good and is having a positive impact in improving standards, particularly in writing and mathematics. Work is in progress to strengthen the provision for cross-curricular ICT. The school has good links with other schools and organisations to support pupils. Governance has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Governors provide good support and give effective challenge to the leadership team. For instance, individual governors are linked to subject areas and meet their subject leaders regularly to receive information on how the pupils are progressing.

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Grade: 2

The effectiveness of the work to raise standards shows that the school has a good capacity to improve further. There is a strong commitment towards valuing every pupil and parents are very supportive of the school. As one wrote, 'I believe the vast improvement has come about by the leadership it has'. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Beulah Junior School,Thornton Heath,CR7 8JF Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed our visit and it was a pleasure to be able to talk to so many of you. You told us why you enjoy school and what you like most. Several people said they liked circle time, 'because it lets us express our feelings'. Others love physical education, because 'You get physically fit and can be healthy.' We saw this for ourselves during the tennis coaching session. You go to a good school and many of your parents wrote to tell us that they agree. It has improved very much recently and you have helped by keeping up your attendance and trying hard to arrive on time. Your behaviour is good and most of you work very hard in lessons. Teaching is good and helps you enjoy learning. Teachers are planning to link subjects together more, so that you can make more use in all sorts of lessons of the valuable skills you are learning,

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

such as literacy and ICT. We have asked the adults to focus on this aspect of teaching, now that you are making good progress in English and mathematics. All adults work hard to help you get the most out of school. You trust them - as one of you said, 'Whenever we have a problem, they sort it out.' They keep a close watch on the progress you make, in case you need extra help. We have asked them to set you more individual targets, so that they and you will know that the progress you are making is the best you can. Your headteacher and his senior staff have worked tirelessly to make the school the happy and successful place it is now, and you respond well with your obvious pride in your work. We hope you continue to enjoy your time at Beulah and that those of you who are leaving will be as happy in your next school. One of your parents wrote to tell us, 'My son is leaving this year and he will miss the school very much.'

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Christopher GrayLead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Beulah Junior School, 26 °27 June 2007

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