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September 2009 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 1 8 December 2009

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Ms Dawn Solla Headteacher Beaumont Lodge Primary School Astill Lodge Road Beaumont Leys Leicester LE4 1DT

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 7 December 2009 and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please pass my thanks to the pupils and staffs for the time they gave to share their views with me.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

There have been no contextual changes since the school was inspected.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

As a result of the inspection 18-19 November 2008, the school was asked to:

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

 raise standards, particularly in writing , together with the performance of higher attaining pupils by ensuring that teaching is consistently good across the school  extend opportunities for pupils to use literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT) to enrich learning in other subjects.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made: satisfactory progress in making improvements.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

In lessons pupils are making better progress as a result of improvements the school has made to teaching, learning and the curriculum. The outcomes by the time pupils Serco Inspections Boundary House 2 Wythall Green Way Middle Lane Birmingham B47 6LW T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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September 2009 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 2 enter Year 1 have improved but remain well below average. Additional adult support and other intervention strategies such as reading recovery are effective in ensuring lower attaining pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making much better progress. Higher attaining pupils make satisfactory progress and this is gradually improving as the school has made this group a higher priority. Attitudes to learning are particularly good lower down in the school where pupils take great pride in demonstrating their achievements. Older pupils are not as positive but work steadily and occasionally show enthusiasm for their work. Writing has improved as a result of the work the school has undertaken on assessment and the high priority given to pupils’ individual targets. There is evidence of better progress in most year groups although across the school there

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continue to be examples of teaching that is satisfactory, which limits the progress pupils make. The school’s 2009 national test results are broadly satisfactory except in mathematics at Key Stage 2, where they remain low.

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Leadership and management are improving. Leaders at all levels are growing in confidence and are enthusiastic about promoting further improvement. A gap in the leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is delaying improvement in this phase. All leaders have an increasingly accurate view of the school’s strengths and weakness and share high ambitions for the school’s future. The outcomes for pupils are improving, albeit rather slowly in the case of higher attaining pupils in some year groups. However, the track record of overcoming obstacles to learning for more vulnerable learners is impressive and confirms that the school is embedding its capacity for sustained improvement.

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In English and mathematics, pupils in all year groups work routinely on tasks that are largely appropriate to their abilities. In the better lessons a good pace is maintained because teachers introduce an element of competition or provide opportunities for pupils to excel. Pupils enjoy breaking the record set by other groups or classes and many relish the opportunity to demonstrate exceptional achievement. Throughout most lessons, regular reviews of learning increase pupils’ motivation. Targets are universally used well to ensure lower attaining pupils are challenged. The practice with the more able is more variable. In Year 6, pupils have access to a greater range of levels that allow them to take their learning further. A very effective short introduction in a Year 2 lesson allowed the more able to very quickly work on challenging division problems. However, more able pupils are not made sufficiently aware of the higher levels, with examples so they can

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independently strive for excellence. In the small number of lessons where teaching is weaker, there are insufficient reviews of learning and this contributes to a dip in the pace of learning. Marking is a strength of the school and this contributes to some impressive work in pupils’ books. Examples were seen of pupils occasionally not always implementing the improvements suggested by teachers. There are examples of pupils’ involvement in assessment, for instance they regularly indicate how confident they feel about a particular concept. Peer and self-assessment of a more diagnostic kind and linked to targets is gradually developing.

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September 2009 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 3 The school has taken steps to improve the extent important skills are promoted in other subjects. Pupils’ literacy skills are consolidated well, for instance pupils produced instructions in a science lessons that addressed their literacy targets. Examples were seen of pupils consciously attempting to improve their writing when undertaking work on the Romans in history. The range of subjects is used well to motivate pupils to write. Pupils also spoke of the quite regular opportunities they had to learn through ICT. By comparison, opportunities to enrich learning through links to numeracy are fewer, particularly in Years 3 to 6. Examples were seen of missed opportunities to enhance pupils’ understanding, and challenge the more able by including quantifiable information related to the topics being studied. This contributes to pupils’ lack of confidence in applying their mathematical thinking.

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The School Improvement Partner, is providing an appropriate level of support and challenge. The school’s involvement in Leicester City Challenge has led to the recent introduction of work on thinking skills in Years 3 and 4. This is effectively enriching learning and is beginning to result in a better use of the school day, particularly the afternoons which currently pupils across the school find insufficiently demanding.

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I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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