Becket Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend an improving school.

There is a sharp focus on getting the basics right. Many pupils in Years 4 to 6 are catching up in English and mathematics. However, there have been deep-set weaknesses in the reading curriculum over time.

While leaders are making much headway in putting this right, some pupils do not secure the essential phonic knowledge they need in order to read and spell well.

Until recently, the curriculum was narrow. This year, some pupils are experiencing a better grounding in some subjects, but it is early days.

Pupils still have gaps in their knowledge across a wide range of subjects.

Most pupils enjoy school and g...et on well. Pupils said that staff are kind.

Staff encourage pupils to speak up and share their views. They are confident that when bullying happens, staff sort it out. Many pupils recognise that behaviour and attitudes have improved markedly.

However, lessons are still interrupted at times.

Leaders' work to enrich the curriculum is beginning to take off. Pupils' comments included: '[It is] okay to be different and everyone is accepted.'

Pupils like the school's new values. They said that learning about the importance of perseverance and compassion is bringing everyone together.

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

For a considerable amount of time, pupils have not received a good quality of education.

Knowing this, trust leaders have made appropriate strategic decisions. For example, they have strengthened the school's leadership by appointing an executive headteacher and head of school. The capacity of the local governing board has been bolstered by new members.

Leaders' actions are ensuring that everything is now going in the right direction. However, considerable staff changes have been unsettling for pupils and parents. Training is developing the staff's subject knowledge, including in the early years.

Children in Nursery get off to a flying start. However, some teaching, particularly in key stage 1, does not build well enough on what pupils already know. When this happens, pupils' concentration wanes, which hinders their learning over time.

Leaders are identifying the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/disabilities (SEND) accurately. Precise pastoral support is in place for those pupils who need it. Leaders are proactive in seeking specialist advice.

However, teaching is not tailored sufficiently well for some pupils with SEND. This means that a minority of pupils do not get access to the precise teaching they need in order to thrive.

Leaders are tackling the weaknesses in the reading curriculum head-on.

There are plans for a new school-wide phonics programme. Leaders have ensured that books match the sounds that pupils know. Children now start learning the sounds that letters make from the start of Reception.

Nevertheless, in the past, some pupils did not benefit from a prompt start to learning to read, and this set them back. There is a raft of additional reading support going into place. However, some staff do not have secure enough subject knowledge yet.

This is slowing pupils' learning down.

There is a sharp focus on teaching punctuation and grammar, and enhancing pupils' vocabulary and spelling. While improving, pupils' ability to write with the complexity that they should is patchy.

In mathematics, the planned curriculum is well sequenced, and is building on pupils' knowledge year-on-year. Increasingly, the mathematics curriculum is being implemented well.

Securing an effective curriculum in other subjects is also at the forefront of leaders' work.

Recent curriculum changes mean that some sequences of work build well on what has come before. This is helping pupils to know and remember more, for example in history. Nonetheless, the curriculum in some other subjects does not include all the essential content that it should.

This makes it difficult for pupils in key stage 2 to learn more complex knowledge over time.

For a minority of pupils, absence and/or regular lateness act as barriers to gaining essential knowledge. Leaders have put in stringent systems to challenge this.

However, currently, too many pupils arrive late to school on a regular basis.

Leaders have well-thought-out plans to enhance pupils' wider experiences, so that they grow into responsible citizens. Pupils' physical and mental fitness are being prioritised.

Pupils learn about healthy relationships and moral and social issues. This year, leaders are developing pupils' musical interests and other talents. However, it is too soon to see the widespread impact of this work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are well trained and apply their training well.

They are vigilant in identifying and recording any concerns they have about a pupil's well-being or safety. Leaders follow up any concerns with tenacity. They work closely with external agencies when required.

Strong support is offered to families who need it.

Pupils know and understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils know about internet safety, and that 'no means no'.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' work to revamp the content and sequencing of the curriculum in many subjects is relatively new, including in Reception. It is too early to see widespread impact. Pupils do not develop the detailed knowledge and skills they need in every subject.

Leaders must ensure that all pupils complete their programmes of study in every subject, so that they are well prepared for their next stage of education. ? Leaders are only part of the way through resolving the weaknesses in the reading curriculum. Pupils have gaps in their phonic knowledge.

Some pupils do not get the precise support they need. Leaders must ensure that pupils who have fallen behind get the appropriate support they need in order to read and spell accurately. ? There are weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum in key stage 1.

Subject content that pupils missed when they were in Reception and Years 1 and 2 is being addressed further up the school, but a legacy of underachievement remains. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, must ensure that gaps in pupils' knowledge are resolved swiftly, including for those pupils with SEND. ? Teaching does not always build on what pupils know and understand.

Some teaching sequences miss important steps, including for pupils with SEND. Leaders must ensure that teaching builds on what pupils know and can do, so that pupils learn all the knowledge they should. ? Some younger pupils find it difficult to sustain their concentration when sequences of work do not match their needs, or staff do not have consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour in lessons.

Low-level disruption is tolerated at times. This hinders pupils' learning. Leaders need to ensure that staff have consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour and conduct in key stage 1, so that all pupils can learn well without interruptions.