Beckwithshaw Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Beckwithshaw is a small school with big ideas. Leaders have worked swiftly and tirelessly to bring about great improvement in the school. Staff and parents value the changes that have taken place.

They recognise that the improvements have led to pupils receiving a better quality of education.

This a happy place for pupils to learn. Leaders have placed well-being at the heart of what they do for pupils and staff.

People care about each other. They are welcomed into school each day with a smile. Courtesy, politeness and respect are modelled by everyone.

Relationships are strong. This leads to pupils being happy and considerate of others. They enjoy bei...ng part of the small school community.

Adults and pupils have high expectations for learning and behaviour. Pupils play and learn together happily and safely. Pupils know that adults will help them if they have any concerns or worries.

They say that staff listen to them. Adults and pupils show great respect for each other.

Pupils value the enrichment activities that leaders have started to introduce.

They are looking forward to doing more next term. They talk about book clubs, food technology clubs and swimming lessons with great enthusiasm. They are especially proud of their recent performance of 'Shakespeare Rocks'.

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

Leaders have made significant and effective improvements in the school. They have worked strategically with the interim executive board (IEB), and the local authority, to address previous areas of weakness. This has resulted in substantial improvements in all areas.

There is a feeling of positivity in the school, which pupils share. Leaders and staff are ambitious for pupils. They have high expectations for the future.

Leaders have reviewed the curriculum. They ensure that pupils access learning in a broad range of subjects. They ensure that learning is planned carefully for pupils in mixed-aged classes.

In some subjects, learning builds progressively from the early years to Year 6. This helps pupils to use past knowledge to learn more. Leaders recognise that there is more to do in some subjects to identify the important knowledge they want pupils to remember.

Leaders tirelessly promote reading in the school. There are daily reading opportunities for all pupils. New systems to encourage reading are promoted.

For example, the introduction of 'starbooks' where regular reading is rewarded with loyalty card stickers.

Learning to read starts immediately in the early years. Teachers and staff are well trained.

They skilfully use the school's chosen phonics approach to support children to decode and blend sounds in words. They ensure that all pupils have sufficient practise to achieve fluency. Any pupils who need extra support are quickly identified and get extra help.

The books that pupils read match the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to build confidence with reading, and they improve quickly. Pupils throughout the school talk with great enthusiasm about reading.

Approaches to teaching mathematics are effective. Teachers utilise the well-planned curriculum to adapt learning, to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In some other subjects, teachers need further support to adapt learning to ensure pupils can be successful.

Children in the early years benefit from the warm and caring support staff give them. Children's emotional and social development is seen as central to enabling them to be successful. Therefore, they are nurtured and helped to care for themselves, and others, as they learn.

An example of this was seen as children asked if they could help each other pour paints or if it was ok to hold their hand. The curriculum is being developed around high-quality stories. Most learning is exciting and stimulating.

Staff are seeking new ways to build in challenge as children play and learn. The environment helps children build independence. Staff engage children in complex discussions as they model respectful conversations.

Children are happy to play and learn here.

Key stage 2 pupils show exemplary knowledge of important learning about aspects of life in modern day Britain. They talk with great understanding about relationships, British values, and protected characteristics.

Their understanding of respect and tolerance of difference is strong and secure. Leaders are clear about how they focus on learning about citizenship and moral and cultural awareness. They are now looking to use enrichment activities to encompass the school's values of 'community, compassion and courage'.

They recognise pupils need more opportunity to learn about leadership skills and explore wider interests.

Rapid improvements have been made due to the interim leaders and members of the IEB working together effectively. Leaders have utilised expertise from the schools within the federation, and beyond, to support staff development.

However, currently, there is not a permanent arrangement for future governance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff know the pupils and families well.

Pupils' welfare and safety are of the utmost importance. Staff receive regular training to ensure that they can identify any problems pupils may face. Safeguarding is discussed at every staff meeting.

Staff are vigilant and use the school's recording systems effectively to ensure concerns are shared with the school's designated safeguarding leads. Leaders ensure that all checks are carried out robustly before staff begin working in the school.

Pupils' understanding of important areas of risk are impressive.

They talk with knowledge about safe and unsafe relationships, county lines, online safety and how to stay safe on roads or around water. They know to talk with trusted adults about any concerns or worries. They are confident that staff will listen and help them.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders are refining the curriculum to identify the important knowledge pupils need to learn and remember. Currently, in these subjects, pupils do not build subject-specific understanding progressively and learning is not adapted well to meet all pupils' needs. Leaders should ensure that learning in all subjects is coherently sequenced, so that all pupils build important knowledge and make progress.

• The current arrangements for governance have proved to be effective in supporting improvements in the school. However, the arrangements are not permanent. The IEB, alongside the local authority, should work with continued urgency to ensure that a transition to a sustainable and high-quality governance model is well managed, and in place as soon as possible.