Beech Hyde Primary School and Nursery

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 September 2022

Pupils get to meet a range of animal characters. These help them learn about positive mindsets. They include a bee and a tortoise. The bee helps with teamwork, and the tortoise with resilience. Pupils feel happy and safe as they all learn about 'start telling other people' (STOP). Pupils know that caring staff will listen and help. Everyone is expected to share and be kind. Children in Reception learn about this through role play. Pupils do not see bullying as an issue. They are tolerant and respectful towards each other. Pupils regularly learn about other cultures and faiths, democracy, and celebrating difference. Any pupil who arrives at the school is quickly made to feel welcome. There is the same, typically high, ambition for everyone. All pupils are included in lessons, as learning is well adapted to meet their needs. On rare occasions when behaviour needs to be challenged, this is done in a calm but firm way. Pupils get opportunities to develop their talents and interests. These include being part of the eco warriors club or the school council.

What the school should improve

• A minority of pupils have gaps in their reading ability, which were amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders have put in place specific interventions to help close these gaps and support these pupils to catch up. However, in a minority of cases these gaps have not been closed, and pupils do not read with the fluency they should. This is because these interventions have not had enough impact, and these pupils have not developed a love of reading. Leaders need to ensure that they consistently monitor the impact of these interventions on closing pupils' reading gaps. Leaders also need to ensure these pupils have access to a reading spine of connected, high-quality texts to support them to develop a love of reading.
• In pockets of the curriculum, teachers do not plan learning that is connected and sequenced well enough. In these pockets, pupils do not connect and retain key subject-specific knowledge well enough. Leaders need to ensure that all learning is effectively planned and sequenced, and that teachers enable pupils to connect and retain this knowledge across the curriculum.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)