Peterborough primary school praised for its curriculum and reading development and received Good rating from Ofsted

The Beeches Primary School in Peterborough has received a Good rating from its latest Ofsted inspection.

The school, located on Beech Avenue, just off Bourges Boulevard in the city centre, was inspected in November and has come out with its second consecutive Good rating.

The report highlighted the school’s “broad and ambitious curriculum” and the way the school’s pupils have developed a real pleasure in reading.

It stated: “The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that sets out the key learning for pupils from Reception to Year 6. In each subject, there is a sharp focus on vocabulary because for many pupils, English is not their first language.

"As pupils progress through the curriculum, there are opportunities for them to revisit key knowledge. This means that pupils retain new knowledge and remember more over time. It also gives further opportunity for pupils new to the school and pupils developing their English language to secure new learning and not to miss out on the breadth of the curriculum offer.

"Pupils develop real pleasure in reading. They are eager to talk about the books they borrow from the school library. Leaders strive for all pupils to become fluent readers. There is a clear structure and sequence to the teaching of phonics, which starts from reception.

" Leaders regularly check that the teaching of the phonics programme is precise. They provide coaching to staff so this is consistently well implemented.

"Staff are quick to identify less fluent readers or pupils in the early stages of language development.

"A programme of additional phonics and reading activities helps pupils to catch up. This means that most pupils become confident, fluent readers.”

The report also praised the school for its ambitious plans for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and for its early years curriculum, which helps children prepare for Year 1 and evoke their interest in writing.

It added: “All pupils are warmly welcomed at The Beeches Primary School. Pupils live by the school’s values, which include caring for each other and striving for excellence. They respond well to the high expectations that teachers have of them and settle to lessons quickly so that learning is not disturbed.

Headteacher Will Fisk said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive the grading of GOOD across all areas.

"It is a testament to the hard work of the whole school community. We were particularly pleased with the positive comments about our exciting, ambitious curriculum and the impact of all the work we have done on Reading.

“The Beeches Primary is a great place to learn. Almost half of our children join us at different points in their educational journey and it was pleasing that Ofsted recognised that our curriculum is well planned to meet all children's needs.

“The hard work and dedication of our staff and children, alongside our ambitious curriculum, have contributed to our attainment at the end of KS2 reaching above the National Average. This is something we are very proud of.”

The full Ofsted report can be viewed on the Ofsted website.