Beck Row Primary Academy must improve in all areas Ofsted rule

Pupils at a village primary school are not achieving the levels they should because staff lack knowledge of the subjects they teach, Ofsted inspectors have reported.

Rating Beck Row Primary Academy as Requiring Improvement in all areas except the behaviour and attitudes of pupils which was good, a recent inspection said that leaders should complete work on the curriculum so that teachers could identify what pupils needed to know by the end of each year group.

“Staff do not have the subject knowledge they need to teach all the areas of the curriculum. This has an impact on how well pupils achieve,” reported Her Majesty’s Inspector Steve Mellors and Ofsted Inspector Heather Hann.

In particular staff were not clear about strategies that helped pupils apply phonics in their reading.

“Struggling pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities to read regularly to improve their fluency,” said the inspectors.

The report also criticised the school’s provision for children with special educational needs,who were not achieving as well as they should because their needs were not being accurately assessed.

“Leaders should provide training for staff and monitor its impact,” said the inspectors.

They also pointed to a lack of opportunities for pupils to develop their cultural knowledge and understanding.

“Therefore, pupils are not being as fully prepared for life in modern Britain as they should,” said the report on the inspection which was carried out on February 25 and 26.