Benton Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this vibrant and welcoming school.

They feel safe, valued and happy. The school has high academic expectations for pupils. These expectations are more than realised.

Pupils enjoy learning and achieve well. They are confident, articulate and highly motivated.

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary.

Pupils are extremely polite and respectful. The school has clear routines and behaviour approaches that are applied with unerring consistency. Pupils understand the expectations and respond to them superbly.

The school's inclusive ethos is lived out each and every day. Pupils with special educational needs and/or d...isabilities (SEND) benefit from high levels of care and support.

The school supports pupils' character development through the curriculum and a range of experiences.

This includes building strong links with the community and collectively celebrating different religious festivals.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils learn about water and fire safety.

Pupils have a firm understanding of how to stay safe online. They talk confidently about strategies they use to protect themselves.

Leaders in the school are highly ambitious and committed.

They are skilful when making changes to improve the school. The impact of their actions is evident in pupils' development and success.

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

The school prioritises learning to read.

This is a strength of the school. Staff receive regular training. This supports high-quality delivery.

Pupils learn the sounds that make up words quickly. Any gaps in understanding are identified promptly. Extra support to address these gaps is both timely and targeted.

Pupils practise reading using books that match their phonics knowledge. This supports accuracy and fluency development. The reading and writing curriculums are centred around high-quality books.

This fosters a passionate love of reading.

Leaders have created and established a highly ambitious curriculum. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use it well to introduce new learning effectively.

Pupils discuss their growing understanding regularly. This helps them link ideas and build on prior knowledge. Staff check what pupils understand routinely.

Staff use this information to address any gaps in knowledge effectively. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons. They are highly focused on learning more across the curriculum.

Pupils work well together and support each other to further develop their knowledge. As a result, pupils develop deep and complex understanding over time. This is evident in the quality of their verbal responses and written work.

Pupils learn exceptionally well and produce very strong work across the curriculum.The learning support for pupils with SEND is exemplary. Needs are identified early and accurately.

Staff support pupils with SEND to access the full curriculum and achieve highly. The outdoor learning environment and the deaf resource base at the school provide carefully tailored support. Skilled adults adapt learning with precision.

This has a clear and highly positive impact on pupils' emotional and academic achievement.

The school is committed to supporting pupils' wider development. Pupils access a wide range of inclusive clubs, such as choir and Spanish.

These help pupils explore and develop their talents and interests. Pupils take on leadership roles with pride. These include school councillors, reading ambassadors and digital leaders.

These roles have meaningful impact on school life. Pupils develop confidence, resilience and teamwork skills through residential and outdoor learning opportunities. They learn about risk and safety through real-life experiences such as camping trips.

Pupils learn about fundamental British values in assemblies. They demonstrate an understanding of fairness and acceptance of difference.

Children in early years benefit from a clearly structured, ambitious curriculum.

Daily routines revisit and reinforce learning. This helps children to develop their understanding. While the activities children complete are purposeful, at times interactions between adults and children are not as effective as they could be.

This includes when staff are modelling language and questioning children to extend their understanding.

Leadership is strong throughout the school. Leaders have a clear vision for the school.

Their relentless focus on improving outcomes for pupils has led to sustained success. Leaders prioritise staff's well-being and professional development. This is planned well and has had high impact.

Staff feel empowered and supported. Leaders have created a kind and nurturing culture for all. Staff feel valued.

Leaders monitor attendance rigorously and work closely with families to overcome barriers. As a result, attendance is strong and improving.

Governors provide very strong strategic leadership.

They know the school well and provide extremely effective challenge and support. This has contributed to the excellent school culture and high levels of pupil success.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some interactions from staff in the early years are not consistently effective. As a result, children do not always develop what they know as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff's interactions are purposeful, skilfully extend learning and support children to develop their understanding as effectively as possible.