Berry Hill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The Berry Hill '3 Bs: be kind, be respectful, be your best' set the tone for school life. Staff go out of their way to ensure that pupils feel safe, happy and able to achieve their best. Pupils treat each other with respect and kindness.

In lessons, pupils try their best.

Pupils enjoy taking responsibility for helping the school to run smoothly. For example, they proudly take up positions in the pupil parliament or as house captains.

Pupils feel that their voice is heard when making decisions such as helping to decide the causes that the school supports.

Pupils have a strong sense of tolerance and understanding. They know that discrimination is wrong....

They learn about protected characteristics and the law. Pupils understand that some of their classmates need adjustments to help them succeed at school. They also show compassion to those less fortunate than themselves.

Pupils generally behave well in lessons. The occasional outbreak of fussiness is soon stopped, and learning is not disrupted. Pupils play, learn and mix well together at breaktimes.

The school is ambitious for pupils to achieve well. Most do. The school is not complacent and keeps striving to improve outcomes further.

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

The school's curriculum meets the needs of its pupils. Staff have made it relevant to Berry Hill's local context and ensured that it broadens pupils' horizons. The school has been particularly attentive to making the curriculum suitable for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school teaches pupils to read as quickly as possible. Children learn to recognise letters as soon as they join the Reception class. Most become fluent readers by the end of Year 2.

Some pupils have notable speech and language difficulties. It takes them longer to become confident readers. The extra support and frequent practice they receive ensure that they are catching up.

In 2024, pupils' attainment in mathematics, including the multiplication tables check, was significantly below the national average. The school has identified the reasons for these outcomes. It has taken effective steps to address weaknesses in the curriculum.

A new approach to teaching mathematics is now in place. This has given pupils a more secure understanding of basic mathematics. Younger pupils now recall and confidently use mathematical facts.

Older pupils have caught up with learning mathematical knowledge that was not secured in the past. As a result, current pupils learn the curriculum well.

The school has given much thought to what pupils need to learn in each subject.

This is set out clearly for teachers. Helpful guidance and resources are used to ensure that teachers are confident in what to teach and how to teach it well. As a result, pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

However, in some lessons, staff do not support some pupils to learn all that they can. When this happens, some pupils do not deepen their learning as well as they might.

The identification of and provision for pupils with SEND has improved considerably in recent years.

Pupils' needs are now assessed much sooner than in the past. Staff are well trained to adapt teaching to cater for these needs. Therefore, these pupils achieve well.

Staff have identified that some pupils do not write neatly or accurately enough. Some older pupils cannot write their ideas quickly or legibly. This can get in the way of learning some parts of the curriculum.

The school has begun to 'strip back' the English curriculum from the Reception Year to Year 2 to prioritise handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation. This work is very new, however, and errors in some pupils' spelling, punctuation and handwriting continue to be repeated.

Children in the Reception Year learn the routines and expectations of school life.

They get off to a strong start, learning to read, write and understand mathematics. However, at times, children's opportunities to apply and practise their skills across other areas of learning are limited. This means children can miss out on some important aspects of their preparation for learning in key stage 1.

The school aims to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to navigate life confidently and successfully. There is a coherent, wide-ranging approach to developing pupils as reflective, confident, socially responsible individuals.

Leaders' clear and ambitious vision for the school is understood by staff.

They consistently implement this vision by following the school's policies, procedures and systems. A coherent approach to checking provision gives leaders in the school and governors assurances and an accurate view of the school's effectiveness.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• At times, teachers do not help pupils deepen their knowledge effectively. This means that occasionally, pupils are not supported to achieve as much as they could. The school should ensure that teachers expect more of pupils so they deepen their knowledge over time.

• The school's new spelling, punctuation and handwriting curriculum is not delivered consistently well. This means some pupils continue to make the same errors over time and cannot write independently. The school should ensure that the new writing curriculum is implemented consistently so pupils are supported in developing their writing accuracy and expertise across the curriculum.

• At times, children's opportunities to apply and practise their skills across other areas of learning are limited when in the early years. This means children can miss out on some important aspects of their preparation for learning in key stage 1. The school should ensure that opportunities for children to learn are equally strong across all areas of learning.

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