Bellingham Primary School

Overview

Bellingham Primary School is described as a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe, happy, and proud to belong. The report highlights a clear, ambitious vision for the school, with staff and governors working together to support pupil success and well-being.

Strengths

• Staff have created a "nurturing environment" with "warm and caring" relationships, ensuring pupils "feel safe and happy".
• The curriculum is "ambitious" and "carefully sequenced," with teachers intervening quickly to address gaps or misconceptions in learning.
• Reading is a celebrated priority; pupils learn phonics in a "structured and well-ordered way" and become "confident, fluent readers".
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly and make successful progress through robust support systems.
• The school provides rich opportunities for personal development, including educational visits, clubs, and leadership roles, fostering "confidence, character and resilience".

Areas to improve

• In some foundation subjects, the revised curriculum needs more time to embed so pupils develop the same "depth of knowledge" as in other areas.
• The school must improve its oversight of the new curriculum to gain a "fully accurate understanding" of how well pupils are learning and make necessary teaching improvements.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."