School has Ofsted rating cut after first inspection in 12 years

By Ben Lynch Local Democracy Reporter

A school which went almost 12 years without being inspected has had its Ofsted rating dropped to ‘requires improvement’, with some pupils underachieving and behaving poorly.

Inspectors did, however, note there were “effective” safeguarding measures at Bevington Primary School in North Kensington, and that instances of bullying were uncommon.

Jagdeep Birdi, Interim Executive Head at Bevington, who was appointed following Ofsted’s visit, said the school welcomed the report’s findings ‘to make sure we never stop adapting and improving to give our pupils the best start in life’.

Before the most recent rating, Bevington Primary School had not been inspected by Ofsted since July 2012. At that time, it was rated ‘outstanding’, with the school’s leadership and the behaviour of its pupils among the key positives identified.

The latest report notes how the school was exempted by law from routine inspection up until November 2020, which is why there was a particularly long gap between reviews.

Inspectors acknowledge that since Covid the school has been through a “difficult period of change”, including a high number of staff leaving, which disrupted pupils’ learning.

The report described pupils’ behaviour as “not reliably positive”, with some occasionally being physical and using poor language, while children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) sometimes suffer from “poor experiences”.

Suspensions at Bevington were recorded as high, with vulnerable pupils most likely to be affected. The school said suspensions had reduced since its new behavioural policy was introduced in November 2023.

Mr Birdi, said: “The areas of improvement highlighted by Ofsted will accelerate the work already under way to make Bevington the best school it can be.

“A new board of governors has been introduced at the school, applications are already being reviewed for a new role at the school to boost senior leadership capacity and a strengthened curriculum has been implemented.