Beechwood Junior School

Beechwood Junior School is a good school overall, with inspectors finding good provision in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015; it is part of Hamwic Education Trust and has seen significant leadership and staff changes. Pupils are positive, engaged and embody the school's HEART values, and safeguarding is effective. The school has an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum and has strengthened it, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Teaching is typically strong, pupils with SEND are accurately identified and supported, reading support is effective, and pupils' behaviour and personal development are notable strengths. Attendance has improved through a proactive approach. Published 2024 outcomes in mathematics and reading were significantly below national averages, but the school has taken effective action and pupils are making rapid gains. The main area to improve is assessment in some foundation subjects: checks on pupils' learning do not consistently identify gaps or misconceptions before pupils move on, so understanding may not always be secure. Trust oversight, staff development and parental support are positive.

Strengths

• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum across all subjects, planned with the trust to ensure progression
• Staff accurately identify and support pupils with SEND, adapting the curriculum so they achieve well
• Teaching typically uses secure subject knowledge and well-designed tasks, with opportunities to revisit prior learning
• Effective reading support helps pupils who struggle to develop fluency and accuracy
• Pupils behave well, focus in lessons and older pupils act as positive role models and leaders
• Robust personal development curriculum with a strong emphasis on safety, equality and diversity
• Proactive and personalised attendance work has reduced frequent absence
• Trustees work effectively with the school to hold it to account for the quality of education
• Staff value professional development and are supportive of improvements
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, checks on pupils' learning do not reliably identify gaps or misconceptions before pupils move on to new content
• Published 2024 mathematics and reading outcomes were significantly below national averages, although effective action is now improving pupils' learning

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Beechwood Junior School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Beechwood Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Beechwood Junior School had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.3% of pupils at Beechwood Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Beechwood Junior School received £6,797 and spent £6,564 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £57,000 (£160 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Hamwic Education Trust, income was £7,058 and spending £7,015 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southampton · Southampton local authority: places and applications

Beechwood Junior School is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Glenfield Infant School Southampton
• Sholing Junior School Southampton
• Harefield Primary School Southampton
• Sholing Infant School Southampton
• Townhill Infant School Southampton
• Thornhill Primary School Southampton
• Ludlow Infant Academy Southampton
• Woolston Infant School Southampton
• Weston Park Primary School Southampton
• Weston Secondary School Southampton

What is Beechwood Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beechwood Junior School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Beechwood Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Beechwood Junior School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Beechwood Junior School have?

Beechwood Junior School has 350 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beechwood Junior School cover?

Beechwood Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Beechwood Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Beechwood Junior School?

Beechwood Junior School is at Juniper Road, Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, SO18 4EG.