A PRIMARY school where bullying and “racist language” happen has been rated Requires Improvement in its first ever Ofsted inspection since joining an academy trust.

Co-op Academy Beckfield, in Tyersal, was visited by the education watchdog on May 17 and 26 this year.

The setting had 215 pupils on the school roll, between the ages of three and 11, at the time of inspection and joined the Co-operative Academies Trust in December 2017.

Students told inspectors that bullying happens at the school but it is rare and they feel confident those in power will deal with it when it is reported.

But the report states: “Some pupils told inspectors that racist language is used.”

Inspectors did find that leaders were designing their curriculum with the aim of promoting equality and celebrating diversity.

A representative from Co-op Academy Beckfield confirmed the school has redesigned its curriculum in this way.

They said: “We take bullying and racist incidents very seriously, and the Ofsted inspection recognised that.

“From last September, pupils have learned about important issues, including stereotyping and discrimination, through topics on the Civil Rights movement and the Suffragettes.

“Our reading curriculum includes a wide range of diverse authors, characters and settings.

“We have also carefully selected diverse role models (past and present) to inspire our pupils to achieve highly and make a valuable contribution.”

One example of learning about different ways of life is pupils from Romania being involved in teaching other pupils about their culture and history.

The report outlines that in some cases, pupils’ reading books are not well matched to the sounds they have been learning and some older students said the literature is not “interesting enough”.

Inspectors also found pupils’ behaviour has not been as good as it should be over time.

The representative said: “Ofsted has recognised that behaviour is still improving, and that our new Behaviour Policy is already ‘beginning to have an impact on improving pupils' behaviour’.”

Co-op Academy Beckfield got an Inadequate rating under its old name of Pudsey Tyersal Primary School

The representative said, “though this isn’t where we want to be”, they acknowledged that the Requires Improvement rating “is a huge improvement” from its inspection under the previous guise back in March 2017.

They added: “We have a fantastic community at Beckfield and giving our children the education they deserve is our priority.

“We welcome any feedback and questions from parents, carers and the wider school community and look ahead to work on the areas that'll get us to where we need to be.”