Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bradshaw Hall Primary School continues to be a good school.

There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school's next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop into extremely inquisitive learners at Bradshaw Hall.

They feel safe and happy. They enjoy the extensive range of opportunities to learn in an environment that welcomes everybody. Staff have very high expectations of pupils' behaviour and academic achievements.

Staff provide pupils with a wealth of experiences to deepen their learning in a...ll subjects. Staff make excellent use of the outdoor area, including for the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who attend the school's specially resourced provision.

Pupils, including children in the early years, are highly considerate and respectful of each other's differences and needs.

Pupils said that bullying hardly ever happens and they are confident that it would be dealt with quickly by staff should it occur. Pupils view staff as trusted adults. They say that all staff are very quick to respond to resolve any difficulties.

Pupils develop self-esteem and confidence. This is because leaders help pupils to look after their mental health and well-being exceptionally well. There is a wide and varied extra-curricular offer for pupils to access.

Leaders are rightly proud of the experiences that pupils have to take part in musical performances. Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs, residential trips and opportunities to be part of the school council.

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

Leaders have designed a challenging curriculum that meets the needs of different pupils.

The curriculum develops and deepens pupils' knowledge and skills across all subjects. Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve exceptionally well. They make strong connections in their learning between different subjects.

This helps pupils to remember the curriculum. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. From the time they join the early years, children begin to learn essential facts and skills that they strengthen and build on from one year to the next.

Staff are highly skilled and identify pupils who may have SEND quickly and effectively. The support given to pupils with SEND is very strong. Leaders draw on the wealth of staff expertise and work closely with parents.

Teaching assistants are deployed effectively to support pupils to access the curriculum alongside their classmates, wherever possible. Teachers use questioning effectively to regularly check pupils' understanding. Pupils who attend the specially resourced provision receive individualised and specialist support.

Pupils with SEND are very well prepared for their next stage of education.

A love of reading is woven throughout the school. Younger pupils become avid readers.

They enjoy listening to the exciting stories staff read to them. Older pupils choose books from the high-quality texts available. They use their vocabulary knowledge well to improve the quality of their written work across the curriculum.

In the Reception class, children quickly learn the sounds that letters represent. The books that pupils read closely match the sounds that they are learning. This helps the vast majority of pupils to become fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.

Pupils who require support, including the small number of pupils in key stage 2 at an early stage of reading, benefit from the extra help that they receive from highly skilled staff.

The curriculum is effectively delivered as leaders intend. Pupils achieve highly, including children in the Reception and Nursery classes.

Teachers provide excellent opportunities for children and pupils to develop their knowledge and skills. There are many opportunities for pupils to practise what they already know before they learn new things. Children and pupils enjoy the challenges they face, for example in mathematics.

They develop resilience and work hard to complete their work.

The curriculum to support pupils' personal development is highly effective. Pupils are clear that the knowledge and skills they learn are crucial to ensuring happiness and success.

Pupils recognise that their confidence and resilience develop while at school. Leaders' work to develop pupils' understanding of equalities and diversity is exemplary.

Pupils' behaviour is exceptional.

They are focused and work hard in lessons. Leaders ensure that disruption to learning is rare. Pupils collaborate well and work positively with each other.

Children in the early years benefit from well-established routines. They take part in their learning with enthusiasm.

Governors are very knowledgeable and are regular visitors to school.

They support and challenge leaders effectively. This ensures that they carry out their statutory duties with due diligence. Governors have a very strong oversight of the curriculum.

They challenge leaders about pupils' achievement across a range of subjects while also maintaining a strong focus on pupils' personal development, well-being and safety. Leaders and governors are considerate of staff workload when making decisions and take positive steps to support staff well-being.

Parents praised the community feel within school.

One comment reflected the many received: 'The teachers and assistants go above and beyond every single day. This is a happy place for my children to learn and grow.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The culture to keep pupils safe is strong. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular, useful safeguarding training. This means that staff know what to do if they have concerns that a pupil may be at harm of neglect.

Leaders take timely and appropriate action in response to any concerns raised. The safeguarding team works effectively to support families and pupils who need help. Partnership work with professionals from outside agencies is strong.

Pupils know that adults will listen to them if they are worried about anything. Pupils learn about safety including how to be safe online, through the curriculum.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2017.

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