Ashbrook School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils become confident and independent learners at this highly inclusive and aspirational school. They behave well and show great kindness to one another. Pupils understand the school's values of cooperation, respect, care, patience, perseverance and responsibility.

They embrace these values to help them make good choices, meeting the high expectations staff have for them. Pupils love coming to school where they know they can trust staff to keep them safe.

Diversity is encouraged, explored and celebrated.

Pupils thoroughly enjoy learning about each other's beliefs and experiences. They know that everyone is equal and that their opinions matter.

Pare...nts appreciate the many positive steps that the school has taken recently.

They comment, rightly, that the school's academic and wider offer has been strengthened. For example, there are now a range of ways that pupils can make a positive difference to the school community. Roles such as the 'youth parliament' and 'eco-council' are increasingly important and valued.

Pupils enjoy attending a range of extra-curricular clubs such as the popular gardening and puzzles clubs. Leaders select these carefully to develop pupils' talents and interests. Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment activities, such as visiting local theatres and museums.

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

The school's curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious. It sets out, sequentially, the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn right from the early years. This helps pupils to build new learning on what they already know.

Staff adapt activities and resources skilfully so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well overall. Teachers ensure that any additional needs that pupils may have are identified as early as possible. They provide support quickly to avoid any wasted opportunities in pupils' learning.

While pupils' outcomes in 2023 were below average, current pupils' achievement is good overall and improving.

Teachers typically present information clearly and accurately. They make sure that pupils have the resources they need to help them learn well.

However, in just a few areas, teachers' subject knowledge and skills are less strong. Here, they do not always present information as precisely and accurately as they could. This means that while pupils broadly achieve well, they could do even better.

The school prioritises reading. Pupils start to learn to read with accuracy and fluency as soon as they join the school. Staff identify pupils who need additional support quickly.

They provide the help that pupils need to be successful so that pupils' achievement in reading and phonics is improving rapidly. Pupils love to read and listen to the books on offer in the school's inviting, culturally diverse and well-stocked library.The school uses a range of activities to help pupils remember and connect their knowledge.

Teachers check pupils' understanding regularly. This almost always works well. However, occasionally some teachers do not identify and correct pupils' misconceptions consistently well.

This means that a few pupils may not learn key content as well as they could.

Pupils' personal development is a particular strength of the school. Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to be healthy and stay safe, including when online.

Pupils show respect for different faiths and cultures. They have an age-appropriate understanding of the protected characteristics and try to make everyone feel accepted. The school is careful to check that pupils who are disadvantaged are also involved in clubs, providing support for this where needed.

Pupils are well prepared for the next stages of their education.

Ambitious trust leaders, school leaders and governors work together with commitment, energy and determination. The school has rightly focused on improving pupils' outcomes.

The most recent published results do not reflect the improvements in pupils' achievements across the curriculum. The school prioritises working with families to support them in getting pupils to school regularly and punctually. Pupils' improving attendance reflects the school's consistent systems and expectations.

Leaders have balanced their ambition to make improvements with consideration for staff well-being and workload. This has ensured that changes have been manageable, sustainable and implemented effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the wider curriculum, the use of assessment does not always identify where pupils' misconceptions lie precisely enough. Therefore, a few pupils do not learn as much as they could. The school should ensure that the use of assessment identifies and remedies gaps in pupils' understanding in all areas of the curriculum.

• In a few subjects, some teachers do not present learning to pupils as clearly as they could. This means that sometimes, pupils do not learn as much as the school intends. The school should make sure that all staff have the knowledge and skills they need to help pupils achieve well across the curriculum.