Brackensdale Spencer Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where pupils feel valued and included and enjoy learning and spending time with their friends. The school has high expectations for pupils to succeed.

This is reflected in the ambition that the school has for its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, most pupils achieve well and meet the high expectations the school has for them. This is particularly evident in the school's large, SEND enhanced resource provision, where all pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

Pupils' everyday actions embody the school's values to 'be kind, shine bright and aim high'. Pupils value the positive ...relationships that they have with staff. They benefit from staff knowing them very well as individuals.

They trust that staff will help them with any worries or concerns. This helps pupils to feel happy and safe at school. Pupils behave well and show kindness and empathy to each other.

Pupils benefit from a range of clubs and trips that help them to learn the curriculum. They enjoy the weekly 'Brackensdale Books on Tour'.

One parent commented: 'I am proud my children go to Brackensdale; the staff are very caring people and work very hard.'



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

The school has been through transformational change in recent years. Exceptional leadership at all levels has ensured rapid and sustainable improvement in all areas of the school's work. Although their attainment may not be fully reflected in the published outcomes, pupils are increasingly developing a strong, well-connected understanding of their subjects, thanks to the improvements in the school's curriculum design and implementation.

The school has designed a highly ambitious curriculum. This includes the curriculum in the SEND enhanced resource provision, which is expertly tailored to meet pupils' individual needs. The school's work to support pupils with SEND is praiseworthy.

Pupils with additional needs are identified swiftly. There are well-structured processes to ensure that pupils with SEND receive appropriate support as quickly as possible. For example, from the Nursery class onwards, staff provide a sharp focus on improving pupils' communication and language skills.

This supports pupils, including those with SEND, to achieve well.

Children in Nursery and Reception are very well taken care of. Their environment, both indoor and outdoor, is extremely well designed to meet their different developmental needs.

Teachers benefit from high-quality training that helps them to deliver the curriculum consistently well. Effective training for staff also informs the well-chosen resources and adaptations to curriculum delivery for pupils with SEND. In the early years, staff select engaging resources which stimulate children's interests and fire their imagination.

Teachers regularly check how well pupils learn. This means that any errors or misconceptions are addressed quickly.

The school has ensured that reading is a high priority.

The foundations for learning to read are securely built in the Nursery class, where pupils learn sounds through games and rhymes. From the start of the Reception Year, pupils are supported to learn to read confidently and fluently. A love of reading is built into the whole-school curriculum through the careful choice of class books.

Pupils read regularly. They enjoy a diverse range of fiction, as well as non-fiction texts, which widen their experiences. In the Reception class, children delight in joining in with their favourite books at story time.

Behaviour across the school is typically positive. This begins in the early years, where children quickly adapt to the school's routines and high expectations for behaviour.A small number of pupils do not always focus on their learning as well as they could.

Those children and pupils who need extra help in managing their emotions are supported effectively by caring staff, who are very well trained. Pupils are considerate towards one another and towards staff. Children in the early years show great focus during their play.

The school's systems and procedures to maintain high rates of attendance are highly effective. The school's tenacious approach helps to ensure that where pupils do not attend as often as they should, their rates of attendance improve over time.

The school's approach to promoting pupils' personal development is extremely well thought out.

Pupils learn the skills of leadership through roles such as reading leaders and anti-bullying ambassadors. They display a clear understanding of diversity and equality through the way that they embrace each other's differences. They enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer to nurture their talents and interests.

The trust has a secure oversight of the school. Alongside the governors, they have a clear and strong focus on the quality of education provided by the school and carry out their duties highly effectively. The school supports staff well, and staff benefit from a positive working environment.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some instances, pupils do not receive sufficient opportunities to deepen their understanding, including in writing and problem-solving. Therefore, some pupils do not achieve as highly as they could.

The school needs to further develop opportunities within the curriculum for pupils to work to greater depth, so all pupils fully achieve the ambitious aims which leaders intend. ? A small number of pupils do not always focus on their learning as well as they should because the school's behaviour system is not always applied consistently by all staff. The school needs to ensure that the behaviour system is implemented as intended.