Bradley Stoke Community School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bradley Stoke Community School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Sophie Francis. This school is part of The Olympus Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Dave Baker, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sarah Williams.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and most attend well. The school helps pupils to feel that they belong as part of the community.

Pupils feel safe and know that they are valued.

They way that pupils behave shows that they understand the school values of bei...ng 'kind, ready and the best you'. Pupils trust staff to help them if they are experiencing difficulties.

The school is calm and harmonious. Pupils enjoy using the play equipment and sports facilities that are available to them at breaktimes.

All staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve at every stage of their education.

Pupils achieve well. They move on to appropriate destinations after school.

Equality, diversity and mutual respect are taught through all aspects of the curriculum.

The books pupils read challenge stereotypes and promote understanding of people from different backgrounds. Other cultures are celebrated through a plethora of events.

Pupils of all ages take on responsibilities in roles such as mental health ambassadors, buddies, school council members and tutor captains.

Pupils raise money for charities and sixth-form students volunteer in a local care home. This helps them to understand how they can contribute to wider society.

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

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils.

The school has identified the essential knowledge that it wants pupils to acquire at each stage. The curriculum is designed to enable pupils to build on what they already know and can do. However, the planned curriculum is not yet being taught to all year groups in key stage 3.

Students in the sixth form take qualifications that are well suited to their interests and aspirations. Pupils have a wide range of subjects to study in key stage 4. However, the proportion of pupils who continue to follow a strongly academic curriculum in key stage 4 is low.

The school makes sure that teachers have strong subject knowledge. Teachers know how best to teach new knowledge so that pupils understand what they are learning. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported so that they can learn the same curriculum as their peers.

Checks made by teachers identify pupils' misconceptions. These are corrected promptly.

Children begin learning to read as soon as they start in Reception Year.

They become familiar with letter sounds and formation. This prepares them to become fluent and enthusiastic readers. Parents get helpful information about how to support their children with reading at home.

At all stages, pupils who need help to improve their reading get effective support. Older pupils read a range of texts that help them to understand varied aspects of modern society, including different political systems and cultures. Staff have the expertise to help pupils to develop their reading skills and vocabularies.

Clear routines for behaviour throughout the school mean that pupils can focus on learning. Even the very youngest children follow these promptly and enthusiastically. Instances of poor behaviour are usually stopped quickly so that learning is not interrupted.

Pupils who need help to improve their behaviour get it.

All pupils take part in activites that support their wider character development. The varied enrichment offer means that all pupils have a rich set of experiences by the time they leave the school.

For example, pupils visit museums, the theatre and places of worship. They attend clubs that help them develop their talents and interests. Many older pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Pupils learn about the importance of mutual respect and tolerance. They build their understanding of important topics such as personal finance and how to maintain their mental and physical health. They learn about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way.

The school uses knowledge about the more common risks that pupils face to develop the curriculum. Pupils learn how to stay safe, including online.

Pupils begin to learn about future careers while in the primary phase.

The information provided to secondary pupils about careers, apprenticeships and further education helps them to make informed choices about their futures. The vast majority of sixth-form students move on to university and apprenticeships. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to meet with local employers and education providers.

Pupils with SEND get additional support to make decisions about their futures.

Support from the school and trust ensures that staff have the expertise they need to fulfil their roles. Consequently, staff know how to adapt teaching so that pupils can learn the curriculum well.

Leaders have minimised the impact of changes to the curriculum on staff workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Aspects of the curriculum are not yet fully embedded.

This means that not all pupils currently learn as well as they could across all areas of the curriculum. The trust should ensure that planned changes to the curriculum are fully implemented so that all pupils benefit from the broad, ambitious curriculum that the school has designed.

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

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2018.

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