Brant Broughton Church of England and Methodist Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy school. Pupils and staff get along well together.

The school is a peaceful place which pupils liken to being in a family. They know they can go to any adult for help. Pupils feel safe in this school.

Central to the school are the virtues of 'kindness, courage, humility, hope'. Pupils gain a deep understanding of how these virtues guide them in their actions. Pupils persevere when they find things challenging.

Pupils are proud of their achievements.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well. It is united in its drive and determination to improve.

The school is clear on what it needs to do to improve but has been slow t...o respond to some challenges it faces. Some aspects of the curriculum are still in development. In a few subjects, not all pupils recall all that they have learned.

This is an inclusive school. Pupils understand about equality and diversity. They learn about topical issues and current affairs.

Pupils form respectful opinions.

Staff care for the well-being of pupils. Pastoral support is of high quality.

The school teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe when working online and in the community.

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

The school's curriculum is in development. In some subjects, such as mathematics, there is careful consideration of what pupils must learn and in what order.

This ensures that the curriculum builds upon the foundations of pupils' prior learning. However, this is not the case in some other subjects where there is too much content for teachers to cover. Teachers are not guided as to what is the most important knowledge pupils must learn.

While teachers design tasks, and use resources to help pupils achieve, they do not adapt effectively the curriculum to suit the needs of all pupils. Where this occurs, pupils find the work too easy or too hard. Teachers do not always identify what gaps in pupils' knowledge there may be.

Children begin to learn to read as soon as they join in the Reception Year. The school has ensured that all staff have the requisite knowledge to teach phonics. High-quality texts enable pupils to develop a rich variety of vocabulary.

While pupils become confident in their decoding due to the phonics teaching they receive, they are not as well versed in reading for meaning. This is because the reading curriculum does not indicate how pupils are to learn reading skills over time, so their understanding deepens. The lack of guidance for teachers means that not all pupils develop a full understanding of the texts they read.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) is an exciting and purposeful phase for children. Staff make sure children's needs are known and understood. They organise activities that excite and engage them.

Every opportunity is used to enable children to explore and learn about the world around them. For example, when a child finds a spider's nest staff are quick to explore what may be inside. Children concentrate for sustained periods of time.

Challenging activities teach children to persevere and overcome problems. Children develop positive attitudes to their learning.

Support for pupils with SEND has improved recently.

The school's expectations for what pupils with SEND can achieve has increased significantly. Staff identify individual's needs well. These pupils' needs are communicated precisely and are regularly reviewed.

Support in class is appropriate and timely.

The school has high expectations for pupils to behave well. All staff deal with behaviour consistently.

Parents, staff and pupils convey that pupils' behaviour at the school has significantly improved over recent times. The school works with parents and carers to make sure that they are aware of the importance of their child attending school regularly. As a result, attendance rates are much improved.

Pupils benefit from a well-planned programme to support their wider development. There are opportunities for pupils to have responsibilities. Older pupils act as role models for younger ones.'

Polar bear collectors' sit with younger pupils and model good behaviours. Pupils debate topics such as the pros and cons of the development of green belt land and the potential impact on the environment. Visits and trips to places such as stately homes and wildlife parks develop pupils' curiosity.

In partnership with the local authority, and other professionals, the pace of improvement has increased significantly. Staff feel well supported. However, systems to evaluate the impact of its work are not all well established.

Leaders, including governors, sometimes lack oversight. This means that not all the recent changes, such as to the curriculum, have been as effective as they could be.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The reading curriculum does not build incrementally on what pupils should learn and be able to do at each stage of their education. There is not a consistent approach to teaching pupils to read for meaning. This means that not all pupils gain a proper understanding of the texts they read.

The school should ensure that the reading curriculum sets out the key knowledge pupils need to learn and by when. ? Work to streamline the curriculum for some foundation subjects is not yet complete. This means there is too much content and pupils do not recall all that they have been taught.

The school should complete the work on the curriculum so that it identifies precisely the key knowledge that pupils should learn. ? Teachers do not accurately identify what gaps in knowledge pupils may have. They do not adapt activities to suit pupils' needs.

This means that some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge to adapt tasks to support pupils to improve achievement for all. ? The school does not accurately evaluate the impact of its work in various aspects of its provision.

Leaders and governors do not have clear oversight. There are inconsistencies in approaches to teaching and learning across the school. The school should ensure that it gathers information systematically to evaluate the impact of any planned changes and bring about improvement more swiftly.

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