Brickhill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The headteacher and other leaders work well together to ensure that the quality of teaching, achievement and behaviour are good and continue to improve. Governors regularly check the work of the school.

They support and challenge school leaders and strive for excellence in all aspects of the school's work. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. They get on well together and are keen to learn.

Pupils are kept safe and well cared for. Consequently, they feel safe and have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in different situations. Teaching is good overall and some is outstanding.

Teachers... usually plan challenging activities to enable pupils to learn successfully in a bright, stimulating environment. Pupils make good and, sometimes, rapid progress through the school. They attain above-average standards at the end of Year 2 and maintain these standards in Years 3 and 4, especially in reading.

Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved since the previous inspection. Children are inquisitive and apply themselves to a wide variety of stimulating activities. They make good progress and are well prepared for entry to Year 1.

The good range of learning opportunities makes a strong contribution to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and helps prepare them for life in modern British democratic society. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching is not outstanding enough to ensure all pupils make excellent progress, particularly in mathematics at Key Stage 2. Occasionally, pupils spend too much time on work that is too easy.

Pupils are not consistently given opportunities to learn from their mistakes and improve their work. Improvement plans are not fully focused on how intended actions will ensure all pupils make rapid progress. Some subject leaders do not check the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement closely enough.

Information about this school

This lower school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with the remainder coming from a range of minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is the same as that found nationally.

Very few are at an early stage of learning to speak English. About one in five pupils are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in care). This proportion of pupils is similar to the national average.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs in the school is about one in five. This proportion is above average. A very small number of pupils experiencing behavioural difficulties attend part-time alternative provision at Greys Education Centre, Bromham, the local authority's Pupil Referral Unit (PRU).

The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises two Reception classes which children attend full time. The school works in partnership with nursery schools, other lower schools and middle schools. Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher took up her post in September 2012 and almost all governors are new in post.