Brockmoor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Brockmoor are happy, confident and keen to welcome visitors to their school. There is a strong sense of pastoral care across the school, which reflects the school's values. Staff know the pupils well.

As a result, pupils feel safe and enjoy coming to school. One comment by a pupil is shared by many others, 'This school is wonderful!'

The school is a calm and orderly place in which to learn. Pupils are not worried about bullying.

Leaders respond to any reported incidences of bullying and act when needed.

Leaders and governors are ambitious for the school and for what the pupils can achieve. For example, leaders place pupils in a house that ...is named after a university.

This raises pupils' awareness of universities in the local area that they may go to in the future. From an early age, pupils also learn about different careers. Visitors, including the police and firefighters, come into school to talk to pupils about their jobs.

Leaders provide pupils with a wide range of experiences beyond the classroom. This helps to give pupils a sense of responsibility. Pupils can be a member of the student cabinet or a play leader.

They can take part in community projects such as producing a song about the beauty of Brierley Hill. Pupils value these experiences.

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

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a wide range of subjects.

Leaders make sure that subjects are well planned and sequenced. This means that teachers are clear about what to teach and when to teach it. The things pupils learn build on what they have learned before.

Leaders help subject leaders to have the right knowledge and skills to lead their subject areas by providing them with effective training. However, this is more established in some subjects than others. Consequently, the use of assessment in some subjects is less developed than in others.

This means that pupils are currently making better progress in some subjects than others.

Children in Nursery get off to a good start. Positive relationships between children, and between children and adults develop quickly.

These positive relationships are established in all years. Pupils treat each other with respect. They value the rewards staff give them for their hard work and positive attitude to learning.

As a result, behaviour in lessons is good. Teachers can teach, and pupils can learn.

In early years, the development of pupils' speech and language is a key focus.

Leaders regularly check if children in the early years and pupils in the rest of the school need extra support. This includes advice from the speech and language therapist to support pupils' language development. Consequently, pupils' additional needs are being identified early.

In addition, leaders provide teaching assistants with high-quality training to enable them to support pupils with SEND effectively. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well. They are fully involved in all aspects of school life.

Leaders have prioritised reading. An effective daily reading programme is in place. This starts in Nursery.

All staff have been trained in how to deliver the programme and continue to receive ongoing training. All classrooms have a reading area that pupils use regularly. Pupils celebrate World Book Day by dressing up as characters from their favourite books.

Leaders regularly check how well pupils are learning to read. Most are developing into confident, fluent readers. If pupils fall behind, leaders give them extra help.

Pupils speak positively about their experiences beyond the classroom. This includes trips to the science museum. This supports pupils' understanding of key knowledge in science.

Leaders encourage pupils to be physically active by offering a wide range of sports clubs after school. They also provide pupils with a range of sports equipment to use at breaktime and lunchtime. This includes outdoor gym equipment, skipping ropes, footballs and hula hoops.

Pupils enjoy these activities and play cooperatively together.

School leaders, effectively supported by the local governing body, are continuing to develop the school. They know their school well.

Leaders have robust plans in place to secure further improvements to the school. All staff are fully on board and support leaders in their efforts. Staff say that leaders have an open-door policy and can always be approached if help is needed.

This includes staff who are at an early stage in their career. Staff value the actions leaders take to make their workload more manageable. For example, this includes providing them with detailed plans on how to teach all subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a shared responsibility for safeguarding. Staff report concerns confident in the knowledge that leaders will take effective action.

Leaders work well with external agencies. This means that pupils and their families get the right help when they need it. Parents and carers value this support.

The school completes the appropriate checks on all adults who work at or visit the school.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through lessons and assemblies. For example, they know not to share their personal information when working online.

If someone makes them feel uncomfortable, they know what to do. Consequently, all pupils say they feel safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all subject leaders have benefited from training and coaching from leaders in how to effectively lead and develop their subject areas.

This means that the use of assessment to identify gaps in pupils' learning and inform future planning is less developed, typically in the foundation subjects. This impacts less favourably on pupils' progress. Leaders should continue to support subject leaders to ensure that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills to successfully monitor, develop and evaluate the effectiveness of their subject areas.