Brompton-Westbrook Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Brompton-Westbrook Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are thriving at this friendly and inclusive school.

Staff recognise that pupils have different multi-cultural backgrounds. Some pupils also have parents in the armed forces. Time is taken to consider the different needs of pupils and offer bespoke support to help them settle quickly into school life.

The school is committed to ensuring everyone has a secure sense of community and belonging. Pupils feel confident to be themselves in the school's nurturing atmosphere.

Pupils are proud and happy to be a part of their special school community.

They f...eel safe and are keen to learn and achieve well. The school's 'Zero Hero' approach to behaviour ensures that pupils make a positive contribution to the calm environment of the school. They are polite and well-mannered.

Pupils value the recognition they receive through celebration assemblies. Rewards are highly appreciated and include invitations to the headteacher's 'tea party' and 'wow' messages.

Pupils are very enthusiastic about the vast array of high-quality enrichment activities on offer.

There are several leadership roles to help support their character development. These include wellbeing and subject ambassadors, play leaders and being members of the school council. Pupils are supported to be articulate, confident and to share their thoughts and opinions.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum that successfully meets the needs of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide pupils with learning that is engaging and exciting. Careful thought has shaped the curriculum from the early years to Year 6.

At each stage, the curriculum sets out the essential knowledge and skills pupils should learn. This prepares pupils at all stages for the next steps in their education. Overall, pupils achieve well.

Teachers deliver the curriculum skilfully. They do this because of their strong subject knowledge and due to the effective training and support they receive.

The school's recent changes in mathematics reflect leaders' actions to strengthen much of the school's curriculum.

In mathematics lessons, pupils are developing strong reasoning and problem-solving skills. Children in the early years acquire the skills and knowledge that they need and are well prepared for Year 1. Younger children quickly acquire number recognition skills.

In some subjects, however, the schools' methods of checking pupils' knowledge are still being developed. Teachers do not always consistently check what pupils have remembered long-term before moving on to new learning meaning pupils are not always learning as much as they could.

The school ensures that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified accurately and swiftly.

Staff are resolute in their view that any additional needs should not be a barrier to learning. When necessary, they expertly adapt resources so that these pupils can learn the same curriculum as their classmates. The school engages with outside agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND receive expert support when it is needed.

Although many pupils join the school at different points, the school identifies what they already know. They use this information to help build on and develop pupils' knowledge.

Reading is at the centre of pupils' learning.

The school focuses on communication and language to develop children's learning in the early years. Children are immersed in rhymes, songs, and stories. This helps them to build an understanding of new vocabulary and sounds quickly.

Reading ambassadors take their role in promoting a love of books with their peers seriously. They speak with pride of reading sessions and assemblies they lead to support this initiative. Well-trained staff expertly deliver phonics sessions across the early years and key stage 1.

Pupils who find learning to read more difficult, including those who speak English as an additional language, benefit from the additional support they are given. This increases their confidence in reading and means most pupils can read fluently for their age.

Pupils demonstrate positive behaviour.

Lessons are usually calm and purposeful. Pupils understand the importance of the school values. Children in the early years enjoy exploring during purposeful play and become increasingly independent and confident.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Levels of attendance are high and leaders work closely with a small number of families to identify any barriers that is preventing pupils from attending regularly.

The school has thought extensively about how to provide for pupils' personal development.

There is a vast range of experiences on offer to enhance the curriculum through a programme of visits and visitors. Pupils embrace and celebrate the uniqueness of individuals. They demonstrate their understanding through warm relationships with one another.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the support that they receive from the school.

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 subjects, teachers do not consistently use appropriate checks to see if pupils are secure in their knowledge before moving on to new learning.

As a result, some lesson activities are not always adapted carefully enough to help pupils achieve as highly as they can. The school should continue to ensure that pupils' understanding is checked so that any gaps in understanding can be quickly identified and addressed.

Background

When we have judged 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 January 2019.