Brookhouse Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Brookhouse Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment that children join the school in the early years, caring staff set clear routines for them. Pupils and children have a strong sense of security and belonging. They behave well.

This is because staff make their high expectations for learning and behaviour clear.

Pupils feel happy and safe, and they learn well. Bullying is not tolerated by leaders and staff, and these concerns are resolved at the earliest possible stage.

Parents and carers said that their children love coming to school.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' academic achieveme...nt, and staff are ambitious for every pupil, including for those with special educational needs and/or abilities (SEND). Pupils are benefiting from leaders' ongoing work to refine the curriculum and strengthen further how well pupils learn in all subjects.

Pupils know and understand the school's values, such as respect and perseverance. They try their best to live up to these values in daily school life. They cherish when their successes are celebrated during weekly assemblies.

Pupils appreciate learning about the ways that people can be different. They are given many opportunities to explore varied and exciting experiences. Pupils talked positively about taking part in musical events and clubs, such as cooking.

They are also eager to carry out roles of responsibility, including positions as head girl and boy.

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

Leaders have made sure that there is a well-designed and ambitious curriculum in place for all pupils, including children in the early years. Pupils behave well in lessons and there is little disruption to learning.

When there is low-level disruption, this is short-lived because it is managed well by staff. Pupils enjoy their learning and achieve well. They live up to their teachers' high expectations.

In the early years, including in the provision for two-year-olds, staff prepare children well for the next stage of their education. For example, staff develop children's communication skills by talking with them about their learning experiences.

Reading underpins pupils' and children's learning throughout the school.

The reading curriculum is delivered well by staff. All staff are well trained in the teaching of phonics. This ensures that children and pupils learn and practise the right phonics knowledge at the right time.

Leaders make sure that the books that pupils read match the letters and sounds that they are learning in class.

Staff introduce pupils and children to different authors, and pupils confidently talk about their favourite writers. Staff assess pupils' progression in reading often.

Leaders take a 'keep up, not catch up' approach to reading. This means that most pupils become fluent readers as quickly as they should. Effective support from staff helps those pupils who have fallen behind in their reading to catch up.

Pupils, including older pupils, read widely and often at school and they spoke with enthusiasm about the introduction of reading champions.

In other subjects, leaders have given much attention to refining the curriculum. They have carefully considered the knowledge that pupils need to learn and the order in which they should learn it.

Subject leaders and staff in the early years liaise closely to ensure that children gain the knowledge and vocabulary to prepare them well for Year 1.

In most subjects, teachers are equipped to deliver the curriculum well. They assess pupils' knowledge regularly.

Lessons often start with a recap on earlier learning, and staff prompt pupils to use what they already know to make connections with new learning. That said, in some subjects, a few aspects of teachers' assessment of pupils' learning are better developed than others.

The needs of pupils with SEND are quickly identified by staff.

Working with parents, leaders provide appropriate support for pupils with SEND. Leaders ensure that staff are well trained to deliver a range of strategies that meet pupils' individual needs. Leaders review regularly how well teachers' strategies of support are working and make adaptations if required.

Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers and they achieve well.

Leaders have designed a well-thought-out personal development curriculum to teach pupils about being respectful and helpful to others. Pupils are also developing an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay healthy.

They also learn about different faiths and religions. For example, pupils know why values such as democracy are important to society. Pupils benefit from a range of activities to support their learning.

These include visits to museums and geography field trips.

Staff value and appreciate leaders' care and support for their well-being and workload. Governors share leaders' vision to provide a high-quality education for pupils.

While governors increasingly hold leaders to account, from time to time, they pay insufficient attention to some of the information presented to them by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding leaders and staff are well trained to identify and respond to any safeguarding concerns.

Frequent training updates for staff ensure that safeguarding is always at the forefront of their minds. Concerns are reported by staff promptly and leaders act quickly to make sure pupils and families get the support they need. Leaders keep detailed records of any concerns raised, tracking cases carefully until they are resolved.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils speak highly of the sources of support available to them, such as the class worry box.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders do not ensure that teachers are using assessment strategies consistently well to check how well pupils are learning over time.

This hinders leaders from checking how well pupils are learning the most important knowledge in the curriculum. In these subjects, leaders should ensure that teachers are supported to use assessment strategies well to help pupils to secure earlier learning and build on what they know already. ? On occasion, the governing body does not provide a sufficient level of challenge to leaders about how they check on the quality of education for pupils.

This means that governors do not have a consistently accurate view of how well pupils achieve across the curriculum. Governors must ensure that they hold leaders to account fully for how well pupils learn and remember the intended curriculum across all subjects.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2011.