Brookside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value their school. They enjoy being part of this small, tight-knit community.

Pupils are welcomed with a warm smile by teachers each morning. This sets them up well for the day.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are keen to take on leadership positions in school.

For example, they take their roles as play leaders, charity leaders and green leaders seriously. Children in the Reception Year enjoy learning. For example, during the inspection they eagerly awaited the hatching of the duck eggs and tadpoles.

Pupils feel safe and well cared for by staff. Leaders deal with any incidents of bullying or ...unkind behaviour effectively. They have high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

In class, and at social times, pupils, including those who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), behave well.

Weaknesses in how the curriculum is designed and delivered in key stages 1 and 2 mean that pupils do not achieve as well as they should. They are not able to build fully on the strong start that they make during their time in the early years.

Leaders are not clear enough about what they want pupils to learn. Teachers are not equipped to deliver some subject curriculums effectively.

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

Leaders have prioritised pupils' wider personal development.

For example, pupils are encouraged to develop their confidence and self-esteem through weekly outdoor sessions. Leaders provide a range of opportunities to develop pupils' talents in tennis, football and music. For instance, pupils are proud to perform in the school brass band.

Leaders ensure that all pupils, including those in the specially resourced provision, benefit from high-quality emotional support.

The school is calm and orderly throughout the day. Leaders establish clear routines for pupils' behaviour right from the start of the early years.

Staff provide effective support for pupils, including those with SEND, who need additional help to manage their behaviour. As a result, learning is seldom disrupted by poor behaviour.

Children in the early years enjoy a secure and welcoming environment.

They benefit from supportive relationships with staff. The curriculum in this part of the school is well designed to enable children to learn all that they should. Staff know what knowledge children need to gain.

They design activities that help children to progress through the curriculum. They are well prepared for the challenges of Year 1.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start in learning to read.

They gain the knowledge that they need to access the next steps in the phonics programme when they enter Year 1. However, this smooth introduction to early reading is not built on well enough in key stage 1. The phonics programme is not delivered systematically enough.

Some pupils read books that are not matched appropriately to the sounds that they know. Leaders do not ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to revisit and practise the sounds that they learn. Staff have not been suitably trained to help pupils who find reading difficult to catch up.

Consequently, pupils do not read as confidently or as fluently as they should.

Leaders' design of the subject curriculums in key stages 1 and 2 is uneven. In some subjects, they have ordered the knowledge that they want pupils to gain logically.

This helps pupils, including pupils in the specially resourced provision, to build their knowledge over time. However, in other subjects, leaders are not clear enough about the knowledge that they want pupils to learn. In addition, leaders have not organised the subject content so that pupils can build on what they already know.

This hinders teachers when designing activities for pupils, and this prevents pupils, including pupils in the specially resourced provision, from developing a rich body of subject knowledge. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

In subjects where there is a lack of clarity from leaders on what pupils should be learning, teachers do not use assessment strategies well to check on pupils' learning.

This prevents teachers from identifying and addressing pupils' misconceptions swiftly and effectively.

Leaders have effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. Leaders ensure that teachers receive enough information about the needs of pupils in the specially resourced provision.

This supports staff to adapt how they deliver the curriculum for this group of pupils. However, this is not the case for some pupils with SEND in the main school. This, along with the weaknesses in curriculum design, limits their achievement.

Over recent months, those responsible for governance have been providing an increasing level of challenge to leaders about the quality of education that pupils receive. Leaders and governors are mindful of the workload and well-being of staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive appropriate safeguarding training. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff report any concerns that they have about a pupil's welfare diligently.

Pupils, including those in the specially resourced provision, know how to report safeguarding concerns.

Staff know the school community well. Leaders work closely with external agencies, such as professionals in social care, to ensure that pupils and their families receive timely support.

Pupils receive appropriate support to stay safe and healthy. This includes on how to develop healthy relationships.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not ensured that the staff who teach in key stage 1 are equipped to deliver the phonics programme.

In addition, some staff are not trained sufficiently well to provide appropriate support for pupils who do not keep up with the programme. As a result, pupils do not build their phonic knowledge as quickly and securely as they should. Leaders must ensure that all staff have the skills and expertise that they need to help pupils to become fluent and confident readers as quickly as they should.

• In some subjects, leaders have not ensured that staff are clear enough about the knowledge that pupils should be taught and the order in which learning should be delivered. This hinders teachers from designing activities that help pupils to build their knowledge over time. Leaders should ensure that they identify the knowledge that pupils must learn so that staff understand what should be taught and when this will happen.

• Teachers do not use assessment strategies well enough to check on how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. This prevents teachers from identifying and addressing the gaps in pupils' knowledge. Leaders should ensure that teachers are suitably equipped to use assessment strategies effectively to check on pupils' earlier learning.

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