Broughton Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Broughton Junior School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending school and say that the best thing about their school is the staff.

They feel safe and cared for. Pupils know that there is always someone to speak to and comfort them if they are sad or upset about something. Bullying is not a problem.

Although there are occasional upsets, pupils say that their teachers are good at resolving these.

Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and the values they expect pupils to uphold. Relationships are warm and supportive.

In class, pupils settle quickly to learning, behave well and work... with positive attitudes. During social times of the day, pupils enjoy playing with their friends and appreciate the many activities on offer. However, a handful of pupils sometimes engage in rough play.

Leaders want every pupil to thrive at this inclusive school. Overall, most pupils are doing well and make the most of their time at school. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the school's many extra activities.

Visits such as those to Wimbledon, Silverstone and the pantomime are memorable events for many pupils. Pupils value the pupil parliament. This gives older pupils the opportunity to contribute to decision-making in the school.

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

Leaders have ensured that pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum that brings learning to life. Pupils learn a wide range of subjects and, overall, most achieve well.The mathematics curriculum sets out a clear pathway to enable pupils to develop their knowledge.

Key concepts are revisited to ensure that pupils remember important mathematical knowledge. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain new content clearly. They are adept at noticing if pupils are finding things tricky and help pupils to 'keep up and catch up'.

However, in the wider curriculum, content is not yet as carefully considered. In some subjects, leaders have not yet identified with enough precision what they would like pupils to know and remember. This means that staff do not have enough guidance about what they need to teach.

Leaders have made reading a priority and have invested significantly in creating a uniquely designed and inviting library. The reading curriculum is appropriately planned. Pupils read good-quality texts, acquire new vocabulary and develop their understanding.

While most pupils are doing well, some younger pupils are still at an early stage of reading. Leaders have rightly put in place a phonics programme to support them. However, this is not always focused precisely on the specific gaps in pupils' learning.

Occasionally, books are not well enough matched to pupils' reading knowledge.

Leaders have recently overhauled the school's provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Their needs are now more accurately identified and support is now more closely tailored to these needs.

Leaders are also taking steps to strengthen parental engagement.

The school's enrichment programme makes a strong contribution to pupils' wider development. Pupils experience visits to places far and wide and enjoy regular forest school sessions where they can explore the outdoors.

The school organises many after-school clubs. Music makes a positive contribution to pupils' personal development. Pupils experience the joy of singing and playing together.

One pupil commented that music has the power to evoke emotion.

Most parents and carers are happy with the school. However, some are concerned about bullying and behaviour.

The inspector found that bullying and pupils' behaviour are not a concern. Nonetheless, during lunchtimes and playtimes, sometimes a small number of pupils engage in rough, boisterous play. This is not always noticed by staff on duty and therefore sometimes goes unchecked.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working at the school. They enjoy the team approach and feel that leaders are very considerate of their well-being and workload. Staff who have joined the school recently are full of praise for the support they have received during their induction.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding and pupils' well-being are priorities at this school. Regular, timely training ensures that staff have a good understanding of safeguarding arrangements.

Staff ably fulfil their responsibilities. They know pupils well and are alert to anything that may be a concern. Leaders follow through any concerns and, when needed, refer these on to other agencies.

They keep in regular contact with families and ensure that everyone gets the help and support that they need. Recruitment is managed well and record-keeping is well organised and up to date.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a number of foundation subjects, including history, geography and music, leaders have not yet identified with enough precision what they would like pupils to learn.

This means that staff do not receive clear enough guidance about the precise and most important content that they need to teach pupils. Leaders should refine the curriculum in the foundation subjects. They should ensure that they identify with precision the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember.

• Some reading interventions for pupils who need to catch up are not always targeted precisely enough on the specific gaps in their learning. Additionally, books are occasionally not well enough matched to pupils' reading knowledge. This risks these pupils not catching up quickly enough.

Leaders should implement their planned work to address this. ? A handful of pupils sometimes engage in rough play during break- and lunchtimes and some pupils play in areas where staff cannot maintain a clear enough line of sight. This means that sometimes boisterous or rough play goes unnoticed and is not addressed.

Leaders should take action to address this. They should review the supervision of play areas during social times of day so that all pupils are within sight of staff.

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 May 2017.