Broughton Moor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Broughton Moor Primary School.

They enjoy strong relationships with adults in school. Staff know pupils well and listen attentively to them. Pupils feel valued, cared for and happy.

They know that staff will help them if they have any worries or concerns.

Pupils are friendly and polite. They treat staff and each other with respect.

They behave well and make sure that everyone is made to feel welcome in their school. Pupils know that people can be different in many ways and they are empathetic and understanding of this.

Pupils, including children in the early years, are enthusiastic about their learning.

They t...alk eagerly about what they have learned in their lessons and during trips and visits. The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. Children in the early years get off to a good start.

However, in other parts of the school, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should in some subjects and have significant gaps in their knowledge.

Pupils appreciate the opportunities that they have to visit the local beach, woodland, theatres, cinemas and museums. They also thoroughly enjoy outdoor learning and the numerous residential visits that the school offers.

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

The school has constructed a broad and well-ordered curriculum from the early years to the end of Year 6. It has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn and when they should learn it.

However, the school has experienced a period of staffing uncertainty and change.

Some staff have not had the support that they need to deliver the curriculum well. Furthermore, gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning in some subjects have not been consistently identified and addressed. This has hindered some pupils from building knowledge securely over time.

Conversely, children in the early years have enjoyed a period of greater stability. They successfully acquire the knowledge that they need to be ready for the next stage of education.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils quickly.

Pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their classmates. However, some staff do not feel that they have sufficient information and support to help them to meet the needs of some pupils as effectively as they should. The school is aware of this and is taking action to ensure that staff have further support to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

The school has prioritised reading from the early years. Pupils understand that it is important to read widely and often. For example, a weekly reading afternoon provides an opportunity for pupils to read with family members in school and with younger children.

This helps pupils to develop a love of reading. The school has established a new phonics curriculum. Pupils learn the sounds and letters that they need to read new and unfamiliar words.

The school is taking action to ensure that pupils who fall behind in this curriculum are given the support that they need to catch up.

Pupils rise to the high expectations that the school has for their behaviour. They behave in a calm and sensible manner.

Children in the early years, including two-year-old children, learn to follow well-established routines. Pupils are kind and considerate of each other's needs.

Pupils experience a broad curriculum that supports their personal development.

Some pupils have worked alongside local businesses and enterprises. For example, they have designed and created homemade products to sell to the school community. This helps pupils to become industrious citizens and prepares them well for their future lives.

The school has experienced a turbulent time recently. Changes in staffing and governance have meant that the school has not been as effective as it should be. During this time, governors have not sufficiently held the school to account for the quality of education that pupils receive.

This has contributed to some weaknesses in the effectiveness of the curriculum.

The school does not engage effectively with some staff and some parents and carers. The school, with the support of governors, is taking action to listen to any concerns that staff and parents may have and to respond to them appropriately.

It is also working to ensure that change is managed in a way that does not impact on staff's workload. Although the school is continuing to improve methods of communication with staff and parents, some staff and parents remain dissatisfied with the school's engagement with them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Governors do not sufficiently hold the school to account for the quality of education that pupils receive. In some areas of the curriculum, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Governors should ensure that they provide effective support and challenge to help improve the effectiveness of the curriculum.

• In some subjects, the school has not ensured that staff deliver the curriculum consistently well. This hinders some pupils from learning as well as they should in these subjects. The school should ensure that staff have the support that they need to teach the curriculum effectively across all subjects.

• In some subjects, the school has not ensured that gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning are identified and addressed. This means that some pupils' knowledge does not build in a logical way over time. The school should ensure that pupils' prior knowledge is secure before moving on to new learning.

• The school does not engage as effectively as it should with some staff and parents. This means that the school and some parents and staff do not work in unison in the best interests of the pupils. The school should ensure that it listens to and responds appropriately to the views of all stakeholders.