Brookvale Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the quality of teaching to increase pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by:
  • making sure teachers explain their learning expectations more explicitly to pupils
  • ensuring most-able pupils are always given suitably challenging learning tasks
  • providing more working walls which support current learning as expected by the school
  • improving the subject knowledge of a few teachers, particularly in mathematics
  • ensuring that the school’s assessment policy is applied by all teachers
  • increasing opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in a wider range of subjects.
• Improve the behaviour of a small minority of pupils in lessons by:
  • ensuring that teachers rapidly refocus pupils on learning tasks when their attention slips
  • making sure that adults supporting pupils during lessons do so fully, to maximise learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders, managers and governors have taken action that has improved the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement exceptionally well since the previous inspection. Pupils’ progress is much better. This can be seen in the work in pupils’ books and the in the latest information about the school’s performance.

• Members of the senior leadership team are relentless in their drive to improve the quality of teaching further so that pupils’ achievement becomes outstanding.
• Senior leaders have successfully established a culture of high expectations. They expect the best of all their pupils.
• Teachers are very well supported in improving their teaching by the vast range of continuing professional development opportunities which are well matched to their individual needs.
• Pupils’ development and welfare needs are exceptionally well met by the pastoral manager.
• Provision for special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and early years is very well led by skilled teachers. They have brought about many improvements in these areas since the previous inspection.
• Middle leaders have a very clear understanding of barriers to learning in their subject areas. They have highly effective plans to overcome these to make sure that pupils’ achievement improves further.
• Additional funding, such as pupil premium funding, is wisely spent by school leaders. This has improved disadvantaged pupils’ achievement substantially since the previous inspection. Additional funding for sport is also spent effectively.
• The curriculum is exceptionally well designed to meet the needs of pupils. It is very well focused on developing pupils beyond their academic capabilities so they leave school as well-rounded young people who are exceedingly well prepared for their secondary education. Many well-known celebrities visit the school to inspire and motivate pupils.
• The school’s focus on values such as respect, honesty and tolerance of diversity prepares pupils exceedingly well for living in modern Britain. These values are central to everyday learning for pupils and help them exceptionally well to prepare for living in Britain’s rich and diverse culture.
• School leaders at all levels are benefiting a great deal from membership of the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership. Leaders draw on the wealth of experience available within the partnership to support improvements in teaching and learning.
• The effectively run breakfast club helps pupils get off to a good start to the school day.

Governance of the school

• Governance is much more effective than at the time of the previous inspection. Governors have an exceptionally clear, strategic overview of the direction in which they want the school to travel. They know the school’s many strengths and few remaining weaknesses well. They are tenacious in their questioning of senior leaders about any perceived underperformance. Governors stop at nothing to get answers to their questions about pupils’ achievement so they have an accurate view of how well the school is performing.
• Governors visit the school on a very regular basis and attend meetings where pupils’ progress is discussed. They check the accuracy of the information provided by leaders and discuss the impact of improvement strategies.
• Governors rightly question whether the actions taken by leaders to improve pupils’ achievement have been sufficiently effective.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A secure culture of safeguarding has been established by school leaders. Processes to keep pupils safe permeate all aspects of school life.
• Checks carried out on staff before starting work at the school are robust and secure. Records of these checks are meticulously maintained and no one without appropriate clearance is permitted to work with pupils.

• The partnership and local authority regularly check the records of safeguarding checks and processes. They note that the records are exemplary.
• Training for all members of staff, from the designated safeguarding leaders to midday supervisors, is robust, regular, well documented and given the highest priority to keep pupils safe.
• The school works with a wide range of outside agencies to very effectively support vulnerable pupils and keep them safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching in reading, writing and particularly in mathematics has improved greatly since the previous inspection. This shows in pupils’ books, the latest assessment information and in the snapshots of lessons observed during the inspection.

• Learning moves at a fast pace in many lessons. Lessons follow a logical structure and this helps pupils to make fast progress. Teachers assess pupils’ learning needs effectively and plan to meet them.
• Pupils are encouraged to select learning tasks which are appropriately challenging for them, to accelerate their progress.
• Teachers and teaching assistants ask challenging questions. This makes pupils think about their learning and explain their reasoning. This is a strength, particularly in mathematics.
• Many teachers have high expectations of what the pupils can achieve. Presentation in many books is neat as a result.
• Many teachers have good subject knowledge. This helps them plan exciting and engaging lessons and enables pupils to progress well. It is less strong in mathematics.
• Pupils are given many opportunities to practise their writing skills in other subjects. Pupils have fewer opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills in a wide enough range of other subjects.
• Many teachers make their expectations for what pupils will learn explicit. This means pupils know what is expected of them and what they are learning about, but this is not consistently the case.
• Most, but not all, teachers apply the school’s agreed assessment policy. Working walls are used in most, but not all, classrooms to support pupils in their current learning as expected in school. Most-able pupils are not always challenged as fully as they could be in a range of subjects.
• Leaders are aware of the minor weaknesses in teaching and are working on overcoming them.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.

• The work of the pastoral manager is having a powerful impact on pupils’ personal development and welfare.
• Pupils at risk of exclusion benefit from working closely with the pastoral manager, who ensures they are exceptionally well supported. The high-quality work carried out to support vulnerable families is helping to improve pupils’ achievement.
• Pupils report that bullying occurs occasionally. They say it is resolved rapidly and to their satisfaction when they report it to an adult.
• Pupils enjoy the company of others in the playground. They participate in a wide range of exciting activities. During the inspection, pupils danced excitedly to pop music relayed to the playground from the school’s entertainment system. The sports coach contributes exceptionally positively to participation in sporting activities at breaktime and lunchtime.
• Pupils have a very clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They learn in lessons of the potential risks posed by misuse of the internet and how to respond appropriately to the risks.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and well mannered around school. Many pupils confidently approached inspectors and welcomed them to their school.

• Attendance this academic year is continuing to improve. Last year it was broadly in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils regularly absent from school has reduced substantially through the work of the pastoral manager, who highlights the importance of being in school to pupils and parents alike.
• A pupil excluded previously is now successfully learning and attending every day because of the caring and nurturing support provided by school staff.
• Occasionally, there is a little low-level disruption in lessons. Pupils report that other pupils do not always behave as well as they could. Occasionally, teaching assistants do not intervene quickly enough to refocus pupils and support their learning when their attention slips.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils are making good progress in their learning in reading, writing and mathematics in almost all year groups. Pupils’ achievement has improved well since the previous inspection, particularly in mathematics.

• Reading is taught well. The proportion of pupils reaching the standard expected of them at the end of Year 1 and Year 2 in the phonics screening check has been above average for three years.
• When listening to pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2 reading, an inspector noted that pupils read with fluency and well-developed intonation. Disadvantaged pupils read with as much skill and enjoyment as other pupils.
• In 2017, disadvantaged pupils attained standards which were higher than those attained by other pupils nationally in writing. The latest assessment information shows that disadvantaged pupils are making fast progress in their learning in almost all year groups.
• By the end of Year 6 in 2017, pupils had made slower progress in reading compared to writing or mathematics. Rates of progress are now similarly fast in most year groups.
• In a small number of classes, rates of progress made in reading, writing and mathematics varies a little between groups of pupils such as boys compared to girls.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children start Reception with knowledge and skills that are generally below those typically expected for their age. They make speedy progress in their learning and development because of exceptionally effective teaching. The school’s assessment information for the last academic year shows the very strong progress made by children in Reception.

• Most pupils are well prepared to begin their education in Year 1 when leaving Reception because they have caught up in their learning so quickly.
• The early years leader has a thirst for ensuring excellence across the setting. The indoor and outdoor learning areas have been radically overhauled since the previous inspection. This has helped immensely in improving children’s achievement.
• High-quality assessments of children’s learning needs and achievements are carried out regularly. They are used to inform individual learning journals, which document exceptionally clearly the fast progress children are making. Teachers and other adults are highly skilled at assessing the learning needs of children.
• Teaching is highly effective. Disadvantaged children are making similar strong progress as other children because of this and use of the additional funding.
• Behaviour in early years is exemplary. Children take turns and wait patiently for others to finish activities before joining in. They do not push or barge in. An air of calmness pervades Reception, where children are polite and exceptionally well mannered.
• Parents report that they are very happy with how well they are supported as their children start at the school. Transition is smooth and seamless.
• Much is done in early years to ensure that children are kept exceptionally safe.
• Education in the early years has improved immensely since the previous inspection. The early years leader will not rest until even more children leave Reception having attained a good level of development.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139465 Birmingham 10042875 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 214 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Board of trustees Lydia Harrington Jonathan Smart 0121 356 9973 www.brookvaleschool.co.uk office@brkvale.bham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 28–29 January 2016

Information about this school

• This primary school is smaller than average.
• Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is broadly in line with the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below average
• The school is a member of Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, which has trustees and a local governing body. It is led by a chief executive officer.
• The school met the government’s floor standards in 2016, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school does not meet the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance results in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
• Early years provision is full time in the Reception class.
• The school runs a breakfast club, which is managed by the governing body.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in lessons and parts of lessons. Some of these were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders and school staff. The lead inspector spoke with the chair of the governing body, three other governors, the chief executive officer of the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, the executive headteacher and a school improvement adviser employed by the partnership.
• Inspectors spoke informally to pupils in lessons and during breaks and lunchtimes. They also spoke with parents at the end of the school day.
• Inspectors scrutinised the pupils’ work during lessons and work produced over time in a range of their books. They also listened to a few pupils from Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 reading.
• Inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at the latest school performance information showing the progress pupils currently in school are making.
• Other documentation scrutinised included plans for school improvement, safeguarding information, behaviour logs, attendance records and minutes of governing body meetings.
• Inspectors took account of 62 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors considered 33 free-text responses from parents and 20 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Declan McCauley, lead inspector Sue Parker

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector