Bramford Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Provide additional and more specific guidance for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils when reading so that more of them develop a greater depth of understanding.
• Strengthen the quality of writing further by improving the accuracy of pupils’ spelling.
• Ensure that all teachers and other adults in Nursery and Reception classes help the most able children to progress beyond the standards expected for their age.
• Extend and improve the provision for outdoor learning in the early years.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders are ambitious for pupils. They have high expectations of staff and ensure that others share their ambition. They show considerable care for pupils’ well-being and progress. Senior leaders attend to detail very well, reflecting the school motto ‘from small things greatness grows’.
• The school is a caring, lively and challenging community that caters for pupils from a variety of backgrounds. The values of respect, self-belief, independence, tolerance and pride are evident in the daily life of the school. Pupils in the school benefit from a strong focus on widening horizons, building proud traditions and ensuring high achievement.
• The school has tackled successfully the areas identified as needing improvement at the previous inspection. New training for staff has led to pupils’ better reasoning skills in mathematics. A wider range of texts are now used to encourage pupils’ interest in reading. Teachers plan for pupils’ different learning needs more flexibly and, with better assessment, this helps pupils make good progress in their learning.
• The headteacher and senior staff know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. Actions taken to improve the school are monitored and evaluated routinely. Some middle leaders have established a strong vision for their subject or area of responsibility and are leading work to translate this into effective practice.
• The curriculum is a key strength of the school. It aims to foster a love of learning and develop citizens of the future, preparing them for life while encouraging inquiry, motivation and independence. Pupils study all the subjects of the national curriculum with a particular emphasis on creativity, including in English and mathematics.
• Pupils benefit from a wide variety of cultural, social and sporting activities, which take place outside of the classroom. These include trips to France, surfing in Cornwall, visits to the Royal Opera House and West End shows, and access to the Griffin Arts and Sports Festivals. Regular visits to school from local politicians, athletes and authors also help to extend pupils’ horizons. All pupils have opportunities to participate in a broad range of activities and pupils talk enthusiastically about the learning that results from them.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils understand the need to help those in need and they talk enthusiastically about their charity work. A recent example of this is the support they provided for a local food bank. Reflection time in assemblies and displays around the school foster spiritual development in pupils. Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.
• Staff are well supported by senior leaders and value the training they receive. In turn, they support senior leaders and share the vision for the school. Recent appointments to the school have strengthened middle leadership.
• Parents and carers are very supportive of the school. They receive good information about what their children are learning, including through attending regular parent workshops. Nearly all parents surveyed would recommend the school to another family.
• The Griffin Schools Trust provides valuable support for the headteacher, other leaders and teachers. Many of the pupils’ additional and extra-curricular opportunities are provided as a result of partnership working across the trust.

Governance of the school

• The local governing body provides effective support and challenge for the school. It has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Governors are given detailed and reliable information about school performance. They make good use of this information, alongside visits to the school and their regular discussions with staff and pupils, to check on the impact of actions taken by senior leaders.
• The governing body has a good blend of skills and experience. All governors have access to regular training, including on safeguarding, which helps to ensure that they discharge their responsibilities well.
• A group of governors oversees the plan for spending additional income. They scrutinise plans for pupil premium and sport premium spending and check the impact of the use of additional funds on pupils’ achievement and participation. Additional funding is used effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Arrangements for safeguarding pupils are well led. Pupils feel safe. They know who to talk to if they encounter any difficulties. Bullying is rare. If it does occur, it is acted on quickly. The school is a very welcoming, safe and secure environment.
• Staff and governors are trained regularly in keeping children safe. The school works effectively with external agencies. Risks to pupils’ welfare and safety are assessed thoroughly, including when pupils take part in educational or other visits.
• Leaders show a very strong concern for pupils’ welfare. Careful checks are made on all staff and visitors to the school. Parents are confident that pupils are kept safe. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of a high quality.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their knowledge of pupils’ prior learning and interests to plan lessons that engage pupils. Learning is often set in a variety of stimulating contexts, often linked to texts, recent events or educational visits.
• Teachers know how well pupils are achieving and set work that caters well for pupils’ different needs. Teachers have a secure understanding of how the quality of pupils’ work fits with expectations for their ages. Assessment of pupils’ work has improved, including around reading. It is well organised and moderated to ensure that accurate assessments are made. Schools across the trust collaborate well to ensure that assessment information is accurate.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They usually ask pupils carefully crafted questions, which help to promote pupils’ understanding of links between different topics and subjects.
• Pupils enjoy learning. They speak confidently about what they do in lessons and share what they have learned with relish. Relationships in all classes are very good.
• Reading, writing and mathematics are usually taught very well across the school. In mathematics, pupils develop good understanding, handle routine calculations well and reason with confidence.
• In reading, pupils are taught to read using a wide range of interesting texts. They read confidently and with expression. In a few instances, more precise guidance and support would help some older pupils to achieve a greater and more in-depth understanding of what they read.
• Pupils are encouraged to write at length in a variety of genres, using stimulating source materials and drawing on real-life experiences. While pupils often use sophisticated vocabulary in their writing, particularly in key stage 2, some work is spoilt by unnecessary spelling errors.
• Teachers and teaching assistants regularly promote equality of opportunity in lessons. All pupils are expected to contribute fully in lessons. They are taught to value the different contributions made by each other in class.
• Teaching assistants are deployed effectively to aid pupils with SEND. These pupils are taught and supported well.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are unfailingly polite, friendly and cheerful.
• Pupils look after their school well and keep it very tidy. They are quick to offer support or help to others if they notice anyone in difficulty. Their attitude to learning is excellent. Pupils are very enthusiastic about their work and are always keen to do well.
• Pupils’ confidence develops markedly during their time at the school. They make very good use of opportunities to take on leadership positions. For example, they act as anti-bullying ambassadors and help to look after younger pupils.
• The school is a supportive and caring community. Pupils are known individually to staff and to senior leaders. Pupils are cared for very well and any welfare concerns are acted on robustly. Where needed, the school arranges effective welfare interventions, including counselling. A strong focus on healthy eating and exercise helps pupils to develop good health habits, which prepare them well for later life.
• The rich and varied programme of extra-curricular activities gives pupils exceptional opportunities to develop a wide set of interests and experiences. The stimulating and attractive learning environment in the school encourages pupils to set high standards for themselves.
• Pupils understand and appreciate the school’s values. They learn to respect others, develop independence and to believe in themselves. In lessons, they often work together to solve problems. They take pride in their appearance, in each other, in their work and in their achievements.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils usually concentrate very well in lessons and move around the school in a sensible, orderly and calm way. In many lessons, and when they are engrossed in learning, pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. On occasions, some pupils can be slow to settle at the start of a new activity.
• Pupils attend school regularly and punctually. Many pupils have excellent levels of attendance. Attendance overall is in line with the national average.
• Exclusions from the school are extremely rare.

Outcomes for pupils

• Pupils achieve well during their time at school. They make good progress after they

Good

join the Nursery and Reception classes and maintain this good rate of progress as they grow and move through the school.

• Pupils in key stage 1 and key stage 2 are making good progress in reading, writing, mathematics and in other subjects. They are usually working at or around the levels expected for their age.
• Pupils are taught phonics well. In the phonics screening check, they achieve broadly in line with the expected standard. At the end of key stage 1, pupils’ attainment is broadly at the national average.
• In reading, pupils’ comprehension skills and fluency are generally at the expected level. Pupils have good stamina when reading and talk about the importance of reading in their learning. Most children read with expression and take note of punctuation. They demonstrate a good use of strategies for tackling unknown words and are unafraid of challenging texts. Younger readers make plausible attempts to read unknown words.
• In mathematics, pupils develop fluency and familiarity with number. They learn mathematics with enthusiasm, including through active and practical mathematical activities. Improved lesson planning and new training have helped teachers improve pupils’ reasoning.
• Senior leaders are realistic in their appraisal of how well pupils are doing. They have strengthened assessment systems, including at the end of key stage 1. They make frequent checks on pupils’ progress in learning. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND learn and achieve well.
• Pupils attain broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6. Test results show that in 2017 pupils made average progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils who sat Year 6 tests in 2018 achieved well given their starting points. Many of these pupils were assessed incorrectly when they were younger, particularly in reading. Because of this, recently published performance information about some pupils’ progress between Year 2 and Year 6 is misleading. Pupils’ progress is therefore better than published data suggests.
• More broadly, pupils develop confidence and a love of learning during their time at school, not least through a well-taught, well-planned and broad curriculum, strengthened through very many extra-curricular activities. This prepares them well for the next stage in their education.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership of the early years provision is good. All welfare requirements are met and safeguarding is effective. Leaders have acted on recommendations made at the time of the last inspection. Children undertake activities that encourage them to be inquisitive learners.
• Staff in Nursery and Reception classes rapidly establish strong relationships with children and their parents and communicate with parents well. This helps to ensure that children settle in quickly and that individual needs are known and met.
• Communication with external agencies is regular and effective. Where children and/or their families have specific or additional needs, effective support is arranged promptly.
• Most children join the early years classes with levels of development below those expected for their age. The number of children with speech and language difficulties has risen sharply in recent years.
• Well-organised activities and effective assessment ensure that most children make good progress. Activities are usually planned, and amended, to move children’s learning on rapidly. By the time they leave Reception, most children are working at, or near to, the standards expected for their age.
• Some children who exceed expectations, or those who have the potential to do so, could be provided with more challenging activities and resources. Teachers and other adults do not make enough of opportunities to extend the most able children’s learning so that they achieve beyond the expected levels.
• Indoor provision offers a good range of interesting activities, appropriate to children’s ages. This helps children engage well across all areas of learning. In most instances, staff interventions and conversations help children to think and talk about their learning. Leaders recognise that aspects of outdoor provision need to be improved so that children are able to explore all areas of learning more effectively.
• Children’s behaviour is good. Adults working in early years are good role models for children. They show children how to be cooperative and routinely demonstrate positive behaviour.
• Children with SEND are supported well. Staff are quick to notice and identify additional needs and to offer support where it is needed.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139437 Dudley 10085503 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 sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 476 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Board of trustees Ms Jennifer Bray Mrs Lisa Guest 01384 818 915 www.bramford-gst.org info@bramford.dudley.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3-4 March 2015

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. It is part of the Griffin Schools Trust. A local governing body oversees the work of the school on behalf of the board of trustees.
• Nursery children attend either morning or afternoon sessions. Reception children attend full-time. Pupils very occasionally attend an off-site provision at a nearby specialist school maintained by the local authority.
• The majority of pupils are of white British heritage.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who are eligible for support through the pupil premium, is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.
• The school operates before- and after-school clubs for pupils.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons across the school. They observed pupils learning and looked at the work they were doing. They listened to pupils of different ages read.
• Inspectors met with pupils and spoke with them at break and lunchtimes. They met with senior and other staff, governors and a representative of the trust.
• Inspectors scrutinised key documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, governing body minutes, safeguarding records and information about pupils’ learning. They considered 68 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, including 44 written comments. Additionally, an inspector spoke to parents at the school gates. Inspectors also considered 12 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Mike Cladingbowl, lead inspector Graeme Rudland Tracey O’Keeffe-Pullan Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector