Berrybrook Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by making sure that:
  • the most able pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are consistently challenged in their learning so more achieve higher standards
  • the very effective practice in upper key stage 2 is shared so other pupils throughout the school make even better progress.
• Strengthen the skills of middle leaders by enabling them to:
  • more effectively analyse pupil assessment information in order to identify areas for improvement with more precision
  • evaluate how successful their actions have been on raising levels of pupils’ achievement.
• Improve the attendance of pupils further so that more pupils attend regularly and the persistent absence rate reduces.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders have worked tirelessly since the academy opened to successfully raise expectations, drive forward improvements in teaching, and secure a quality educational experience that the pupils at Berrybrook deserve. The head of school, with exceptional support from the executive headteacher, has eradicated the school’s previous history of underachievement. Leaders have instilled a culture of learning and ambition where pupils achieve well over time.
• Leaders know what the school does well and where it needs to improve further. This is because a wide range of performance information is considered, including pupils’ views, the work they produce in books and the outcomes pupils achieve over time. Leaders are quick to act on their findings and make changes to provision which benefit the pupils.
• When the school first converted to an academy, there was significant staffing turbulence and a need to appoint new staff. Planning for the school’s future and sustaining a high-quality workforce is now a real strength of the school. The executive headteacher has made very effective use of drawing on the expertise of teachers within the trust to develop existing staff and grow new leaders. Every teacher is assigned a coach or a mentor whose role is to support staff and help them develop their practice further. This has led to improvements in the quality of teaching.
• Leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and the impact on learning are accurate. Leaders make regular visits to classrooms to observe learning and offer helpful feedback to teachers. This has created a reflective team of staff who work collaboratively and learn from each other. Leaders hold teachers to account for their work through robust staff appraisal and any weaker teaching is swiftly addressed through targeted support. Precise and challenging objectives are set annually and reviewed regularly throughout the year.
• Teachers and other staff value the good-quality support given by the trust which provides effective professional development for staff. For example, teachers undertook training on guided reading which enabled them to extend their repertoire of teaching skills and help pupils make faster progress in reading. Leaders adopt innovative approaches to sharing good practice and reflecting critically on teaching. Teachers work in ‘trios’ to observe each other and evaluate what is working well.
• Pupils enjoy their learning and achieve well across a broad range of subjects because the curriculum is varied, well planned and specifically links to their ages and interests. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about different subjects and the resources available that help them to learn. For example, pupils told inspectors about the school’s art room where they explore the work of famous artists including Rousseau and William Morris.
• The curriculum is enhanced by an array of visits and visitors which broaden pupils’ experiences and support their learning. Older pupils have the opportunity to attend residential trips. Parents and pupils value the extra-curricular activities available which include tag rugby, football and choir. These are well attended and add an extra dimension to pupils’ personal development.
• Pupils’ progress, including that of different groups of pupils, is carefully tracked to determine how well pupils are learning. Teachers identify any underachieving pupils in pupil progress meetings and put in place appropriate provision so they catch up and do not fall further behind.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well developed because teachers seize opportunities to promote it throughout the day. This is underpinned by one of the school’s key values ‘respect’. Pupils are taught about other faiths and beliefs, and this enables them to develop respect and tolerance. For example, pupils demonstrated an understanding and respect for differing viewpoints about evolution and creation stories.
• The school has a clear and graduated response to identifying pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. During regular pupil progress meetings, leaders ensure that there is a sharp focus on the early identification of pupils who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Funding is used effectively to support the progress of these pupils with the full involvement of parents.
• The primary physical education and sports funding is used well to improve the range and quality of physical education resources. For example, pupils have further developed their gymnastic ability through access to a better range of equipment. The funding has also paid for specialist sports coaches to teach lessons and help extend the teaching skills of staff.
• The funding for disadvantaged pupils is appropriately targeted to ensure that they make good progress over time. This includes, for example, enabling pupils to go on school trips to offer them new experiences. There is a coherent strategy in place for overcoming any barriers that disadvantaged pupils may face. However, leaders do not yet place enough emphasis on the needs of the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• The large majority of parents are fully supportive of the school’s work and recognise the care and quality of education that the school offers. One typical parental comment captured the general view about the approachable nature of staff, ‘I am very happy with the school. Staff are friendly and we can talk to them.’ A very small number of parents raised concerns, although these were not consistent with inspection findings.
• Middle leaders have a clear vision for their subject areas and are involved in monitoring teaching. However, the impact of their work varies. This is because middle leaders do not always make action plans for improvement precise enough. Their analysis of assessment information sometimes lacks rigour. This prevents them from accurately measuring how effective they have been in raising pupils’ achievement.

Governance of the school

• Governors support school leaders well to focus the school’s efforts on improving outcomes for all pupils. They maintain a strategic overview, while still having a clear understanding of the day-to-day challenges that leaders face in achieving the best for pupils.
• The relationship between governors and school leaders is strong and based on respectful challenge. Governors hold the head of school to account. They ask probing questions, based on a range of information about how well pupils achieve, to ascertain how well the school is performing. Governors’ documentation of their work is thorough and demonstrates a good understanding of the workings of the school.
• Governors are rightly proud of their school and its achievements. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Governors also know the actions that leaders are taking to tackle any issues and regularly ask about the impact of these actions.
• Governance is strengthened through the opportunities that governors take to work with other local governing bodies within the trust and share best practice.
• The trust has appropriate accountability structures in place which ensures a broad overview of the school’s performance. A strength of the trust is its ability to offer career advancement for staff between the group of schools.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• At Berrybrook, leaders ensure that pupils’ safety and well-being are paramount. Adults are constantly alert and quick to respond to any concerns that a child may be at risk of harm. Record-keeping is meticulous and shows a clear history from when an initial concern is raised through to the actions taken to minimise any future risk of harm to a child. Those responsible for overseeing safeguarding, including governors, ensure that staff receive regular training and updates to help keep pupils safe. As a result, all staff have a good knowledge of the school’s procedures and what to do if they have any concerns. Appropriate checks are made on staff and volunteers to ensure that those who work with pupils are suitable.
• Leaders listen and respond to feedback from parents through a variety of means, including ‘parent forum’. A dedicated pastoral team provides quality support and advice to pupils and their families. Pupils are taught how to stay safe through effective personal, social and health education lessons. For example, pupils learn how to respond in an emergency. During lessons, teachers build pupils’ self-esteem and resilience using praise and encouragement.
• Staff have received training to protect pupils from radicalisation and extremism through the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty. Teachers spoke knowledgeably about the practical approaches they take to minimise the risk of pupils being drawn into extremism when they are older.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• There has been a significant improvement in the quality of teaching and learning since the school opened. Teaching is now typically good throughout the school, although there is some slight unevenness between classes as a result of staff changes. Leaders are aware of this and have already put in place actions to secure even greater consistency.
• In lessons, teachers listen carefully to pupils’ responses and use this information to plan the next steps in learning. They ask open questions to seek pupils’ understanding of the concepts being taught and deal with any misconceptions quickly. This is particularly the case in upper key stage 2 where teaching is strongest and the pace of learning most rapid.
• Throughout the school, teachers work hard to extend pupils’ spoken language and widen their vocabulary. In lessons, pupils are encouraged to discuss and explain their thinking. This is particularly effective in mathematics in key stage 2 where pupils are most effective in developing their reasoning skills.
• Teachers plan engaging lessons which encourage pupils to explore their understanding and generate their own questions. For example in key stage 2 science, pupils carried out an investigation with eggs which explored the harmful effect of different liquids on tooth enamel. As a result, pupils could explain why it is important to have healthy drinks.
• Teachers also plan work which enables pupils to make meaningful links between subject areas. For example, pupils put their mathematical skills to good use through creating graphs in science. In other subjects such as history, pupils practise and consolidate their writing skills. As a consequence, pupils show more confidence in their writing and make better progress over time.
• Teachers use their strong subject knowledge well, particularly in upper key stage 2, to frame challenging questions for pupils that require them to think deeply. This enables pupils to make better-than-expected progress in their learning. For example, older pupils learned about King Henry VIII and made good deductions using primary sources of historical evidence.
• Pupils learn well from each other through assessing and giving feedback on each other’s work. This was eloquently explained by an older pupil who commented, ‘We assess each other’s work and offer constructive criticism to help them improve.’ This helps pupils to reflect on their learning and make better progress as a result.
• Pupils read well. They acquire the key skills in reading because they are taught effectively and reading is valued. Pupils make good progress in developing their phonic skills. Pupils are proud of their school’s ‘reading van’ which is a fun and exciting place to enjoy reading a book. Older pupils tackle challenging texts such as ‘A midsummer night’s dream’ with good understanding and appreciation for quality literature.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have their individual needs met well. Teachers provide these pupils with the necessary resources and support so the large majority progress well in their learning.
• Most teaching assistants make a worthwhile contribution to learning, gently supporting and encouraging pupils to try and succeed. Very occasionally, teaching assistants spend too much time undertaking simple tasks that pupils could be responsible for. Leaders already recognise this and have put in place measures to ensure that all teaching assistants make a strong contribution to pupils’ progress.
• Pupils are clear about what they are learning and the steps to achieve success because teachers make intended learning explicit. There is good structure to lessons, although sometimes tasks do not allow the most able pupils enough opportunity to demonstrate their full potential.
• Teachers have a good knowledge of pupils’ prior learning and use this well to plan lessons that meet the needs of most pupils. However, sometimes most-able pupils begin with tasks that are too easy for them and are not moved onto challenging work quickly enough. This results in lost learning time for these pupils.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The head of school ensures that pupils’ well-being is central to the work of the school. There is a strong focus on making sure that pupils’ emotional health is good so they can learn successfully. The learning environment is calm and nurturing. As a result, pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, concentrate well and make good progress.
• Pupils are confident and warmly welcome others to their school. They engage readily and politely in conversations with visitors about their work and the experiences they have at school. They are proud of their school.
• Leaders work hard to ensure that pupils feel respected and valued. Teachers celebrate pupils’ achievements on a regular basis, including in the weekly ‘star of the week’ assemblies. This helps to foster confidence in the pupils’ own abilities. As a result, pupils at Berrybrook recognise and respect that everyone is unique and has individual qualities.
• The actions of leaders are underpinned by the school’s core values of ‘believe, enjoy, respect, responsibility and determination’ which are evident and tangible around the school. For example, pupils hold positions of responsibility on the school council. Throughout school there is a strong emphasis on self-respect and respect for others. Pupils show genuine care and compassion for one another. On several occasions, inspectors witnessed genuine acts of kindness. For example, a pupil immediately went to the aid of another who had fallen over on the playground.
• Pupils have an understanding about the different forms of bullying including cyber and racist bullying. They learn about how to stop bullying in personal, social and health education lessons as well as special assemblies. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is infrequent, and that when it does occur, staff deal with it quickly. Pupils know they can use ‘worry boxes’ to share any concerns that they have.
• Pupils have a clear understanding about what they need to do to improve their work because teachers provide useful feedback. Pupils respond to this advice well to make good progress in their learning.
• The presentation of pupils’ work is usually good, although there are some inconsistencies in key stage 1 and lower key stage 2, where a small minority show a lack of pride in their work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ behaviour has improved significantly since the school first opened. This is because leaders have ensured that learning is interesting and usually well matched to the pupils’ abilities. Pupils behave well because of established routines and clear expectations. As a result, the flow of learning during lessons is rarely interrupted.
• All pupils know the school’s approach to managing behaviour because it is applied consistently across the school. Pupils are actively involved in the design of school rules and this helps with them self-managing their behaviour. Pupils are motivated by the rewards of good behaviour and deterred by the consequences of poor behaviour such as losing ‘golden time’.
• Staff are very effective at managing the behaviour of a small number of pupils who have significant behavioural needs. Over time, there is a reduction in the number of incidents involving these pupils as a consequence of effective support. This means that the learning of other pupils is rarely affected.
• Pupils are active on the playground and enjoy each other’s company. They move around the school safely and sensibly. There are good levels of supervision from adults.
• Occasionally, teachers need to discreetly redirect a few pupils who go off task during lessons. This is usually associated with a lack of challenge provided to the most able pupils, rather than the pupils’ attitudes to learning.
• Attendance remains below the national average, although it is improving gradually over time. Rates of persistent absence are higher than national figures. However, pupils who do not attend regularly are monitored closely and supported in many ways. Leaders adopt a wide range of strategies to deal with persistent absence with varying degrees of success. School leaders rightly continue with a focus on improving attendance and reducing persistent absence.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Achievement has risen considerably since the school converted to an academy as a result of leaders robustly tackling any underachievement, raising expectations and securing better teaching. Pupils now make good progress over time from low starting points, enabling them to attain at least the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave primary school.
• Work seen in the books of current pupils, in addition to the school’s assessment information, shows that the large majority make good progress from their starting points across a range of subjects. In the early stages of school, there is great importance placed on developing positive learning behaviours and meeting the pastoral needs of pupils. During this time, teachers help pupils to catch up from low starting points. Towards the end of key stage 2, pupils make strikingly accelerated progress.
• At the end of key stage 1, the overall proportions of pupils who attain the expected standards in reading and writing are just below the national average, and broadly in line for mathematics. However, most make good progress during key stage 1 from typically lower-than-average starting points.
• By the end of key stage 2, the proportion of pupils who attain the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics is above the national average. This is because the progress that pupils make across key stage 2 in these subjects is well above that of all pupils nationally, and has been for the last two years.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make at least expected progress over time in reading and writing. They make stronger progress in mathematics. This is because the school pinpoints pupils’ particular needs and provides appropriate support to help them achieve. Current progress is strongest in upper key stage 2.
• Most pupils read well, with fluency and good understanding. They acquire the key skills in reading because they are taught effectively and read regularly to an adult in school. Pupils make good progress in developing their phonic skills. The proportion of Year 1 pupils who achieved the expected standard in the phonics check in 2016 was above the national figure.
• From their starting points, disadvantaged pupils make better progress than other pupils nationally by the end of key stage 2. However, the school is rightly focused on continuing to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils as they do not yet reach the same higher standards that other pupils in the school attain.
• Pupils’ knowledge and understanding in other curriculum subjects, including geography and history, shows good progression and skill development as a result of effective teaching.
• The most able pupils in school do not always achieve as well as they should. Fewer pupils who joined Year 1 having reached the early learning goals in writing and mathematics met the standard for working at greater depth compared to pupils with similar starting points nationally. The progress of most-able pupils is sometimes limited because they often begin at the same level of challenge as other pupils in the class with lower prior attainment.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership of the early years provision is good. The provision for two-year-olds and the Nursery class provide children with nurturing learning opportunities that prepare them well for starting school.
• Most children start Reception with skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age. Children’s language and literacy skills are particularly underdeveloped. From these low starting points, children make at least expected progress during the early years as a result of good teaching and learning.
• The Nursery and Reception classes provide children with a range of stimulating opportunities to explore and learn through play, with easy access to many resources. Children successfully develop their emerging reading and writing skills as a result of focused teaching activities. Relationships are strong and this supports good learning.
• Teachers take the children’s interests as their starting points for planning learning. As a result, children are fully involved in the activities available. For example, a group of boys worked with great enthusiasm to make back packs from junk material. They helped each other with creating well designed straps from different material.
• Children make good progress with their language development in the early years, using descriptive language well because of effective modelling of speaking and a raft of activities that encourage dialogue. For example, children who had been learning about traditional tales enthusiastically acted out part of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ using an extended vocabulary to tell the story.
• Teachers carefully track children’s progress and development from typically low starting points. The early years pupil premium is used well to provide targeted support to develop communication and language skills. This is having a positive impact on the progress of current disadvantaged children.
• Children’s behaviour is good and they play together cooperatively. Children show great pride in developing their independence. This is facilitated by staff who use questions well to encourage and develop their self-help skills. For example, a child was excited to share with inspectors their personal accomplishment of zipping up their coat without help.
• Children behave exceptionally well in the early years. Teachers and other staff make expectations very clear and help them with routines such as walking in orderly lines from one classroom to another. Children play cooperatively and sort out their disagreements with very little need for adult intervention.
• Leaders ensure that there is an effective process of transition so children move seamlessly from the early years into key stage 1. The majority are ready to start Year 1, and extra support is put in place for those who do not achieve a good level of development.
• Supportive relationships are established with the children’s parents. Parents are actively involved in contributing to their child’s own picture of progress and development. For example, parents record their child’s achievements on ‘proud clouds’ in the classroom.
• Procedures for safeguarding are effective and meet the needs of the children in this phase.
• The proportion of children who achieved a good level of development in 2016 was below the national figure and was lower than in 2015. Despite children being immersed in a range of activities, there were fewer opportunities available for them to challenge themselves and take their learning further. Similarly, there were some missed opportunities for adults to guide children to extend their learning through investigating an interest in greater depth.

School details

Unique reference number 140658 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 10025160 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils Gender of pupils 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 252 Appropriate authority Academy trust Chair Marcia Edwards Executive headteacher Amarjit Cheema Telephone number 01902 558556 Website Email address www.berrybrookprimary.org.uk berrybrookprimaryschool@wolverhampton.gov.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• Berrybrook became an academy in April 2014 as part of a multi-academy trust. The school is sponsored by Perry Hall School multi-academy trust.
• This school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The school has a Nursery. It opened a new provision for two-year-olds in September 2016. The governing body manages both.
• The majority of pupils are of White British background. The remainder come from a range of other backgrounds including African and Caribbean.
• A very small proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils supported with a statement of special educational needs, an education, health and care plan, or through special educational needs support is above the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team observed learning in all year groups, including carrying out some joint observations with senior leaders. Inspectors reviewed pupils’ work in books and on classroom and corridor walls.
• Inspectors talked to pupils during lessons, around school and during planned meetings to gather their views.
• Inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher, other leaders, school staff and the chair and vice-chair of the trust. An inspector also met with members of the local governing body.
• Responses from 21 parents and carers to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) were analysed. Inspectors also gathered the views of parents at the beginning of the school day.
• Inspectors heard pupils read.
• The inspection team looked at a wide range of information including the school’s website, development plan, assessment information from its pupil tracking system and anonymised performance management documentation. Inspectors reviewed documentation relating to safeguarding, as well as the minutes of the local governing body and trust.

Inspection team

Tim Hill, lead inspector Wayne Simner Michael Onyon

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector