Bramingham Primary School

Bramingham Primary School Freeman Avenue, Luton, LU3 4BL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Children in the Reception classes settle in quickly and make good progress when they start school.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from below average starting points.  By the end of Year 6 they reach broadly average standards in English and mathematics.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers’ have good subject knowledge and high expectations for learning.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety around school is good. In lessons, their behaviour and attitudes to learning are good and sometimes outstanding.  Leadership and management are good. The governing body provide good support for senior leaders and other school leaders.  Leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching and addressed the issues for improvement since the last inspection. The school is well placed for further improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Learning tasks are not always matched to pupils’ different abilities.  Occasionally too much time is spent on whole class teaching which limits opportunities for pupils to learn from their classmates.  Leaders do not always measure the impact of teaching on pupils learning and progress, when they examine pupils’ work or analyse information on progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 25 lessons and saw most teachers teaching. Twelve lesson observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors heard pupils read in Years 1 and 2 and looked at their reading records, as well as looking at samples of pupils’ work.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, a few parents when they brought their children to school, four members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority, senior leaders and subject leaders.  Inspectors took account of 49 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View), the responses to the school’s recent survey of parents and looked at the questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at records of pupils’ progress, minutes of governing body meetings, how the school judges itself, its improvement plan, procedures for promoting safeguarding, attendance records and records of incidents.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Helen Woodhouse Additional Inspector Richard Moody Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This larger than average primary school serves the town of Luton.  While the majority of pupils are White British an above average number are from minority ethnic backgrounds. An above average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care, is below average.  Above average proportions of pupils are supported through school action and at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. Their disabilities and special educational needs are due to a variety of learning difficulties, including, autism and speech, language and communication needs. The school also has special resource provision for 12 pupils with physical and medical difficulties, all of whom have a statement of special

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Information about this school

educational needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  An above average proportion of pupils join the school with significant learning or behavioural difficulties during Key Stage 2  A new chair of governors is in post since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so that achievement improves by ensuring:  learning tasks are always matched to pupils’ different abilities  enough time is always provided in lessons for pupils to learn from their classmates.  leaders are rigorous in using information about pupils’ progress and from pupils’ books to inform their view of the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter Reception with levels of knowledge and skills generally below those expected for their age. They make good progress in all areas for learning, especially in linking letters to sounds, in their physical development and in their personal, social and emotional development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Results of the 2012 Year 1 national test of pupils’ knowledge of letters and their sounds were above average. By the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics varies slightly from year to year and is usually broadly average. Pupils’ attainment dipped slightly in 2012 because a higher proportion of pupils were identified with disabilities or special educational needs. The school’s accurate information on progress and from lesson observations show that attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is now broadly average and represents good progress from below average starting points.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the end of Key Stage 2, pupils reached broadly average standards in English and below average standards in mathematics, although the proportion of pupils reaching the higher national curriculum levels was significantly below average. This was because a significant number of more able pupils left the school during Key Stage Two and a small number of pupils with special educational needs entered the school in Years 5 and 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s accurate information about the progress pupils are currently making, lesson observations and pupils’ work shows that pupils at Key Stage 2 are making good progress from their starting points and are on course to reach broadly average attainment in English and mathematics. Currently, more able pupils are now on course to reach the higher national curriculum levels in English and mathematics, with no significant differences between girls and boys.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the end of Key Stage 2 in 2012 pupils known to be eligible for free school meals made less progress than their classmates in English and mathematics and were approximately six months behind them. However, they make good progress from their starting points, which was also confirmed by the large majority of parents and carers who responded to parent view and in discussion with parents during the inspection. The school’s records of its pupil premium spending, which has been used to provide smaller group sizes, additional teaching assistance and teaching for literacy and numeracy, show that pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are currently ahead of their classmates in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils with physical disabilities and medical needs who are based in the school’s resource provision make equally good progress as other pupils because teaching assistants and therapists work closely together to enable these pupils to participate fully in learning and improve their mobility. Pupils with autism and speech, language and communication needs are making good progress in communication as a result of good joint planning between teaching assistants and therapists. Pupils with disabilities and special educational needs in the main school make equally good progress as their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from minority ethnic communities and those who are at an early stage of learning English make equally good progress as their classmates because teaching assistants provide additional language support matched to their needs. Those who enter the school other than at the usual times, also make good progress from their lower starting points. The fact that all pupils are able to do well is a reflection of the strong commitment to promoting equal opportunities for all.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Regular observations of teaching by school leaders confirm that it is nearly always good and sometimes it is outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ high expectations for learning were seen in their skilful questioning and consistent feedback that extends pupils’ thinking. In a Year 6 English lesson, pupils were asked to identify key features of high quality writing by using a variety of sentence lengths, a range of metaphors, similes, alliteration and higher levels of punctuation such as semi-colons and brackets. They were then asked to write out a sentence showing elements of these features and were given good feedback on how well they had done.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ good subject knowledge was seen, for example, in a Year 2 lesson linking letters to sounds. The teacher used a variety of interesting games with music to stimulate pupils’ enjoyment of making the same sounds for different letter combinations and as a result they all learned to read different words containing these sounds quickly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants provided good support for learning across the school. In the Reception classes they worked closely with teachers to provide a range of interesting and stimulating activities to engage children in learning, making good use of both the indoor and outdoor learning areas. In a Year 4 lesson the teaching assistant worked extremely well with a group of pupils who found mathematics learning difficult, using a variety of games and practical resources to stimulate pupils understanding of different angles. As a result they made rapid progress in identifying these angles.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching of communication, literacy and mathematics skills enables pupils to make good progress. The good teaching of reading is based on the development of a good understanding of letters and sounds, and their use.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally too much time is spent on whole class teaching so that a few pupils lose interest in learning and this restricts the time pupils could learn together in small groups .

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The quality of teaching is good

 Lessons are usually carefully planned to build on pupils’ prior learning by matching learning tasks to pupils’ different needs. This was seen in nearly all lessons. However, pupils’ work shows that this is not always the case. Occasionally pupils of different abilities were given the same tasks to do so that some found the work too easy and others too difficult.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking always informs pupils how well they have done and provides them with good written comments about how to improve their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour around the school is good. Pupils stay safe; they use the internet and handle equipment safely. They walk sensibly from their classrooms to the playground and other areas in the school, showing due care and consideration for those pupils with physical disabilities, who use wheel chairs and walking frames.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All pupils are courteous, polite and show consideration to others with staff providing good role models for behaviour.  Pupils are well-behaved in lessons and sometimes their behaviour is outstanding. Their good and sometimes outstanding attitudes to learning, reflected in the above average attendance of most pupils, help them to make at least good progress in lessons. Pupils listen carefully to their teacher, follow instructions, abide by the classroom code of conduct and respond well to the management of their behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Nearly all parents who expressed a view believe that behaviour and safety are good, that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively. These views were confirmed in discussions with parents during the inspection.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils also believe that behaviour and safety are good. In discussion, they said that bullying is rare and teachers deal with it quickly, whenever it may occur. They have a good understanding of different types of bullying and know how to avoid it.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children in the Reception classes are well behaved; they stay safe, learn how to take turns and share because staff work closely as a team to promote their safety and wellbeing.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders share a drive for continuous improvement to ensure that all pupils have the same opportunities to achieve their potential. The overall judgements the school makes about itself are accurate and have led to clear priorities for improvement, especially on increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders regularly check the quality of teaching in lessons through effective arrangements for managing teachers’ performance. The school recognises that there is a need for more rigour in using the information it has about pupils’ progress across the school and from looking at pupils’ books to help explain the reasons for inconsistencies in teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers are given clear targets to improve their teaching which are linked to the school’s priorities for development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for pupils in the special resource provision with physical disabilities and medical needs is managed well by the special educational needs co-ordinator who works closely with a range of outside professionals to ensure these pupils are fully included in all school activities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics are developed well across a range of subjects and in topic work. This enables pupils to apply and use these skills well in other contexts. Good opportunities to enrich learning include a range of activities including visits and visitors to school and a wide variety of after school clubs which also promote pupils’ enjoyment of school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through a range of activities across the school. Staff provide good role models in appreciating diversity and pupils’ understanding of other cultures is promoted through well-conceived topics such as Japanese style printing. There are many opportunities for pupils to work together, especially in team games and sports, to develop their social skills. Pupils develop their imagination and creativity through subjects such as art, music and drama.  The local authority provides a range of courses and support for school development, for example in working closely with the deputy head teacher to develop mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good links with parents are reflected in the positive responses to those who responded to parent view. At least one parent of pupils with disabilities and special educational needs attends every annual review of their child’s progress. Nearly all parents who expressed a view would recommend this school to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are regular visitors to school and carry out visits to classrooms to look at pupils’ learning and behaviour. They have an accurate view of teaching based on these first hand visits and from the detailed reports provided by the school. They have a good understanding of how the performance of teachers is managed, including how the best teachers are rewarded. They are using information on pupil progress to gain their own view of pupils’ performance compared to other schools. They ensure that finances are managed efficiently to achieve value for money, especially pupil premium funding. Governors ensure all legal requirements, especially for safeguarding, are met. They are holding the school to account to ensure its policies and procedures for ensuring the welfare and interests of pupils are protected and that all training in child protection is up to date.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 109594 Local authority Luton Inspection number 412247

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 408 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Yvette Roberts Headteacher Sharon Flowers Date of previous school inspection 10 December 2009 Telephone number 01582 617500 Fax number 01582 617501 Email address bramingham.primary.head@luton.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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