Brunswick Community Primary School

Brunswick Community Primary School Station Road, Woodhouse, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S13 7RB Inspection dates 15–16 October 2013

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  Pupils’ achievement in areas of school has accelerated since the previous inspection and is now good. As a result of an overriding emphasis on improving teaching and learning, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is improving rapidly and standards have risen since 2011.  The gaps between the performance of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and others have reduced markedly since the previous inspection, particularly in reading and writing. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs also make the same good progress as their peers.  Teaching is good and on occasions, outstanding. Teachers ask challenging questions, to make pupils think more deeply.. Teaching assistants are proactive in their support for pupils experiencing difficulty, enabling them to take full advantage of what lessons have to offer.  Pupils are very proud of their school and feel

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

happy and safe within its walls. They talk avidly about their part in developing the school vision, ‘Desire to Learn, Aspire to Achieve.’ They are delighted with both their own and their classmates’ successes which are recognised in the celebration assemblies. They behave well and respond positively to the many responsibilities they have, for example as school councillors and as members of the eco ‘Green Team.’  The curriculum meets pupils’ needs well and pupils enjoy the topic work, many sporting activities and also the wide variety of extra- curricular sessions and educational visits.  An impressive level of teamwork among all staff is the order of the day. In addition, the talented senior leadership team ensures that the school continues to improve rapidly. Governors provide good support, are well informed about school performance and hold leaders and managers rigorously to account.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The sharing of best classroom practice to increase the amount of outstanding teaching is not fully developed.  On occasions, there is too much teacher talk and not enough independent work from pupils. Classroom activities are sometimes not matched sharply enough to pupils’ needs.  Pupils do not always have enough opportunities to gauge how well they and their classmates are doing, to enable them to have a better understanding of how they can improve.  The role of middle leadership is not fully developed to enable subject coordinators to have a sharper view of pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons or part lessons, taught by 15 teachers. Two lessons were observed jointly with senior staff. On the second day of the inspection, inspectors visited each class again, in order to observe teaching and learning for a second time. They also listened to pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 read.  Inspectors spoke to three groups of pupils, including school councillors and members of the ‘Green Team’, who take part in eco related activities. They also held discussions with the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, pastoral staff, lunchtime supervisors, teachers and members of the senior leadership team.  They took account of the views expressed by parents in the 33 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and to the 27 responses to the staff questionnaire. In addition, they spoke informally with parents and grandparents at the beginning of the school and in the

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Information about this inspection

celebration upper and lower school assemblies.  Inspectors observed the school at work and considered external and internal pupil progress and attainment data as well as pupils’ work in English and mathematics. They scrutinised a variety of documentation including school development planning, strategies to enable the school to gain an accurate view of its own performance, reports written on behalf of the local authority and minutes of governing body meetings. In addition, they considered documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

James Kidd, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Stephen Helm Additional Inspector Michelle Murray Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much larger than average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above that usually found.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those from service families and those looked after by the local authority) is just above average and has more than doubled since 2010.  Most pupils are White British and few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in English and mathematics.  Brunswick Community Primary is a nationally accredited Healthy School and has been awarded the Eco School Green Flag for the second time. It is a ‘Bike It School’ and also holds the Leading

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Information about this school

Parent Partnership Award.  The privately run ‘Kids’ Kabin’ and a before and after school club, share the school site. It receives a separate inspection and a separate report, which is available on the Ofsted website.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to accelerate pupils’ progress across the school by:  giving teachers more opportunities to share the good and exemplary classroom practice which already exists, in order to increase the amount of outstanding teaching  ensuring there is less teacher direction in lessons, in order for pupils to become even more independent in their learning  giving pupils more opportunities in the classroom to gauge how well they and their classmates are doing, so that they have a greater awareness of how they can improve their work  ensuring that classroom activities are always sharply matched to pupils’ differing needs and abilities  further developing the role of middle leaders so that they have an even sharper awareness of pupils’ progress in the subjects for which they are responsible.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Over time, children enter Foundation 1 with skills and knowledge which are below those typical for their age but which are often well below in communication, language and personal, social and emotional development. They continue to make good progress in both Foundation 1 and Foundation 2 and benefit from an outdoor learning area which is much improved since the previous inspection.  Following a dip in performance in Key Stage 1 in 2012, pupils are now making good progress in Years 1 and 2. For example, the latest phonics (letters and sounds) reading check demonstrates that pupils’ skills in reading are better than ever before. The attainment of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs shows a similar picture. Indeed, their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is also improving strongly in this key stage, as it is in Key Stage 2.  This good progress continues from Year 3 to Year 6 and, although standards are broadly

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The achievement of pupils is good

average by the end of Year 6, they are climbing rapidly, particularly in reading and writing. In both 2012 and 2013, the percentage of pupils inYear 6 making expected progress was above average in all reading, writing and in mathematics. The percentage progressing faster than expected was well above average in mathematics in 2012 and above average in reading and writing in 2013.  Inspection evidence, including lesson observations, listening to pupils read and a scrutiny of their work shows that pupils in the current Year 5 and Year 6 classes are on course to reach even higher standards by the time they leave. This continued good progress across the school demonstrates that equality of opportunity is promoted well.  Pupils enjoy reading, can be seen choosing books from the school library and they complete their reading records every day. They benefit from the good phonics teaching they receive, which has improved since the previous inspection and which enables them to approach the

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The achievement of pupils is good

pronunciation and understanding of complex vocabulary with confidence.  The school spends much time considering how to spend pupil premium funding wisely. It has been used to employ specialist support for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and has had a positive impact on their progress and attainment. For example, in Key Stage 1, there is now no gap between the performance in reading of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and others. In Key Stage 2, pupils’ attainment in reading improved by over two points and in writing it was almost one point higher. Pupils’ attainment in mathematics was also much closer to the attainment of other pupils in the school.  Most parents who returned the online questionnaire believe that their children are making good progress at the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Strong relationships, based on mutual respect between pupils and the adults who work with them, challenging questions to encourage pupils to think, opportunities for paired and group work and the reinforcement of pupils’ literacy skills across all subjects are the hallmarks of teaching across the school.  Indeed, the quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection and is now good, with examples of outstanding classroom practice. Moreover, in all lessons observed during the inspection, teaching assistants provided impressive support to those pupils experiencing difficulty and these youngsters often made important contributions to whole-class learning as a result.  In both Foundation 1 and 2, there is a good balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. Classrooms and the outdoor area are adorned with a wide range of children’s work and resources to engage them and to motivate them to want to learn. As a result, children are

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The quality of teaching is good

happy, share and get on well with each other and enjoy finding things out for themselves.  In Key Stage 1, pupils generally remain on task even when not closely supervised. In Year 1, for example, they are fascinated by the ‘five senses’ topic and squeal with excitement when they place their hands in the sealed boxes to touch a range of objects of different materials and textures.  Similarly in Key Stage 2, pupils are keen to learn and in Year 3, discuss animatedly what life must have been like aboard a Viking long ship. In Year 4, they enjoy working together to produce a radio broadcast based on themes from the Second World War.  This enjoyment in learning continues in Years 5 and 6, where pupils understand and use quite complex vocabulary, for example, ‘synonyms’, ‘phenomenally’, ‘inspirational’ and ‘creatively’ when they discuss the origins of food donated for harvest festival and when they write

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The quality of teaching is good

introductions to their biographical assignments.  In the best lessons, a Year 5 literacy lesson for example in which teaching was judged outstanding, pupils explain the meaning of ‘causal connectives’ and use them naturally and accurately to write an explanation text. In lessons such as these, pupils’ engagement in learning is total and they rise to the challenging of increasing difficult questions from the teacher, in which the word ‘why?’ abounds.  On occasions, there is too much teacher talk in the classroom and pupils are therefore not enabled to be more independent in their learning. Although work is often matched effectively to what pupils need, this matching is sometimes not sharp enough to enable them to make outstanding progress.  Marking is regular and contains accurate comments on the progress pupils are making. However, pupils are not always given enough opportunities to assess how well they and their classmates

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The quality of teaching is good

are doing, to give them an even greater awareness of how they can improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of parents who responded to Parent View are of the opinion that their children are happy and safe and that they are taught and cared for well. Pupils agree and comment, ‘Our school is awesome. The grown-ups are kind and they look after us really well. We are safe here.’ Pupils also speak highly of the eco work they do and members of the ‘Green Team’ are delighted to show visitors the science garden.  Pupils behave well and sometimes outstandingly well in lessons and around the school site. They are very proud of taking on responsible roles such as school councillors, peer mediators and playground leaders. They also speak positively of the ‘Acorn Room,’ in which staff help pupils to control their emotions. They comment that bullying is not an issue and that it is dealt with effectively by staff on the rare occasions when it occurs. They have a good understanding of the many different forms bullying can take and are also aware of the dangers of cyber-bullying and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

of how to use the internet safely.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including sport and educational visits. Pupils in Key Stage 1 enjoy the ‘singing assemblies’ and the brass band music is a joy to hear. The few pupils from minority ethnic groups are integrated well and the corridor walls have colourful displays in relation to religions and cultures which are different to those of most pupils in the school.  The school does much to celebrate the personal and academic successes of all of its pupils and to raise their self-esteem. The celebration assemblies are a highlight of the week and pupils, including their families, are delighted when they receive certificates and ‘golden leaves’ to commemorate their attainment, their progress, their attitudes to learning and their support for each other. There is no doubt that pupils at Brunswick Community Primary School feel both

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

valuable to and valued by the whole school community.  Attendance continues to improve and is now broadly average. Pupils are invariably punctual to school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff at all levels of experience and responsibility have a high regard for the committed and talented headteacher and senior leadership team which, they say, ‘Ensures a clear vision and sense of direction, leads by example and promotes teamwork at all levels. Because of this, we are a happy and motivated school.’  Indeed, the leadership has an accurate view of school performance and of how it can continue to improve. Since the previous inspection, the improvement of teaching and learning has been the major priority and pupils’ progress and attainment have accelerated as a result. Leaders recognise, however, that the journey is not and may never be over: they know, for example, that there is not yet enough outstanding teaching, that pupils can be enabled to be more independent in their learning and that subject leaders could have a sharper view of just how well their pupils are progressing.  Performance appraisal arrangements are secure and teachers believe they are fair yet rigorous

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The leadership and management are good

and that they focus strongly on pupils’ achievement.  The topic-based curriculum meets pupils’ needs, interests and aspirations well. It places considerable emphasis on enabling pupils to see the many links between different aspects of their ‘learning journey’ and ensures that they are able to acquire subject specific skills, including literacy and numeracy, appropriately.  The Primary School Sports funding is used effectively to fund the employment of coaches in a variety of activities such as gymnastics and dancing as part of the school’s work with the FORGE School Sports Partnership, led by a local specialist sports college. Pupils’ participation in games and sports is increasing and involvement in competitive sports is a strength. The school is placing emphasis on sustaining the impact of the national funding by providing skills training for staff and also by encouraging its pupils to follow sports leadership programmes.

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The leadership and management are good

 Child protection policies and practice are fully in place and meet current requirements. In addition, the school rejects discrimination in all its forms.  The local authority continues to support the school well, particularly in relation to advice on action planning, support to help the school gauge accurately how well it is doing and in the provision of detailed data on pupils’ attainment and progress.  The governance of the school:  Governors not only support the school well, they hold the leadership to account with rigour, through the regular full governing body meetings and also through the recently reorganised sub-committee structure; these now incorporate Learning and Teaching; Staffing and Finance; and Community and Facilities. As a result, members of the governing body are well informed about all aspects of the school’s performance.  Governors analyse data in relation to pupils’ achievement in both their personal and academic

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The leadership and management are good

development and also visit lessons to become more aware of the quality of teaching throughout the school. They oversee the spending of pupil premium funding and monitor closely the impact of this spending on the progress and attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. In addition, they are fully aware of performance appraisal arrangements and ensure that staff only receive financial reward if they meet their classroom targets in relation to pupils’ progress.

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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 107069 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 425748

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 440 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Councillor Ray Satur MBE Headteacher Neil Frankland Date of previous school inspection 23 February 2012 Telephone number 0114 2695315 Fax number 0114 2696081 Email address enquiries@brunswick.sheffield.sch.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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