Broom Leys School

Broom Leys School Broom Leys Road, Coalville, LE67 4DB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 As a result of typically good teaching pupils’ achievement is good. Regardless of their starting points, pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children get a good start to their school life in the Reception classes.  Reading is taught well, and throughout the school pupils speak enthusiastically about the books they have read.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have good support and do well. Pupils for whom the school receives additional funding, also make good progress.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are good. They are proud of their school and agree that members of staff keep them safe.  Competitive sport and physical exercise is promoted very well.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed effectively through a wide range of activities and visits.  The school is well led and managed by the headteacher. Together with other leaders he has

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

ensured improvements to pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching.  Self-evaluation is accurate and action planning is clearly linked to the aspects of the school which need improving.  Procedures to check the quality of teaching are thorough and closely linked to a good programme of support and training for staff.  Governors provide a good balance of help and challenge, and are ambitious for continued improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A very small amount of teaching requires improvement. Expectations of the amount of written work are not always high enough.  Work is not always set at the right level to ensure pupils, especially the most able, make the very best progress they can.  Some teachers are not following the marking policy, or checking pupils have responded to the guidance have they been given.  A very small minority of parents are unhappy with aspects of the school’s work. The website is not a useful and informative resource for them to use.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching across all year groups in the school. In total, thirty teaching sessions were observed. These included lessons, the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) and intervention sessions, where pupils were receiving special support. Several of the lessons were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. A school assembly was also attended.  The inspectors spoke to senior leaders, teachers and three members of the governing body. They also spoke to a number of parents at the start of the school day. They heard some pupils read and talked to them about their reading habits. In addition, formal and informal discussions were held with pupils.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of the academy’s documents related to improvement planning, self- evaluation, performance management and professional development, the curriculum and extra-curricular

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Information about this inspection

activities, support for pupils, pupils’ progress, attendance, safeguarding and the work of the governing body. Pupils’ work was also analysed.  Account was taken of the 76 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent view) and the view of a parent who wrote to inspectors during the inspection. The questionnaires completed by 39 members of staff were also considered.

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Inspection team

Lois Furness, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Aleksander Szwagrzak Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Broom Leys is much larger than the average-sized primary school and most pupils are White British.  An above average proportion of disadvantaged pupils are known to be supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional government funding for group such as pupils in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  There is an average proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action. A well above-average proportion are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. Nine pupils have a statement or care plan.  Since the previous inspection in October 2011, there have been significant staffing changes, with almost half of the staff leaving the school for a variety of reasons including retirement, promotion and maternity or adoption leave. Last year, eight newly qualified teachers joined the team and this year there are three

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Information about this school

newly qualified teachers in post.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Broom Leys Academy converted to become an academy school on 1 November 2012. When its predecessor school, Broom Leys Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good.  The school is a member of the Forest Way Teaching School Alliance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make certain all teaching is consistently good or better by:  ensuring that all teachers follow the marking policy and give regular opportunities for pupils to respond to teachers’ marking and feedback  ensuring that work is pitched at the correct level and provides real challenge, especially for the most able pupils  teachers having higher expectations of the amount of written work pupils record.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve parents’ opinions of the school’s work by:  developing strategies to increase parental awareness of the effectiveness of the school  making the school website parent friendly, and providing on it useful and interesting information.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is steadily improving because of the determination and high expectations of the headteacher and other senior leaders which are shared and unreservedly supported by the vast majority of staff. Despite instability in staffing, senior leaders have successfully ensured that pupils’ achievement by the end of each key stage has improved from the previous year. This shows the leadership team’s capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have a good understanding of the quality of teaching because of their regular and rigorous monitoring activities. Where teaching has fallen short of what is expected, leaders have taken swift and decisive action to successfully address this. The management of staff’s performance is good. Targets set for staff, are challenging and directly linked to pupil outcomes and national standards with clear links to teachers’ pay progression.

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The leadership and management are good

 School action planning is closely linked to the detailed and accurate self-evaluation and results in appropriate objectives for future improvements being set. These include the continued raising of expectations and challenge, particularly for the most able pupils and continuing to narrow the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others. Although the gap has narrowed considerably this year, leaders know this needs to continue.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff with additional responsibilities, such as those for various subjects and the co-ordination of support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, fulfil their duties well. They have a good overview of practice in the school and have detailed plans of how to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and making sure all pupils learn as well as they can. To this end, the pastoral support worker works with pupils and parents to help resolve any problems. Additional funding such as pupil premium funding is used to ensure all pupils are able to participate in all activities on offer such as school trips, including residentials, Easter school, extra-curricular activities and sports competitions and learning to play an instrument. The funding is also used to employ additional staff to provide disadvantaged pupils with effective one to one and small group support.

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The leadership and management are good

 In partnership with the schools in the Forest Way Teaching School Alliance the curriculum has been reviewed to bring it in line with new requirements from September 2014. Staff are in the process of developing their understanding of expectations for assessment with the removal of National Curriculum levels. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Praise and rewards are used effectively to reward pupils’ efforts, boost confidence and self-esteem. Music drama and art activities alongside visits to places of worship help to support pupils’ cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary sports funding effectively extends the many opportunities pupils have to be involved in sporting activities including a greater range of after school clubs. Participation rates have risen and pupils from Years 2 to 6 are involved in a range of inter-school sports competitions with notable successes particularly in cross country and gymnastics. These opportunities have improved pupils’ well-being and are influencing pupils’ academic achievement, as seen by their improving attainment.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents’ responses to the online questionnaire show that although the majority of parents think the school is effective, a minority are unhappy with aspects of the school’s work. Senior leaders and governors recognise why there are concerns and know they have to implement strategies to restore parents’ faith in what they are doing. The website is unappealing and is not a useful resource for parents to use.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a clear understanding of their responsibilities of providing both support and challenge. They ask searching questions of school leaders about pupils’ achievement, and follow up by visits to find out for themselves how well groups of pupils are achieving. They are successful in preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.  From their visits, governors know that teaching is typically good but know there are aspects of weaker teaching evident. They agree to a teacher’s pay rise only when pupils achieve consistently well. They know about the changes to the National Curriculum and the implications of the new assessment system.  Governors manage the school budget effectively, including any extra government funding such as for primary school sports, to check that money is spent to positive effect. They know that additional funding (the pupil premium) has helped to close gaps between the attainment of eligible pupils and that of others

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The leadership and management are good

in mathematics, reading and writing.  Governors attend training to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date and ensure they fulfil their statutory duties effectively, for example those relating to safeguarding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They enjoy coming to school in this warm, welcoming and friendly environment and have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils are well equipped on arrival, have smart uniforms and take pride in their school and their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keen to learn, listen attentively in class and willingly answer questions. They are respectful of adults and each other, work well together and share their ideas effectively. Pupils welcome challenge, and accept if they are ‘struggling’ they are learning. However, at times work is not as challenging as it should be, especially for the most able pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Around the school, pupils conduct themselves well and are polite to staff and visitors. Pupils play together sociably at playtimes and lunchtimes, and pupils are keen to take responsibility for making sure that no-one is left without playmates.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is average and improving, rising from 94.6% at the time of the last inspection to 95.9% in 2014. Pupils say they know the importance of attending regularly and punctuality is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. All procedures for ensuring pupils’ health, safety and well-being, which is at the heart of the school’s work, are securely in place. Behaviour incidents are meticulously recorded, actions put in place and outcomes carefully monitored. Training has been provided for staff in behaviour management resulting in the number of exclusions declining rapidly over the last two years. The pastoral support worker effectively supports the minority of pupils who need to modify their behaviour or who may have low self-esteem.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe and have a good awareness of different forms of bullying including physical, mental and cyber bullying. They know it is unkind to call people names. Pupils have a good understanding of risk, and know they should not give personal information, such as names and addresses to strangers or when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parental responses to the online questionnaire show that a minority of parents have concerns about behaviour and bullying. When questioned, pupils say that the behaviour of most pupils is ‘typically good’. A small number of pupils spoke to inspectors about instances of bullying they had experienced at school, but most pupils who spoke to inspectors confirmed that bullying was rare and that adults dealt with it well. Very little misbehaviour was observed during the inspection.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good across the school. There is a strong focus on extending pupils’ speaking skills. In lessons pupils were frequently asked to share ideas and work in pairs which effectively supported their social skills of listening to others and respecting others’ views. Classrooms and areas around school are attractive and tidy with vibrant displays of pupils’ work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are generally eager to learn and respond to tasks which are challenging. For example, Year 6 pupils enjoyed the opportunity to improve their vocabulary by using a thesaurus or dictionary to introduce new vocabulary to their descriptions of different characters.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants work well together and ask pupils searching questions to see how much they have understood. Practical resources, particularly in mathematics are used well to enable them to experience things for themselves. Year 2 pupils made swift progress in their understanding of place value as they used ‘tailored resources’ to explore the value of different digits in a number.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Reading is taught effectively. Daily sessions are carefully structured and well-paced. Interesting activities help pupils to focus on the sounds of letters and groups of letters. This helps to develop both reading and writing skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The provision for pupils who are identified as in need of additional support due to falling behind, or with gaps in their learning, is a strength of teaching. A well-orchestrated system of additional support is rigorously implemented by teachers and teaching assistants and monitored carefully by leaders. The good quality of this teaching is one of the main reasons why pupils with disabilities and special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 On occasions, the pace of learning slows especially that of the most able pupils. In one lesson when these pupils were asked about how they found their work their response was, ‘It is too easy and is not challenging.’ Also not all teachers have high enough expectations of the amount of pupils’ written work thereby limiting pupils from learning from their mistakes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark work frequently but the quality of feedback varies and not all teachers consistently give pupils details of how to improve their work. Also pupils are not always given opportunities to use or apply the good advice given and so make the best possible progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment is rising throughout the school in reading, writing and mathematics and pupils’ progress has accelerated over the last year as a result of improved teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2013 attainment at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was average which represents good progress from pupils’ well below average skills on entry to Year 1. In 2014 attainment was similar.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at the end of Year 6 in 2013 was average in writing but well below average in reading and mathematics. However attainment has improved rapidly this year and in 2014 an increased proportion of pupils attained the expected level in all three subjects. Progress over the last year of the Year 6 pupils was rapid and the overall results represent good progress from pupils’ very low starting points on entry to Year 3. The results showed better achievement than in 2013, when overall progress was significantly below average. Year 6 pupils in 2014 were well prepared for their next stage of education.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The results of the Year 1 check on pupils’ skills in linking letters and sounds (phonics) show standards in 2013 were above the national average. This year more pupils have achieved the expected standards. Progress in reading throughout the school is strong. Pupils in all year groups now have good phonic skills and are able to read words accurately. This is now being reflected in pupils’ written work as pupils use grammar, spelling and punctuation more accurately. The scrutiny of work of pupils currently in school show that most pupils are attaining at expected levels in reading writing and mathematics. Although there is evidence of higher attainment and challenge for the most able pupils this is not consistent. Teachers plan additional activities for these pupils but the activities are not always hard enough.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There is evidence of good achievement in some other subjects. For example, some high quality art and design work is evident throughout the school from work celebrating a wide range of artists to models of ‘the Alien’ who promoted much pupil discussion and writing work last term.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs all make good progress from their individual starting points, especially in reading and mathematics. This is because they receive precisely tailored support and teaching that helps them to learn well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Until this year, there was a significant gap between the attainment of pupils supported through the pupil premium funding and their classmates. In 2013, in Year 6, eligible pupils were three and a half terms behind their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics. In comparison with these pupils nationally, the difference was two and a half terms in mathematics, two terms in reading and one and a half terms in writing. Teachers have ensured that in 2014 the gap has narrowed considerably and younger eligible pupils are doing even better, especially in reading.

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The early years provision is good

 Many children enter the school in the Reception classes with skills and knowledge well below those typical for their age. As a result of good teaching, children, including disabled children and those who have special educational needs and disadvantaged children make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff work successfully to promote children’s good personal, social and emotional development. Consequently, although having only been in school a few days, children are happy, settle down well to routines, are eager to learn and enjoy school life. Behaviour is good.

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The early years provision is good

 The quality of teaching is good in this key stage and this provides a secure base for future learning throughout the rest of the school. Staff work well as a team and ask open-ended questions to encourage children to work things out for themselves and try to use their imagination. Assessments are used well to plan future learning experiences. Children have good opportunities to work and play both inside and in the extensive outdoor area. Although children have access to many resources, some of the outdoor resources are uninviting to children.

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The early years provision is good

 Good leadership of the early years ensures that achievement is good. Induction is given a high priority and supportive links are established with parents from the time that children first enter school. This has a positive impact on their learning and their personal, social and emotional development. All safeguarding policies and procedures are implemented consistently.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 138891 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 449213

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 548 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michala Worrell Headteacher Robert Prior Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01530 832234 Fax number 01530 814105 Email address cedar@broom-leys.leics.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 and 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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