Brompton-Westbrook Primary School

School report Brompton-Westbrook Primary School Kings Bastion, Brompton, Gillingham, ME7 5DQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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 Outstanding 1

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Overall effectiveness

 Leaders have established a culture of high expectations for pupils and teachers. As a result, pupils achieve well and make good progress over time.  Teaching is consistently good and some is outstanding. Teachers and teaching assistants match activities well to pupils’ individual needs.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through a rich and varied curriculum.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is outstanding. This is because effective teaching develops children’s skills and understanding effectively and rapidly.  The board of trustees has a secure understanding of how well the academy is doing and what still needs to be done for it to improve further.  Pupils behave well and are respectful and caring towards each other and adults. The school community works hard to welcome new pupils and to help them to settle in quickly.  Current procedures for keeping pupils safe and

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Overall effectiveness

managing their behaviour are good. As a result, they feel well cared for.  Pupils are given high quality feedback about how well they are doing and how they can improve. This is helping pupils to make good progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Trustees do not have processes in place to show how they will monitor the progress the academy is making.  Although good overall, pupils’ progress varies. In particular, pupils do not make the same rate of progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 as they do in reading and writing.  Leaders are not using assessment information effectively enough to identify the progress being made by all groups of pupils, particularly those known to be eligible for free school meals, who sometimes make slower progress than their peers.  Pupils sometimes produce high quality work on whiteboards which shows good progress, but this is not always recorded in their books.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 16 lessons, five of which were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  A range of the academy’s documentation was scrutinised, including safeguarding procedures, records of attendance and behavioural incidents, information about pupils’ achievement, the school’s own checks on how well it is doing and records of performance management of staff.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, two groups of pupils and members of the board of trustees. Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons and at breaktimes. Inspectors heard some pupils read.  Inspectors reviewed 64 parental responses from Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and nine paper versions of this questionnaire. They also considered the views of staff, including those expressed in 35 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspection was conducted during a creative writing week based on an international theme.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out in response to a complaint made to Ofsted which raised serious concerns. The complaint was deemed to be a qualifying complaint and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector decided that an unannounced inspection of the academy should take place to follow up the whole-academy issues that were raised. Inspectors sought to establish whether:  safeguarding procedures are adequate, including the response to pupils presenting challenging behaviour  suitable adjustments are made to behaviour management procedures according to the pupils’ needs and disabilities  staff are suitably trained and able to seek advice and support when required  leaders and the governing body are effective in monitoring and evaluating policy and practice for behaviour management and safeguarding within the academy.  Inspectors were aware during this inspection that allegations of a child protection nature had been

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Information about this inspection

investigated recently by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, the school’s arrangements for ensuring that all pupils are kept safe were considered alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Inspection team

Lisa Moore, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a primary academy with a Nursery, situated close to Brompton Barracks, the base for the Royal Engineers. It is larger than most primary schools. The Nursery is full time but children attend part time.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils in local authority care, those known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils from service families) is higher than average.  The proportion of disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs is above average.  The academy manages a Sure Start children’s centre. This was not part of this inspection.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Most pupils are of White British origin with a slightly lower than average proportion from minority ethnic backgrounds.  A much higher proportion of pupils join the academy at times other than in the Nursery or Reception

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Information about this school

class. Approximately 40% of pupils join the academy at different times of the year. Approximately one third of pupils are from armed forces families.  On 1 October 2014 the school became an academy. When the predecessor school, also called Brompton- Westbrook Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted in November 2012, it was judged to be good.  The academy’s board of trustees was formed on 1 October 2014 and replaced the school’s governing body.  The headteacher was promoted to the post of acting executive headteacher in June 2013. She is a local leader of education who is currently providing support to Byron Primary School. At the same time, the assistant headteacher was promoted to acting head of school.  Significant building work is in progress at the academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress further, particularly for those eligible for free school meals by ensuring:  systems for collecting and analysing information about pupils’ progress are used effectively to identify and address underachievement quickly  work showing pupils making good progress is recorded in books so that a comprehensive record is kept of the progress pupils are making over time  pupils in Key Stage 2 make the same rate of progress in mathematics as they do in reading and writing.  Ensure the board of trustees has plans in place to check and measure the progress the academy is making.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders, under the committed leadership of the acting executive headteacher, have established a culture of high expectations and aspirations for pupils and staff. They lead by example, modelling good practice in their own work.  Leaders view the academy as playing a key role in pulling together a community where families frequently move in and out of the area. Leaders are clear that the academy should be a place of stability and support for its pupils and their families.  High quality and carefully tailored training ensures that staff continually develop their skills. This has enabled Brompton-Westbrook to provide support to three other local schools in recent years, using a range of staff expertise in addition to those of the acting executive headteacher.  The academy’s own checks on how well it is doing are accurate and link well to its action plan in order to address areas requiring further improvement. Targets for pupils’ achievement, including those for specific

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The leadership and management are good

groups, are challenging. This demonstrates the academy’s belief in providing equal opportunities for all pupils and tackling discrimination.  Senior leaders have recently introduced a new system for collecting and tracking information about pupils’ achievement. Leaders are not using this system effectively enough to pinpoint where pupils are underachieving, particularly those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Leaders’ checks on teachers’ performance are regular, demanding and accurate. Teachers receive good quality feedback about how to improve. Leaders ensure that improvements are made quickly and that only good performance is rewarded. Teachers are held to account rigorously for pupils’ progress.  Middle leaders are an effective team. Their weekly meetings with class teachers enable them to check the progress pupils are making and to provide appropriate support. They work together to monitor teaching in

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The leadership and management are good

a variety of ways, for example through lesson observations and looking at pupils’ books. They coordinate their findings carefully to plan effective improvements.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the academy. This is achieved through positive relationships, celebrations of success, sporting and extra-curricular activities, the range of subjects taught and educational visits. For example, during the inspection, pupils in Year 2 wrote with enthusiasm and knowledge as they designed brochures to encourage people to visit Nepal. Visits to places of worship representing a range of faiths help to prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain.  The academy’s curriculum is broad and balanced. It is organised into topics and ensures all pupils have an opportunity to learn in a wide range of subjects, in interesting ways. Inspectors saw pupils working together enthusiastically to perform a Mexican hat dance, while others wrote detailed recipes for Mexican

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The leadership and management are good

food they would be making the following day.  Arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet requirements, including for the recruitment of staff and the protection of vulnerable pupils.  The primary sports funding is used effectively. Pupils’ participation in competitive sport has increased and pupils benefit from swimming lessons and involvement in a wider range of sports.  The governance of the school:  Trustees are passionate about the academy’s role in serving the surrounding community and its particular needs. Trustees provide effective support and challenge for senior leaders. They have a good understanding of the strengths of the academy and its priorities for improvement. However, the academy’s improvement plans do not show how trustees will check and measure success. Trustees have a clear understanding about their responsibilities for safeguarding. They are fully involved in reviewing policies and receive detailed reports from senior leaders about how these are being used in

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The leadership and management are good

practice.  Trustees know how well pupils are achieving compared to pupils in other schools because they have a good understanding of the regular, detailed information they receive about pupils’ progress. They have an accurate view about the quality of teaching and ensure that only good performance by staff is rewarded. They set challenging targets for the acting executive headteacher. Trustees know how the pupil premium funding is being spent and track the good impact it is having, as well as that of sports funding.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and there are few disruptions to classes. Pupils show excitement and determination to learn, and are proud of their achievements.  Pupils move around the academy sensibly and play at breaktimes with care and consideration for each other. Several pupils who spoke to inspectors said they valued the help of ‘peer mediators’ to resolve disagreements with friends. Pupils show respect for their classmates and for adults in the academy.  Pupils say the staff care about them and will give them help whenever they need it. Relationships between pupils and staff are warm and supportive.  Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour effectively, including some that is challenging. The consistent use of the green, amber and red warning system means pupils have a good understanding of how they are expected to behave.  Pupils enjoy taking part in sports activities and clubs. They value the academy’s reward system,

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Behaviour

particularly the opportunity to receive recognition in the weekly celebration assembly.  Occasionally, pupils lose concentration when they take too long to move from one activity or teaching group to another.  Attendance has improved and is now in line with national figures. This is a result of effective support given to parents and pupils by the family liaison officer.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Staff receive good quality training and know what to do if they have concerns about safeguarding issues.  Leaders ensure that the necessary policies to keep pupils safe are in place and monitored effectively. Child protection practices are particularly effective because leaders work closely with external agencies and professionals to support more vulnerable pupils.  Pupils know how to stay safe, including the use of electronic communication. They know what to do if they encounter cyber bullying and how to stay safe online. This is a result of valuable information they receive in assemblies and from visiting speakers.  Pupils say bullying is rare. They say that when it does occur it is dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. Positive responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View and conversations with parents confirm that parents agree their children are safe at school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Effective training for teachers and an insistence on high expectations mean that teaching is consistently good overall. Some teaching is outstanding, particularly in Year 6 and in the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, over time, pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers use questioning effectively to check the progress pupils are making and to deepen pupils’ understanding.  Pupils receive frequent, high quality marking and feedback from their teachers. As a result, pupils know what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. Pupils frequently respond to their teachers’ comments to improve future work. Pupils who spoke to inspectors said how much they value this guidance.  Teachers know their pupils well. They use accurate assessment information effectively to plan lessons which provide the right level of challenge for pupils of differing abilities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, valuable teaching time is lost and pupils lose concentration when they move on to new tasks or to a different teaching group. This results in them making slower progress than they should.  Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning. They provide effective support without doing the work for pupils.  Sometimes pupils produce work on whiteboards that is of high quality and shows good progress. However, this work is not always recorded in pupils’ books and so the evidence of this progress is lost.  Homework is set regularly and makes a good contribution to pupils’ progress because it is closely linked to what pupils learn in lessons.

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is good

 Overall, pupils make good progress from their starting points. In Key Stage 2, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is broadly average. Pupils’ progress in mathematics is slower than in reading or writing.  In Key Stage 1, pupils make good progress and attain standards that are above average, particularly in writing.  Pupils’ early reading skills are developed effectively through regular and specific teaching. Pupils read enthusiastically, widely and frequently. Pupils told inspectors they enjoyed reading.  More-able pupils make good progress. They are often set more difficult work which enables them to reach higher levels. These pupils told inspectors they frequently found work difficult but liked being challenged.  Current assessment information shows Year 6 pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding are on average three terms behind other pupils in the academy in reading, writing and mathematics and

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is good

three terms behind other pupils when compared to national assessment information for 2014. Leaders are using this funding in varied and imaginative ways to support pupils effectively and as a result these gaps are closing.  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals sometimes do not make as much progress as their classmates. However, pupils from service families achieve as well as, and often better than, their peers. This is because the academy quickly and accurately assesses their abilities and provides effective support to pupils joining the academy part way through the year.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates, although their starting points are often a lot lower. This is because their needs are identified promptly and effective support is provided.  Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, including those who speak English as an additional language,

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is outstanding

 This aspect of the academy’s provision is more effective than other parts of the academy because all groups of children make outstanding progress from their different starting points. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development is well above national figures.  Leaders have clear priorities and high expectations for every child. Leaders ensure that there is effective communication between all the adults who work in early years so that everyone knows how well children are doing and what their next steps should be.  Adults constantly model and reinforce good behaviour and as a result children listen attentively, respond quickly to teachers’ instructions and work cooperatively together. Staff ensure that appropriate practices are in place to keep children safe.  Adults and children communicate frequently and effectively. Consequently, children’s understanding is constantly checked and developed.

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is outstanding

 Teachers plan interesting activities that are closely matched to children’s interests and abilities. All children are excited about learning letters and numbers. Children are given lots of opportunities to write about a variety of topics. They talk confidently and articulately about their learning. For example, in one session all the children talked and wrote about the animals that represent the Chinese calendar. As result of this outstanding teaching, children are well prepared to start Year 1.

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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 141467 Local authority Medway Inspection number 455708

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 374 Appropriate authority The Board of Trustees Chair David Bragger Acting Executive Headteacher Jane Heyes Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01634844152 Fax number 01634831762 Email address office@bromptonwestbrook.medway.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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