Brooke Hill Academy

Brooke Hill Academy Brooke Road, Oakham, LE15 6HQ

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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

 The headteacher, supported by the leadership team and governing body, has created a positive drive for improvement. Leaders have high expectations for the pupils and school as a whole.  The leadership and management of teaching ensure teaching is consistently good, and the school meets the needs of all groups of pupils.  The governors support the leadership team effectively. They monitor all aspects of their work and hold all staff to account. Governors know how effective teaching is and how well all pupils are doing.  Behaviour in school is good and pupils have a positive attitude to learning. The school’s work to keep the pupils safe is good.  Teaching across the school is good. Key Stage 1 pupils achieve well above the national average. In Key Stage 2 pupils make good progress, from varying starting points.  The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.  The senior leadership team track the pupils’

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress effectively. They put into place robust intervention measures to ensure any underachievement is quickly reversed.  Due to excellent routines, children settle into the early years quickly, which helps them make good progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not consistently use the marking policy to help pupils improve their work, which results in their rates of progress sometimes slowing.  There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of the diverse society in which they live.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed a wide range of learning across the whole school. In some lessons, inspection members were accompanied by the executive headteacher and head of school.  Inspectors talked to and observed pupils during break and lunch times and during their lessons.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, members of the senior leadership team and staff with other allocated responsibilities, and with a group of pupils.  Inspectors heard pupils read.  The inspection team took account of the 35 responses to the staff questionnaire.  They also took account of the 49 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View, and the 82 responses to a recent school questionnaire.  The inspection team scrutinised a range of documentation including information about the quality of teaching; the school’s self-evaluation; information regarding pupils’ progress and their attendance, and

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Information about this inspection

child protection and safeguarding documentation. The inspection team also scrutinised information relating to the use of the pupil premium funding and the primary physical education and sport funding.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Brooke Hill Academy converted to become an academy school on 1 September 2011. When its predecessor school, Brooke Hill Primary school, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be outstanding overall.  Brooke Hill Academy is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The early years is made up of a Nursery and Reception. Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are organised in two open plan areas with several mixed aged classes in each area. Year 6 are split into three separate classes.  Children in the early years initially attend part time before becoming full time after a few weeks.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils who receive support from the pupil premium, which is the additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and looked after children, is well below average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school currently supports a local primary school in terms of leadership and management and developing the quality of teaching and learning. The headteacher is the executive head of both schools.  The school runs a daily breakfast club managed by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching by ensuring that the school’s marking policy is consistently applied by all staff and, therefore allows all pupils to understand how to improve their work and so make progress even more quickly.  Improve pupils’ understanding of other religions and cultures by providing more opportunities for pupils to experience and be aware of the diverse nature of our society.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, governing body and school leadership team have ensured the school has a clear direction for improvement and is securely raising standards. This has eliminated poor teaching and as a result, raised achievement. They ensure that all safeguarding aspects are robust and so pupils, staff and parents rightly feel behaviour is good and the school is a safe and secure place to be. All safeguarding procedures meet current requirements and are effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior leadership team has an accurate picture of the school and their self-evaluation is well founded on robust monitoring of all aspects of the school. The leadership and management of teaching are good across the whole school, as the senior leadership team reacts quickly to any underperformance by staff. This links closely to the school’s total commitment to equality of opportunity for all and in tackling any form of discrimination. This is shown by the good achievement of the different groups within the school, including disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders have a good understanding of their areas of responsibility. They make sure teachers use information on pupils’ progress to plan work at the right level for pupils and they check the quality of teaching in their subject areas. They take an active part in whole-school development and in managing teachers’ performance. These activities help the school to make rapid and secure improvements and confirm that the school has a good capacity to improve further.

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The leadership and management are good

 Tracking, monitoring and assessment systems are all robust, which means that staff have an accurate picture of pupils’ progress. This means that staff can plan accurately for their lessons and so ensure all pupils make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders use pupil premium funding successfully to support disadvantaged pupils. They ensure they are treated equally and can and do participate in all aspects of the school’s life. The breakfast club is used to ensure that where necessary disadvantaged pupils have a good start to the day. One-to-one support and small-group work in lessons, with specially trained teaching assistants, help to make sure these pupils make good progress from their different starting points.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary physical education and sport premium is used effectively to provide specialist teaching in a range of activities such as archery, judo, gymnastics and other sports. These specialists also help to train the staff and so raise the quality of sports teaching across the school. This has resulted in at least nine in ten pupils in each year group taking up lunch time and after-school sporting clubs. Pupils also benefit from the use of the partner school’s swimming pool.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior leadership team is developing the range of subjects effectively to ensure it meets the needs of all pupils. As the pupils happily comment, ‘We love our lessons because the themes the teachers use are fun and interesting.’ The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. However, although the pupils know about other religions and cultures, opportunities to fully understand the diverse society in which they live are limited.

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The leadership and management are good

 Other British values are effectively developed as the whole school culture is focused on tolerance, understanding, courtesy, mutual respect and good manners. This was seen during the whole inspection with pupils being very polite to each other and to adults. Pupils regularly visit relevant places such as the local law courts, council offices and have hold their own ‘trials’, debates and elections.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides support to another local school. This partnership, although currently a soft federation, has been successful for Brooke Hill which has benefited from a greater diversity of staff skills and a sharing of resources.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parental responses to the online questionnaire were positive and parents feel the school is well led and managed. They recognise the positive aspects of the links with another school and how this supports the development of their own children.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body supports the senior leadership team robustly. They challenge any underperformance, which can be clearly demonstrated by their reaction to the dip in the 2014 national assessment results. The governing body immediately set up a sub-committee to investigate the drop in standards, and alongside the senior leadership team initiated a series of measures to ensure any further underachievement was rectified. They monitor all aspects of the school, which means they know how the pupils compare to their peers nationally and the quality of teaching across the school. Performance management systems are used to reward good or better performance and to tackle any underperformance. Governors carry out their statutory duties effectively and so all safeguarding aspects meet current requirements. Governors monitor all financial aspects and ensure that all money spent has

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. From the moment the children enter the early years provision they settle into learning and enjoy all they do. They gain positive attitudes to learning and carry these forward across the rest of their time in school.

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Behaviour

 All staff have high expectations of behaviour and when teaching and learning motivates them, pupils concentrate and are fully engaged in their learning. Where teaching is not so strong then very occasionally pupils wander off task.

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Behaviour

 All pupils are polite and well-mannered and have respect for each other. Throughout the inspection pupils were eager to tell the inspectors how good they felt behaviour was in school. They regularly opened doors for others and adults alike.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour logs show that behaviour across the school is improving. Pupils recognise that some pupils have difficulty at times controlling their behaviour, but also state this does not cause any issues for their learning.

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Behaviour

 Relationships between pupils and staff are very positive. Pupils want to do their best for the staff and themselves and this is clearly shown in their books and the good presentation that can be seen across the school. Attendance is above average and is testament to the pupils’ enjoyment of attending Brooke Hill.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils, staff and parents all feel that Brooke Hill is a safe place to be. The staff and senior leadership team make sure that everything possible is done to keep the pupils safe and pupils know staff will always be there for them.

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Safety

 Pupils know how to stay safe and have a good understanding of e-safety and the different types of bullying they may experience. They were able to explain to the inspectors how they can deal with these issues and were clear that they would talk to staff should anything concern them.

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Safety

 All safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and from the early years provision upwards, good welfare and health routines ensure that all pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy both in and outside of school.

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Safety

 The daily breakfast club provides a very positive start to the day for the many pupils who attend each day.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching across the school and in the early years is good. There is an increasing proportion of outstanding teaching. Teachers plan their lessons well to ensure that all groups of pupils are catered for.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The pupils’ books clearly show that, over time, good teaching has ensured good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Books also show that as pupils move through the school their level of attainment rises rapidly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All pupils spoken to knew their targets for improving their work and how to achieve them. Targets are challenging but attainable and this is especially so for the most-able pupils who are now making accelerated progress. As one pupil stated, ‘The teachers set us challenges that make us think and work hard.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers create interesting and enjoyable lessons, which engage the pupils. In a Year 6 lesson for example, pupils were studying grammatical language and structures. The teacher used the interactive white board to provide a visual stimulus of a spinning universe. Pupils created imaginative, fluent and highly descriptive stories. The level of subject language used was exceptional by both the adults and pupils alike. Good or better teaching in writing has resulted in pupils reaching above average attainment by the end of Year 6.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers assess pupils’ work constantly and use this to plan future activities. In some classes marking is used successfully to help pupils improve their work. However, this is inconsistent across the school and so pupils do not always understand how to make their work better.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading has improved and, as a result, school information shows that standards are rising across the school. Pupils enjoy reading for a range of purposes and can use a range of strategies to decode text and understand what they are reading. In a Key Stage 1 class pupils were observed reading a range of information and used phonics skills (the sounds that letters make) successfully.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ questioning enhances pupils’ learning, stretches their thinking and challenges them throughout their lessons. Teaching assistants are used creatively to help support all groups of pupils, but especially the disadvantaged and less-able pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of mathematics has improved due to the new initiatives the senior leadership team has put in place. As pupils move through year groups teachers ensure they gain a good understanding of the skills involved and are rapidly gaining mastery of the subject through Year 6.

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is good

 Due to good teaching across the school pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics as they move through Brooke Hill Academy.

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is good

 The 2014 national assessments for Year 6 showed a dip in attainment in both reading and mathematics. This was due to poor teaching earlier in their school careers, which resulted in these pupils being approximately two terms behind their peers nationally when they reached Year 6. However, due to the rapid reaction of the senior leadership team, school information on pupils’ attainment and progress confirms the school has quickly recovered from the dip and achievement is now good.

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is good

 The ability of children joining the school fluctuates. School information shows that an increasing proportion of children enter with skills that are below those expected for their ages. This is particularly so in their speech, language and communication skills. Many children also initially find it difficult to socialise with others. However, good teaching ensures that all children in the early years make good progress and are well prepared for their future learning.

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is good

 Pupils in Year 1 reached broadly average results in the phonics check in 2014. School information and national information on pupils’ progress and attainment show that by the end of Year 2 pupils attain above average results in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school uses pupil premium funding successfully and as a result, disadvantaged pupils make levels of progress similar to their classmates in school in reading, writing and mathematics. The very small number of disadvantaged pupils in the 2014 Year 6 group means that it is difficult to make comparisons between their performance and that of other pupils in the school or nationally without identifying them. However, although numbers in each year group are very small, school information clearly shows that the gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils currently in school and their peers in school have closed in all subjects.

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is good

 The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs varies across the school, but in 2014 the number of pupils was small. Leaders fully meet the needs of each of these pupils through providing one-to-one support by well-trained teaching assistants and highly focused group work in lessons. This work is then carefully monitored by the senior leadership team to ensure the achievement of these pupils constantly rises, and as a result these pupils make good progress in line with that of other pupils.

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is good

 In 2014 the most-able pupils in Year 6 did not make the progress expected of them from their Key Stage 1 results. However, the school quickly initiated a range of effective interventions which is ensuring that the most-able pupils across the school are once again making at least good progress. This accelerates rapidly in Year 6 and school data clearly indicate that current Year 6 pupils are on track to be well above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of the year.

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is good

 Through a review of a wide range of pupils’ books across the school, inspectors found that progress in reading, writing and mathematics is at least good. Pupils across all year groups and levels are currently reaching standards at or above those expected for their various age groups. However, the proportion making rapid progress is not yet high enough to make achievement outstanding.

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is good

 The leadership and management of the early years are good. As a result, the quality of teaching is consistently good, leading to children reaching good levels of development. Excellent routines and welfare arrangements ensure that all the children are safe and happy. All safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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is good

 An increasing proportion of children are joining the school with speech, language and communication difficulties. However, staff support these children effectively and they quickly overcome their difficulties. This was clearly seen during observations when staff consistently provided the children with excellent examples of how to respond verbally to a range of questions and/or comments. All staff insisted on the children using whole sentences and never accepted just one-word replies.

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is good

 The good relationships the staff build with the children help to develop positive learning attitudes and this sets them up well for their future learning and the move into Year 1. Children quickly learn to work and play together without any issues; they become confident and develop good social skills. This means their behaviour is good.

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is good

 Both the indoor and outdoor learning areas provide a wide range of learning opportunities for the children. The whole provision is well resourced and this helps the children make good progress. The early years provision is not yet outstanding, as not enough children are yet making outstanding progress. The children’s ‘learning journeys’ confirm that they are making good progress and record their achievements over time.

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is good

 Staff in the provision carefully monitor all aspects of the children’s learning and use this information to ensure future learning meets the needs of all the children.

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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 137358 Local authority Rutland Inspection number 453190

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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 312 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Keith Potts Headteacher (Executive) Sharon Milner Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01572 724214 Fax number N/A Email address office@brookehill.rutland.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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