Bromley Heath Junior School

Bromley Heath Junior School Quakers Road, Downend, Bristol, BS16 6NJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  The attainment of pupils at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics has been significantly above the national averages for a number of years.  A large proportion of pupils achieve the very highest level in mathematics. The proportion achieving at a similar level in writing is lower.  The quality of teaching is excellent and enables all groups of pupils to make very good progress from their individual starting points. The rate of progress pupils make is on a steady upwards trajectory.  The behaviour of the pupils is impeccable. They work very hard in lessons and this level of effort has a very positive impact on their learning.  Pupils say they feel very safe in school. Parents echo the view that pupils are very well cared for while in school.  The headteacher has led the school exceptionally well. Her very clear and determined leadership has secured significant improvements in the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quality of teaching and the achievement of the pupils.  The deputy headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team have ably supported the headteacher. They are involved in the rigorous checking of the progress pupils make and the effectiveness of teaching. As a result, the school tackles any underachievement promptly.  All of the staff are committed to maintaining the high standards that are seen in many aspects of the school’s work.  The governing body very effectively holds the school to account for pupils’ achievement through thorough and accurate scrutiny of all aspects of its work.  The social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness of pupils is developed very effectively. The work of the school fosters good relationships. Any form of discrimination is robustly challenged if it ever occurs.  The programme of lessons successfully prepares pupils for the move in to secondary school and their

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed learning in 12 lessons or small-group activities. Most of these sessions were jointly observed with the headteacher or other members of the senior leadership team.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils and senior leaders. The lead inspector met with the Chair of the Governing Body. He also met with a representative of the local authority.  An inspector listened to pupils from Years 3 and 6 read. Samples of pupils’ workbooks were scrutinised.  The inspectors examined a wide range of documents, including the school’s information on pupils’ recent progress. They also looked at planning and documentation about checks on teaching, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding arrangements.  The opinions of parents were taken into account through the 68 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and two letters from parents. The views of staff were considered through the 26 staff

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Information about this inspection

questionnaires returned to the inspection team.

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Inspection team

David Hogg, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school. All pupils attend full time.  The school has two classes in each of the year groups. There are no mixed-age classes.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club each day.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is lower than the national average.  The proportion of the pupils in the school receiving support funded by the pupil premium is well below that seen nationally. The pupil premium is funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  The proportion of children who are not from a White British background is lower than that seen nationally. A very small proportion of all of the pupils speak a first language other than English.  The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2014, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The headteacher was seconded in November 2014 by the local authority to support Bowsland Green Primary School until the end of the summer term. The deputy headteacher has taken on the role of leading the school in the interim.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Enable the most able pupils to attain as well at the very highest Level in writing as they do in mathematics.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has demonstrated significant improvements since the last inspection. Through the strong leadership of the headteacher, who has received very effective support from the deputy headteacher, the school is now a place where pupils’ learning is excellent. The high quality teaching they now receive challenges all groups of learners and is key is enabling them to achieve so well.  The headteacher has insisted on higher standards and all staff have responded positively to the challenge. The school has worked to support teachers to develop their skills. There is now no longer any weak or ineffectual teaching in school. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils should be achieving have risen and learning is now much more challenging.  Middle leaders are clear about their roles and rigorously monitor the work of the teachers. They are also very effective in their monitoring of the progress groups of pupils. This allows individual pupils to receive

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The leadership and management are outstanding

additional support should their progress slow. The school is totally committed to ensuring all pupils have an equal opportunity to achieve as highly as they can from their own starting points. The school uses the additional resources it receives, such as the pupil premium, to support disadvantaged pupils very effectively.  The targets teachers have to achieve are themselves challenging. Their progress against them is carefully checked and this information is used to decide whether individual teachers receive salary improvements or have opportunities for promotion. The process is rigorous and has been a key feature in helping improve the quality of teaching and tackling underachievement either by teachers or by pupils.  The local authority has provided the school with an appropriate level of support. The judgements teachers make about the quality of pupils’ work have been checked and outside experts have validated the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

teachers’ grades. The local authority has recognised the strength of the leadership team and has used the expertise to support another school locally. The headteacher is now leading another school for the remainder of this academic year. The deputy headteacher has taken over in the meantime and, because of her leadership skills, the school has continued to flourish.  The programme of lessons is broad and engages pupils in a wide range of interesting activities. It successfully develops pupils’ skills and extends their learning. The school sets ‘home-learning tasks’ to spark pupils’ interest and to help parents become involved in their children’s work. The aim of these tasks is either to consolidate keys skills, to extend pupils’ understanding, to encourage research or simply to provide opportunities for pupils to be creative. Pupils are very effectively helped to develop their awareness of, and consideration for, others. For example, pupils in Year 3 debated the benefits

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The leadership and management are outstanding

communities could derive from Fair Trade arrangements. Pupils were able to share their own ideas and listen to points raised by other pupils.  Parents have confidence in the staff and the school as a whole. They feel their children are well looked after and that they are making good progress when they are at school.  The school uses the primary school physical education and sport premium funding effectively. Additional clubs are now on offer, some of which are very popular, for example girls’ football. Professional coaches have worked alongside staff to raise their skills and confidence in teaching certain activities such as gymnastics. The school is now beginning to review the impact of this additional funding carefully to plan how it will spend the resources in the future.  The social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding of the pupils is well developed. They get along well together. All aspects of the school’s work model and foster good relationships. Pupils are encouraged to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

‘join the learning adventure’ and take an active role in school. They meet others from the local community; for example, pupils from Year 3 walked to a nearby old people’s community to share the message from their assembly. Pupils have an excellent understanding of key British values such as democracy and the rule of law. Discrimination is very rare and the school tackles it robustly should it occur.  Safeguarding and child protection arrangements meet statutory requirements. Governors check the relevant policies and procedures each year to assess whether these are robust. The school ensures pupils are very well cared for and are safe at all times when in school.  Breakfast and after-school clubs are well managed. Pupils enjoy activities and are kept safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body rigorously monitors the work of the school and holds the senior leaders to account for the progress different groups of pupils make. Governors visit the school regularly and meet with subject leaders to discuss their work. They have an excellent appreciation of the quality of teaching in the school. This they get from reports received from the headteacher and lesson ‘drop-ins’ when they are in school. Governors then balance this against information the school shares about progress pupils are currently making. Governors are confident in reviewing this information and are able to compare the achievement of the pupil against national averages. They have a very clear understanding of how this also links to targets teachers have and the salary improvement and promotion opportunities for staff. The school has shared with them when staff have needed additional support to improve their skills. The

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school’s plans to tackle any underachievement are scrutinised carefully, as are those to tackle discrimination.  The governing body checks the finances of the school, including additional funding, to decide if it uses its resources wisely. The governors make sure the pupils are well looked after in school and take on this responsibility with the utmost diligence.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding in lessons, around the school, and in breakfast and after-school clubs.  The pupils’ attitude to their work is exemplary. In each lesson, pupils have the opportunity to choose the level of difficult they tackle and invariably most pupils seek the more challenging tasks. They work well in small groups or when necessary on their own. Pupils try hard in their lessons and are keen to get on. They display a real thirst for learning.  Pupils are encouraged to take on responsibilities within school, such as playground leaders or when leading school assemblies. Members of the Young Leadership Team seek pupils’ ideas and share them with the school. The school has a large team of Year 6 monitors who perform a series of roles across the school. These include providing quiet activities for those who need them, answering the telephone and taking messages in the school office over lunchtime.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ books in all year groups are neat and their handwriting is of good quality. Pupils take pride in their work and take great care to present it well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils are very well looked after when in school. They play well together and enjoy the games and activities they can make up for themselves using resources that others could describe as rubbish. For example, during break and lunchtimes pupils made slides with chairs seats or sections of drainpipe. The older pupils organise games for the younger ones to enjoy. Good relationships make break-times very harmonious.  The school makes sure that all staff have the required checks when they are recruited. All members of staff complete child protection training to ensure they are fully aware of the responsibilities they have to keep pupils safe.  Pupils work well together and say that they all get along with each other. Acts of unkindness are very rare and pupils say bullying is unheard of. They have a good understanding of different forms of bullying.

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Safety

Pupils across the age range are very aware of e-safety and know to be careful when using social media sites or playing games online.  Attendance in school is very high and is above the national average. The school works closely with parents to maintain this level of attendance.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching has been highly effective over a number of years and pupils’ achievement has been exceptionally high. There is an expectation that pupils will achieve at a high level and they rise to the challenge their teachers provide. Teachers use the information they have about pupils to plan activities with differing levels of difficulty. Pupils then choose the activities they work on. As a result, they themselves push their understanding and extend their skills. Pupils are happy to do this as they understand that ‘it is safe to take risks and get things wrong’.  Skilful questioning by teachers allows them to check the pupils’ understanding of a key idea. By carefully reviewing the pupils’ work, they can provide the necessary support to individuals when necessary to ensure pupils make good progress in lessons.  The use of teaching assistants in class is very effective. They are confident and skilled to lead small groups

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

of pupils in activities while the teacher works with the rest of the class. This provides good support to pupils of a different of abilities within the class.  Teachers display pupils’ work in their classrooms to celebrate its high quality and as a model for others to refer to when they need ideas on how to improve their own pieces of work.  The subject knowledge of teachers in a wide range of subjects is very good, for example in French. In a Year 6 lesson, pupils were able to build on their previous learning through practising their language skills before moving on to translating an extended piece of written work. Pupils made good use of the work already in their books and the displays around the classroom. All of the pupils were completely focused and eager to learn.  Pupils’ work is well marked. The comments from teachers provide them with good guidance on how they can make it even better. The quality of this feedback is more effective in mathematics than in writing.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

Marking of pupils’ written work is effective but does not always indicate how to reach the highest levels. In mathematics, teachers’ marking very successfully shows pupils how to develop the more complex skills they need to achieve well-above average levels.

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is outstanding

 Nearly all the pupils join the nearby infant school and have skills that are well developed. The amount of progress pupils make from the beginning of Year 3 until they leave has improved over the last three years. Consequently, their attainment at the end of Year 6 over this time has risen and is significantly above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.  Scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks indicates the progress pupils have made this year is very good across the school, especially in mathematics. Pupils’ written work is a little more variable. Pupils in some year groups do not have as many opportunities to develop their skills in writing to the same degree as in others.  Pupils’ learning is challenging and the expectations of teachers for what all abilities must achieve are high. In the 2014 national tests, the proportion of pupils at the end of Year 6 achieving the higher Level 5 was

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is outstanding

significantly above the national averages for reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils achieve exceptionally well in mathematics with over 20% of the pupils gaining the very highest Level 6 grade.  Pupils from all year groups enjoy reading. Younger pupils are confident readers and can explain what is happening in their stories. By the time pupils are in Year 6, they read with fluency and good levels of intonation which brings the story to life. A small proportion of pupils achieved a Level 6 grade in their end- of-year assessments in 2014.  The school provides good support to disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Teaching assistants work very effectively with them in class and in targeted small-group activities. Consequently, the pupils’ progress is typically good, with some pupils no longer needing extra support.  The numbers of disadvantaged pupils in each year group is quite low. In 2014, there were none in Year 6.

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is outstanding

The information the school has shows that the amount of progress disadvantaged pupils in other year groups make is in line with or better than that of other pupils. The gaps between their assessments and those of other pupils in reading, writing and mathematics are closing or have closed in some areas.  The school’s work with pupils from different minority ethnic groups and those who do not speak English as their first language is effective. The support that they receive in working in small groups successfully encourages positive attitudes to learning and results in good 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 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 109028 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 449559

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 240 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Martin Cross Headteacher Faye Kitchen Date of previous school inspection 20–21 January 2010 Telephone number 01454 867110 Fax number 01454 867110 Email address school@bhjs.org.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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