Saracens Broadfields

School report Broadfields Primary School

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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 Outstanding 1 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 has built a strong leadership team with leaders and managers at all levels carrying out their roles efficiently. This team is well supported by an effective academy board. Consequently, teaching and achievement are good and improving.  Pupils achieve well; they make good progress to leave Year 6 with standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are slightly above average and rising.  Teaching is good. Teachers devise questions that encourage pupils to provide detailed answers. Teaching assistants support pupils well in their learning. Teachers plan several layers of challenge in lessons, which ensure pupils of all abilities are stretched and achieve well.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning which help to accelerate their progress. Behaviour in the playground and around school is impeccable.  The arrangements for keeping pupils safe are exceptionally robust. Pupils appreciate this and feel

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

very safe. Parents are very positive about school and recognise that their children feel extremely safe.  Early years provision is good. Children really enjoy their learning and concentrate well on activities. As a result, they make good progress.  Governance of the school is good. The academy board supports and challenges school leaders to improve outcomes for pupils.  Leaders provide staff with useful development points and support them to improve their teaching. Staff make the most of this guidance because they are keen to reflect on their practice.  The academy promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. Pupils consequently have a strong understanding of key British values, such as tolerance and respect.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is still a small amount of variation in the rates of progress pupils make in different year groups and different subjects.  The written feedback that teachers give is not always precise enough to ensure all pupils know exactly what to do to improve.  Teachers do not always explain key vocabulary in all subjects clearly enough. This limits pupils’ ability to be able to use new words accurately when writing or speaking.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 29 lessons or parts of lessons, five of which were conducted jointly with senior leaders. The lessons seen included the teaching of phonics (letter patterns and the sounds they represent), writing, mathematics and science. Inspectors looked carefully at the work pupils were doing during lessons, as well as work they had completed over time in their books.  The inspection team took account of the 72 responses to the online Parent View survey, as well as discussions with, and correspondence from, parents during the inspection. The team also considered the 60 questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors heard pupils read and held meetings with staff, pupils and members of the board who govern the academy.  The inspection team scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and child protection, logs of behaviour incidents, the academy’s self-evaluation and development planning, checks

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Information about this inspection

on the quality of teaching, attendance figures and information about pupils’ academic performance.

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Inspection team

Jeanie Jovanova, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Peter Lacey-Hastings Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Broadfields Primary School converted to become an academy on 1 September 2013. When its predecessor school, Broadfields Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The academy is larger than the average-sized primary school.  There is a 21-place unit for autism spectrum condition attended by pupils from four to 11 years of age.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after by the local authority, is much higher than average.  The academy serves an economically and ethnically diverse community. Over eight out of 10 pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with a wide range represented in varying proportions. More than half of pupils speak English as an additional language, with a number at the very early stages of learning English.

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Information about this school

These proportions are much higher than average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is higher than average.  Early years provision comprises three Reception classes, which all children attend full time, and one Nursery class which most children attend part time in either the morning or the afternoon, although there is an option for flexible full-time places.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve teaching so that it is outstanding and eliminate any remaining variation in the rates of progress in different year groups and different subjects by ensuring that:  the written feedback pupils get is precise so that all pupils know exactly what to do to improve their work  teachers explain key vocabulary clearly in all subjects so that pupils can use new words confidently in their writing and speaking.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have successfully established a culture of high aspiration where pupils are able to thrive. Staff, leaders and governors ensure all pupils benefit from good teaching so that they achieve well, develop outstanding attitudes and are well prepared for the future.  Middle leaders are well supported to develop their skills. They contribute effectively to improving teaching and learning in the subjects or year groups for which they are responsible. For example, middle leaders check the quality of teaching and provide helpful feedback to colleagues.  There is a robust system for setting performance targets that are closely linked to the academy’s priorities for improvement. This helps leaders identify what training and support teachers will need to improve their practice further. Staff are very positive about the development opportunities open to them.  The academy places a strong emphasis on developing teachers from the very earliest stage of their

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The leadership and management are good

careers. Those currently in the school who are still studying to become teachers or in their first or second year of teaching are especially positive about the support they have received.  Leaders are adept at identifying potential in their staff. They make sure that promotion is offered to those showing promise. Appropriate training ensures that this potential is developed.  Leaders, managers and governors are all fully committed to providing equality of opportunity so that pupils from all backgrounds and starting points have an equal chance to achieve success.  The strong focus on promoting moral values means that discrimination has no place in the academy. Pupils are adamant that no one ever makes any racist or other disparaging remarks because they respect and celebrate each other’s differences as one big global family.  Relationships are very strong throughout the school and in the unit. Built on mutual respect, pupils get on

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The leadership and management are good

with each other and with adults; parents are welcomed into the academy and staff work together for the good of pupils and their families.  The curriculum is a strength of the school. Approaching learning in a range of subjects through exciting and lively themes ensures pupils have plentiful opportunities to practise key skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics, across subjects. For example, pupils were learning about the Apollo space missions and wrote detailed newspaper accounts of the first time man walked on the moon.  Leaders use specialist teachers for certain subjects with notable results. For example, the quality of the artwork pupils produce is exceptionally high.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively to close gaps in progress and attainment for eligible pupils. Leaders and board members keep a close eye on how much progress pupils make in programmes funded by the additional monies. In this way, different elements are evaluated so that leaders know where best to

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The leadership and management are good

spend the money.  Leadership of the unit is effective. There are strong links between the autism spectrum condition resource and the mainstream school. Pupils in the unit spend as much time as possible in mainstream classes. Mainstream teachers use approaches that have proven effective in the unit to support other pupils, especially in speaking and listening.  Pupils’ backgrounds are celebrated and valued wherever possible. There are a number of world maps on display around the school, which not only link to a topic but also identify where different pupils come from. These emphasise the academy’s view of their community as a global family.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally well promoted. The academy uses its communal spaces well for displays and reminders about the values it holds and wants pupils to subscribe to. Some of these displays are interactive and pupils’ comments, for example about what they

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The leadership and management are good

would see in a perfect world, are mature and deeply thoughtful. There is a good focus on British values and on understanding how democracy works. Pupils have the opportunity to hold mock elections where they learn to appreciate the importance of the secret ballot. In this way, pupils are well prepared for secondary school, as well as for life in modern Britain.  The academy’s systems and policies for safeguarding and child protection are highly effective. The site is kept very safe and leaders ensure comprehensive checks are made on all staff and visitors. Current statutory requirements are well met.  The academy communicates well with parents and has gained their confidence. Parents hold very positive views about the school. They know their children are happy and keen to attend.  The primary physical education (PE) and sport funding is very well used. Pupils’ physical well-being is exceptionally well catered for. The quality of PE teaching is strong because the funding has paid for

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The leadership and management are good

specialists to support teachers in developing their subject knowledge. Participation rates in the wide range of clubs available are high because there is something for everyone from Frisbee to dance and football to gymnastics. Pupils are motivated by the academy’s increasing success in local competitions.  The academy board uses a range of training and development opportunities to ensure staff and leaders are supported to improve their practice. For example, it has encouraged leaders to make mutually beneficial links with a range of local schools and is fully committed to supporting staff at the start of their careers. The academy retains links with the local authority, for example by using its early years specialist adviser to support development in Nursery and Reception classes.  The governance of the school:  Governance is effective. Academy board members challenge school leaders to strive for excellence

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The leadership and management are good

because they have high aspirations. Members have a good understanding of how well the school compares to others and how its pupils perform against national averages. They know that performance management and a robust training and development programme are helping to improve the quality of teaching. Members ensure that the performance management system is used effectively to improve teaching and standards. They set the headteacher’s targets based on the sound knowledge they have of development priorities. They know that those priorities are used to set targets for other staff. There is a clear understanding that teachers must strive to meet targets, with support where necessary. It is unequivocally accepted that anyone who does not meet their targets will not be awarded a pay rise. The board is very keen to reward exceptional performance and has supported leaders to give promotions to staff who excel in their roles.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are highly respectful and extremely polite. The atmosphere in school is one of warmth and mutual respect. Relationships are strong, both in the main school and in the unit. This leads to a very positive climate for learning.  Pupils take pride in their work, the school and its resources. They have a range of positions of responsibility within the school, which they take very seriously. For example, pupils who had been tasked with looking after the science week interactive display were informative and conscientious.  In lessons, pupils are completely focused and engaged in their learning. ‘Learning is so fun, why would we do anything else in lessons?’ This is typical of the attitudes that pupils hold. Consequently, there is never any disruption to learning.  Teachers give pupils regular opportunities to discuss their learning with their peers. Pupils’ highly positive

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Behaviour

attitudes mean the pupils use these opportunities to the full. They apply their well-developed work ethic when editing their writing, resulting in work of an increasingly high standard.  Pupils follow teachers’ instructions without delay. Routines are very well established in the main school and the unit, ensuring that learning proceeds swiftly and without any time lost.  Behaviour is extremely well managed, both in the main school and in the unit. As a result, there have been no exclusions.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils are highly aware of how to stay safe in a wide range of ways, including on the internet, from strangers and in their understanding of road safety. They feel very safe in school and in the unit.  Pupils say there is no bullying because they ‘are one big family’. Nonetheless, they are fully aware of how bullying manifests itself and have absolute confidence that they can turn to adults for help, should it ever occur. The academy’s logs confirm that there have been no incidents of bullying or name-calling.  Procedures and policies for safeguarding and child protection are exceptionally robust. There is a full complement of paediatric first aiders and all training is up to date.  Leaders have worked effectively to improve attendance so that it is now close to the national average. In particular, they have significantly reduced the number of pupils who have extended periods of absence.

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Safety

 Parents are overwhelmingly positive about both behaviour and how safe their children feel. Almost all parents who gave their views, either through the online survey or in person, agreed that the academy makes sure its pupils behave very well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress because teachers plan lessons with a good level of challenge for all pupils from their different starting points. In a mathematics lesson on adding money, pupils were given increasingly higher levels of challenge as they became more familiar and confident with the topic. Work in books shows this to be the norm in mathematics teaching.  Teaching assistants are well deployed to provide extra support where needed, so that pupils make good progress in lessons.  Pupils in the unit learn well because their needs are met in a calm atmosphere. Staff have a good understanding of the tasks and resources to use so that pupils access learning effectively.  The quality of the questions teachers use to ensure pupils explain their understanding is exemplary. Adults are skilled at unlocking pupils’ ideas and prompting pupils to think deeply about their learning. This is used to very good effect in reading lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Lessons are lively and interesting and there are strong links across subjects. This enthuses pupils, especially when writing. Inspectors saw a lesson where the classroom was set up as a crime scene and pupils had to follow a number of clues to eliminate different suspects. This was designed to help pupils prepare for writing a report and pupils were eager to produce high quality work.  Reading lessons grab pupils’ attention. Teachers use a variety of techniques to keep lessons fresh and keep pupils engaged. In a series of lessons, pupils were given answers to potential questions about a text and had to devise the questions themselves. They found this really challenging and there were lively discussions and debates about why certain questions were more suitable than others.  There is a strong focus on being able to speak articulately. Discussions are a key part of most lessons. Pupils are very proud to be able to take part in a special programme culminating in speaking in front of a

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The quality of teaching is good

panel of examiners. They understand that this helps them improve their oracy and is great preparation for any public speaking they may undertake in the future.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly. They provide pupils with valuable written and oral feedback so that they know what they have done well. There are comments written in their books, which pupils respond to and which help their learning generally. However, these comments are not always precise enough to ensure pupils know exactly what they need to do next or how and where they can improve their work. For example, occasionally, an entire paragraph or sentence might be ticked by a teacher because it meets the success criteria, yet there is actually an error of spelling or language use within it which goes uncorrected  When explaining new vocabulary in different subjects, teachers are not consistently clear in their explanations. This sometimes leads pupils to using words in the wrong context.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well and reach standards that are just above average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2.  Pupils make swift gains in their phonic knowledge in the early years and Key Stage 1. This ensures they become keen and confident readers as they move through the school.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because teachers plan appropriate activities to meet their needs. Teaching assistants support them well in lessons to complete these activities.  Pupils in the unit achieve well because the atmosphere is calm and conducive to learning and staff use effective strategies to meet their needs.  Gaps between disadvantaged pupils and others in school are closing rapidly. This is because leaders keep a very close eye on their progress and put strategies in place to address any underperformance. The academy’s latest figures show that gaps in most year groups in most subjects have now been eradicated.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the end of Year 6, in 2014, the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others in school was over three terms in mathematics, just over two terms in reading, and just under two terms in writing. When comparing disadvantaged pupils to others nationally, the gap was just under two terms in mathematics and reading and just over one term in writing.  Pupils from different groups, including different ethnic groups, do well because leaders meet with teachers regularly to discuss the progress of all the pupils in their classes. Any pupils in danger of falling behind the high standards that the academy expects are identified and measures put in place to get them back on track.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language, including those who are at the early stages of learning English, make good progress. The ample opportunities to discuss learning with other pupils support their understanding and help them rehearse what they are going to write.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils also do well because teachers provide challenging activities for them to complete. The ‘Star Programme’, set up specifically to challenge them further, is popular and very well attended. This led to, in 2014, them making significantly higher rates of progress than average for that group.  There is some variation in the rates of progress made in different year groups or different subjects. Therefore, although the academy’s figures for 2015 indicate that Year 6 pupils are on track to do better than in 2014, achievement is not yet outstanding.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress from their starting points. As a result, the proportion leaving Reception with the skills ready to start Year 1 is rising.  Teaching is good in the Nursery and Reception classes. Teachers provide activities and resources that grab children’s interest. Staff interact effectively with children. They know when to intervene with a key question or suggestion to move learning on. Children who speak very little English when they join the school catch up quickly because their needs are well met.  Behaviour in early years is outstanding. Children’s attitudes to learning are as strong as they are in the rest of the school. Children show high levels of concentration because learning interests them. They tidy away quickly, respond to instructions promptly and are kind and considerate to each other.  Procedures for keeping children safe in the early years are robust. Children are taught to take calculated

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The early years provision is good

risks. For example, during the inspection, children were taking part in science experiments involving lids being forced off small containers by combining water and an effervescent material. Despite finding this topic extremely exciting, they understood that they had to stand at a safe distance and did so very sensibly.  Leadership of early years is good. Leaders ensure that staff take careful notes of what children do well and plan for what they need to do to improve.  Reception-aged children in the unit also make good progress and behave well.  Information about children’s academic performance shows clearly that most children make good progress and some make really rapid progress. However, it is not fine-tuned enough to check that children from all starting points are making equally rapid 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 140236 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 450377

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 657 Appropriate authority The academy board Chair Dr Ibrahim Dustagheer Headteacher Robin Archibald Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 020 8359 5430 Fax number 020 8958 8739 Email address office@broadfields.barnetmail.net 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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