Broadoak School

Broadoak School Warburton Lane, Partington, Manchester, M31 4BU

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The head of school and the Executive Principal have a clear determination to ensure the school provides the best possible education for its students. This determination is shared and strongly supported by other members of staff.  Governance is very strong and provides highly effective challenge and support to school leaders.  The school works very well in partnership with the multi-academy trust. The trust has ensured that leadership is good and showing increasing effectiveness.  Middle leaders drive achievement and improvement in their subject areas. The systems for holding them to account are strong.  Despite some disappointing results in 2014, achievement is rapidly improving. Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged students and others are closing.  The systems to ensure that behaviour is good are strong and work effectively. Students recognise the improvement in behaviour over time.  Students are safe in school.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching helps students learn well. Inspectors saw some outstanding practice and no inadequate practice.  Leaders have an accurate view of the effectiveness of teaching and use this to provide comprehensive and regular training for teachers. Teaching is good and continually getting better.  Students are known as individuals. This knowledge is used to provide effective support including to those students with special educational needs.  Students see the school as a family; they are proud of it and get on well together.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching leads to the highest possible achievement. Too few students make very rapid progress particularly in mathematics and the most able sometimes do less well than similar students nationally.  Students do not always put enough effort into being neat in their work or ensuring that their spelling is correct. This is not challenged consistently by teachers’ marking.  Teachers’ questioning does not consistently maximise students’ learning.  The impact of leadership sometimes varies.  Parents’ views are not sought actively enough in support of their children’s education and the development of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of subjects at both key stages. Three lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders. Inspectors attended three registration periods. They examined samples of students’ work and students’ exercise books in lessons.  It was not possible to observe teaching and learning for most Year 11 students during this inspection because the inspection took place during the GCSE examination period.  The conduct of students was observed at the start and end of school, and at other times including at break and lunchtime.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, middle leaders, teachers and teaching assistants. They met formally with 24 students in three groups and talked informally with others in lessons and around the school.  Documents were examined including the school’s judgements on how well it is doing, its improvement plan, records about students’ behaviour and safety, information about the work of the governing body and

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Information about this inspection

data relating to students’ achievement and attendance.  Meetings were held with a group of three governors including the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors reviewed the 11 responses to Ofsted’s on-line questionnaire (Parent View) together with the results of a survey recently completed by parents of Year 7 students. Questionnaire returns from 25 members of staff were also examined.

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Inspection team

David Selby, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged students, those who are supported by pupil premium funding, is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding to support those students known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of students who are disabled or have special educational needs is well above average.  The proportion of students from minority ethnic heritages is below average.  The proportion of students who join or leave the academy at times other than the start of Year 7 or the end of Year 11 is well above average.  The school does not currently use alternative providers to give off-site learning opportunities for students.  The school works with other academies in the multi-academy trust to support improvement in the school and across the trust. It shares provision for some vocational courses with the other academies.

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Information about this school

 The school did not meet the government’s current floor standard in 2014. This is the minimum expectation for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.  Broadoak School converted to become an academy school on 1 May 2012. When its predecessor school, also called Broadoak School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall. The school is an academy in the Dean Trust. This is a multi-academy trust with academies in Trafford and Knowsley.  The Executive Principal is a National Leader of Education.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop and share the existing effective teaching practice so that more is outstanding and to ensure that: - more students exceed the nationally expected rates of progress in all subjects and, particularly, mathematics  the most able make the fastest possible progress through provision of additional challenge - teachers’ questioning supports students to develop their learning through confident use of their speaking and listening skills - marking challenges students to be neat and pay close attention to their spelling, and so be as proud as possible of their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the highly effective leadership seen in many aspects of the school’s work is further embedded by all leaders.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Better engage with parents to seek and harness their views in support of their children’s education and to contribute to the school’s development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The head of school and Executive Principal work closely together to make sure that the school provides students with the best possible education. They have an absolute determination that this will happen. They are well supported by others including the wider staff team, governors and multi-academy trust leaders.  There are frequent examples of very effective leadership in the school; however, some leaders are still developing their skills and the impact of leadership, while still good overall, varies.  Leaders have high expectations of themselves, other staff and students. It does not matter what a students’ starting point might be: they are expected to do as well as they can in their learning and behaviour. Pastoral leaders and other members of staff know the students very well and use this information to help students do their best. The school’s determination for all to succeed indicates its

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The leadership and management are good

commitment to giving fair and equal opportunities for all.  Leaders have good information about the school’s performance. The systems for analysing this are coordinated by the multi-academy trust for all its schools. Leaders use the information provided to understand how well the school is doing, what they need to do to make it even better and to challenge under-performance. The overall school’s record of its own effectiveness links to the school improvement planning. While this record is over-generous in parts and the plan lacks some helpful information, both are underpinned by rigorously recorded evaluations and linked to detailed action plans. These guide leaders in improving the school.  Subject leaders are held to account for the performance of their subject areas. This scrutiny is increasing and has led to highly effective practice which, in turn, is ensuring students achieve well.  The system to ensure that teachers have suitable targets for their work is demanding and responds to the

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The leadership and management are good

school’s priorities. For example, teachers are expected to demonstrate that their students exceed the nationally expected rates of progress over this school year.  The subjects offered are well matched to the needs and interests of students. Senior leaders ensure that the qualifications students gain give a wide range of opportunities when they leave the school. This, together with the well-targeted careers information and guidance offered, mean that students are able to successfully move on in their education when they leave. The proportion of students who leave without going on to a useful next stage has dropped markedly.  The lessons in personal, social and health education in Key Stage 3 and for citizenship and religious education in Key Stage 4 mean that students learn about issues such as how to keep themselves safe, why it is important to value other people and about how democracy works. This prepares them well for

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The leadership and management are good

life in modern Britain. The school provides good opportunities for students to develop their spiritual, moral social and cultural skills. Inspectors saw Key Stage 3 students practising in the school’s steel band to get ready for the school’s 50 th anniversary celebrations later this term.  The multi-academy trust works effectively with the school to provide training, a coordinated approach to aspects such as personnel matters and the use of data, and continuing challenge and support. In return, school leaders work with colleagues in the trust’s other academies in, for example, improving teaching. In addition, there is well-organised joint provision for vocational subjects at Key Stage 4.  School leaders recognise the importance of encouraging parents to play a full part in the life of the school. However, this is not as well developed as possible. A very small number of parents responded to Ofsted’s

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The leadership and management are good

online inspection survey by the end of the inspection. Those who did confirmed the very positive views expressed to the school by parents of Year 7 students earlier this school year.  The school has detailed arrangements to ensure that students are properly safeguarded. These work well and meet statutory requirements.  The governance of the school: - The governing body provides robust challenge and effective support to school leaders. Governors are very well informed and can therefore ask finely detailed questions to better understand the school’s effectiveness. The governing body is well organised with individual governors having oversight of important aspects of the school’s work. - Governors are aware of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching and leadership and, where necessary, take action to ensure that these are good enough. They play an effective role in the school’s system for ensuring that teachers only receive a pay increase when this is justified.

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The leadership and management are good

- A governor has responsibility for checking that the school’s effective use of the additional pupil premium continues and for sharing this information with other governors. Governors ensure that all financial resources are well spent.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good.  There are firm systems to help students to behave well. These are used consistently by members of staff. Students say that behaviour has improved over time.  Students work well in lessons. They know what is expected and follow teachers’ instructions. School leaders have introduced a system to greet students each morning and check that they have the equipment they need for lessons; this helps to ensure that learning time is not wasted later on.  While students typically do their best in lessons, they do not always show the same commitment to the presentation of their written work. Students often do not try hard enough to be neat or to spell words correctly.  The atmosphere in the school is generally calm and harmonious. Levels of staff supervision while students are moving around the school and in their social time are high.  Relationships between staff and students, and between students, are good.

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Behaviour

 Students are friendly and polite when talking to visitors. Many of those who talked to inspectors about their school did so with pride. A student in Year 10 commented that there is a ‘real sense of family in this school’.  Students look after the school buildings well; the site is very nearly litter free. There are high standards of school uniform around the school and in physical education lessons. If students are missing an item of uniform there are sensible arrangements to make sure this is resolved.  The students who spoke to inspectors said that there are occasional instances of poor behaviour such as bullying or the use of racist or homophobic language but these are quickly and firmly dealt with by staff. Students are taught how to keep themselves safe online and how to avoid cyber-bullying. While recorded incidents of poor behaviour have generally fallen over time, they have recently increased slightly. This

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Behaviour

follows a further increase in the standards expected.  Students’ attendance has increased and continues to do so. It is now around the national average.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good.  No incidents or situations that could indicate that students are unsafe were seen by inspectors around the school or during lessons. There are buildings on the school site which are currently not used. These are secure and avoided by students. The school site is secure.  The systems for ensuring students are safe are thorough. Risk assessments for off-site visits and of potentially hazardous activities and situations are in place.  Students say they feel safe in school and the responses received from parents through the Ofsted questionnaire and the school’s own survey support this view. If students have any problems or concerns they know who can help them in school.  Members of staff are given the information and training they need to ensure they know what they need to do to keep students safe. Members of staff’s good knowledge of students and the effective communication

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Safety

systems in school mean that they put their good awareness into practice. There is very rapid follow up to any concerns about students’ welfare and, where needed, external partners such as the local authority or the police are involved.  While the school’s website holds the basic information needed about the school’s approach to keeping students safe, this information is not as easily accessible as it could be to students or parents.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching leads to good achievement. Effective training for teachers contributes to the continuing improvement in teaching.  Inspectors saw examples of teaching leading to very rapid learning. For example, a Year 9 religious education class on euthanasia challenged students to think deeply about complicated moral questions. This led to the students being fully engaged and showing real determination to develop their understanding. Inspectors saw no examples of inadequate practice in lessons.  Senior and middle leaders have a systematic programme to observe teaching. This indicates that teaching over time is good. Joint observations with inspectors confirmed that senior leaders’ judgments matched those of inspectors.  While there is some highly effective teaching in the school, the proportion of this is too small to consistently lead to very rapid progress. Too few students exceed the nationally expected rates of

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The quality of teaching is good

progress, particularly in mathematics. In some lessons, there is insufficient challenge for the most able. Teachers do not always use their questioning in lessons to encourage all students to develop their speaking and listening skills and so support further learning.  A new approach to marking students’ work has been introduced this year as a pilot. While teachers are following this, it is not evident that their efforts have had sufficient impact on students’ learning. For example, untidy work is too frequently left unchallenged and good spelling is not always encouraged.  Teachers make regular formal assessments of students’ progress. These provide detailed information which is then used to plan additional teaching. For example, in after-school and Saturday study sessions for Year 11 students. Students say that these sessions have helped them to know more and be more confident in their examinations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is carefully planned to ensure that Key Stage 3 students who need to catch up with literacy or mathematical skills are given support in additional classes. This had led to very rapid gains in students’ reading ages. Reading has been further encouraged by recent improvement to the school library. There is more frequent use of the library by students, particularly after school.  Teaching assistants are effective and make a very positive contribution to the teaching of students with special educational needs. An inspector saw a teaching assistant working very effectively with a Year 9 student: skilfully modelling the way to answer a mathematics question and then encouraging the student to work out further questions with increasing independence.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students enter the school with attainment which is generally well below the national average and was particularly low for the students in Year 11 in 2014. The proportion of students gaining five good GCSE grades by the end of Year 11 was also well below average in 2013 and 2014. Some other measures of the standards reached by students when they leave the school were closer to those seen nationally in the same period. The school’s own data, confirmed by inspection activity, provide convincing evidence that Year 11 will do better in 2015. School leaders ensure that all internal achievement data are carefully checked within the school and against those from other schools.  School leaders have ensured that there has been frequent assessment and additional teaching to ensure that students currently in Year 11 are on track to meet their challenging targets. There is convincing evidence that the progress of students is much more rapid than it was for Year 11 in 2014. This confirms

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The achievement of pupils is good

the improvement since the most recently published results for Year 11 students in 2014.  Inspectors’ observation of teaching and learning confirm that students in Years 7 to 10 are making good progress and that this is sometimes even faster. The progress arising from lessons is further confirmed by the developing knowledge and understanding seen in students’ books.  In 2014, the rate of progress of Year 11 students in English was above the national average. However, it was well below average for mathematics. The overall proportion of students making and exceeding expected progress in English and mathematics were below national expectations. However, the proportions of lower and middle attaining students making expected progress at least matched the rates of progress of similar students elsewhere. In addition, the proportion of lower attaining students exceeding the nationally expected rates of progress in English was greater than seen nationally for similar

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The achievement of pupils is good

students. The much smaller group of higher attaining students did less well than their peers.  The progress of students in Key Stage 3 in English and mathematics is accelerating and is at least in line with demanding subject achievement targets set in comparison with other schools.  Some students in Year 11 in 2014 were first entered for GCSE mathematics at the end of Year 10. National changes meant that the school’s previous approach of using multiple entries to maximise students’ achievement was not possible. This reduced achievement in mathematics in 2014. Early entry is no longer used in the school. The achievement of most able students in Year 11 lagged behind similar students nationally in 2014. The much stronger achievement of similar students this year is illustrated by their success in the triple science GCSE course where, on average, students have already achieved more than others elsewhere in biology and are on track to do similarly well in chemistry and physics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students with special educational needs are very well supported and typically make good progress in line with their academic targets. They also develop their confidence and self-esteem.  In 2014, students in Year 11 without special educational needs made much faster progress than similar students nationally. The high proportion of students with special educational needs who made slower progress when compared to others reduced the overall average progress of students. This average progress for all students was still faster than that seen nationally.  Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged students and others are closing. School data shows that, the overall progress of disadvantaged students is faster than that seen from similar students nationally. In 2014, on average, disadvantaged students achieved about three quarters of a GCSE grade lower than other students in the school in English and mathematics. When the attainment of disadvantaged students

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The achievement of pupils is good

is compared to non-disadvantaged students across the country in 2014, the gap in English was about one GCSE grade and in mathematics just under two grades. School evidence indicates that these gaps in attainment will be less for current students. The gaps between progress and attainment of disadvantaged students and others in the school in Key Stage 3 are much smaller.

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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 138124 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 461592

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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 Secondary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 343 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Mantel Headteacher Lee McConaghie (Head of School) Vicky Beer (Executive Principal) Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 0161 776 1977 Fax number 0161 775 4559 Email address office@broadoak.trafford.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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