Setting

Mrs Kathryn Knight Broadfield Community Primary School Sparrow Hill Rochdale Lancashire OL16 1QT

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Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 13 January 2016 I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Primary School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school. In particular, the inspection sought to establish:  whether the school’s policies and procedures are effective in keeping children safe, particularly in the early years

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Primary School

 the views of parents and pupils about safeguarding

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Primary School

 how effectively the staff manage pupils’ behaviour

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Primary School

 how well the school staff follow up pupil absence

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Primary School

 the effectiveness of school governance.

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Evidence

I scrutinised the school’s single central record (the checks made on behalf of the governing body on the suitability of adults to work with children). I examined the school’s documents relating to safeguarding and child protection. I reviewed the school’s behaviour log and records of attendance. I was accompanied by the caretaker on a tour of the school grounds, so that I could assess the security of the site. With you, I visited a number of lessons to observe the pupils at work and evaluate their attitudes to learning. Ofsted

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Evidence

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk I held meetings with you, two groups of pupils, both learning mentors, members of staff responsible for coordinating the work of the ‘early help’ team, and a group of class teachers. I held separate telephone conversations with a member of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.

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Evidence

There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, so I considered the results of the school’s most recent parent survey and spoke to several parents as they collected their children from school at the end of the day.

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Evidence

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Evidence

The school’s safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Context

Broadfield Community Primary School is much larger than average, with 409 pupils on roll. The school is located approximately one mile south-west of Rochdale town centre. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and supported by the pupil premium (extra funding provided by the government to support pupils eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority) is over one and a half times the national average. The number of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds is high, with the majority being of Pakistani heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs is above average. The proportion of pupils with an education and health care plan is in line with the national figure. Higher proportions of pupils than is the case nationally enter and leave the school at times

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Context

other than at the start or end of the school year.

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Context

The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Context

The school has a stable staff and turnover is low. Currently, three teachers are temporarily absent on maternity leave. The governing body has successfully appointed members of staff to cover the resulting vacancies.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Broadfield is an inclusive and happy place. The school is a holder of the Unicef Rights Respecting School Award. Accordingly, the values of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation are at the heart of the school’s ethos. As a result of this well-established culture, staff work together to promote pupils’ well- being and keep them safe, and strive to develop pupils’ skills and abilities to the full. Relationships between staff and pupils, and pupils and their peers are characterised by mutual respect. Evidence for the strength of these relationships can be clearly seen during periods of recreation, when pupils play well together. In class, pupils’ attitudes to their studies are strong; well-understood classroom routines ensure that transitions between activities are smooth and learning time is maximised. As a result, the school is a calm and purposeful place of learning.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Senior leaders, staff and governors place a high priority on keeping pupils safe. The single central record is detailed and includes all the relevant information on the suitability of staff. As a result, the record meets statutory requirements. Advertisements for jobs at the school highlight the school’s commitment to safeguarding. Interview panels include at least one member who has completed safer recruitment training. Prior to a successful candidate being offered a job at the school, pre-employment checks are carried out and references are collected and retained. This makes clear to applicants the importance of safeguarding in the school’s work, and their role in it, should they be appointed. The Chair of the Governing Body has designated responsibility for child protection. Safeguarding is regularly discussed at governing body meetings and, as a consequence, leaders and managers are held to account for pupils’ welfare.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Senior leaders ensure that safeguarding is one element of the induction programme for staff new to the school. All staff receive regular training in the school’s safeguarding policy, practices and procedures and are regularly updated to ensure that their knowledge is current. Members of staff spoken to during the inspection were clear about what to look for should they suspect a child is at risk of abuse and the action they would take.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Senior leaders and governors are aware of the most up-to-date guidance from the Department for Education on keeping children safe in education, and have reviewed the school’s safeguarding policy as a result. However, some elements of the guidance are missing from the policy. For example, there is no reference to protecting children and young people from forced marriage. Accordingly, the written policy does not fully reflect the school’s effective practice. When issues relating to pupils’ safety arise in school, staff keep meticulous records of their involvement and the actions they have taken. This helps school staff identify causes for concern at an early stage and reduce the possibility of escalation. The designated staff for child protection make appropriate and timely referrals to external agencies. The records of these referrals were reviewed during the inspection. They showed the meetings staff attended, the resulting

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Safeguarding arrangements

recommendations and actions taken. This enables senior leaders to monitor and manage the school’s practices to keep children safe and provide robust evidence, when required, to relevant authorities.

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Safeguarding arrangements

The day-to-day procedures to ensure the security of the school, seen during the inspection, are appropriate. The school has a perimeter fence, which secures the site. During the day, both entrances to the building are monitored by members of staff, with visitors confirming their identity before being admitted to the school. Visitors are then required to sign in and wear a badge. Leaders and governors have recently reviewed the security of the site. They have identified where fencing and gates require strengthening further and have plans in place to carry out this work.

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Safeguarding arrangements

During break- and lunchtimes, pupils are well supervised by the staff. Pupils spoken to during the inspection said that this level of supervision contributed to their feeling safe and secure.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have revised the systems for dismissing pupils safely at the end of the day. For example, in the early years, children are only allowed to leave the school with an adult known to the staff. This minimises the risk of children leaving the site unescorted, compromising their safety.

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Safeguarding arrangements

The governing body’s health and safety policy is comprehensive and meets statutory requirements. Each member of staff’s responsibilities within the policy are clarified. The school’s arrangements for first aid are identified and systems for dealing with emergency situations and the records that must be kept are made clear. Leaders and managers use the local authority’s online risk assessment system to assess the hazards associated with school activities and identify strategies to minimise them. As a result, the governing body provides a safe and healthy environment for all members of the school community and visitors who come onto the premises. Those parents spoken to during the inspection and those who responded to the school’s most recent survey unanimously agreed that staff keep their children safe. Senior leaders have ensured that safeguarding is a thread that is woven through the fabric of the curriculum, so that pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe. For

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Safeguarding arrangements

example, in the early years, the children are introduced to the underwear rule, termed ‘PANTS’. This helps the children keep safe from inappropriate behaviour and is taught in a non-threatening and fun way. Through their work in computing, Year 5 pupils have a firm grasp of how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and mobile phones. Through their study of comparative religions, pupils gain a firm understanding of the faith traditions that form the mosaic of British society. The school council enables pupils to have an active voice in informing decisions that affect them. As a consequence, the curriculum fosters the development of fundamental British values in pupils and helps protect them from harm.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Those pupils spoken with during the inspection had a clear understanding of the different forms that bullying can take. They were able to describe, with commendable clarity, why behaviour of this type is unacceptable and has no place in their rights-respecting school. Nevertheless, people in school could occasionally be unkind to one another. However, when this happens, pupils are confident that the staff, in particular the learning mentors, will sort it out.

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Safeguarding arrangements

The learning mentors play a key role in carefully monitoring pupils’ attendance and punctuality. If a pupil fails to register, parents are contacted by a member of staff to determine why the child has failed to come to school. At regular intervals, the learning mentors carefully analyse the school’s attendance data to identify those pupils whose attendance is giving cause for concern and who are in need of help and support to get them into school. The effectiveness of these strategies is evident in the school’s above-average rates of attendance and below-average rates of persistent absence.

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Safeguarding arrangements

Leaders and managers know their school community well. They have established an ‘early help’ team to provide support for families whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. One example of this support is the provision of parenting classes to help foster more positive relationships between children and their parents. The school reports that the impact of this provision is that pupils’ behaviour improves both at home and in school, and their attitudes to learning are much more positive.

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Safeguarding arrangements

The early help team is also tasked with following up safeguarding concerns. Consequently, the team plays a key role in working with families to keep children safe.

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External support

The local authority provides light-touch support for this school because pupils’ achievement is good and the school’s arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Nevertheless, senior leaders access help and support from local authority staff, as appropriate. For example, education advisers have provided training for Broadfield staff in the Prevent strategy. Furthermore, the local authority ensures that new governors receive training to help them meet their statutory obligations to keep children safe. The school’s early help team has been recognised locally for its effective work in keeping children safe and has shared its good practice with a nearby school.

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Priorities for further improvement

 School leaders and governors should ensure that the school’s safeguarding policy is revised so that it includes all the relevant information from the Department for Education’s recent guidance on keeping children safe in education.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Leaders should encourage parents and carers to complete Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, in order to inform their evaluation of how well the school is doing.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the Director of Children’s Services for Rochdale, to the Secretary of State for Education and the Chair of the Governing Body. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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