Brooklands Primary School

Clumber Street, Long Eaton, Nottingham NG10 1BX

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher and her senior leadership team have set high expectations for the school and have implemented the changes needed to ensure that pupils achieve well. Consequently, standards throughout the school are improving.  The quality of teaching has improved as a result of an effective programme of professional development provided by school leaders which they evaluate at each stage of implementation.  School leaders and teachers use assessment information increasingly well to drive further improvement in pupils’ achievement. Most pupils now make good progress from their individual starting points.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they have very positive attitudes to their learning. They enjoy the challenges set by their teachers and they strive to do their best.  The curriculum provides a wide and varied range of learning opportunities within topics and themes that also develop pupils’ spiritual, moral,

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This is a good school

social and cultural understanding. There is a good choice of after-school clubs and activities.  The early years classrooms are lively and welcoming; activities are fun but have a clear focus for learning. Children in the early years enjoy a good start to their school experience and make rapid progress.  Members of the governing body have skills that enable governors to provide a good level of support and challenge to school leaders. Governors have an accurate view of the school’s performance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In a small minority of classes, some pupils’ attainment is not rising quickly enough. Recent staffing changes have led to some disruptions to teaching. As a result, the learning of some pupils has been inconsistent.  The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school is above average.  A minority of pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make as much progress as others.  Leaders and governors responsible for special educational needs do not monitor the effectiveness of additional support received by these pupils closely enough.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to raise standards further by the end of key stage 2, by:  ensuring that those pupils whose learning has been affected by changes to staffing are supported to catch up quickly  ensuring that there is an induction programme for new teachers so they are quickly familiar with school systems and expectations.  ensuring that pupils in all classes achieve standards that are in line with, or beyond, expectations for their age.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance, particularly for those pupils who are regularly absent from school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide further support and training for those leaders and governors with responsibility for special educational needs, so that provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is monitored and evaluated effectively and teachers are supported to plan well focused learning opportunities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher and her senior leadership team are taking determined and effective action to improve the quality of teaching in the school and, thereby, further improve outcomes for pupils. At the beginning of the academic year, when the headteacher joined the school, a teaching and learning review was carried out by senior leaders and an external consultant and this set the immediate priorities for action. As a result, standards have improved.  Leaders have provided good-quality support and professional development opportunities that have helped staff improve their practice and make teaching more effective than before. Teachers’ subject knowledge has been strengthened to help them meet the demands of the revised national curriculum. Teachers say that training has been helpful. Rigorous appraisal is in place to ensure teachers’ pay progression is closely linked to their performance and to pupils’ achievement.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Senior leaders rigorously check the performance of the school and the work of the staff regularly to ensure it is of good quality. They have welcomed the support of the local authority and other providers to monitor the school’s progress and to validate the judgements they are making. They have accurately evaluated how well the school is doing and have effectively implemented a detailed plan of action for further improvement. As a result, there have been improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.  The curriculum is a particular strength of the school. The learning challenges are enjoyed by the pupils and provide a focus for their learning that is topic or theme based. Pupils regularly use their literacy and mathematics skills in other subjects, demonstrating how well they understand what they have learned. For example, Year 6 pupils constructed line graphs after a physical education lesson to show how their heart

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

rate falls after exercise.  There is a wide variety of clubs and activities the pupils can join at lunchtimes or after school. Many of these clubs include opportunities for pupils to try different sports; for example, fencing. The physical education and sports funding has been used well to extend the range of sports available, as well as supporting teachers in their professional development. Regular participation in a variety of sports has also promoted healthy, active lifestyles.  The achievement of pupils supported by the pupil premium is inconsistent and some of these pupils make better progress than others. Historically, leaders and governors have mainly spent the pupil premium funding on additional staffing, wider extra-curricular opportunities and pastoral support rather than focusing on the learning needs of disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, the impact of previous spending has not been fully reported, as is required, on the school’s website. Current leaders and governors have

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

reviewed the impact of this year’s spending so that funding is targeted more closely to provide specific support for learning so all disadvantaged pupils have the opportunity to achieve as well as their peers.  The majority of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. However, a few pupils make less progress because support and interventions are not precise enough and so learning does not move on quickly. A very small minority of pupils in this group have high levels of absence and so miss a good deal of learning time, resulting in slower progress. Systems for monitoring and evaluating the impact of additional support are not well developed so leaders with specific responsibilities for special educational needs have not been able to judge the effectiveness of support accurately.  In a small minority of classes, particularly where there have been staffing changes, pupils have not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

progressed as well as pupils in other classes. Although support has been provided for new or interim teachers, an effective induction programme is needed for all staff, however long they are to be working at the school, to ensure there is as little disruption to learning as possible.  The school has improved communication and engagement with parents; information is more frequent and more helpful; workshops are available that focus on the curriculum and how pupils are taught. Members of the parents’ forum told the inspector that they appreciate the regular coffee mornings held by the headteacher and the regeneration of the parent teacher association; these have given parents the opportunity to be more involved in the life of the school and its development.  The local authority has provided effective support that has helped the school build leadership capacity and ensured the school is well placed to continue to improve.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school The governing body has undergone changes during the year and is now in the process of appointing new parent governors so there is full membership of the governing body. Newly appointed governors bring skills that ensure the governing body is providing a good level of support and challenge to school leaders. Since the last inspection, external reviews of governance have taken place and identified areas for governors to develop. Governors make sure that they attend suitable training and are up to date with the current expectations and responsibilities of governors. As a result, they are now playing a strong part in setting the strategic direction for the school. Governors are knowledgeable and have an accurate view of the school as a result of their visits to the school, working with school leaders to evaluate progress towards the school’s improvement priorities. They are making sure that the school has robust systems in place to manage the performance of staff

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

and monitor the achievement of pupils. Governors share the determination of school leaders to raise aspirations for the school and build stronger relationships with the wider local community. Governors are aware of the need to be more accessible to parents and staff.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and governors ensure that all statutory requirements are met and the school is a safe place; the designated safeguarding governor makes regular monitoring visits to the school. Leaders have ensured that all staff have received update training and are familiar with all systems and procedures so that if concerns arise they can be followed up rigorously, in partnership with other agencies where necessary.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Good teaching has led to significant improvements in pupils’ outcomes. Clear and consistent routines together with teachers’ high expectations help pupils develop good learning habits and the ability to work independently. For example, pupils are expected to evaluate their own work against success criteria before the teacher marks it.  Marking and other feedback from teachers provides helpful guidance for pupils and they often make written responses to teachers’ comments and amend their work. The pupils’ books provide evidence of how good progress is made after effective feedback. Teachers use this dialogue with pupils to make sure they plan the next steps in learning accurately.  Skilful use of questioning enables teachers to check pupils’ understanding. Open-ended and probing questions add challenge and make pupils think hard. One pupil told the inspector that difficult questions ‘help you justify and reason your answer’.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Learning is often organised in topics. Pupils say they like this as it ‘joins up your learning’. For example, Year 6 pupils used their mathematics skills to do a budgeting exercise based on the class novel ‘Kensuke’s kingdom’, where they had to plan what to take on a boat trip but could spend no more than £1,000.  The range of practical and group work develops pupils’ willingness to try different approaches and to listen to others, respecting and valuing their contribution. Year 3 pupils enjoyed a range of different learning tasks during their Tudor day. Pupils say that solutions to difficult challenges are often reached by ‘more brains helping’.  Work in books is generally well presented, but in some cases more care could be taken to ensure handwriting is well formed and work is neatly set out. The standard of work for the majority of pupils is at expected levels for their age. Most-able pupils demonstrate knowledge and understanding of their work,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

confidently using their literacy and mathematics skills in other subjects. Teachers set more complex learning challenges where pupils collaborate with each other and work at greater depth to find solutions.  Teaching assistants often provide good support for pupils of all abilities, both within the lessons and in small intervention groups. This is effective where pupils are supported to work with growing independence.  Overall, the quality of teaching is good and, as a result, pupils’ outcomes are improving. However, in a small minority of classes, teaching has not been effective throughout the year and pupils’ progress has been slower, so standards are not as high as for the rest of the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to be a good learner. They are clear about the school’s expectations of them. They say their teachers ‘expect us to try and want us to do well’.  Pupils say they feel safe at school and have confidence in the adults to look after them. They say that there has been some bullying, but ‘not a lot’ and that if it happens it is dealt with. When speaking to the inspector, they showed a clear understanding of what to do if they have a concern, and that they could talk to ‘any teacher’ about their worries.  Pupils’ views are often put forward through the school council. They are given opportunities to discuss issues that affect them; for example, pupils gave their views on the proposal for a new school uniform. Pupils told inspectors that they are looking forward to wearing their new uniform in September.

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Personal development and welfare

 British values are promoted through the curriculum, but also through opportunities to discuss current affairs; for example, the recent European Union referendum. This led to further exploration of tolerance towards those from other cultures and with different faiths.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ conduct is good in lessons and at social times such as in the dinner hall. Pupils understand the behaviour system of rewards and sanctions very well and are keen to stay in ‘the learning zone’. A very small number of pupils who occasionally display undesirable behaviour are well managed and lessons are rarely disrupted.  The proportion of pupils that are persistently absent from school is above average. Most of these are pupils who are disadvantaged, or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has effective systems in place to follow up absences and is clear about which types of absence will be authorised; good attendance is encouraged and rewarded. As a result, the levels of persistent absence are beginning to reduce. For other pupils, attendance is broadly average

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Overall, outcomes for pupils currently at the school have improved since the last inspection and are good. The progress made by pupils in all key stages is good. Assessment information held by the school shows that the majority of pupils are working at expected levels. In a small minority of classes, where there have been disruptions due to staffing changes, progress has not been consistently good so a few pupils are not yet working securely at expected levels.  Work in books shows good progress over time for pupils of all abilities. Some pupils have made rapid progress from low starting points. Work in topic books is of a similar standard to that in writing and mathematics books. In a range of subjects, pupils demonstrate a good understanding of their learning. For example, pupils used their research skills to learn about Mexico and could tell the inspector about features of the country and the people who live there.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Historically, achievement in mathematics has been weaker than in reading and writing. Recent work to improve the teaching of mathematics has led to better outcomes for pupils and increased rates of progress. There are also examples of where mathematics skills have been used in other subjects and pupils have gained a deeper understanding of a concept as a result. Achievement in mathematics is in line with reading and writing.  Pupils read confidently and have a good range of skills to help them work out the meaning of new or difficult words. Most pupils in Year 1 have achieved the national standard in the phonics screening check. The school has made a determined effort to encourage pupils to read widely and for pleasure. Pupils enjoy the ‘genre challenge’ and ‘rainbow reading’ that encourage them to read regularly and widely. Pupils know that reading is an important skill that will help them both now and in later life.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Standards in writing continue to improve and pupils regularly have opportunities to write for different purposes and audiences. Pupils described how they have written diary entries, stories, reports and poems and can recognise the features of different types of writing. However, despite good phonics knowledge, pupils’ spelling is not always accurate.  The majority of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their individual starting points.  Disadvantaged pupils often do as well as their peers; for example, in the phonics screening check this group did better than others. However, where they also have special educational needs or low starting points they make slower progress than other pupils in the school.  The most able pupils are working securely at expected levels and often at greater depth. Their work across the curriculum is of a good standard and extended pieces of work demonstrate fluency in writing and

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Outcomes for pupils are good

competence in basic skills across a range of subjects.

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Early years provision is good

 The majority of children start school with skills and knowledge below the levels expected for their age. Children’s starting points are often low in physical development and communication and language. Boys’ starting points are generally lower than girls’. However, children make good progress in the early years and almost three quarters have achieved a good level of development this year. This represents an increase from 2015 and an upward trend over four years.  Children receive a warm welcome into the Nursery and Reception classes and quickly learn the routines and expectations. This helps them to develop the skills they need to be self-managing and to enjoy the wide range of learning opportunities. For example, a Nursery child gathered the resources needed to paint a picture, including an apron, and tidied up when finished, putting the painting neatly on the rack to dry.  The quality of teaching is good and adults support children’s learning effectively. When working with

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Early years provision is good

groups, there is a strong focus on developing the basic literacy and mathematics skills. Children are guided to independent tasks where they can explore and discover for themselves. Adults intervene when there is an opportunity to move learning forward and add challenge. Children clearly enjoy the different activities and are excited by some of the things they discover that develop their imagination; for example, a child explained to the inspector that the red glitter on the floor was a fairy’s footprints and that they led to the forest through a magic door.  Children behave well because they know what is expected of them and enjoy their learning. The environment is safe and equipment is checked regularly; codes are needed to access the classrooms. Staff receive appropriate training, for example in paediatric first aid.  The early years is well led and there are very clear priorities for improvement. Developing children’s basic

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Early years provision is good

skills is a high priority and the impact of teaching is regularly monitored and evaluated. It is acknowledged that the environment is in need of some refurbishment and the first phase of this is in hand. The outdoor area is adequate, but could be more inviting and be more easily accessible to children.

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School details

Unique reference number 133982 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 10011731

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 438 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Marie Crowley Headteacher Ceri Hathaway Telephone number 0115 9732846 Website www.brooklands.derbyshire.sch.uk Email address enquiries@brooklands.derbshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 January 2014

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Information about this school

 Brooklands Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language are below average.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those who have an education, health and care plan, is below average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium, which is additional government funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority, is broadly average.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the impact of pupil premium funding for previous academic years on its website.  Children attend the Nursery on a part-time basis.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed in 20 lessons or parts of lessons. Some of the observations were carried out with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with school leaders, governors and a representative of the local authority. Inspectors also held discussions with pupils and heard some pupils read.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including minutes of governors’ meetings, the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plan, monitoring and assessment information, external reports and performance management information. Inspectors also carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work alongside school leaders.  Inspectors took into account the 67 responses to Parent View, the online Ofsted survey. Inspectors also met with parents informally at the beginning of the school day. A discussion was held with 11 members of the parents’ forum.  The views of staff were taken into account during discussions and through the 22 responses to the

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Information about this inspection

online staff survey.  There were no responses to the online pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Jane Salt, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Peter Strauss Ofsted Inspector Philip Unsworth Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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