Broomfield School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Susan Gill Headteacher Broomfield School Broomfield Avenue Northallerton North Yorkshire DL7 8RG

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

Following my visit to the school on 16 March 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in April 2012.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your child-centred values are at the heart of the school’s work and create a caring, inclusive ethos where pupils develop and flourish as rounded individuals. You and your senior leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths, weaknesses and next steps for improvement.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

Since the previous inspection, there have been numerous staffing changes, increasing pupil numbers and a growing proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, particularly of a complex nature. This has made the school’s improvement journey a challenge at times. Nevertheless, you have been determined to secure the best possible outcomes for pupils and have been quick to respond to the changing profile of your school.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

The previous inspection challenged you to improve the proportion of good and outstanding teaching. You have dealt adeptly with teaching which was not of a high enough standard to meet the demands of the curriculum. As a result, the quality of teaching has improved and is contributing to better rates of progress for current pupils. Crucially, you have built a committed team of leaders who share your determination for every pupil to succeed. The appointment of your deputy headteacher last year has been critical to the rapid improvements that have been achieved since her arrival. Leaders are making considerable strides in driving school improvement, which is an indicator of the school’s capacity for continued improvement. The deputy headteacher has expertly facilitated a model of coaching for staff development. This has been highly successful in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and in establishing a collective responsibility for pupils’

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

outcomes. The impact of this is seen in pupils’ books, lessons and the school’s assessment information. Team planning meetings are creating a culture of professional dialogue where teachers are empowered to take responsibility for their own development and reflect on their practice through classroom research. Precise feedback ensures that teachers know how to improve and staff are able to support each other in a non-threatening way. This approach has been successful in developing leadership skills, boosting morale and increasing accountability. Teachers and middle leaders are flourishing as a result.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

You were keen to tackle the disappointing results in reading in 2016. Outcomes in this subject did not match the broadly average attainment and progress achieved in in writing and mathematics. Your prompt action in focusing on this priority and having a year of reading has been incredibly successful. There is a buzz about reading throughout the whole school. Classes are named after authors, interactive displays involve pupils in sharing their views on books, and reading ambassadors promote reading with their peers and through classroom book areas. Pupils are genuinely enthused about reading. They talk about its value in helping them with spelling and making better vocabulary choices when writing. The teaching of reading is also supporting pupils to interrogate texts and think about what they are reading at a more demanding level. Assessment information confirms that pupils are now making great strides with their reading and are set to achieve standards that

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

are at least in line with the national average by the end of each key stage this year. However, it was more difficult for you to demonstrate how well pupils are performing in phonics. You agree that tracking this more carefully would help to identify any pupils not on track to meet the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check so that support can be put in place quickly to address this.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

There is a strong culture of keeping pupils safe. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. You work closely with other professionals and services to ensure that children and families receive timely and effective support. Robust systems are in place for the recruitment and induction of new staff. The training staff that receive means they are effective in recognising and responding to signs of concern.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

Governors carry out their duties effectively and ensure that safeguarding is a high priority by including it as a standing agenda item at meetings. A safeguarding audit supports governors in checking that systems in school are robust.

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Short inspection of Broomfield School

Pupils are very happy at school. They say that they feel safe and do not think bullying is an issue. They trust that staff will deal with any issues of poor behaviour, firmly and fairly, through the sanction system. Records show that leaders and teachers respond with urgency to the rare incidents of poor behaviour and bullying.

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Inspection findings

 Governors are committed, supportive and not afraid to challenge school leaders. They visit the school regularly and are able to see for themselves the impact of school improvement actions. For example, a recent walk around the school brought to life the impact that the year of reading is having on improving pupils’ interest in reading. Governors have been instrumental in securing the school’s continued success. They have responded promptly to your requests to strengthen the leadership team and to more effectively meet the needs of the increasing numbers of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Over time, disadvantaged pupils perform well at this school. They make good progress and often attain standards that are higher than those of other pupils nationally. At the end of key stage 1 in 2016, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who met the expected standard was below the national average. However,

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Inspection findings

a large proportion of these pupils also have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have responded with haste and have adjusted the support they receive, which is now resulting in their making good gains with their learning, albeit from lower starting points. The rate at which they are catching up is now picking up pace.  I was keen to see how well the most able pupils are challenged by teachers in their learning. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and are very skilful in asking questions that deepen pupils’ understanding. They provide challenging tasks and observe pupils closely to check whether there are any misconceptions that need addressing. This is resulting in pupils being really keen to solve problems, find solutions and really push themselves. Pupils use ‘top tips’ that help them to think about how they can make their work be of the highest standard.  Your new assessment system is becoming increasingly accurate. By your

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Inspection findings

moderation of assessment judgements both in school and externally, the data you generate is more robust and reliable and is supporting you in making regular checks on pupils’ learning. Pupil progress meetings are enabling teachers and leaders to quickly identify pupils who are not on track to meet expectations so you are able to plan how to help them catch up. Assessment information and work in books show that an increasing proportion of pupils are set to be in line or above national expectations at the end of each key stage this year compared with 2016. You and your team of leaders are not complacent however, and are keen to improve this even further by working with teachers to help every pupil make as much progress as possible.  Subject leaders work with confidence and accuracy and can evidence the impact of their actions in the high standards of work pupils produce in their books. As a team, the subject leaders show a clear sense of purpose and direction and are

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Inspection findings

intent on improving outcomes for pupils. Their contribution to joint planning meetings is helping teachers develop stronger subject knowledge which in turn is leading to well-planned activities that accurately match pupils’ learning needs.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils develop as confident individuals who understand their active role in the school community. Pupils relish the opportunity to take on responsibilities such as being a member of the school council or a reading ambassador. They enjoy making a difference and helping the school to improve. The impact of their work is evident in the reading areas in each classroom, which have evolved from pupils’ suggestions and are set up by the reading ambassadors. Pupil voice contributes strongly to the excellent attitudes pupils demonstrate and is successful in supporting their development as responsible citizens.  Pupils have a good understanding of their rights and responsibilities. Consequently, this encourages their good behaviour as they understand how their actions affect the rights of others. Pupils talk confidently about how they take responsibility for their actions if a school or class rule is broken. As a result,

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Inspection findings

pupils are very respectful and demonstrate caring attitudes towards others.  Attendance overall in 2016 was just below average and the attendance of disadvantaged pupils was in the lowest 10% of schools nationally. Despite the range of strategies used to encourage good attendance, figures so far this year suggest that any improvement for groups and for attendance overall is minimal. You agree that leaders could more effectively evaluate the impact of their actions and therefore be better placed to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 absence and persistent absence rates improve to be in line with or better than the national average for all pupil groups  progress in phonics in key stage 1 is routinely checked so that pupils who need to catch up are identified quickly.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the deputy headteacher, subject leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. I evaluated documentation including: the school improvement plan; information about pupils’ progress; minutes of governing body meetings; attendance and behaviour records; and information about safeguarding. I spoke with a range of parents and carers and considered responses from Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. We visited classrooms together to observe teaching and learning and we spoke to pupils and scrutinised their work.

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