Bradshaw Hall Primary School

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

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Mr Christopher Bagnall Headteacher Bradshaw Hall Primary School Vernon Close Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Cheshire SK8 6AN

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 25 April 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 May 2012.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection while simultaneously managing the significant expansion of the school.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

One parent commented: ‘This school is a fantastic school with great leadership from the head and dynamic creative teachers. A large range of extra-curricular activities and events are held by the school which are hugely beneficial to the children. We love Bradshaw Hall!’ Pupils behave well, attend regularly and show respect for each other. Pupils are incredibly enthusiastic about their school and eager to talk about their achievements.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

You have strengthened your leadership team and this is paying dividends. In Nursery, Reception Year and key stage 1, standards are high due to highly motivated leaders who have high expectations. The most able children are particularly well catered for in Reception Year as teachers swiftly move them on to the Year 1 curriculum. Consequently, a higher than average proportion achieve a good level of development at the end of Reception Year and children hit the ground running in Year 1.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

You have a team of very committed governors boasting a range of expertise and skills. They know the school very well and offer a healthy balance of challenge and support to you and your team. You and your leadership team aim to create ‘successful, confident and responsible’ learners. Pupils benefit from a rich curriculum, including outdoor learning, music and sport. Pupils learn yoga, lacrosse, football and rugby and many pupils take advantage of peripatetic music lessons. You place great value on reading for pleasure and pupils readily showcase their strong skills of inference and deduction in the ‘discovery curriculum’.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

The school is host to 15 pupils from across the authority who have specific learning difficulties, in your speech and language centre. The centre is a bright and engaging learning environment. Pupils follow the school curriculum and work in books shows very good attention to pupils’ individual needs, high expectations and great care.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Standards in English, punctuation, spelling and grammar are good. Pupils write to a high standard and teachers’ meticulous use of the school’s marking scheme ensures that any misspelt words are quickly identified and corrected.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Disadvantaged pupils’ progress has improved significantly from last year. Their attendance is much closer to the national average and persistent absence is reduced. Pupil premium funding is used well to offer an enriched curriculum and to provide for educational visits, peripatetic music lessons and small-group teaching.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Achievement in mathematics is improving and tracking shows that pupils in Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils, are achieving standards above the national average. However, these standards are not replicated throughout key stage 2. The standard of work and presentation in key stage 2 mathematics books is not good enough. Calculations are poorly presented so it is difficult to see mistakes and sometimes incorrect work is marked as correct. Pupils do not receive feedback in line with the school’s marking policy as they do in English.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

At the last inspection, you were asked to improve the quality of teaching, questioning and marking. The school has made significant progress in all these areas. Now, pupils typically make good progress in lessons but occasionally progress of the most able pupils is restricted. This is because their learning starts at the same point as the rest of the class even though their knowledge, skills and understanding are way ahead.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

You receive very good support from your school improvement partner, whose incisive reports clearly tell you and your team the strengths and weaknesses of provision.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

The single central record meets requirements. All staff have regular child protection training, including welfare staff. You regularly update child protection training and use case studies with staff to exemplify good practice.

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Short inspection of Bradshaw Hall Primary School

Child protection records are kept securely. You keep appropriate records of child protection concerns and open cases and work effectively with relevant agencies. You hold a weekly meeting for all relevant staff to share information about child protection cases with a focus upon behaviour and attendance. Pupils say that they feel safe and enjoy coming to school.

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Inspection findings

 Work scrutiny shows that in key stage 1, standards in mathematics are good. Books are well presented, calculations are clear and pupils receive helpful feedback in line with the school’s marking policy. Lesson observations, and historical and current data show that pupils achieve well over time.  Standards of English, grammar, punctuation and spelling have greatly improved following disappointing results last year. I observed a Year 4 English lesson where pupils successfully applied their knowledge of literary techniques such as personification and alliteration. They showed good subject knowledge. Scrutiny of English books from across the school shows high standards and a good grasp of grammar, punctuation and spelling.  There is no discernible difference between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and that of their peers in lessons. Current tracking data shows that the differences between their achievement and that of their peers are diminishing. This is because

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Inspection findings

you and your team have paid great attention to historical inequalities and used pupil premium funding to good effect. You are not just helping these pupils academically but ensuring that they have equality of opportunity to educational visits and a rich curriculum, nurturing their individual talents and skills.  In key stage 2 mathematics, standards and expectations are not as high. Poorly presented work is tolerated and little attention is paid to the school’s marking policy. Opportunities are missed to identify and correct misconceptions as calculations are often squashed into a worksheet where there is insufficient space for pupils to show how they have worked something out.  My observations in lessons and scrutiny of pupils’ work show that sometimes the most able pupils are insufficiently challenged and wasted time on aspects of the curriculum they had already mastered. For example, in a Year 1 mathematics lesson, pupils spent

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Inspection findings

a significant amount of time learning how to divide six sticks between two people when a number of them could do the calculation in their heads without any visual representation. Similarly, work in books shows that in some classes, the most able pupils are given the same work as those who are less able, thus stifling their progress.

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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

 you raise standards in mathematics in key stage 2  work is always challenging enough for the most able pupils.

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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 Stockport. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and your leadership team. I met with your school improvement partner and together we looked at examples of pupils’ work. I met with and spoke on the telephone to members of the governing body. I spoke with a range of pupils in lessons and at social times. I scrutinised a range of workbooks across a variety of subjects and year groups. I looked at the school’s website and analysed the school self-evaluation and school improvement plan. I analysed the school’s record of checks made on the suitability of staff, and records of child protection and staff training, and discussed other aspects of safeguarding with you. I spoke with parents in the playground at the beginning of the school day and considered 147 free-text responses and 154 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

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