Bradwell Junior School

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

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Kim Attwood Headteacher Bradwell Junior School Hugh Lane Bradwell Hope Valley Derbyshire S33 9JB

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 20 September 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 February 2013.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school is well led and managed because at the heart of its ethos is care and respect. ‘ The Bradwell Way’ is walked and talked by all members of the school community: staff, pupils and parents. Staff work hard here because they are valued. Pupils work hard and love their school because teachers care. These foundations have enabled the school to go from strength to strength.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Pupils thrive and develop into mature young people. They have a sound grasp of what is right and wrong and trust the adults around them. Staff encourage them to think about others before themselves; this is evidenced by the good levels of behaviour and conduct, and also the respect they show for one another. Being different at this school is no barrier to learning and being accepted. The school has worked hard to push pupils to reach their potential and believe in themselves. You have been pivotal in this journey. You have provided clear, unequivocal messages, as well as unwavering support for staff to help them improve. The school’s self-evaluation is a succinct and an accurate reflection of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The improvement plans which support the evaluation are detailed and sharp. You monitor the actions and check their impact carefully. The 2016/17 plan was effective. This is a securely good school.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is central to the school’s curriculum and ethos. Pupils receive regular guidance about how to become good citizens and contribute to society. Charity fund-raising projects are regular features of pupils’ school life. Pupils regularly learn about other cultures and faiths. To promote greater understanding of young people from different backgrounds, leaders have previously promoted a link with a school in Ashton-under-Lyne. Pupils exchanged experiences and learned about each other’s lives. Pupils’ participation in extra-curricular activities is actively promoted by all staff. Consequently, pupils experience a wide range of opportunities to develop their interests, hobbies and sporting skills. Pupils particularly praise the coding, walking and film clubs. The school’s physical education coordinator has transformed the way that sport is taught and delivered. All pupils participate in sport and exercise. Some

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

pupils are sports leaders, who organise Change for Life sessions at lunchtime. These sessions help pupils to be more active and take an interest in competition. The school has achieved the gold standard Sainsbury’s School Games Award.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

The school’s previous inspection cited some key weaknesses, namely pupils’ application of mathematical skills, especially in other subjects, and pupils’ writing skills, specifically their presentation skills. Leaders have improved pupils’ outcomes in both writing and mathematics. Teachers regularly ask pupils to explain their reasoning in mathematics. Teachers also take regular opportunities to reinforce their arithmetic skills in other subjects. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard is high compared to the national average. However, too few reach the greater depth standard.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

The English coordinator has introduced a range of effective strategies to develop pupils’ English skills, including new spelling approaches. Pupils’ presentation is much improved as a result of consistent expectations from staff. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in all year groups remains too low.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

As well as checking the school’s progress in relation to the areas for development cited in the last inspection, inspectors also evaluated the school’s work to support disadvantaged pupils, especially in relation to attendance. Leaders’ strategic plan is comprehensive, demonstrating their deep understanding of the needs of the disadvantaged pupils. The school’s work to improve these pupils’ attendance is proving effective. Leaders’ work to engage parents, for example, is increasingly successful.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Leaders have embedded a sound safeguarding culture throughout the school. Staff are vigilant and take their responsibilities very seriously. You are the designated safeguarding leader. Together with the chair of governors, you keep close oversight of safeguarding arrangements. You ensure that appropriate professionals are engaged to support individual pupils who are subject to child protection concerns or in need of specialist help. Teachers know each and every child; they are sensitive to pupils’ emotions and listen to their concerns. Pupils confirm that they trust the adults in the school and they feel safe.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Bullying is rare in the school. When there are disagreements, they are resolved quickly. All staff and pupils agree that pupils get on well with one another and if you are different you will be accepted. Prejudice-based incidents are virtually non-existent. Leaders ensure that pupils are prepared well for the range of risks they may face. Assemblies and personal, social and health education lessons help pupils to keep safe, for example when online, when using the roads and when riding a bike. The online safety committee, made up of pupils, teachers and governors, has helped to reinforce key messages. Specific parents’ information evenings and the school’s website have been informative for parents to help their child keep safe, especially when using the internet. Staff help to prevent pupils being drawn into extremism by promoting British values. Pupils were supported well in the aftermath of the Manchester terrorist attack.

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Short inspection of Bradwell Junior School

Pupils know and understand how to keep healthy, both physically and emotionally. The school promotes pupils’ mental well-being regularly in lessons. Using a range of mindfulness techniques, teachers encourage pupils to manage their stress and anxiety. Pupils say that these sessions are very helpful.

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Inspection findings

 The governing body is effective in holding leaders to account for pupils’ performance and the quality of teaching. Governors ensure that the pupil premium funding is spent efficiently and evaluated rigorously. Governors challenge leaders regularly to improve the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.  Leaders have been successful in their strategy to engage parents in order to improve the attendance of targeted pupils. Leaders have also been relentless in ensuring that appropriate professionals are deployed to support families. You have encouraged parents to discuss any barriers they may have to getting their child to school on time. In some cases, teachers have gone above and beyond to collect pupils form their home in the morning.  The English coordinator has improved the quality of teaching of English well since the last inspection. She has developed a range of techniques to tackle pupils’ spelling

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Inspection findings

accuracy which is proving effective. Pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar attainment is consistently good. However, teachers do not always insist that pupils, especially the most able, write at length and practise structuring their paragraphs in a range of ways. This means that the most able pupils are hindered from reaching greater depth standards at the end of Year 6.  The English coordinator is keen to develop her skills and knowledge. She has not enjoyed the same opportunities to share good practice and learn from colleagues elsewhere as the teachers of mathematics have. Consequently, the range of successful strategies to enable pupils to reach greater depth in their writing is limited.  You are the mathematics subject leader. You have led developments in mathematics effectively. Pupils make good progress because you have identified the barriers to pupils’ progress accurately. You have valued the opportunities offered by the local

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Inspection findings

mathematics hub to share good practice with other professionals elsewhere. You recognise that opportunities such as these would also benefit further developments in English. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to tackle word problems, which require pupils to think more deeply about how to apply their mathematical skills. Teachers do not always insist that the most able take on these challenging tasks routinely in class. This hinders their progress and does not prepare the older pupils well enough for national tests.  The local authority provides good support for the school and you receive valuable advisory support from an experienced and successful headteacher from another school. This advice and guidance has contributed to improvements in mathematics and writing outcomes across the school. The school improvement adviser has helped to strengthen your leadership skills.

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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

 The quality of teaching is developed further to enable more pupils to reach the higher standards in writing and mathematics by: – providing more opportunities for pupils to solve complex mathematical word problems – ensuring that pupils practise writing accurately, at length and more regularly – learning from best practice elsewhere to develop pupils’ writing skills further across the school.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held interviews with you, subject leaders and two governors. Working alongside you, I observed pupils’ learning in all classes, during which I spoke with pupils and examined their workbooks. I spoke with five parents. I observed a Change for Life session with the physical education coordinator. I evaluated a range of school documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, monitoring records, information about pupils’ attainment and progress, attendance information, school policies and safeguarding records. I took account of the 17 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and 13 responses to the free-text facility. I considered responses from eight members of staff and 17 pupils to their online surveys.

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