Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery

Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery Parkett Heyes Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 8UD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders, governors and trustees have successfully improved the quality of education since the last inspection. They have motivated everyone to work together to make Broken Cross a safe, happy and welcoming school where children achieve well.  Leaders draw upon a wide range of information to enable them to form an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. This helps them to plan improvements that move the school forward.  The highly committed governing body ask leaders a range of questions about their progress with their work to improve the school. They are less challenging about pupils’ outcomes, because they rely too heavily upon the information provided by the headteacher.  Improvements that leaders have made to teaching contribute to the strong progress that pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics. On a few occasions, the most able pupils make less progress in subjects

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

other than English and mathematics, because the work they receive does not challenge them sufficiently.  Younger pupils in school make good progress in phonics as a result of the good teaching they receive. They apply their skills well in their reading and writing.  Children in the early years benefit from good teaching at Broken Cross. From their typically low starting points, children make strong progress and are well prepared for Year 1.  Leaders’ effective provision for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ensures that these pupils make strong progress towards their individual targets.  Teachers plan learning that helps pupils to practise their reading, writing and mathematical skills in other subjects. On occasion, teaching does not ensure that pupils have opportunity to apply and deepen their writing skills in a wider range of subjects.  Leaders and the trust have made outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

arrangements for pupils’ personal development and welfare. Their strong commitment to going the ‘extra mile’ for pupils and families ensures that pupils thrive and are well prepared for secondary school when the times comes.  Pupils’ good behaviour is evident in classrooms and around school. Leaders’ effective arrangements for safeguarding mean that pupils feel and are safe in school, and their parents agree.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that: – governors play a greater part in the process of evaluation of the school’s strengths and its areas for development, so that they can hold leaders better to account for pupils’ outcomes.  Improve teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – teachers routinely provide the most able pupils with work in subjects other than English and mathematics that challenges them sufficiently so that they make the progress in these subjects of which they are capable – teaching provides even more opportunities for pupils to practise their important writing skills across a wider range of subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 School leaders, trust leaders and governors have successfully established a culture of high expectation and high aspiration at Broken Cross. They share a clear vision which focuses strongly on raising achievement but which is never at the expense of pupils’ welfare. This means that Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery is a warm, welcoming and happy place where pupils learn well.  Trust leaders, governors and school leaders have worked with energy and determination to address the areas for improvement from the last inspection. The improvements they have made to the quality of teaching have led to outcomes for pupils across the school that are now good and improving.  Leaders, including trust leaders, draw upon a wide range of information to arrive at an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Their plans for improvement are therefore sharply focused on improving pupils’ outcomes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

These plans are having a positive impact on the progress that pupils currently in school are making, especially in reading, writing, mathematics and phonics.  Leaders carry out a range of activities to monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across a range of subjects. They check the work in pupils’ books and provide clear feedback and guidance to teachers and support staff so that they can improve their teaching. As a result, the quality of teaching across the school is consistently good.  Leaders have established effective systems for measuring the progress that pupils and groups of pupils make, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. This enables leaders to hold teachers effectively to account, and to take action where pupils are at risk of falling behind. Consequently, most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, are making at least the progress that the school expects of them and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

some are making progress that is better.  Leadership of the school’s provision for pupils with SEND is effective. The coordinator of the provision for pupils with SEND works with a range of professionals to ensure that teachers and support staff have the knowledge and expertise they need to plan for the wide range of pupils’ needs in school. Leaders’ clear vision has secured the support of the local authority in establishing enhanced provision for pupils with communication and language needs. The impact of leaders’ work is evident in the strong progress that pupils with SEND make, indicating the very effective use of the extra funding provided for these pupils.  The Fallibroome Trust ensures that leaders and teachers benefit from a wide range of training and professional development. For example, teachers have opportunities to work with other schools to share and learn from good practice, and to check the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

accuracy of their assessments. Teachers who aspire to leadership have opportunities to learn from more experienced leaders in order to develop their skills. Teachers value these opportunities and say that they help them to improve their work.  The curriculum that leaders provide enables pupils to learn across a range of subjects and through experiences that deepen their understanding. For example, pupils in key stage 2 learning about the lives of the Victorians took part in an educational visit that enabled them to make and to try out the sorts of foods that Victorian children might have eaten. Pupils say that these activities help them to remember what they have learned.  Leaders ensure that pupils develop very well socially, morally, spiritually and culturally and are prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils develop respectful attitudes towards different cultures and faiths, and an understanding of difference and diversity in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

families. The good teaching that they receive enables pupils to learn the importance of listening to the opinions and views of others.  Leaders make effective use of the physical education and sports premium to increase pupils’ participation in sports, and their understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, pupils recently took part in a skipping challenge to raise their awareness of the impact of exercise on the health of the heart. Pupils enjoy these experiences, and talk with enthusiasm about the range of sporting activities that leaders provide.

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Governance of the school

 Governors, including those new to the role, are well supported by trustees to develop their expertise and effectiveness. The trust provides governors with important opportunities for training and to work alongside other governing bodies. This helps governors to improve the ways in which they provide support and challenge to school leaders.  Governors regularly monitor the progress of the school towards its improvement objectives. They receive detailed reports from the headteacher about the progress of pupils and the impact of pupil premium funding. Records of their activities show that they ask important questions about many aspects of the school’s work, particularly in relation to the safeguarding of pupils and the provision of important resources. They are less challenging about pupils’ outcomes, including those of disadvantaged pupils, because they rely too heavily on the information from the headteacher about how

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Governance of the school

these outcomes are improving.  Governors and trustees are highly committed and have a strong understanding of the needs and interests of the community that their school serves. They take account of the views of parents and carers, for example through questionnaires and through attendance at community meetings. This helps them to ensure that the improvements they make carry the support of parents, whom Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire suggests are overwhelmingly supportive of the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders, governors and trust leaders have established a very strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Leaders ensure that all staff, regardless of their role in school, are well trained to recognise signs of abuse and neglect and to report any concerns they may have through very clear procedures.  Governors and leaders have made a number of important improvements to the security of the school site. Pupils understand how these improvements help to protect them in school. Governors follow appropriate procedures for the safe recruitment of staff. Their systems for checking the suitability of adults to work with children are implemented consistently and monitored regularly.  Leaders ensure that pupils are protected from extremism and radicalisation, and that pupils have the skills they need to keep themselves safe when they are using the internet. Pupils say that they feel safe in school, and their parents agree with this view.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers generally plan learning for pupils that helps them to learn well. Teachers’ clear explanations mean that pupils know what they have to do in order to get on with their work. Pupils settle quickly to their tasks and almost always stay focused, because they know that this is what their teachers expect.  Teachers plan learning for pupils that builds on what they already know and can do, and which helps them to learn more. For example, pupils in Years 3 and 4 who had been learning about how sound travels had opportunities to explore materials that were ‘sound-proof’. This helped them to build their knowledge and make progress. Teachers provide opportunities to explain what they have understood. This helps teachers to assess pupils’ learning and to take action if they start to fall behind.  Teachers provide work for almost all pupils that is challenging and that helps them to make strong progress, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. Improvements

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

that leaders have made to the curriculum and to teaching in other subjects have had a positive impact on the progress that pupils make in those subjects. However, sometimes, the work that the most able pupils receive in subjects other than English and mathematics is not sufficiently challenging to enable them to make the strong progress of which they are capable.  Teachers make sure that pupils have opportunities to practise their important reading, writing and where appropriate their mathematical skills in other subjects. For example, pupils in key stage 1 used their mathematical skills to organise the information they gathered during a science experiment. Pupils in key stage 2 used their writing skills in history lessons to produce detailed descriptions of what life was like in Roman forts. These opportunities contribute to the progress that pupils make in English and mathematics. Teachers, at times, do not make the most of opportunities to practise

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

their writing across a wider range of subjects.  Teachers generally use questioning skilfully to encourage pupils to think carefully and to explain their thoughts and ideas. This helps teachers to assess what pupils have understood, and to address any misunderstandings or mistakes pupils make.  Leaders’ and teachers’ strong focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary is having a positive impact on the range of words that they use and understand in their reading and writing. For example, pupils have time to edit and improve their work by using more exciting words and phrases to make their writing more interesting. This helps them to make better progress over time.  Teachers provide pupils with feedback in line with the school’s assessment policy. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils use this feedback to help them improve their work. Teachers also provide pupils with homework in line with the school’s policy. Most

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

parents who responded to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire were strongly of the view that the amount of homework their child receives is appropriate.  Teachers provide parents with important information about their child’s progress, for example through parents’ meetings, letters and reading diaries. Parents who spoke to the inspector and who responded through the free-text service were highly appreciative of the information that teachers provide about the progress that their child makes in school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  The excellent arrangements for supporting pupils’ welfare are a strength of the school. The headteacher’s steely determination to remove any barriers to pupils’ learning has earned her the respect and commitment of staff, governors and trust leaders alike and ensures that pupils’ achievement is never at the expense of their well-being.  Information from the school’s records shows that leaders regularly ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure that pupils and families have the help they need in order to ensure that pupils succeed at school. The school’s open-door policy ensures that parents feel able to approach leaders and teachers with any concerns or worries. During the inspection, some parents sought out the inspector in order to say how much they appreciate the support their families have received, and of the positive difference this has made to

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Personal development and welfare

their children’s success in school.  Leaders have established highly effective relationships with a range of agencies that ensure that appropriate information is shared in a very timely manner. Teachers value the systems that leaders have introduced that enable them to contribute a wide range of information about pupils’ individual needs and circumstances. They say that this process helps them to understand ‘the bigger picture’ for pupils and to ensure that they make the necessary adjustments to help them achieve well.  Leaders and trust leaders have established excellent arrangements to support pupils’ transition to secondary school when the time comes. For example, pupils get to know teachers from the secondary school through regular activities that enable them to work together before they transfer. Leaders and trust leaders have also worked together across the trust to enable pupils to be able to share their experiences, worries and

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Personal development and welfare

concerns about secondary school both before and after their transfer. Feedback that leaders have received from secondary-school colleagues shows that these arrangements are having a highly positive impact on pupils’ readiness for the next stage in their education.  Pupils including disadvantaged pupils benefit from a wide range of after-school clubs and activities which enable them to develop interests beyond the school day. As well as opportunities to compete in sports, engage in charitable works and to learn about food preparation and healthy choices, pupils take part in activities such as singing and acting for live audiences. These opportunities help them to develop personally and socially.  Teachers ensure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to develop attitudes of care and concern for others and for their environment. For example, pupils learning about deforestation were keen to take part in fundraising activities aimed at protecting

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Personal development and welfare

orangutans, because they understood the impact on the sustainability of this species. Younger pupils learn the importance of respect, care and kindness towards animals through their daily experience of learning alongside the school dog, Bob. These opportunities enable pupils to develop empathy, and a strong understanding of the impact of their actions on others and on the wider world.  Leaders make sure pupils learn about different religions and cultures so they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils learning about Islam and Judaism, for example, had opportunities to compare similarities and differences between the religions. Pupils are confident to talk about differences between families, for example where parents are of the same gender. They show concern for each other and for pupils new to the school, regardless of their similarities or differences.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  The school is an orderly place because leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils reflect this in their good conduct in lessons and as they move around school.  Pupils are polite and respectful to their teachers, and to visitors such as inspectors. They listen to each other in lessons and wait quietly for their turn to speak. Pupils usually respond quickly to teachers’ instructions and generally stay focused on their learning in lessons. On those rare occasions where they lose focus or are less attentive, it is because the teaching that they receive is not challenging enough.  Leaders’ actions to reduce absence are having a positive impact on pupils’ overall attendance at school. Pupils are rewarded with certificates for high levels of attendance and parents get regular updates in newsletters together with useful ‘top tips’ for developing good attendance habits from the start. As a result, the attendance of pupils

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Behaviour

currently in school is broadly in line with that of other pupils nationally and continues to improve.  Pupils who spoke to the inspector were of the view that pupils usually behave well. Responses to the Parent View questionnaire show that their parents agree. Pupils say that bullying is rare. However, they are confident that if it does occur, their teachers deal with it quickly.  Leaders’ strong focus on good behaviour and on removing pupils’ barriers to learning has successfully reduced the number of exclusions in recent years. Information available during the inspection showed that no pupils have been excluded this year.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The very small cohorts of pupils in recent years mean that the proportion represented by one pupil can vary considerably from year to year. The numbers of pupils joining the school at different points in the year or part way through key stages are also proportionately higher than average. Statistics about pupils’ outcomes can, therefore, show wide variation, and comparison with other schools nationally can be unreliable. However, information published over the last three years shows that pupils at Broken Cross, including disadvantaged pupils, have generally made progress in reading and in mathematics which is at least in line with the national average in these subjects. Progress in writing has been more variable.  Across all year groups, disadvantaged pupils currently in school make similar progress in reading, writing and mathematics to that of other pupils with similar starting points. Pupils with SEND make strong progress from their individual starting points as a result

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Outcomes for pupils Good

of the good support they receive.  Pupils currently in school are making strong progress in reading. Pupils who read to the inspector did so with fluency and enjoyment, and used appropriate strategies to read and understand unfamiliar words. Improvements that leaders have made to the teaching of reading have helped pupils to understand the meaning of texts better. Pupils enjoy the opportunities that leaders provide for them to read with sixth-form students from the trust’s secondary schools. Younger pupils and children use their phonic skills well to help them read unfamiliar words. They enjoy listening to stories and selecting books for themselves from their attractive library areas in class.  The improvements that leaders have made to the teaching of writing are having a positive impact on the progress that current pupils are making across the school. Older pupils in key stage 2 are learning better strategies for improving their work, for

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Outcomes for pupils Good

example, with more exciting vocabulary and with words and phrases that enliven their writing even more. Younger pupils learn how to consider the purpose and audience for their writing so that they remember to include important information for the reader. As a result, most pupils currently in school are making strong progress.  Pupils currently in school are making strong progress in mathematics. Strong leadership of mathematics ensures that pupils benefit from teaching that consistently develops pupils’ problem-solving and reasoning skills in a range of ways. This is evident in their work in books over time and across all key stages. Where appropriate, pupils have opportunities to practise their mathematical skills in other subjects. This contributes to the progress that they make.  Work in pupils’ books shows that the curriculum that leaders provide enables pupils to learn across a range of subjects including science, history, geography, French, art and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

computing. Leaders make sure that pupils have opportunities through educational trips and visits to enhance their learning. Pupils who spoke to the inspector were able to describe how these visits had helped them to learn and remember more. In some subjects, the work that the most able pupils receive does not stretch them enough to make the strong progress of which they are capable.  Younger pupils and children in school are developing good phonic skills as a result of the effective teaching they receive. Children learn how to break up or ‘segment’ sounds and blend them back together in order to read and spell words. The writing they produce shows that they are making strong progress in these skills, and that they are able to write readable sentences with good attempts as spelling more difficult words.

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Early years provision Good

 Children at Broken Cross make a good start to their education. They join the school either in the Nursery or, if they have attended nurseries elsewhere, the Reception class. In either case, children including disadvantaged children and those with SEND make strong progress from their typically low starting points.  Leaders have a clear overview of the strengths of the early years provision as well as where there is scope for further development. This helps them to arrive at the right priorities for improvement. For example, leaders have noticed that children frequently start nursery with skills in communication and language that are less well developed than expected for their age. They have therefore grasped the opportunities that exist within the trust to engage in projects that improve staff’s subject knowledge, for example, in engaging children in conversation. This is having an impact on the way in

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Early years provision Good

which children are making progress in their early language skills.  Adults prioritise the establishment of strong, trusting relationships with children and their parents from the start. As a result, children separate confidently from their parents on arrival at the setting and quickly become involved in their learning. Parents speak highly of the high standard of care that teachers and staff provide. Those who responded to the Parent View questionnaire and the free-text service commented on how this has supported their children to settle and make progress in the early years provision.  Children develop good behaviour habits because leaders and staff have established simple, clear rules and routines for them to follow. They learn to take care of their own needs and to respect their classroom and the resources they use.  Children in the early years benefit from teaching that is consistently good. Adults use

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Early years provision Good

questioning skilfully to encourage children to think carefully and to share their thoughts and ideas. Children learn to listen to each other and to take turns in conversations. This helps them to make important progress in the development of their speaking and listening skills, as well as in making relationships with other children.  The activities that teachers plan enable children to develop curiosity, enthusiasm for learning and a willingness to ‘have a go’ for themselves. For example, during the inspection, children in the Nursery were excited to try out toasting marshmallows on an open fire with their visitor, ‘Ranger Dan’. Children listened carefully to Dan’s instructions on how to hold their toasting stick, and how to wait until it cooled before eating the marshmallow. As a result, they developed their understanding of how to keep themselves safe as well as making progress in their understanding of the world

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Early years provision Good

about them.  Adults have established effective systems for assessing and monitoring the progress that children make over time. They gather important information about what children say and do, in order to plan the next steps in their learning. The effective relationships that leaders and teachers have established with a range of professionals ensure that children receive appropriate support where they need it. Parents value the regular information that they receive from teachers and staff about their children’s progress in the early years.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address admin@brokencross.cheshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 – 11 January 2017

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Information about this school

 Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery is a smaller primary school than average.  The number of pupils on roll has increased since the last inspection.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is much smaller than average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much greater than average.  A greater proportion of pupils than average receives support for SEND. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is also greater than average.  The school has a Nursery class for children aged from two to four years, and offers places on a full- and part-time basis.  The school converted to academy status in September 2014. It is part of The Fallibroome Trust, a multi-academy trust established in September 2014. The Fallibroome Trust consists of two secondary and six primary schools. In line with its

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Information about this school

policy the trust has delegated responsibility for governance to the local governing body while retaining overarching responsibility for the quality of provision. The trust monitors performance through half-termly reports from the trust chief executive officer and the executive primary principal.  The school runs a breakfast club and a range of after-school activity clubs.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning in all classes.  The inspector looked at pupils’ work across year groups and across a range of subjects.  The inspector listened to some pupils reading, spoke informally with pupils and observed pupils’ behaviour in classes and around the school.  Discussions were held with senior leaders, trust leaders, governors, teachers and staff. The inspector also spoke to a representative from the local authority.  The inspector looked at a range of documents, including the school’s plans for improvement, safeguarding and recruitment information, behaviour logs, assessment information and minutes of governing body meetings.  The inspector spoke to some parents and took into account 27 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspector also took into account 14 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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