Brookdale Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Brookdale Primary School Escolme Drive, Wirral, Merseyside CH49 1SE

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Outcome

Brookdale Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy at this school. They enjoy being part of a friendly community. As pupils arrive for school each morning, staff are there to greet them with a warm welcome. Trusting relationships with their friends and with staff help pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for what pupils can achieve, and pupils try their best. Leaders ensure that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have the help that they need to access an ambitious curriculum. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They make visitors feel very welcome. Leaders have high expectations for behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. In lessons, they try hard and listen to staff and to one another. They said that incidents of bullying are extremely rare. When such incidents do happen, staff deal with them swiftly and appropriately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a well-developed understanding of diversity. They know that everyone has differences and similarities. Older pupils enjoy supporting others, for example as ambassadors to promote the school’s values. Leaders and staff have successfully enhanced pupils’ learning through a range of trips and after-school clubs.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have created a broad and aspirational curriculum. Pupils across the school learn well from this curriculum, including those with SEND. Leaders have considered carefully how to make the curriculum relevant to pupils. For example, they provide pupils with opportunities to learn about their local area. Leaders ensure that pupils learn a wide range of new vocabulary in each subject. Most pupils, including children in the early years, achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education. 7 and 8 June 2022

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Subject leaders are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subjects that they oversee. They receive appropriate training to help them to lead their subjects well. Teachers know what important knowledge pupils in their classes need to learn and understand. Most curriculums are organised well. This helps teachers to build pupils’ knowledge in a logical order, so that pupils can connect and remember their learning well over time. However, in a small number of subjects, the curriculums are less well developed. The curriculum in these subjects does not set out clearly for teachers the sequence of new learning as pupils move through the school. This prevents some pupils from building securely on what they already know and from deepening their knowledge over time.

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Staff check on pupils’ learning effectively. These checks help them identify which pupils need more help or guidance.

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Leaders have developed a well-ordered phonics and reading curriculum. This begins when children start in the early years. Any pupils who are at risk of falling behind in their phonics knowledge are identified early. For these pupils, additional and effective support is provided by staff. By the end of key stage 1, most pupils are successful readers. Pupils read confidently. They talked with enthusiasm about fiction and non-fiction books. Older pupils read fluently with a real sense of understanding. Pupils across the school enjoy and value reading.

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Leaders work with staff to identify pupils with SEND. Staff, including those in the early years, are skilled at adapting resources and support for these pupils where necessary. This helps this group of pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers. Leaders make sure that staff receive training to support pupils’ particular needs, such as communication and language. Leaders and staff work effectively with parents and carers, and with professionals such as therapists. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Pupils’ positive behaviour supports their learning. Children in the early years understand the routines that help them to work and play safely and purposefully. Pupils are attentive in class. When there is any low-level disruption, this is well managed by staff and little learning time is lost. Pupils are respectful of others’ answers and listen to staff and their classmates politely. Relationships across the school are warm and supportive.

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Leaders have made sure that the curriculum provides high-quality opportunities to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, links with local religious organisations help to develop pupils’ spiritual and global understanding.

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Governors know the school well. They ask leaders challenging questions to hold them to account for their work to further develop aspects of the school. Staff said that they are proud to work at the school. They know that leaders will consider their workload before new initiatives are introduced. Staff said that they are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 7 and 8 June 2022

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Leaders make sure that staff have regular, appropriate training to help them to recognise when pupils might be at risk of harm. There are effective procedures and systems for recording any concerns about pupils’ welfare. Staff know how to follow these procedures well.

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Leaders work effectively with a range of professionals, such as therapists and counsellors, to support their work with families. They take account of parents’ and pupils’ views when they review this support.

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Pupils who are members of the school council have helped leaders to develop child- friendly safeguarding and anti-bullying policies. Pupils learn more about these policies through the curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education and through assembly time. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, for example when working online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The sequence of learning in a small number of subjects is not as clear for teachers as it is in most other subjects. This means that, in these subjects, it is more difficult for teachers to design learning that builds securely on what pupils already know and can do. Leaders should review and improve the sequencing of the curriculum in these subjects so that pupils build securely on earlier learning.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 7 and 8 June 2022

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If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 7 and 8 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226082 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.brookdaleprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 February 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative providers for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector spoke with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and with other leaders and members of staff. He also spoke with members of the governing body. The inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at a range of documents and spoke with leaders about the school’s safeguarding procedures.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. He talked with curriculum leaders of these subject areas. The inspector also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils. The inspector also observed some pupils reading to staff. 7 and 8 June 2022

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 The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in class and as they moved around school. He also observed pupils in the dining hall and playing outside at lunchtime.  The inspector spoke with a group of pupils about their experiences at school.  The inspector looked at the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. He also met with parents before school to find out their views of the school.  The inspector also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils and Ofsted’s online survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Ian Shackleton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 June 2022

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regulates and inspects to 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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