Brooke House Day School

Inspection of Brooke House Day School Croft Road, Cosby, Leicester, Leicestershire LE9 1SE

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Brooke House Day School is very much appreciated by pupils, parents and carers. Pupils are happy and say that the staff look after them well. Leaders make sure that the school is a welcoming and positive environment for pupils. One parent expressed a view, shared by other parents, when they stated that, ‘The school has provided a safe, secure and happy environment for my son to succeed to the best of his ability.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at the school and staff know them well. Pupils learn to respect each other. They behave well and are kind to each other. Bullying rarely occurs. Pupils say that if bullying, or any unkind behaviour, were ever to happen, teachers would deal with it immediately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. This is particularly shown in their standards for pupil behaviour and conduct. Leaders have ensured an inclusive ethos at the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have improved the school since the last inspection. However, they have yet to ensure that the curriculum in all subjects provides pupils with the important knowledge and skills that they need.

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better?

Leaders have planned a curriculum that matches the ambition of the national curriculum. They have ensured that all pupils receive a broad and balanced education. Leaders have not made sure, however, that there is a clear sequence to the curriculum. The curriculum does not set out in all subjects what pupils should know and remember at each stage, from the early years to the end of key stage 4. Leaders of some subjects have thought carefully about what pupils should learn and when. For example, in mathematics, pupils build their knowledge step by step. In art lessons, pupils develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to produce increasingly complex pieces of work. However, senior leaders have not shared the effective practice seen in some subjects across the whole school so that the curriculum thinking evident in some subjects, is evident across all.

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better?

Leaders and teachers have prioritised reading. They encourage a love of reading. Most pupils read regularly and enthusiastically. However, leaders have not ensured that there is a consistent approach to the teaching of reading. They have recently introduced a new programme for phonics. This is being delivered alongside the outgoing programme. The two programmes do not match. The curriculum does not make clear which sounds pupils should know at each stage of their education. As a result, pupils continue to receive phonics lessons all the way through the primary phase, even when they are already confident readers.

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better?

Staff ensure that children in the early years provision are well looked after and nurtured. Relationships are positive. Staff consider children’s needs and abilities and 21 to 23 June 2022 support them well in lessons. Leaders have a clear understanding of what children should know and do before leaving the early years stage. However, leaders have not clearly outlined the small steps children need to make to reach these end goals.

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better?

Leaders are quick to identify and support pupils with SEND. Staff know and care for these pupils well. Leaders produce individual education plans for pupils with SEND. These detail the support each pupil requires. Some teachers do not always pay close enough attention to the suggested strategies contained in these plans when thinking about how best to help pupils learn. Leaders have not ensured that they regularly review and update these plans.

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better?

In lessons, pupils are attentive and on task. They respond well to adult instruction. Older pupils are self-motivated and show increasing independence when working. Staff teach younger children to respect each other and to take turns when playing. Teachers use a points system to record and celebrate positive behaviour. All pupils are keen to find out who the ‘winner’ is at the end of each week. Pupils say that there are very few incidents of poor behaviour. On the rare occasions when pupils’ behaviour falls below the high standards expected of them, leaders are quick to act. Pupils appreciate this. They say it helps them know they are safe and cared for. One pupil expressed this by saying, ‘This is the first school where I feel I really belong.’ Attendance is good and continues to improve.

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better?

There is a well-structured programme to support pupils’ personal development. All pupils benefit from carefully planned personal, social, health and economic education lessons. Leaders ensure that relationships and sex education and health education are provided to all pupils. Older pupils have some independent careers advice and have benefited from visits to career fairs. Teachers ensure that pupils learn to respect those with backgrounds different from their own. They also teach pupils about different faiths and cultures. Younger pupils are keen to take part in a range of after-school clubs and activities.

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better?

Leaders provide well for pupils’ physical and mental health. Pupils have regular cooking lessons and value spending time on the school allotment. They enjoy going to the leisure centre for physical education and to have swimming lessons.

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better?

The proprietor, who is also the headteacher, has an ambitious vision for what she wants pupils to achieve. However, leaders and the proprietor have not evaluated effectively enough the quality of all areas of the provision. As a result, the proprietor has not had a sharp enough view of the quality of education delivered at the school.

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better?

Staff value the support leaders give them. They say that leaders care about their well-being and are considerate of their workload.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that the school’s site promotes pupils’ welfare, health and safety. Leaders identify any issues with the building and are quick to rectify them. 21 to 23 June 2022 Leaders maintain accurate risk assessments for individual pupils. They also assess the risk associated with any activities pupils engage in. Leaders regularly review these assessments, to ensure that the risk assessments correctly identify any risks and the appropriate actions staff should take to reduce them.

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better?

The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that the school’s policies related to keeping pupils safe are up to date and reflect the most recent national guidance. The school’s safeguarding policy is available to parents on request.

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Safeguarding

Staff have undergone extensive safeguarding training. They are very knowledgeable about what signs to look out for that might indicate a possible concern. Staff know who to contact if they have any concerns about the actions of any adults in the school.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding records are accurate and detail the follow-up work safeguarding leaders take to ensure that pupils receive the support they need. Leaders work effectively with the local authority and other agencies to provide holistic support to pupils.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are regularly taught about how to stay safe, including when online.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school’s curriculum is not fully sequenced. The curriculum does not set out clearly enough what pupils should know and remember at each stage of their learning, from the early years to the end of key stage 4. This means that pupils do not learn the knowledge they need cumulatively. Leaders cannot be sure that teachers teach knowledge in the best order. Leaders should ensure that the school’s curriculum, across all subjects and the early years, sets out what pupils should know and be able to do, in each subject, at each stage of their education.  The school has recently introduced a new programme for phonics. This is being delivered alongside the outgoing programme. The two programmes do not match. The curriculum does not make clear which sounds pupils should know at each stage of their education. Additionally, leaders do not have a precise enough overview of which pupils have mastered phonics. As a result, some pupils

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

continue to learn phonics at a point when they should already be secure in this knowledge. Others continue to study phonics, despite being fluent readers already. Leaders should ensure that the phonics programme clearly sets out their ambitions for what sounds pupils should know at each stage of their education 21 to 23 June 2022 and that teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to enable pupils to become fluent readers as quickly as they should.  The role of the subject leader is underdeveloped. Subject leaders do not have a fully rounded view of how their subject is taught across the school. They do not consistently know the concepts that teachers, including those in the early years, are delivering. This means that they cannot be sure that teachers are teaching content effectively and in the best order. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to fulfil their role

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

effectively, particularly in relation to their oversight of the delivery of the curriculum in their subject.  Senior leaders do not check closely enough on the quality of education provided for all pupils, including those with SEND. They do not have a systematic approach to checking how effectively the school’s curriculum is being implemented. This means that they cannot be sure about how well all pupils, including those with SEND, receive the support they need to understand and remember the knowledge they are learning. Leaders should ensure that they have a precise understanding of the effectiveness of the quality of education, including how well pupils are learning what they should.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 21 to 23 June 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 135185 DfE registration number 855/6023

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School details

Inspection number 10213173 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £7,521 to £8,400

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School details

Email address joyparker@brookehouseschool.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 to 14 November 2019

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Information about this school

 Brooke House Day School is an independent school that operates on two sites that are opposite each other across the main road in the village. One site provides education for primary-age pupils. The second site provides secondary-age education.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. 21 to 23 June 2022 The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, English, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at individual pupils’ education, health and care plans and spoke to the special educational needs coordinator.  The lead inspector met with the proprietor.  Inspectors considered a wide variety of school documents, including the school self-evaluation and school development plan.  Inspectors took note of the responses received on Ofsted Parent View and considered the results of the Ofsted staff and pupil surveys. Inspectors met with

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Information about this inspection

small groups of pupils to gather their views.  To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors read the school’s relevant policies, considered the school’s processes for risk assessment, scrutinised the single central record, checked the school’s procedures for the safe recruitment of staff and met with the safeguarding team. Inspectors also spoke with staff and pupils.  Inspectors considered relevant documentation and reviewed the school facilities, to check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.

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Information about this inspection

The school’s progress in meeting previously failed standards

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Information about this inspection

During the inspection we checked whether the school now meets the independent school standards and the requirements of the early years foundation stage that it was judged to have failed at its previous progress monitoring inspection on 8 February 2021.

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Information about this inspection

 The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school now meets the previously failed standards.  At the previous monitoring inspection, leaders had not ensured that safeguarding policies reflected the most recent national guidance. Not all staff knew how to spot the signs that pupils might be at risk of harm. Leaders were not obtaining and verifying references from previous employees when recruiting new staff. Safeguarding records were not detailed enough and leaders did not follow up safeguarding concerns robustly enough.  Leaders have ensured that the safeguarding policy now reflects the most recent national guidance. Staff, including those in the early years provision, have been trained to spot the signs that a pupil might be at risk of harm. Leaders are following safer recruitment practices by obtaining references for all staff. 21 to 23 June 2022 Safeguarding records are much more detailed. They show the full details of any

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Information about this inspection

incidents and the robust follow-up work leaders complete.  At the previous monitoring inspection, leaders had not ensured that risk assessments were written for individual pupils. Leaders had not always checked to see if issues identified in risk assessments had been rectified.  Leaders have further updated the risk assessment policy and risk assessments for individual pupils are in place and reviewed regularly. Leaders’ regular health and safety checks ensure that they can identify and resolve any identified risks.  At the previous monitoring inspection, leaders had not demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the independent school standards to ensure that the school was meeting the previously unmet standards at that point.  Through their actions in meeting the unmet paragraphs in relation to safeguarding, including in the early years, and risk assessment, leaders have demonstrated the knowledge appropriate to their role. Leaders now demonstrate

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Information about this inspection

the necessary skills and knowledge in relation to the independent school standards.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that- – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and – 7(b) such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 16 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that- – 16(a) the welfare of pupils at the school is safeguarded and promoted by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written risk assessment policy; and – 16(b) appropriate action is taken to reduce risks that are identified.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school- – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; 21 to 23 June 2022 – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils.

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Early years foundation stage

 The proprietor has ensured that the school meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the statutory framework of the early years foundation stage, paragraphs 3.4, 3.6 and 3.7

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Inspection team

Dave Gilkerson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vic Wilkinson Her Majesty’s Inspector 21 to 23 June 2022 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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