Brodetsky Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Brodetsky Primary School Henry Cohen Campus, Wentworth Avenue, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS17 7TN

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 November 2023

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Outcome

Brodetsky Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils happily attend this inclusive school. They know that they are looked after by kind adults who know them well. Many staff, parents and pupils say that the school is ‘like one big family’. Those who need extra support get the help they need. Parents value the conversations they have with staff about their child. The shared values and ethos of the school are a tangible presence in every aspect of its work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Where the school has focused its attention, pupils achieve highly. Some make startling progress. This includes in the early years, where the youngest children are nurtured and flourish in a carefully considered setting. Most pupils behave well and are kind towards others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a range of different opportunities to broaden pupils’ experiences and develop their talents and interests. Some pupils are house captains, while others are reading buddies and enjoy supporting younger pupils with their reading. Year 6 pupils joyfully described the fun they had on their recent residential trip. Many were proud of how they had successfully challenged themselves on different activities, such as traversing the high ropes.

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

In many subjects, the school has carefully considered the important knowledge that it wants pupils to learn. New learning builds from what pupils have been taught before. Teachers skilfully make links between different topics and different subjects. This brings learning to life for pupils and helps them to see for themselves these different connections. In some subjects, including English and mathematics, pupils achieve highly. However, this is not consistently the case for all subjects.

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

Where leaders have focused their attention, pupils experience an improved curriculum. Pupils at the early stages of learning to read benefit from the new approach, which is now consistently in place. From the moment they start at the school, children in the early 21 and 22 November 2023

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years are immersed in a word-rich environment. Older pupils who need help to read with confidence are similarly well supported, with personalised interventions delivered by well- trained staff. As a result, pupils rapidly learn to read, with increasing proficiency.

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However, in some lessons, pupils do not benefit from a sufficiently ambitious curriculum. Some teaching approaches do not enable pupils to learn the important knowledge that the school has identified. In a few subjects, pupils do not have regular opportunities to return to what they have been taught before. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

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The school knows that some pupils need more help and support. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school now has sharp oversight of this area of provision. Pupils with high needs are well supported by kind teaching staff, who know them well and appropriately adapt the curriculum so that these pupils continue to access important learning. However, some other pupils with SEND are not consistently well supported to access the curriculum.

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A small minority of pupils continue to struggle to meet the school’s expectations for their behaviour. On occasion, low-level disruption gets in the way of learning. A few pupils speak of ‘drama’ between others in their class. At times, a few pupils are unkind towards others. Some pupils and their parents are worried by this, including when there is a bullying incident. The school knows there is work to do to further improve behaviour. A new behaviour policy, which includes a restorative justice approach, is increasingly embedded across the school. Although it is early days, there is increasing evidence that this is helping some pupils make better choices.

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The school council is one way in which pupils contribute to the life of the school. With representation from different year groups, these pupils are both ambassadors for their school and role models for others. The school council members meet with the governing body members to tell them of their views and those of other pupils. Governors listen carefully and follow up any issues. Pupils are proud of how they help and support others, including their friends. Pupils were keen to speak of how they had recently raised a significant sum of money for their chosen charity.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They know that they are supported by leaders, who listen to them and consider their workload and well-being. All staff are united by a clear vision to do the very best for pupils and their families. However, leaders’ oversight of their work to improve aspects of the school is not sufficiently robust.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has ensured that staff know the signs that suggest a pupil may be at risk of harm. Staff promptly report any concerns they have about pupils and the school rapidly follows these up. Referrals to wider safeguarding partners are made swiftly. However, on a few occasions, important safeguarding documents do not record in sufficient detail the actions that the school has taken to keep children safe. 21 and 22 November 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders, including governors, do not keep a close enough strategic oversight of the work to improve the school. This means that they are not able to accurately evaluate the impact of the work that they are doing to improve outcomes for pupils and to check whether the actions they are taking are having the desired impact. Leaders at all levels should ensure that there is robust oversight of their areas of responsibility, including in the development of subjects, so that clearly identified school improvement priorities are rigorously implemented.  In a few subjects, pupils struggle to recall what they have been taught before. This is because they have not had sufficient opportunities to regularly revisit important knowledge over time. Some struggle to make sense of new learning, and their progress through the curriculum is slowed. The school should ensure that pupils can regularly revisit the important knowledge that has been highlighted so that they learn well in all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

subjects.  Some pupils do not consistently meet the school’s high expectations for their behaviour. At times, learning is disrupted, and a few pupils are upset by the unkind comments and actions of others. The school should carefully and regularly check that the actions they are taking to improve behaviour are helping pupils to consistently make better choices so that their behaviour improves.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.

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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. 21 and 22 November 2023

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 21 and 22 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Charlie Kelsey (Interim Executive Headteacher) Website www.brodetsky.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is an orthodox Jewish primary day school for girls and boys. Teaching is divided between the secular curriculum and Jewish studies (the Kodesh).  The school is a voluntary-aided school with a religious character. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school was in March 2019. Due to the pandemic, section 48 inspections were suspended and the inspection window was extended by up to eight years. The next section 48 inspection is due by March 2027.  Since the last inspection, several new leadership appointments have been made. The interim executive headteacher formally took up post in September 2023. A new deputy headteacher and other senior leaders have been appointed.  The school shares the site and some facilities with Leeds Jewish Free School. The two schools currently share the same executive headteacher.  The school runs a nursery for children aged two to four years.  The school does not make use of any alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with senior and middle leaders and members of the governing body. The inspector met with a representative of the local authority who is the external school improvement adviser.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, history and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to some pupils read and discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector met with pupils both formally and informally. The views of pupils were also considered through the Ofsted pupil survey.  The inspector considered the view of parents through the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey. The views of staff were considered from meetings held with staff and from the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Eleanor Belfield, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 21 and 22 November 2023

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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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