The Bromley-Pensnett Primary School

Inspection of The Bromley-Pensnett Primary School Bromley Pensnett, Dudley, West Midlands DY5 4PJ

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 December 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Justin Gray. This school is part of DRB Ignite multi- academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Robert Bowater, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Sheldon. 13 and 14 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school where everyone is made to feel welcome. Pupils from different backgrounds, and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are all treated equally. Pupils themselves know that discrimination in any form is wrong. They understand the values of respect, liberty and democracy. This is because the school prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and know that staff care about them. They enjoy the range of opportunities the school provides beyond the classroom. These include different clubs, educational visits and school events. These activities add to pupils’ enjoyment of school. However, some pupils miss out on these opportunities because they do not attend school regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils follow the school’s charter to be ‘ready, respectful, safe and kind’. They play well together outdoors and often help one another during lesson times. On occasion, a small number of pupils struggle to manage their behaviour and conform to the school’s high expectations. However, staff deal effectively and quickly with any incidents which occur. This ensures that disruption to learning is minimal.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour have risen. Ongoing work is helping to raise attainment and ensure that all pupils achieve well.

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better?

There have been many changes at the school since the previous inspection. New staff have joined, including the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Different approaches have been introduced to teach early reading and mathematics. The school has extended its provision for pupils with SEND. With the support of the trust, the school refreshed the curriculum and worked hard to improve behaviour and attendance. Actions taken have been successful and the results are plain to see. However, the school is not complacent. It is intent on further strengthening the experiences and education pupils receive.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and ambitious. In the main, it supports pupils’ learning well. Key knowledge, skills and vocabulary are identified in all subjects, including in the early years. Learning is progressive and pupils build their knowledge gradually over time. Teachers check pupils’ understanding during lessons and at the end of units taught. However, a small number of subjects are less well developed. Staff are not always confident in teaching some areas of the curriculum. This affects how well pupils achieve in these subjects.

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better?

The school has rightly selected reading as its top priority. Children are introduced to rhymes and stories as soon as they join the nursery. This helps encourage a love of reading from the outset. Pupils read every day. They have a good variety of books to choose from. Most pupils read fluently. However, pupils who struggle with reading 13 and 14 December 2023

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do not have enough time to practise their reading skills to help them catch up with their classmates.

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Skilled staff identify pupils with SEND early. The school has thought carefully about the type and level of support pupils receive. Additional provision has been created for pupils with social and emotional needs, and those with communication and complex difficulties. These pupils benefit from specialist support, increased adult attention and tasks which are tailored to their needs. Teachers adapt learning so that pupils in all classes access the same curriculum as their peers.

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Most pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Children in the early years know what is expected of them and respond promptly to adult instructions. Where any low-level disruption or incidents occur, staff manage these situations well. The school has worked hard to improve attendance, with some degree of success. Attendance figures are rising steadily. However, there are still too many pupils who are persistently absent. They miss important lessons, and this limits the progress they make.

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The school provides additional opportunities beyond the classroom to promote pupils’ personal development. Pupils take on roles such as librarians, safeguarding ambassadors and school councillors. The school invites visiting speakers to talk to pupils about their careers to help raise pupils’ aspirations.

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The trust has robust systems in place for checking on and steering the school’s work. Trustees provide a good balance of support and challenge. They hold the school to account effectively and ensure that staff receive the training they need. They actively seek parents’ and carers’ views and act on their findings to improve school life.

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Staff are proud to work at this school. They benefit from working closely with other schools in the trust. They work hard but say that workload is manageable. They appreciate the approachability and support they receive from senior leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of curriculum areas, teaching strategies do not consistently reflect the specific nature of the subject. This leads to variability in pupils’ achievement in some subjects. The school should ensure that all staff have the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver the intended curriculum so that pupils achieve as well as they should. 13 and 14 December 2023

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 Some pupils at the early stage of reading do not receive sufficient time to practise the skills they learn in lessons. This impacts on their ability to become fluent and confident readers. The school should provide the support needed to help the lowest attaining pupils catch up quickly so that they can access the full curriculum as they move through the school.  Too many pupils are persistently absent. They miss important lessons and fall behind in their learning. The school should explore all options and work closely with parents to instil the importance of regular school attendance.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information 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 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’ 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). 13 and 14 December 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10294610 Type of school Primary

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 September 2018 under section 5 of the 2005 Education Act

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Information about this school

 There has been a change to the school’s senior leadership team since the last inspection. The deputy headteacher was appointed in February 2021 and the headteacher joined the school in April 2021.  The school has reduced its planned admission number from one and a half form entry to one form entry.  The specially resourced provision, for up to 12 pupils with speech and communication difficulties, was opened in September 2023. All pupils have an education, health and care plan. This resource is funded by the local authority. At the time of the inspection, four pupils were accessing this provision.  The school also provides additional provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. This provision is known as the ‘Green Zone’ and caters for pupils from different year groups. At the time of the inspection, 12 pupils were receiving this additional support.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. Meetings were also held with members of the multi-academy trust, including the chief executive officer.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, English, mathematics, history and art. For each deep dive, inspectors 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. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-

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Information about this inspection

evaluation and improvement plans. Minutes of trust board meetings, parent and community forums, and reports from the trust’s school improvement team were also scrutinised.  Inspectors looked at records of attendance and behaviour. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them informally about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  The inspectors talked to parents at the end of the school day and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. They also reviewed the responses to the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils on site through discussion.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: checked the school’s single central record; spoke to senior leaders about safeguarding procedures; took account of the views of staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Heather Simpson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Turner Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 December 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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