Broomley First School

Inspection of Broomley First School Main Road, Stocksfield, Northumberland NE43 7NN

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Katie Jacobs. This school is part of Cheviot Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by co-chief executive officers, Alice Witherow and Simon Taylor, and overseen by the board of trustees, chaired by Paul Carvin.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected Broomley First School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Broomley First School to be outstanding, before it opened as an academy. 23 and 24 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they are happy in school and that it is easy to make friends. As one pupil said, ‘It’s so easy to make friends here that I’m friends with the whole school.’ This view was endorsed by all of the pupils spoken to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils. Leaders at all levels work tirelessly to make improvements to the curriculum to ensure it is fit for purpose and that it prepares pupils well for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A new behaviour management and house system were recently implemented. Both are supporting improved behaviour across the school. Pupils are noticing the difference. They say how much better pupils’ behaviour is now.

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What is it like to attend this school?

School rules are well understood. Rewards and consequences are used with much greater consistency. Pupils relish earning points for their respective house teams. They talk excitedly about which house is leading the points tally. Pupils are keen to work hard and earn more points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They say that bullying does not happen here and know what actions they should take if it were it to happen.

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better?

The school has secured improved classroom practice and strengthened the school’s curriculums. This is against a backdrop of considerable staffing changes in the last academic year. This is a phenomenal achievement.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Children in the early years get off to a great start in their reading. Precision teaching enables children to secure their phonics knowledge well.

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better?

Pupils continue to improve their reading as they move through school and make good progress. Outcomes in the phonics screening check are above the national average. All pupils practise their reading with books that are well matched to their ability. This is increasing pupils’ enjoyment of books and their confidence to read.

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better?

A range of high-quality texts underpins the school’s wider reading approaches. Books are carefully chosen to expose pupils to a range of styles. They also promote aspects of pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy these books and can recall characters and plot with ease. However, opportunities for pupils to explain their thinking and to deepen their understanding are less secure. Although planned for, opportunities for more demanding activities are often at the end of lessons and not completed.

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better?

The curriculum in mathematics is ambitious for all pupils. It is well structured to ensure pupils build their knowledge step by step. A range of resources is available to 23 and 24 January 2024

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use in all classrooms. They are used well to support pupils’ mathematical development. Pupils’ outcomes in the 2023 multiplication tables check fell short of the school’s expectations. To better this, a greater emphasis has been placed on developing pupils’ mathematical fluency. While understandable, it has led to less time for pupils to develop their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills. This limits opportunities for pupils to deepen their mathematical understanding and to apply their skills.

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The school adapts commercial schemes for the teaching of foundation subjects. This is in keeping with the trust’s approach. Essential knowledge is mapped out carefully from the early years through to Year 4. At each stage, curriculums set out the essential knowledge and key vocabulary pupils must learn. Teachers deliver the curriculum with confidence and consistency. There is a clear structure for each lesson. Typically, the start of each lesson is used to remind pupils of their previous learning. Pupils then build upon this to access new learning. For example, in art, pupils learn how to use primary colours to create secondary colours. Using the same techniques, pupils then build on this to create a range of tertiary colours.

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Teachers check pupils’ understanding in lessons. They adjust their teaching to tackle any gaps in pupils’ learning and to make curriculum adjustments. In subjects such as mathematics and reading, this happens consistently. This is not the case in foundation subjects, where there is greater variability. More time is needed for the school to refine its checking systems in all subjects.

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The school places equal importance on pupils’ wider personal development. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding about healthy relationships. They enjoy the extra-curricular opportunities available to them. The school has already accessed additional curriculum materials to strengthen its offer even further, so that pupils can gain a deeper understanding of topics, such as diversity and equality.

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The school has overhauled its approaches for supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Changes have led to significant improvement in policy and practice. Staff have embraced extensive training opportunities. The advice and support from a range of agencies is sought on time. Pupils with SEND now get the right support when they need it.

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Governors know the school well. They use their extensive knowledge and skills to offer appropriate support and challenge to the school. Staff feel well supported and listened to. Governors do all they can to support staff’s workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 and 24 January 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Opportunities for pupils to use and apply their knowledge for more demanding activities are inconsistent. This means that pupils do not deepen their understanding or extend their thinking as well as they might. The school needs to strengthen this aspect of its curriculums so that more pupils can achieve more highly and deepen their understanding of the subjects they study.  In foundation subjects, there is variability in the approaches to capturing and using assessment information. As a result, the curriculum in these subjects is sometimes not fully effective. The school should secure a consistent approach to assessment for foundation subjects, so that pupils learn as well as they can and as the school would want.

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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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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). 23 and 24 January 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Cheviot Learning trust.  The school does not use registered alternative providers.

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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, deputy headteacher, senior leaders and special educational needs coordinator for the school. Inspectors also met subject leaders and a range of teaching and support staff. 23 and 24 January 2024

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 The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer for the trust and representatives of the local governing board, including the chair of governors, and the chair of the trustees.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the school improvement partner.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors listened to pupils in Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 read to an adult.

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 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and by talking to parents at the start of the school day. The inspectors also evaluated the responses to the Ofsted staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Diane Buckle, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ailsa Taylor Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 January 2024

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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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