Brabourne Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Brabourne Church of England Primary School School Lane, Brabourne, Ashford, Kent TN25 5LQ

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Outcome

Brabourne Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their small village school. They benefit from the involvement they have in community life. Pupils learn to show citizenship in many ways, for example through litter picking and baking cakes for neighbours in the local area. Pupils raise money for local charities, learning about the importance of making a positive contribution to society. Careful thought has gone into making sure pupils develop and flourish into positive role models.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and cared for because they have trusted adults who are there to support them. Pupils behave really well. Expectations of behaviour are high, clear and consistent. Pupils that need additional support to manage their behaviour receive effective help. Consequently, lessons are very calm so that pupils can focus on their learning fully. Pupils recognise the importance of doing the right thing to make the school a positive place for all those who visit and attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a range of opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills, for example as digital leaders and house captains. Pupils are proud of the roles they play in making the school a good place to be. Many pupils lead their own lunchtime clubs with support from staff, where they can learn fun skills, such as writing club.

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

The school’s revised curriculum is strong and ambitious for all pupils. It is comprehensive and provides pupils with memorable learning experiences. In each subject, the curriculum rightly identifies what important knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils need to learn and when. The curriculum is well sequenced. Staff have mapped out key questions they want pupils to be able to answer. Teachers design lessons to support pupils to think about what they are learning. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive appropriate help to ensure that they participate fully in lessons. Teachers check how well pupils remember new learning. While in some subjects the curriculum is not as fully embedded as it is in others, the school is taking the right ongoing action to ensure that 12 March 2024

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this happens. This includes making sure that teachers use approaches in lessons to help pupils make connections between different aspects of their learning and develop their writing skills fully, so that their achievement improves even more.

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The school places a strong emphasis on pupils learning to read well. As soon as children start in Reception, skilled teachers help children learn the letters and corresponding sounds that they need to read new words. Across the school, pupils that need additional help to read, including pupils with SEND, receive expert support through regular reading practice. Consequently, most pupils can competently apply their reading skills when learning in lessons.

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Children in Reception get off to a positive start when they join school. They settle into school life quickly as staff are consistent with routines and expectations. Children learn to take turns and collaborate with each other through play. Staff design learning to promote awe and wonder through exploration. For example, children talk excitedly about the life cycles and habitats of insects they find during their outdoor adventures.

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Pupils are very respectful towards each other and staff. They greet visitors kindly with a cheery wave, saying, ‘Welcome to Brabourne’. The school rules are very well understood by all. Consequently, pupils are highly considerate and support each other to do well. When needed, staff help pupils sensitively to resolve any disagreements effectively.

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Pupils attend school regularly because they really enjoy learning here. The school cultivates pupils’ wider understanding of the world around them. Visits to the Houses of Parliament inspire lessons where pupils debate different challenging questions. This strengthens their understanding of the importance of respect and tolerance of different perspectives. Exciting educational trips enrich pupils’ class learning, for example learning about bees as pollinators through visiting a beekeeper. An extensive offer of clubs and activities is well attended by many. This enables pupils to extend their many talents and interests.

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Staff speak highly of the school’s work to support their workload and well-being so that they can focus fully on their teaching. They describe the school as a ‘family’, with a strong shared vision to see pupils flourish and grow.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Where some parts of the curriculum are newer, pupils’ learning is not always as deep and developed as it is in more established subjects. Pupils could make even stronger connections between different aspects of their learning and develop their writing more fully. The school should continue its work to support staff to select and use highly effective approaches to ensure that pupils achieve even more across the curriculum. 12 March 2024

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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 October 2013.

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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.

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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). 12 March 2024

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School details

School category Voluntary controlled school

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Catherine Hester Fenwick

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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 part of the Diocese of Canterbury. The last section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in March 2018.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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 lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative from the diocese of Canterbury and a representative from Kent local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, science and geography. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their 12 March 2024

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learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to some pupils read aloud to familiar adults.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experiences of school life. They also took account of the views of parents, carers and staff through conversations and responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Kate Owbridge, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Caroline Clarke Ofsted Inspector 12 March 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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