Broomgrove Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Broomgrove Junior School Broome Grove, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex CO7 9QB

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Outcome

Broomgrove Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are safe and say that the trusted adults support them well. Their attitudes to learning embody the school’s ambition of ‘Being the best we can be together’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love their learning, especially reading and mathematics. They value the fun and memorable activities that their teachers provide. They respond well to the high expectations of achievement set by their teachers. Accordingly, pupils achieve well in most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils model the school’s character virtues of ‘CARE’. These virtues include courage, resilience, ambition, respect and empathy. This means that pupils rise to the high expectations. They behave well in lessons and during social times.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils experience a range of activities outside of the classroom to enrich their learning. These include visits to heritage sites, residential trips and many clubs. Pupils can participate in lunchtime football led by players from a local football club, cheerleading, circus skills and chess. Pupils represent the school in sporting competitions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on leadership roles. These roles help to develop their confidence and self- esteem. The school councillors eagerly carry out their mission of ‘We all have a voice, let’s make it heard!’

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

The school has been through a significant period of change. It has responded very positively. Leaders have made extensive changes to the curriculum, which is now ambitious, creative and broad. This curriculum is carefully considered and skilfully sequenced to prepare pupil effectively for their next steps. 23 and 24 May 2024

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Teachers have very high expectations of pupils. They deliver memorable and exciting lessons. However, sometimes lessons can be too easy. This means that some pupils do not always get the practice they need to develop higher order skills, for example reasoning and problem-solving in mathematics. As a result, some pupils do not progress as well as they should.

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In most subjects, teachers carefully check pupils’ progress. However, in some subjects, this is not as well developed. In these subjects, teachers do not yet formally check what pupils know and can do.

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The school prioritises reading. Pupils read a broad range of high-quality literature texts during their time at school. These texts enable pupils to learn about other cultures and faiths, as well as increasing their knowledge of the wider world. These carefully chosen texts are the foundation of the whole curriculum. Teachers are highly expert in delivering engaging and interactive reading lessons. In these lessons, teachers ensure that pupils build on their reading skills continually to become fluent and confident readers. Teachers carefully check pupils’ progress. They swiftly identify those who need additional help. These pupils rapidly catch up. As a result, many pupils achieve highly in reading, including disadvantaged pupils.

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The school ensures that all pupils can access learning effectively. Therefore, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and the appropriate support put in place. Leaders regularly review this support to ensure its continued suitability. Teachers skilfully adapt learning activities for the range of pupils’ SEND needs. This includes the provision of outdoor learning and opportunities to read with the school therapy dog. Consequently, pupils with SEND achieve well in most subjects.

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The culture of respect and inclusion is strong across the school. This is underpinned by the school’s focus on character virtues and celebrating cultural diversity. Pupils read diverse texts as part of their learning, which further embeds this culture. Pupils participate in voting for their school council representatives, with some pupils conducting litter picks in the community. This helps prepare pupils to make positive contributions to society. For example, school councillors lead their first annual Broomgrove Dash to raise money. Therefore, the school is preparing pupils effectively for life in modern Britain.

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Staff feel very well supported by leaders in terms of their mental health and well-being. They value the actions of leaders that ensure their workload is appropriate.

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Membership of the governing body has undergone a complete revision since the last inspection. Through their monitoring, governors have a very clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas of development. They hold leaders closely to account for their actions, including the successful, but ongoing drive to raise the attendance of a few pupils.

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Safeguarding

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

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers sometimes deliver lessons that are too easy for some pupils. Consequently, pupils do not always get the practice they need to develop higher order skills, for example practising reasoning and problem-solving in mathematics. The school must ensure that teachers provide sufficient opportunities for all pupils to practise their higher order skills regularly.  In a few subjects, the school has not yet fully developed the processes to check pupils’ understanding and what they have remembered. This means that teachers do not check precisely enough what pupils know and can do. The school must ensure that processes for assessment are equally well developed in all subjects. Teachers should then use them effectively to check what pupils know and understand.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2019.

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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 23 and 24 May 2024

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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 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.broomgrovejuniorschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provider.  The governing body has been revised since the previous inspection.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, members of the senior leadership team and subject leaders.  The inspector met with members of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, history and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and 23 and 24 May 2024

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looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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 inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and outside during social times.  The inspector viewed a range of school documents, including the school improvement plan and minutes from meetings of the governing body as well as the local improvement board.  The inspector considered 83 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. The inspector met with staff and considered responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey. She also considered

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Inspection team

Rowena Simmons, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 May 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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