Broughton Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Broughton Primary School Moor Road, Great Broughton, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 0YT

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Outcome

Broughton Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school in Anna Bewsher. This school is part of the Learning for Life Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Chris Steele, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Huw Morgan.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are greeted by smiling staff as they arrive at school. Pupils are happy and eager to learn. They thrive in this calm and friendly school. Pupils know that staff care about them. This helps them to feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive to live up to the high expectations that the school has for their achievement. Children in the early years enjoy exploring and learning new information alongside their friends. Most pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They treat each other with understanding and kindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the exciting variety of activities that the school provides, such as cooking and canoeing. Residential trips to London, and other visits to places of national interest, help to broaden pupils’ horizons. Pupils proudly represent the school, for example performing in a music concert with other schools at an arena and the recent league win for the girls’ rugby team. As members of different committees, they help to organise events in the local community, for example litter picking.

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

The curriculum has been thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of this small school. It is ambitious. In most subjects, careful consideration has been given to the knowledge that will be taught, including when some pupils learn together in mixed-age classes. This 25 and 26 June 2024

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knowledge is carefully ordered from the early years to Year 6. This helps teachers to know what pupils will learn and when this should happen.

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In a small number of subjects, the key knowledge that the school wants pupils to learn is not clear. This means that teachers do not know what they should emphasise or check when they are teaching. Consequently, some pupils do not learn all that they should.

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Staff frequently check what pupils know and remember. This enables staff to quickly identify and resolve any misconceptions. Staff use the information from these checks to set out pupils’ next steps through the curriculum. Carefully designed activities enable pupils to practise what they are learning. Mostly, staff help pupils to confidently apply what they already know when they learn something new. Pupils achieve well in most subjects.

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The school accurately identifies the needs of pupils with SEND early. It works effectively with different agencies and professionals. This ensures that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to access the curriculum. Pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their classmates and achieve well.

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A love of reading permeates all aspects of school life. Pupils read widely and often from the well-resourced library. Pupils talked enthusiastically about their favourite authors. They are keen to recommend books to their friends. The phonics programme is delivered consistently well from the time that pupils start in the early years. Children in the Nursery class enjoy listening to their favourite stories. In the Reception class, children quickly learn the sounds that letters make. The books that the school provides for pupils to read match the sounds that they are learning. This helps pupils to read new and unfamiliar words. Pupils who struggle with reading are given the help that they need to catch up. Most pupils are confident and fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.

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Pupils conduct themselves well around the school. From the early years to Year 6, children and pupils demonstrate a positive attitude to learning. This helps them to achieve their best. Pupils enjoy school and most pupils attend often. The school works closely with parents and carers should pupils’ attendance rates start to decline.

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The school fosters pupils’ personal development very well. It arranges carefully considered visits to different places of worship, to help pupils to appreciate different faiths and cultures. Older pupils take their responsibilities seriously. They play an active part in the life of the school. Year 6 pupils act as role models. They help children in the early years to settle into school life quickly.

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Trustees and members of the local governing board use their expertise effectively, to provide appropriate support and challenge to the school. They carefully consider staff’s workload and well-being when making decisions about the future of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 and 26 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the key knowledge that the school wants pupils to learn is not carefully identified. This makes it harder for staff to focus their delivery of the curriculum on the knowledge that pupils need to remember. Sometimes, pupils struggle to remember essential information. The school should ensure that key knowledge is clearly identified in all subjects so that pupils learn all that they should.

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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 predecessor school, also called Broughton Primary School, to be good in January 2015.

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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 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). 25 and 26 June 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 November 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Learning for Life Trust.  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 educational 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 her evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including 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. 25 and 26 June 2024

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 The inspector spoke with the headteacher and members of staff. She met with members of the local governing board, including the chair of the board. She also met with the CEO of the trust.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation relating to the curriculum and carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. The inspector met with subject leaders, visited lessons and spoke to staff.  The inspector spoke to pupils about their learning and their experiences of the school. She also looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils read. The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.  The inspector spoke with parents at the start of the school day to gather their views about the school. The inspector also considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  The inspector spoke with staff to gather their views about workload and well-being.

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She considered the responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Amanda Stringer, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 June 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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