Bromstone Primary School, Broadstairs

Inspection of Bromstone Primary School, Broadstairs Rumfields Road, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 2PW

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 24 and 25 September 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are full of enthusiasm for their learning here. Staff help them to build positive habits for learning in the classroom and beyond. The school provides structured guidance for pupils’ playtime activities. This helps pupils, including children in the early years, to share and collaborate across year groups. As a result, pupils, parents and carers alike feel that the school is a welcoming and positive community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The achievement of pupils is far stronger than current published outcomes data indicates. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve their best, including the substantial cohort of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff understand what each pupil needs for them to move forward in their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in class is settled and calm. On occasions when pupils find it hard to regulate themselves, staff help them with care and sensitivity. As a result, learning is not interrupted. Pupils trust the school to resolve any worries or issues. This helps them to feel safe and happy in school. Clubs, educational visits, talent shows and collaborations with the Royal Shakespeare Company help to nurture pupils’ talents. These also develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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

Although some pupils do not achieve in line with age-related expectations, every pupil benefits from effective support to learn. Alongside this, the school has made sweeping changes to its curriculum over the last few years. This has led to sharply rising standards, especially in mathematics. In phonics, the school’s new approach is helping pupils to become confident readers. Staff make sure that pupils have grasped each sound before moving on. Weaker readers benefit from targeted support with the letters and sounds that need reinforcing. Pupils in the school’s enhanced specialist teaching arrangement (ESTA) receive personalised support to help with their phonics learning. This can include using electronic devices. Although the percentage of pupils passing the phonics screening check in Year 1 is below the national average, many pupils catch up rapidly by the end of Year 2.

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

Teachers have been trained on new areas of the curriculum in detail. In most subject areas, the school has a precise outline of the knowledge and skills that pupils should gain at each stage. This is matched with new vocabulary to help develop pupils’ thinking. Staff use this to design activities that build pupils’ understanding systematically. For example, pupils in Year 1 begin to develop their geographical skills and language by creating a map of the school. However, in a few subjects, and in some aspects of the early years curriculum, the sequence of learning for pupils is not as clear. In these instances, the tasks set for pupils do not develop their knowledge in a step-by-step way.

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

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) is significantly higher than the national average. Staff are skilled at identifying the needs of pupils with SEND and adapting learning accordingly. For example, children who start reception significantly below age-related expectations follow a programme tailored to their needs. 24 and 25 September 2024

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Across the school, teachers demonstrate and explain key ideas clearly. For example, in mathematics they guide pupils through how to apply their number facts to solve problems. By checking systematically that pupils have understood, staff have rapidly raised pupils’ number fluency. Disadvantaged pupils are benefitting the most from the regular repetition and checking of important knowledge.

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Where the school’s curriculum changes are more established, the impact for pupils is evident. However, where the school is still embedding the new curriculum, such as in English, gaps in aspects of older pupils’ learning can persist. At times, this can hinder some pupils from completing tasks fully.

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The school’s attendance strategy has delivered a sustained reduction in pupil absence. By working closely with families, the school understands and helps to overcome the potential barriers to attendance. This has been particularly successful for disadvantaged pupils, who in turn enjoy the benefits of more time in school. Although attendance remains below the national average, the school continues to do all it can to promote the importance of attending well.

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Staff rapidly establish behaviour routines. In the early years, children quickly take on the habits and expectations of being in the classroom. In all year groups, and in the ESTA, the atmosphere in lessons is focused and purposeful. This contributes strongly to effective learning.

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Beyond academic learning, the school provides extensive opportunities for its pupils. Pupils enjoy exploring ‘big questions’ such as why rights exist. This helps them to think about moral issues from an early age. All pupils benefit from the nurturing approach taken by the school, including additional breakfasts and calming spaces.

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Leaders and governors have responded strongly to address inconsistencies in the school’s provision. Staff have received training to support the high level of SEND needs in the school and to deliver the new curriculum effectively. Leaders are alert to the pressures on staff, and have balanced this with reducing workload in other ways.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has recently moved to a new curriculum model in English. As a result, some pupils in key stage 2 have not securely embedded their previously learned English knowledge and skills. On occasion, they cannot access the tasks set as fully as their 24 and 25 September 2024

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peers. The school should ensure that, as the new English curriculum is embedded, gaps in understanding for older pupils continue to close.

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 In some areas of the curriculum the sequencing of the knowledge, vocabulary and skills is not as clearly set out. The tasks set for pupils are not as focused as they could be on building pupils’ vocabulary and knowledge. This means that some pupils, includ- ing some children in the early years, are not developing their language and under- standing as rapidly as they could. The school needs to make sure that coherent se- quencing and planning of knowledge, skills and vocabulary in all aspects of the curricu- lum is used to determine the work tasks that pupils complete.

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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). 24 and 25 September 2024

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School details

Headteacher James Williams (Executive Headteacher), Toni Moon and Emma Ribbans (joint Heads of School) Website www.bromstoneschool.com

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has an enhanced specialist teaching arrangement for pupils with SEND. This is designated for pupils with visual impairment, hearing impairment and speech, language and communication needs. This provides places for 38 pupils.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school is part of a federation with St Mildred’s Primary Infant School. The federation is overseen by an executive headteacher, James Williams. It is also part of a co-operative trust, the Thanet Endeavour Learning Trust (TELT), with St Mildred's Primary Infant School, Garlinge Primary School and Nursery and Parkside Community Foundation Primary School, Canterbury.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements 24 and 25 September 2024

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(quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 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 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 school leaders including the executive headteacher and joint heads of school. The inspectors also met representatives from the governing body and spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design, geography and English. 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 learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also discussed the curriculum and provision for pupils with SEND, and

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sampled work from other areas of the curriculum.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, governors, staff, parents and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts the pupils’ interests first.  As part of the inspection evidence, inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey, and an online survey for school staff.

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Inspection team

Daniel Botting, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Allen Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 September 2024

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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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