Brookmead School

Inspection of Brookmead School High Street, Ivinghoe, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 9EX

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 20 and 21 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They live the school’s values of 'inspire, challenge and achieve' enthusiastically. The school offers a wide range of educational trips and experiences, including visiting authors and speakers who help to enrich the curriculum regularly. Pupils are happy and have very positive attitudes to their learning. They feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are clear and consistent. Staff adopt positive approaches that focus on recognising and celebrating pupils’ achievements. The school is a calm, orderly environment. Pupils thrive in their roles and responsibilities such as house captains, buddies and play leaders. Older pupils help the younger ones, modelling how to share and play kindly together at breaktimes. Pupils are incredibly polite and respectful towards adults and each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has the highest expectations for what pupils can achieve. Staff ensure that children make a strong start in the Reception Year to develop the independence and readiness for learning they need. By the end of key stage 2, pupils achieve consistently strong outcomes in end of year published results for reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education.

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

From the beginning of early years, the school has an ambitious curriculum. Staff have a strong focus on developing children’s communication and language, as well as early literacy and numeracy skills. For example, children collaborated effectively to build a bridge to carry their ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ across an imaginary river. They listened to each other’s ideas and suggested improvements to each other positively.

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

From the start of the Reception Year children settle into school routines quickly. They are kind, share resources and respond positively to the warm, caring support they receive. Pupils are focused and respond well to regular praise and celebrations of positive behaviour, such as ‘Honeycomb thrones’ in the library, house points and ‘praise pads’, which help to enthuse pupils to try their best. Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable.

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

Staff have strong subject knowledge. Across the curriculum, staff have identified the precise knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn. The school sequences lessons logically to help pupils to build their knowledge and skills well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified quickly. Where needed, the school works with external specialists, such as speech and language therapists, to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need.

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

In core subjects such as mathematics, and in phonics and early reading staff check pupils’ learning closely and adjust their teaching effectively. However, the school is still developing systems to check pupils’ learning effectively. A small proportion of pupils have gaps in their understanding that are not addressed as well as they could be. 20 and 21 May 2025

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In most subjects, staff present information clearly, helping pupils to grasp new concepts well. For example, in history pupils can explain how different historical sources can provide clues about life in Roman Britain. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, there are limited opportunities for pupils to write and respond independently to the activities set for them. Pupils’ knowledge and skills are not reflected consistently in the work that they produce.

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Reading is prioritised. Staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. Books that pupils read are matched closely to the sounds that they have learned. If any pupils fall behind, they receive help, such as individual tuition, to catch up with their peers. Ambitious texts challenge pupils to think deeply about a range of issues, helping to build pupils’ confidence and understanding of the world around them.

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Pupils develop resilience through exceptional provision of extra-curricular activities including football, netball, drawing and music provision. Pupils are inspired by the school’s highly focused approach to personal development which ensures pupils receive a thorough enrichment programme. Every pupil learns a musical instrument and has the opportunity to perform to others helping children to develop a clear sense of joy and pride in what they achieve. Music is a strength of the school’s curriculum. Pupils learn about different faiths and beliefs respectfully. They understand British values such as democracy and why these are important. The school develops pupils’ character in an exemplary way.

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Governors support the school well. They have clear insight into the school’s strengths and areas for development. Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate how their workload and well-being are managed considerately. This supports them in developing the expertise they need and to focus on teaching and learning effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, staff do not identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge or address them as well as they could. This means pupils’ progress through the curriculum is slowed. The school should continue to strengthen its systems for assessment and support staff to use them consistently well in all subjects  In some subjects, there are limited opportunities for pupils to practise and apply their learning in independent tasks. This means the work pupils produce does not reflect, and may limit, the depth of their understanding. The school should ensure that pupils have opportunities to practise and apply new learning in independent tasks in all subjects, so that they can achieve the high standards of which they are capable 20 and 21 May 2025

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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). 20 and 21 May 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 December 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 (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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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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. 20 and 21 May 2025

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders within the school and wider staff. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and history. For each deep dive the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  The inspectors considered the views of parents shared through the Ofsted online

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survey, Ofsted Parent View. They gathered the views of pupils and staff through the online pupil and staff surveys, as well as through interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self- evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings, local authority visit reports and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Carl McCarthy, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Elkington Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 May 2025

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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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