Brookside Primary School

Brookside Primary School

Address: Ashbourne Drive, High Lane, Ashbourne Drive, High Lane, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 8DB Unique reference number (URN): 106036

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The programme for pupils’ personal development develops pupils’ character and their ability to reflect on others' opinions and beliefs. For example, pupils listen respectfully to one another's arguments when debating issues. Teachers have ensured that pupils understand fundamental British values. Pupils have a positive understanding of the democratic process. Pupils use this learning in their everyday interactions with others. They confidently reflect on their beliefs and develop a detailed knowledge of how these vary between different religions and cultures.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school has an effective relationships, sex and health education curriculum that develops pupils’ understanding of what makes an appropriate relationship. Older pupils learn about the concept of consent. They learn how to manage risk both online and in everyday situations.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils learn about diversity from the earliest stages of their education. They develop their understanding of differences that are protected in law. This work builds as pupils move through the school so that older pupils have a deep knowledge of these protected characteristics and are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The curriculum for pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities enables them to distinguish between right and wrong and to treat each other with respect. These pupils have a wide range of opportunities to learn beyond the classroom. For example, the school sets out a promise to pupils detailing a wide range of experiences that it will provide for them during their time at the school. Inclusion is at the heart of this promise. All pupils, regardless of any challenges they may experience, have opportunities to experience activities such as learning to play a musical instrument, visiting a theatre and setting up a campfire. These activities have been well thought out to broaden and deepen pupils’ knowledge and cultural understanding.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders understand the reasons for pupils' absences well. Staff have positive relationships with parents and carers, which helps to ensure regular attendance for the vast majority of pupils. Typically, pupils’ attendance, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is at or above the national average. Furthermore, leaders have demonstrated a positive impact on raising the attendance of some pupils. For example, when pupils transfer into the school, staff ensure these pupils feel welcomed and included. As a result, pupils with previously high rates of absence quickly start to attend well.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils behave well in school and have positive attitudes to learning. The respect that they have for one another ensures that the school is a calm, supportive environment in which bullying is not tolerated. Staff and pupils alike understand the school's behaviour policy,

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Needs attention

which is applied consistently across the school. Pupils learn about the harmful effects of negative behaviours, such as discrimination and harassment. These rarely happen.

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Needs attention

Teachers are positive role models for pupils. They promote a culture in the school that ensures that there are few incidents of misbehaviour. Where there are small elements of negative conduct, staff deal with these quickly.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have clear and effective strategies in place to identify pupils' needs, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff take care to check on what pupils know and can do before designing the next steps in learning. This is especially the case in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), where learning is individualised. Staff have a range of approaches that successfully reduce barriers to pupils' learning. This enables pupils to access a suitable curriculum.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders check on pupils' progress through the curriculum regularly, including in the specially resourced provision. Staff check on pupils' knowledge at the end of each topic in subjects across the curriculum. They use this information to review and adjust the strategies in place to support pupils with SEND.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff use advice from parents and carers, and from other agencies, to inform their practice. This helps staff to understand when support is needed and when to allow pupils to approach their work with a greater degree of independence.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils well to provide a range of experiences for pupils, both in and out of the classroom. The school also uses additional funding to ensure that pupils receive academic support, including in the specially resourced provision. The assistance that staff provide enables pupils to make positive progress from their starting points.

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Achievement Needs attention

The expectations set for the quality of pupils' work in writing are not high enough. Pupils' work contains persistent errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. In addition, the expectations for pupils' handwriting are not as high as they should be. Pupils do not demonstrate what they have learned through their written work. Although in other areas pupils are generally prepared for the next steps in their education, these underlying issues continue to undermine the quality of their work.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils' achievement is starting to improve because of recent actions taken by leaders. For example, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check is close to the national average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, especially those in the specially resourced provision, make positive progress from their starting points. However, pupils do not attain as well as they should in national tests at the end of key stage 2.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teaching does not identify errors and misconceptions in pupils’ written work across subjects. Pupils continue to make the same mistakes because staff do not address them. This has an impact on the quality of pupils’ work. Although leaders have correctly identified the need to improve pupils’ spelling, handwriting, grammar and punctuation, these improvements are in their infancy.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

In response to the previous inspection, leaders designed a well-structured curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge in each subject. For example, the curriculums for history and geography build pupils' knowledge sequentially and in a logical order. Teachers explain the curriculum to pupils well to help them to remember their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have also put in place consistently well-delivered curriculums for phonics, reading and mathematics. Where necessary, there is effective support for pupils to catch up with the intended knowledge that they need for their next steps in learning. Staff put in place adaptations to reduce barriers to pupils' learning where needed so that pupils can more easily access their learning. For example, the introduction of ‘enable tables’ in classes provides extra resources for pupils to use to add more structure to their learning.

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Early years Needs attention

In some areas of the curriculum, the activities that staff provide do not help children to learn well. Activities are not matched well enough to the aims of the curriculum. Additionally, the conversations that staff have with children do not consistently develop children’s understanding as well as they could. This means that children’s progress in learning is not as positive as it could otherwise be.

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Early years Needs attention

Recent changes in the early years provision are beginning to have a positive impact. Leaders have quickly established a positive environment that is nurturing and caring so that children are enthusiastic about school.

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Early years Needs attention

In some areas, the curriculum focuses well on developing children’s language. Staff have successfully worked on developing children’s vocabulary. This is particularly evident when children discuss the content of the texts that adults read to them. This is supported by the way in which staff teach the phonics scheme and prioritise children's reading skills. Staff have put in place inventive ways to encourage children to apply their phonics knowledge in their writing. Children’s early understanding of number is similarly developed well through a range of activities across the provision.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have not addressed swiftly enough key aspects of the school's provision, such as securing pupils’ foundational knowledge in writing in order to raise pupils’ attainment by the end of key stage 2. Despite this, leaders and governors have successfully navigated some challenges in recent years, which have included a move to mixed-age classes. During this time, they have brought about effective improvements to phonics, the wider curriculum and the arrangements for checking on pupils' progress in many subjects. As a result of these actions, pupils demonstrate that they know more in a range of subjects.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of the schools’ strengths and areas for development. Governors meet their statutory duties and provide support and challenge for leaders.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and governors are committed to the school's vision of inclusion. Staff value the opportunities that are provided for their professional development, such as guidance on removing barriers to learning for some disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff appreciate the way in which leaders manage their wellbeing and workload. They know that leaders' decisions are made in the best interests of pupils.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The staff at Brookside ensure that pupils are welcomed into a calm and caring atmosphere at the start of each day. Pupils, including those in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (specially resourced provision), feel valued and safe.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The relationships that pupils have with staff are very positive. The school’s approach to dealing with occasional incidents of misbehaviour ensures that pupils are nurtured to treat others with empathy and understanding. Reported incidents of bullying are rare. Should they occur, leaders address them assertively.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy learning, and many attend well. Staff adapt learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are disadvantaged, to ensure that they study a suitable curriculum. In the specially resourced provision, pupils make positive progress from their starting points because of the way in which staff make learning accessible. Here, there is a clear focus on basic skills and small steps of progress.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

However, leaders' expectations for the achievement of pupils in the rest of the school, including children in the early years, are not as high as they should be. Tasks are not consistently well matched to children's next steps in the early years. Basic errors in pupils’ writing across the school have not been addressed well enough by leaders and staff. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils feel fully involved with the life of the school. Older pupils have responsibilities that enable them to be positive role models in the school community. Leaders' use of the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils ensures they access a broad range of experiences. There are opportunities for all pupils, such as playing a musical instrument, tennis lessons and a range of after-school clubs and competitions. The programme for

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Team inspector:

Elizabeth Travis, Ofsted Inspector pupils' personal development is a strength of the school. It covers a wide range of aspects in depth so that pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that errors in pupils’ foundational knowledge in writing are addressed effectively at an early stage in their learning so that these errors do not persist. In the early years, leaders should ensure that activities and interactions fully promote the intended learning. Leaders and governors should address the school's improvement priorities more rapidly to raise the attainment of pupils at the end of key stage 2.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Fran Cavanagh.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and representatives from the governing body and the local authority.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school includes specially resourced provision for up to 10 pupils with moderate and severe learning difficulties.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone a significant reorganisation since the last inspection, which has included a move to teach mixed-age classes in all but the Reception Year.

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About this inspection

The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2022/23 (final) 74% 73% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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gap

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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