Brook Community Primary School

Inspection Report Brook Community Primary School

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118373 Unique Reference Number Kent LEA 280302 Inspection number 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 Inspection dates Trevor Watts AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Brook School address Primary Type of school Spelders Hill Community School category Nr Ashford, Kent TN25 5PB 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01233 812614 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01233 812614 Fax number 70 Number on roll Dr Michelle S Hamer Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P R Stringer Headteacher 3 April 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280302 7 June 2006 - 4 to 11 7 June 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This rural school is less than a third of the size of an average primary school, and has typically between five and twelve pupils in each year group. Over 90% of pupils are White British. More than a quarter have learning difficulties, which is well above the national average. Many pupils enter and leave the school at times other than the end of the year: in the last two years only about 60% of Year 6 pupils started in Year 1.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Grade: 2

The school’s own view, and that of the inspectors, is that a good education and good value for money are provided. Standards in mathematics and science are above national averages, and writing has now recovered after a brief relative lapse in standards. Teachers’ planning, organisation and relationships ensure that good learning takes place, although some lessons are not always challenging enough for higher-ability pupils to achieve as well as they might. The curriculum is good, despite deficiencies in the premises that restrict physical education and Foundation Stage activities. Pupils are well cared for. They develop their personal and social skills well. In the Foundation Stage, the teaching is good, many resources are new, and the curriculum has recently been changed to give children more independence and choice in which activities they undertake. Children settle well in Reception Class. Their progress

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Grade: 2

is satisfactory, and improving. Leadership and management are good because the clear focus on maintaining high standards has been largely successful. It is too soon to see any impact of the headteacher becoming part-time. The school’s self-evaluation is mainly accurate and well founded. At the time of the previous report, the headteacher's monitoring of lessons was insufficiently analytical to identify all strengths and weaknesses that affect the pace of learning. Working with the local authority, this in an ongoing area of development for the headteacher. Capacity to improve is satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Clearly identify which aspects of teaching are having the greatest, or least, impact on learning, by more evaluative observation of lessons. • Improve the pace of learning in order to raise standards, by acting on the findings of the monitoring, including increasing the degree of challenge for the more able pupils. • Improve aspects of learning by providing more appropriate accommodation for physical education indoors, and the Foundation Stage outdoors.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress and achieve well. Children enter the school with a level of skills that is broadly in line with that expected. In Reception, children make satisfactory progress and enter the main school in line with expectations. Their personal, social and listening skills develop well. Progress is good in Years 1 and 2. Official teacher assessments in English and mathematics in 2005 showed pupils attaining above national averages by the end of Year 2. Writing skills lagged behind other areas of learning. 2 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 Good progress continues in Years 3 to 6. National tests for 2005 indicate that pupils attained well. Standards at the end of Year 6 were above national averages in English and science, and well above in mathematics. Writing was weaker than other areas. After analysing the results and observing lessons, the school identified a particularly

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Grade: 2

high proportion of pupils with learning difficulties, new pupils arriving, and some teaching previously being insufficiently imaginative to challenge all pupils. Even so, half of the pupils in Year 6 went on to selective grammar school. Many initiatives were subsequently introduced. Their success is clearly seen in the much-improved breadth and quality of written work done by pupils currently at the school, although presentation and neatness remain under-developed. Overall, pupils now achieve as well as they did previously. Pupils’ academic and personal targets are mostly challenging, and are achieved well by the majority of pupils, although sometimes the more able pupils do not achieve their targets. More pupils are predicted to gain the higher Level 5 this year than in 2005.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Although attendance is only satisfactory, pupils enjoy their lessons and the overall life of the school. ‘It’s a big happy family,’ said a pupil, ‘You can play with anybody.’ They participate willingly in lessons, and many pupils particularly enjoy using computers. Pupils are confident and polite when speaking to adults. They are sensitive to the needs and different points of view of others, including people from other countries and cultures. Pupils develop a good feeling of spiritual awareness, and have a very good understanding of what is right and wrong. They behave well. Pupils learn to be good community members by, for example, raising funds for the local community and local charities. They perform confidently for audiences at Christmas and Easter. Older pupils take responsibilities such as being ‘buddies’ to the youngest

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Grade: 2

children and listening to them read. The well-established School Council has overseen projects including sponsoring a monkey at a wildlife park and raising money to open their own ‘bank account.’ Learning basic skills helps pupils to prepare well for their future lives and education. Pupils well understand ways to lead a safe and healthy lifestyle through many physical education, science and personal and social education lessons. These are well supported by the Healthy Schools project, good meals and snacks at midday, and having fruit and water readily available.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good because teachers’ planning is securely based on their assessments of pupils’ previous progress. Lessons are thus generally well aimed at 3 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 challenging pupils and encouraging them to work hard, although the most able pupils could sometimes be challenged more. Pupils’ additional learning needs are especially well met in the organisation of work, support provided by capable classroom assistants, and continuous exchanges of information with parents. Lessons have clear aims that are well explained to pupils. Teachers’ explanations and questioning lead to good learning by involving all pupils. Sometimes, the teacher-led part of a lesson is too long, and some pupils’ attention begins to wander. This can result in not having enough time to finish the lesson properly with a review of what has been learned. Relationships in classes are warm and positive, and teachers manage

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Grade: 2

pupils’ behaviour well. Good use of resources helps to make many lessons particularly interesting and exciting. For instance, a lesson with older pupils about ‘journalistic’ writing used an electronic whiteboard imaginatively to display examples of writing, digital photographs of a trip and Internet pages about this style of writing. In a highly motivating lesson in Reception, staff used coloured pictures and word cards to identify sounds in a game among six children.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good because all subjects are taught, and there are good additional activities to broaden and enliven pupils’ learning. Good efforts are made to overcome the lack of a hall for physical education by providing extra outdoor sessions, after-school clubs and visits to facilities at several other schools, a college and a rural activities park. The most important subjects of English and mathematics take up an appropriate amount of time. Good links between subjects, particularly history and geography, do much to broaden pupils’ writing and reading experiences. Information and communication technology (ICT) is well taught through other subjects, as well as in separate lessons. Subjects are well planned to meet the needs of pupils who have disabilities and learning difficulties. Three foreign languages are taught either in school time, or after school. Occasional activities such as kite flying on the downs, or watching

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Grade: 2

the sheep shearing on the farm next door add much to pupils’ excitement and enjoyment of their learning. Many pupils attend additional activities such as football, rounders, drama, music, photography and a visit to a school in France. The Foundation Stage curriculum is being well developed to encourage children’s social, thinking and independence skills. There is not a covered outside play and work area, but good organisation of activities does much to overcome this.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good because staff are highly committed to pupils’ well-being. Strong and well-understood child protection systems ensure that pupils are safe and secure. Pupils are confident that staff will provide the help and guidance that they need, both in lessons and in response to any personal needs, such as if bullying should ever occur. ‘I can go to my teacher or anybody if I need to,’ said one pupil. Pupils’ progress is carefully and accurately tracked and pupils’ individual needs 4 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 are well known to all staff. Academic targets, and sometimes personal targets, are set for all pupils from shortly after they enter the school. Pupils understand their targets well, and what they need to do to achieve them. Targets are mostly appropriately challenging, although not always sufficiently so for the most able or talented pupils.

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Grade: 2

Foundation Stage children are particularly well encouraged to choose some of their own activities, and then do them, and think about how well they have performed.

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Grade: 2

The school and the inspectors think that leadership and management are good because pupils’ achievements and standards have been successfully raised to a high level by well-managed teaching, care, guidance and provision of a good range of learning activities. The school correctly identifies several areas to develop, and its self-evaluation is basically accurate, although inspectors give the school more credit than it gives itself regarding the curriculum, as the only deficiencies are due to premises being inadequate, not because the school has not done enough. Governors have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, fulfil their responsibilities, and are effectively involved in the management of the school. Parents, partner schools, a nearby college and local authority officers have regular and clear opportunities to express their views and preferences for how the school might develop its provision to serve its community.

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Grade: 2

These are taken into account well during the school’s self-evaluation and development planning. The school provides a good and suitable education for the great majority of its pupils, and gives good value for money. The headteacher has recently become part-time, but now has a deputy whose precise role is not yet fully established. It is too soon to evaluate the effect of this change on the leadership structure. Other staff lead and manage their subjects and aspects well. Capacity to improve is satisfactory. 5 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Brook Community Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils I’m sure that you will remember when two inspectors visited your school recently. We want to thank you for being so friendly and polite to us both, and for answering all our questions. Now we would like to tell you what we decided about your school. We think you attend a good school. Your mums, dads and carers told us that they think the school is good as well. There are a lot of exciting things going on during school time, and after school as well. Some of you told us how much you enjoyed your visits to the adventure park, the sporting and computing day in Folkestone, and watching the sheep shearing. You mostly pay attention and work hard in lessons, and you enjoy your learning. You learn well in different subjects, especially in maths and science, and your writing has improved a lot recently. Your teachers plan your activities well. They are helped by other adults who also do a lot to support

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your learning. You get good help from the adults around you, whether in your classroom work, or in personal matters. You are growing up as confident and friendly young people. We think that some of you could do even better if you agreed more challenging targets with your teachers, and they encouraged you to work hard towards them. We are asking the headteacher to look carefully at the way teachers teach you. We would like him and your teachers to decide which ways work best in helping you to learn, and then to use those ways more often. You can help your own learning by always trying your best in class and listening to what your teachers are telling you. The headteacher has a good team of teachers and other adults to help him in making changes. We have asked the school to do as much as it can to get you a hall in which to do P.E. in winter, and to try to get a cover over part of the outside play area for the children in Reception.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you again Dr. Trevor Watts Lead Inspector

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