Bramcote Hills Primary School

Inspection Report Bramcote Hills Primary School

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122536 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Local Authority 292428 Inspection number 10 October 2006 Inspection date Joyce Cox Reporting inspector

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

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Moor Lane School address Primary Type of school Bramcote Hills, Bramcote Hills Community School category

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Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG9 3GE 4 °11 Age range of pupils

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01159179226 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01159179208 Fax number 336 Number on roll (school) Mr Richard Knightsbridge Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Andrew Pearson Headteacher 4 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 292428 10 October 2006 4 °11 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 an Additional Inspector over one day.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average size primary school. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is lower than average. A below average number of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities and a below average number have a statement of special educational need. About a quarter of the pupils are from minority ethnic families with a small number for whom English is an additional language. When children start in the Reception class their abilities are generally slightly above the expected level for their age. As part of the school's continuous commitment to improvement it has secured many awards for its work. These include Healthy Schools Gold Standard, Basic Skills Quality Mark, Artsmark, Activemark Gold, Charter Mark and Investors in People. The school is currently working to attain Eco-School status, the ICT Mark and a Quality Standards award for its Gifted and Talented provision.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Bramcote Hills is an outstanding school which gives its pupils an excellent all-round education. In this inclusive setting, staff and pupils successfully live out their school motto, 'Expect the Best.' Parents overwhelmingly support the school and greatly appreciate all that it provides. One parent writes, 'A talented and dedicated headteacher leads an extremely hard working and equally dedicated staff who provide an interesting, stimulating curriculum and some wonderful extra-curricular activities.' This is because the headteacher is an inspirational leader who has the highest possible aspirations for the school and the pupils. He has skilfully built a staff team that is totally committed to school improvement and which strives for excellence in all that it does. Standards and achievement are excellent. Standards have risen year on year since 2001 and are exceptionally high in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. All pupils

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Grade: 1

make outstanding progress and their achievement is excellent. This is due to high calibre teaching from staff who have high expectations for all pupils. Children in the Reception get off to an excellent start as they learn through an exciting and enticing variety of practical and interesting activities. However, the outdoor area is too small and children cannot move easily between the indoor and outdoor areas. Parents of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are extremely pleased with their children's achievement. The school's success also lies in its outstanding assessment procedures and skill in meeting the needs of pupils with different capabilities. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Pupils love school, behave extremely well and have very positive attitudes. They are confident and always keen to do their best. Provision for pupils' moral, social and cultural development is excellent and lies

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Grade: 1

at the heart of the school's work. Pupils live healthy and safe lives and junior pupils make a real contribution to school life as play leaders and peer mediators. The excellent curriculum is enriched with many clubs, special weeks, visits and visitors, which enhance teaching and pupils' enjoyment. The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. There are outstanding arrangements for guiding pupils on their academic performance and the school's procedures for safeguarding pupils are robust and fully meet current requirements. Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher has an extremely clear, though somewhat modest, view of the school's strengths and wastes no time in identifying and taking action where improvements are required. For example, highly successful initiatives to raise pupils' achievement in writing resulted in considerably improved test results in 2006. This excellent

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Grade: 1

improvement since the last inspection, and accurate knowledge of how well the school is doing shows that the school has an enormous capacity for continued improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Enlarge the Reception outdoor area. 2 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Achievement and standards are excellent because of the outstanding teaching, curriculum and care that the school provides for each pupil. Children in the Reception make excellent progress from a slightly above average starting point and most exceed the expected levels for children of this age on entry to Year 1. Excellent progress and achievement continues in the infant classes and standards are well above average at the end of Year 2. These standards represent especially good progress and achievement for the pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and those at an early stage of learning English who receive high quality support. The considerable time and care taken to plan work to meet the needs of individual pupils in both the infant and junior classes means that all pupils are challenged and make good progress in their learning. Year 6 pupils reach the challenging targets set and attain high standards in English,

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Grade: 1

mathematics and science by the time they leave.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development is outstanding. They have excellent relationships with staff and one another. The school is a very happy and caring place where all pupils make excellent progress in acquiring the numeracy, literacy, social and information and communication technology (ICT) skills to help them in later life. Pupils learn effectively how to stay safe. Pupils know how to recognise bullying and racism as this is ' a telling school with no excuses and no bystanders.' This is summed up in the school's slogan: 'Be Happy-Play Safely.' Pupils say that there are many people they can go to in school if they are worried and can raise concerns for themselves or others via the 'Worry Box.' They love coming to school and this is reflected in the above average attendance figures. Behaviour is excellent and pupils have good manners and learn to respect themselves and others. They know that it is important to eat healthy

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Grade: 1

food and enjoy regular exercise such as the 'Play Craze' programme, which successfully promotes physical activity at playtimes. Older pupils sensitively support younger children so that newcomers settle quickly. Pupils make very effective use of the class, department and school councils to express their views on a range of issues including play equipment and what makes a good lesson. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They flourish in this warm, supportive yet challenging environment where their achievements are valued, recognised and celebrated. 3 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding which enables pupils to achieve exceptionally well. All staff have an excellent understanding of how pupils learn and skilfully adapt their teaching to meet pupils' various capabilities and talents. Pupils' learning preferences and needs are made clear to staff through 'Learning Week' activities in September. Pupils are unanimous in praising their teachers and say 'teachers make lessons fun and interesting for us.' Stunning, high quality displays, such as large-scale pictures of Henry VIII and his wives, cover all available wall space confirming the high standards and expectations staff set for themselves and their pupils. The Reception classroom is a feast for the eyes with colourful displays hanging from the ceiling and walls and high quality tactile, enticing resources just waiting to be enjoyed. All teachers successfully share with pupils what they are to learn in lessons and older pupils are

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Grade: 1

challenged to say what the teacher will expect them to have achieved by the end of the lesson, which makes them think really hard about their learning. All pupils, and particularly those with learning difficulties, benefit from the excellent support provided by the talented teaching assistants. Highly effective procedures for tracking pupils' progress underpin outstanding lesson planning providing staff with the necessary information to match pupils' learning precisely to their abilities.

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Grade: 1

The outstanding curriculum makes sure that all pupils acquire the key skills of communication, using number, ICT, working with others and improved personal performance and problem solving. Since the last inspection the school has successfully reviewed all aspects of its curriculum. This highly effective review, spearheaded by the deputy headteacher, resulted in excellent links between subjects, more relevant and flexible activities and greater use of local resources and opportunities. Curriculum planning also contains a strong focus on pupils' physical, social and health development which effectively enables pupils to be healthy and stay safe. Children in the Foundation Stage get off to a flying start with excellent interesting and exciting activities. However, the outdoor area is rather small and restricts certain aspects of the children's learning. Parents and pupils appreciate the tremendous number of clubs and special event weeks

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Grade: 1

which bring pupils' learning to life. Links with the wider community provide many valuable additional experiences such as visits, visitors and residential experiences that widen pupils' horizons. As well as adding to their enjoyment of learning, these rich experiences help to develop healthy and varied lifestyles. 4 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

The headteacher and the staff take excellent care of all their pupils. There is a highly effective system for monitoring pupils' welfare and staff respond swiftly to support vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties. Several parents wrote to the inspector to say how much they appreciated the sensitive way in which their child's needs had been recognised and effectively catered for. Guidance to pupils about their academic performance is excellent. Pupils know their targets and how to achieve them. Teachers' marking clearly tells pupils what they are doing well and how they can improve their work. There are thorough arrangements for safeguarding pupils and regular training keeps staff up-to-date with current requirements.

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Grade: 1

Outstanding leadership and management are key factors in the school's continued success. The headteacher, who is highly regarded both in the school and the local community, provides excellent guidance and vision. He is ably supported by a highly competent, confident leadership team, which has played a pivotal role in improving the school's high standards since the last inspection. The headteacher knows the school very well and this is reflected in the school's accurate self-evaluation, which takes account of the views of staff, governors, parents and pupils. This is a school that shows no sense of complacency and is not content to rest on its laurels. Senior leaders expect, and get, the best from themselves and everyone in the school community. The outstanding monitoring and evaluation of teaching are highly effective in raising pupils' excellent achievement. Morale in the school is very high and teamwork amongst

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Grade: 1

the very stable and dedicated staff is a real strength. Leadership is further enhanced by the governors of the school who are supportive yet challenging, and play their part in holding the school to account. The school makes excellent use of its resources and the different skills of teachers to ensure that it provides outstanding value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 October 2006 Dear Pupils Bramcote Hills Primary School, Moor Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. NG9 3GE Thank you so much for making my visit so enjoyable and for taking time to talk to me and answer all my questions. I thought that you would like to hear what I found out about your school. There are many excellent things happening in your school: - You make outstanding progress and reach high standards by the time you leave. - You love school because teachers, teaching assistants, visitors and special events make learning extremely interesting. - You get on very well with one another and your behaviour is excellent. - Your teachers and other adults help you when you have problems, make sure that you are safe and give you excellent advice about your work. - Mr Pearson is an excellent headteacher and together with all the staff makes sure that you are happy and very successful at school. You are very

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

fortunate to go to such a brilliant school and your headteacher and senior teachers know exactly how to make your school even better. I agree with their views and think that it would be really great if there was a larger outdoor area for the children in Reception. It was so good to find that all of you are very happy at school and doing so well and that your parents appreciate and value your school so highly. Keep working hard and enjoying life at Bramcote Hills. I wish you all the very best for the future. Joyce Cox (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: Bramcote Hills Primary School, 10 October 2006

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