Broughton Primary School

Broughton Primary School Inspection report

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115867 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312083 Inspection number 6 °7 May 2008 Inspection dates Rob Crompton 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 73 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Adrian Brezinskis Chair Mrs Janet Smith Headteacher 20 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection School Lane School address Broughton Stockbridge SO20 8AN 01794 301286 Telephone number 0 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 6 °7 May 2008 Inspection dates 312083 Inspection number .

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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.

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Description of the school

The school serves a rural community and is smaller than average. Numbers are increasing but vary from time to time because the number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the normal time is high. Most pupils are White British, and very few are at an early stage of acquiring English. A below average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Extra support is given to children who are falling behind academically, need to improve social skills or have physical difficulties. Pupils are taught in mixed age classes; Reception and Year 1, Years 2 and 3 and Years 4, 5 and 6.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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Grade: 3

The school provides a sound and improving education for its pupils. Children start school with skills that are typical of the age group. They make good progress in the Reception class and reach, and often exceed the expected standards for their age. The standards reached by Year 2 pupils vary from year to year but most pupils make satisfactory progress from their starting points. More able pupils in Year 2 are achieving better than in recent years. With some exceptions, the overall progress made by pupils between Year 3 and Year 6 has been well below that generally expected in recent years. Several did not build well enough on their prior attainment. This has been tackled successfully and pupils in each of these year groups are now making satisfactory or better progress due to the improved quality of teaching. Pupils' achievement is now satisfactory overall and standards are broadly average. Teaching is good and the curriculum satisfactory. Both are being strengthened by frequent

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Grade: 3

analysis of what is working well and what needs to be improved. Pupils say that they sometimes repeat work in the mixed age classes. The curriculum has been modified recently to help avoid this, but it is too early for the school to judge the success of this new approach. Pupils' personal development is good. Relationships between teachers and pupils are excellent. Pupils are keen to do well and they work hard. They enjoy school, particularly the wealth of opportunities to enrich their learning through clubs, visits and special events. Pupils behave very well. Good attention to personal, social and health education is successful in promoting their ability to cooperate and work in teams and their awareness of the needs of others. Year 6 pupils are mature and responsible. Care, guidance and support for pupils are good. Pupils and their families are well known to staff. Frequent contact between parents and teachers ensures that pupils are cared for extremely

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Grade: 3

well. Those who need extra support benefit from well-planned programmes to meet their needs. A systematic approach to tracking pupils' progress through the school provides useful information for teachers on how well pupils are doing and enables them to set targets for the next stage in learning. However, those who are not reaching their predicted levels are not always spotted early enough to provide immediate support and help them get back on track. Good leadership and management have led to improvements in teaching and pupils' progress. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and plays a pivotal role in sustaining the positive atmosphere and nurturing environment that are much appreciated by parents and pupils. The school benefits from good systems to check on its effectiveness and to identify areas for further development. Some targets are not sufficiently clear about the success criteria and the intended

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Grade: 3

impact on pupils' achievement, however, which makes progress towards them difficult to evaluate. Governors know the school very well and are very supportive.

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Grade: 2

The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Effective teaching means that children make good progress, particularly in developing their social, language and number skills. Children produce vibrant paintings with bold use of colour, indicating the school's success in promoting their creative development. Their knowledge and understanding of the world is supported very well through outings, visitors and the frequent use of video clips on the interactive white board. The classroom is very well organised and provides a wide range of activities that appeal to 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008 children. The adjacent playground provides opportunities for children's social and physical development but the school is aware of the lack of a dedicated space for outdoor learning. Plans are in hand to create a new Foundation Stage unit including a purpose built outdoor

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the rate of progress, through Years 3 to 6, in English, mathematics and science.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Keep track of the impact of the new curriculum to ensure that work matches the needs of pupils in the mixed age classes. ■ Ensure that development planning is clearly focused on improving achievement and includes explicit success criteria. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Although achievement is satisfactory and standards are broadly average, pupils' attainment by the end of Year 2 varies considerably from year to year. This is mainly due to the relatively small size of the year group. The school's tracking indicates that most pupils make satisfactory progress through Years 1 and 2. The proportion achieving the higher levels in writing and mathematics was below the national averages in 2007. However, some pupils are on course to reach these higher levels by the end of this year. Results of national assessments at the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science have been below average in recent years, due partly to the number of pupils in these groups who had learning difficulties. Several pupils had joined the school after Year 4 and some of these pupils had too much catching up to do. There were changes of staff over this period and achievement was inadequate overall. The school has successfully addressed this by improving

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Grade: 3

the quality of teaching and keeping a careful eye on each individual pupil's progress. Most pupils in the current Year 6 are on course to reach at least average standards. Due to a successful drive to improve pupils' written work, standards in writing have improved considerably. A focus on developing pupils' computer skills has led to good standards in information and communication technology (ICT).

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy coming to school and levels of attendance are good. They feel safe in school and behave very well. Pupils make a good contribution to the school as members of the school council, house captains and 'pupil ambassadors', and more informally in they way they look after one another and the environment. Pupils are well aware of value of a healthy diet. The high level of participation in physical activities illustrates a clear understanding of the importance of keeping fit. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of learners is good. Pupils develop a strong interest in art, music and drama and learn about a variety of faiths and traditions. Pupils' independence, good communication and computer skills, combined with their improving literacy and numeracy skills, indicate that their preparation for future learning and economic well-being is satisfactory. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Until recently, there was high staff turnover and several pupils joined or left the school at other than the normal time. The school's assessment records show that, during this period, some pupils did not make the progress expected of them. Staffing is now stable. Increased numbers of teaching assistants and further training have improved the quality of teaching and this is having a positive impact on pupils' progress. Lessons are underpinned by excellent relationships and pupils say they enjoy learning because teachers make lessons interesting and motivate them to work hard. Teachers provide good feedback through marking. Also, assessment information is increasingly used to plan a range of activities to meet pupils' needs. Some pupils, however, say that they sometimes repeat work in the mixed age classes, which means they are not sufficiently challenged. Although the quality of teaching is now good and pupils are making

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Grade: 2

good progress in lessons, effective strategies have not been established long enough to ensure that all pupils build well on their prior attainment.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum motivates pupils and promotes their enjoyment of learning. For example, older pupils were keen to explain how they had enjoyed developing their skills in persuasive writing through creating advertisements for a 'Jurassic theme park'. One had written, 'if you don't come, your life will be incomplete!' The staff are devising creative ways to make learning more enquiry-based with a view to further enhancing pupils' independence and problem solving skills. Such approaches are not yet fully established and there is some way to go before planning ensures that the pupils do not repeat work unnecessarily, and that the level of challenge increases appropriately as pupils move through the mixed age classes. All pupils have the opportunity to participate and enjoy a very wide range of enrichment activities and school clubs. Visitors such as artists and authors, and outings to places of interest add to pupils'

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Grade: 3

enjoyment of learning. Such experiences, together with a well-designed programme in personal, social and health education, contribute significantly to pupils' positive attitudes and interpersonal skills. The school has received a national award for its provision for ICT.

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Grade: 2

Support for the happiness and well being of learners is at the heart of school life. One parent's comment that, 'It is the pastoral care and strong morals which sets this school apart', reflected the views of many. A key feature of the school is how well teachers know pupils. Pupils with special educational needs receive highly effective individual support to enable them to take a full part in lessons despite their physical or social difficulties The procedures for ensuring that pupils are kept safe are well established, are known to staff and work well. Whole-school tracking systems identify how well individuals are progressing. This information is increasingly analysed to identify pupils who are not on course to reach their predicted levels. The school is aware that this information is sometimes not shared widely enough to ensure immediate intervention and to help pupils catch up. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides excellent leadership and, under her guidance, staff and governors, have created a stimulating learning environment in which every pupil matters. Following a thorough review and evaluation of strengths and weaknesses, staff and governors have produced an improvement plan highlighting strategies to meet the school's aims. The targets are appropriate but are not explicit enough about the intended impact on pupils' achievement. The school makes good use of all available resources, including the outdoor area, which has been imaginatively developed to provide many additional learning opportunities for pupils. The school has a good capacity to improve. The weaknesses identified by the last inspection have been addressed successfully and overall improvement has been good. Since the appointment of the headteacher, a strong working partnership with governors has been established. The

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Grade: 2

quality of teaching has improved and pupil numbers are increasing. Provision for ICT has improved significantly and is now very good. Plans are well in hand to extend the accommodation in a determined effort to enable the age spread in each class to be reduced. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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?

2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Broughton Primary School,Stockbridge,SO20 8AN Thank you for the warm welcome I received during my visit. You were very helpful in showing me around and telling me what you think about your school. I agree with you that everyone is friendly and saw that you enjoy lessons and the many other activities. I was impressed by your behaviour and delightful attitudes. The school ensures that you are well cared for and safe, and it was good to see that you have gained the Healthy Schools Award. This shows that you take health and fitness seriously. Overall, the school is satisfactory. It has several strengths and is improving. As far as your work goes, I found that most of you are making reasonable progress and some of you are learning quickly. This is because the teachers are good at helping you improve. I think that standards could be better and I have suggested that the school spots those of you who are falling behind

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

more quickly, so you can be helped to get back on track. The headteacher, governors and staff work hard on your behalf and I have suggested ways in which they could improve how they plan improvements. Some of you said that you sometimes repeat work, so I have asked staff to try to avoid this when planning work in the mixed age classes. You can help by following your teachers' guidance and continuing to contribute your ideas. Yours sincerely, Rob Crompton Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Broughton Primary School, 6 °7 May 2008

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