Brockington College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Brockington College are polite and respectful.

The school is calm and orderly. The Christian ethos and school values support pupils' personal development well. There is a culture of mutual respect and tolerance.

Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. They understand, and respect, diversity.

The curriculum is broad and ambitious.

However, it is not delivered consistently well. Sometimes the expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could.

This is reflected in the most recent published outcomes from external examinations. Pupils with special educational n...eeds and/or disabilities (SEND) do not always receive effective support to access lessons.

Beyond the academic curriculum, pupils benefit from an ambitious enrichment programme.

All pupils have the opportunity to take part in a range of memorable experiences and trips during their time at the school. These include visits to Iceland, Germany and New York, as well as interesting days out to places closer to home, such as Tate Modern and Warner Bros Studios. Pupils enthusiastically take on positions of responsibility in the school.

For example, pupil leaders take an active role in promoting diversity and good mental health.

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

Pupils in key stage 3 study a wide range of subjects that meet the requirements of the national curriculum. At key stage 4, pupils choose from a well-considered range of academic and vocational courses.

All pupils have the opportunity to study the subjects that make up the English baccalaureate. However, few pupils choose to take a GCSE in modern foreign languages.

In all subjects, the curriculum is well planned.

The school has thought carefully about the important knowledge that pupils should learn. This is sequenced well so that complexity increases over time. Staff have strong subject knowledge.

They plan learning activities that focus sharply on the knowledge they want pupils to learn.

The delivery of the planned curriculum is inconsistent across the school. Some staff do not always check that pupils are secure in what they have learned previously.

Gaps in prior knowledge are not always identified or addressed. When this happens, pupils cannot connect new knowledge to what they have learned before. In some lessons, staff do not routinely ask questions to identify how well pupils understand new concepts or vocabulary.

Sometimes they move on too quickly. As a result, learning is insecure. Pupils do not always remember what they have learned.

The work that they produce is not consistently of a high quality.

The school has robust systems to identify the needs of pupils with SEND. However, strategies to support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum are not always implemented effectively.

Some staff do not routinely adapt lessons to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils, including those with SEND, sometimes struggle to engage fully with learning activities.

The curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to read.

This includes library lessons and shared reading in tutor time. The school provides support for weaker readers that helps them to develop reading fluency.

Most pupils attend school well.

They behave well in lessons and around school. The school works effectively to support those that do not attend, or behave, as well as they should. Pastoral leaders, chaplains, and mentors provide strong support for pupils' mental health when it is needed.

The curriculum for personal, social, health and careers education (PSHCE) is well planned and delivered by subject specialists. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and how to take care of their physical and mental health. PSHCE lessons, assemblies and tutor time activities support pupils spiritual and character development well.

The careers programme includes opportunities to meet with employers and education providers. All pupils benefit from personalised careers advice.

The school has worked hard to develop a positive and aspirational culture.

They have improved the way they engage, and communicate with, parents and carers. Leaders from the multi-academy trust, along with trustees and governors, know the school well. They share school leaders' ambition to continue to improve all aspects of the school's provision.

Staff are happy and proud to work at the school. They value the support they get to manage their workload and develop their expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. In some lessons, they do not always challenge pupils to think deeply. Work that is incomplete, or of poor quality, is too readily accepted.

As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school needs to ensure that all staff have high expectations for all pupils and support them to achieve well across the curriculum. ? Routines for checking pupils' understanding are not embedded in the curriculum.

Some staff do not systematically check that pupils are secure in what they have learned previously. They do not always check how well pupils understand new knowledge or vocabulary. As a result, gaps and misconceptions are not always identified or addressed.

Sometimes pupils struggle to make connections in their learning. They do not always learn securely and cannot always remember what they have learned. The school needs to make sure that all staff routinely check what pupils have learned and understood.

• Some staff do not routinely adapt learning activities to meet the needs of all pupils. This includes pupils with SEND. Staff do not always use the information they receive about pupils with SEND to provide effective support in lessons.

This means that some pupils, including those with SEND, struggle to engage fully with lessons. These pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school needs to make sure that lessons meet the needs of all pupils and that pupils with SEND receive the support they need to achieve well.