Broad Oak Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Broad Oak. They have lots of friends and feel safe and happy.

Their parents and carers agree. This is because of the positive relationships that are formed with their peers and with the caring staff. Pupils are polite, enthusiastic and respectful.

Pupils understand what bullying is, including how it could happen online. They reported that bullying is very rare. If it were to happen, pupils are confident that staff would sort it out quickly.

Pupils, including children in the early years, behave well. They work hard in lessons and play cooperatively with their friends at social times. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should....

This is because the curriculum is not sufficiently developed in several subjects.

Pupils enjoy many opportunities to develop as confident, young citizens. For example, leaders have supported pupils to understand the current conflict in Ukraine in an age-appropriate way.

Pupils proudly support many good causes and charities.

Pupils value the range of clubs and visits on offer to them. These include trips to museums, trips to the beach and dance workshops.

Pupils were keen to talk about the popular skateboarding club and their participation in sports competitions.

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

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced. In some subjects, the curriculum is well established and is understood by all staff.

However, in several other subjects, curriculum development is at an early stage.

In some subjects, including reading and mathematics, leaders have ensured that the curriculum identifies the important knowledge that pupils will learn and when they will learn it. This means that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn in a logical way from the early years to Year 6.

Consequently, pupils build new knowledge on what they have learned before. In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

However, in several subjects, leaders have only recently started to identify the important knowledge that pupils, and children in the early years, will learn.

In these subjects, teachers do not have clarity about what to teach and when to teach it. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Leaders have not checked how well staff deliver many subject curriculums across the school.

The COVID-19 pandemic has partly hampered this. This has led to teachers not delivering these curriculums as leaders intend. For example, pupils are not currently learning some subjects as often as leaders expect.

Teachers check how well pupils have understood learning during lessons. When required, staff work closely with pupils and provide suitable support. However, the lack of monitoring by leaders means that they do not know how well pupils are achieving in a range of subjects over time.

Leaders have improved the reading curriculum. This develops clearly, from the early years to Year 6. Pupils enjoy reading high-quality texts that encourage a love of reading.

Children in the Nursery class develop their listening and attention skills effectively. This ensures that most children are ready to learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception Year. The books pupils read allow them to practise the sounds that they know.

Teachers quickly identify pupils who fall behind. These pupils receive appropriate support from staff to help them catch up. This support continues for older pupils for as long as they need it.

As a result, most pupils become fluent readers.

Leaders have ensured that pupils with SEND have their needs identified in a timely way. Leaders make sure that pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) receive specialist support and care.

Over time, many of these pupils successfully increase the time they spend with their peers in mainstream lessons.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' behaviour, including for children in the early years. Children in the Nursery Year quickly learn to follow rules and routines.

Staff manage pupils' behaviour well. Pupils across the school, including those in the specially resourced provision, listen attentively to staff.

Pupils have a secure understanding of healthy relationships.

They learn about the importance of respecting people from different faiths and cultures. Pupils, including those with SEND, strive to be elected to the school council. Those elected work closely with leaders to improve many aspects of the school.

These have included the promotion of recycling and an improvement to playtimes.

Leaders and governors understand the school's priorities for improvement. Governors provide suitable support and challenge to school leaders.

Leaders and governors are mindful of staff's workload. They support staff's and pupils' well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that pupils learn how to stay safe. Pupils know how to work or play safely online. They learn how to stay safe near roads and railway lines.

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. This helps staff to be alert to any signs that pupils may be at risk from harm.

Leaders keep a close eye on the attendance of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.

They raise concerns with other agencies when needed. This helps to ensure pupils' safety when they are not in school.

Pupils, including those in the specially resourced provision, build supportive relationships with staff.

This gives them the confidence to raise concerns if they need to. Leaders ensure that pupils and their families get the help that they need when required.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subject curriculums, the important knowledge that children and pupils should learn is not made clear.

This means that children and pupils, including those with SEND, do not build their knowledge securely on what they already know and can do. Leaders should ensure that all subject curriculums identify the important knowledge that children and pupils should learn, from the early years to Year 6. ? Leaders have not checked how effectively staff deliver the curriculum.

Teachers therefore do not deliver some subject curriculums as leaders intend. Subject leaders should be suitably equipped to monitor the implementation of their curriculums. This will enable senior leaders to know how well pupils are achieving and to know that pupils learn the curriculums as intended.