Broomley First School

Overview

Broomley First School is judged as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories. The report highlights that pupils are happy, behaviour has improved significantly following new management systems, and leaders have secured ‘improved classroom practice’ despite considerable staffing changes.

Strengths

• Pupils report that ‘it is easy to make friends’ and feel safe, with bullying being rare.
• Reading is prioritised effectively; ‘precision teaching enables children to secure their phonics knowledge well’, with outcomes above the national average.
• The mathematics curriculum is ‘ambitious for all pupils’ and ‘well structured to ensure pupils build their knowledge step by step’.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has seen ‘significant improvement in policy and practice’.
• Governors ‘know the school well’ and actively support staff workload and well-being.

Areas to improve

• Opportunities for pupils to ‘deepen their understanding or extend their thinking’ through demanding activities are inconsistent, particularly in reading where such tasks are often left incomplete.
• In foundation subjects, there is ‘variability in the approaches to capturing and using assessment information’, meaning the curriculum is ‘sometimes not fully effective’.
• The focus on mathematical fluency has reduced time for ‘mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills’, limiting pupils’ ability to apply their skills.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.