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Branksome Heath Middle School - Inspection report
| Unique Reference Number | 113703 |
| Local Authority | Poole |
| Inspection number | 338222 |
| Inspection dates | 2-3 March 2010 |
| Reporting inspector | Janet Simms |
This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
| Type of school | Middle deemed primary |
| School category | Community |
| Age range of pupils | 8-12 |
| Gender of pupils | Mixed |
| Number on roll | 472 |
| Appropriate authority | The governing body |
| Chair | Mr Clive Hardy |
| Headteacher | Mr Stuart Fox |
| Date of previous school inspection | 26-27 June 2007 |
School address Livingstone Road
Parkstone
Poole
BH12 3DX
Telephone number 01202 747966
Fax number 01202 732692
Email address
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to
achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of
all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and
Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based
learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and
other secure establishments. It rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after
children, safeguarding and child protection.
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.
If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please
telephone 08456 404045, or email .
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give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.
Royal Exchange Buildings
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© Crown copyright 2010
Introduction
This inspection was carried out by four additional inspectors. Inspectors spent the
large majority of the time looking at learning. They observed 23 lessons or parts of
lessons and 19 teachers. They held meetings with the headteacher and other senior
leaders, subject coordinators, pastoral workers and other staff. They spoke with
several groups of pupils and with governors. Inspectors observed the school's work
and looked at much school documentation, including school development planning,
pupils' assessment and tracking records, documents related to safeguarding,
governors' minutes, attendance data and records of the monitoring of teaching. They
also scrutinised 80 questionnaires from parents and carers, and those from staff and
pupils.
The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. Inspectors looked
in detail at the following:
how rapidly attainment and achievement are improving
the relative progress of different groups of pupils, in particular:
− boys' and girls' progress
− attainment and progress in English, particularly in writing, and especially
of boys
− how well pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve
how effectively leaders' evaluations of the school's performance are focused on
the impact of provision on the quality of pupils' learning
the capacity of leadership and management to sustain and accelerate
improvement.
Information about the school
This medium-sized middle school includes a higher-than-average proportion of pupils
with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Most of these are related to
language development but a high proportion of these pupils have significant
emotional and behavioural problems. Most pupils are of White British heritage. Very
few pupils are at the early stages of learning to speak English. The local authority is
changing the age of transfer across the borough, so the school is subject to
educational re-organisation in 2013. The headteacher and most senior staff are new
to their posts since the school's last inspection. The school holds the Healthy Schools
Plus award and it has Activemark status.
Inspection report: Branksome Heath Middle School, 2 - 3 March 2010 4 of 13
Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate
Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms
Inspection judgements
Overall effectiveness: how good is the school? 3
The school's capacity for sustained improvement 3
Main findings
This satisfactory school is improving steadily and has some significant strengths,
including its good pastoral care, guidance and support for pupils and their families.
Staff are working hard to ensure that pupils' experiences are increasingly enjoyable
and productive, and they have already improved pupils' behaviour and attendance.
Staff are committed to providing equally for all pupils, including those who present
significant challenges. Pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding
develops well because the school provides good opportunities to extend their
horizons through experiences such as residential camping weekends, which help
them to socialise and become more independent. Good contributions to the school
community, such as being 'mini-mediators' or school councillors, give pupils valuable
opportunities to understand responsibilities and develop self-esteem.
Attainment is rising and progress is accelerating in response to recent initiatives to
improve learning. Pupils make good progress in reading and satisfactory progress in
mathematics and science. Writing is identified rightly as the school's main issue for
improvement and is the reason why attainment in English lags behind that in other
subjects. Boys achieve less well than girls in writing because they are not always
engaged and interested in the tasks, though this is improving. Variations in teaching
quality throughout the school result in inconsistent rates of progress. In some
lessons, good teaching results in good progress, but this effective practice is not
being shared well enough across the school. Sometimes progress in lessons slows
because work is not well matched to pupils' levels of attainment. These lessons do
not stretch the more able pupils sufficiently. There are also variations in the quality
and usefulness of teachers' marking.
The curriculum meets pupils' needs appropriately and has a number of good
features. Specialist facilities, for example in science, enable Key Stage 2 pupils to
benefit from a wider range of experiences than is usual for their age. Native speakers
provide good models for learning modern foreign languages. An extensive, welldelivered
physical education curriculum, including dance, helps develop good skills in
this subject. Pupils who have not made the expected progress are clearly identified
and are given carefully targeted additional support to help them progress faster.
Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress
because the support provided for them is planned carefully to address the gaps in
their learning.
Satisfactory leadership, management and governance are strengthening the school
and beginning to accelerate the pace of change. Accurate self-evaluation has
identified the right priorities for improvement and there is a clear focus on
accelerating pupils' progress. The progress made so far shows that the school has a
satisfactory capacity to sustain improvement. Nevertheless, senior leaders'
monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are not rigorous enough because
not enough time is given to checking pupils' work and teachers' planning to give a
longer-term view of progress.
What does the school need to do to improve further?
Improve attainment and accelerate pupils' progress, with a particular focus on
boys' writing, by:
− providing higher levels of challenge for more able pupils in all subjects
− raising teachers' expectations of the quality of pupils' written work,
including their handwriting and presentation
− providing more opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills in
other subjects
− ensuring that literacy lessons consistently engage the interest of boys.
Increase the proportion of good or better teaching across the school by:
− ensuring that senior leaders' monitoring and evaluation of teaching
regularly takes into account lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils'
books, teachers' planning and the quality of marking
− utilising teachers' existing strengths to spread good practice across the
school
− ensuring that teachers use assessment information to plan work which
matches the needs of all groups of pupils
− improving teachers' marking so that it shows pupils clearly how to improve
their work in all subjects.
About 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may
receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5
inspection.
Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3
Pupils make satisfactory progress from low starting points. Their attainment is rising
and is close to expectations for their age by the time they leave. Pupils' behaviour
and attitudes in lessons support their learning effectively. In a Year 7 personal,
health and social education (PHSE) lesson, for instance, pupils responded well to the
opportunity to discuss ideas, in pairs and small groups, about why criminal behaviour
occurs. Here, as in a high quality Year 6 dance lesson related to West Side Story,
pupils' thinking was stretched well to develop good social understanding about crime
and gangs, as well as subject learning. Good preparation and planning in Year 4
design and technology lessons led to good levels of experimentation, analysis and
enjoyment in learning about pneumatics and textiles. Useful support from other
adults in several lessons leads to lower ability pupils achieving as well as others. On
some occasions, as in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, more able pupils' progress is
limited because tasks are not sufficiently challenging. Occasionally, the behaviour of
a few boys interrupts learning, as in a Year 6 music lesson. Most pupils can explain
their ideas orally but have difficulties putting them in writing. Lack of confidence
about writing, which has hampered pupils' progress in the past, is now being
addressed through new approaches to learning. Pupils say they feel very safe and
are confident that the adults will look after them well. They engage in many extracurricular
sporting actvities which keep them fit and healthy. Pupils thoroughly enjoy
the challenge of the 'feet off the ground' apparatus in their playground, where feet
must stay on the equipment for as long as they can. Activity of this kind has led to
the higher award of Healthy Schools Plus status.
These are the grades for pupils' outcomes
|
Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning |
3 3 3 |
| The extent to which pupils feel safe | 2 |
| Pupils' behaviour | 3 |
| The extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles | 2 |
| The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community | 2 |
| The extent to which pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Pupils' attendance |
3 3 |
| The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development | 2 |
How effective is the provision?
Good, mutually respectful relationships between adults and pupils help to create a
calm and purposeful atmosphere for learning. Good practice exists in all subjects and
year groups but it is not consistent. In good lessons, pupils respond well to
opportunities to talk, developing interesting ideas in groups or pairs. In others,
questioning styles are limited, offering few pupils an opportunity to speak. In English
and mathematics, assessment, including marking, has improved and is often
informative and helpful. In other subjects, books are not marked well enough to
explain how pupils can improve weaknesses in writing. In good lessons, pupils are
well motivated and behave well, while in other lessons work is not planned well
enough to keep all pupils actively engaged.
The curriculum is improving. It incorporates a number of specific programmes to
improve the pace of learning, particularly for pupils who fall behind. It is not always
planned well enough to stretch more able pupils, but provides effective support for
lower ability pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
There is insufficient focus on using other subjects to promote better writing,
especially among boys. Activities such as singing in the choir provide a good range of
extra-curricular opportunity for pupils to participate beyond the classroom. Pastoral
care workers play an important part in providing good care, guidance and support,
particularly for vulnerable pupils, who speak highly of these and other adults who
help them. Good guidance when pupils move into secondary education helps most
settle quickly, while liaison with feeder schools has improved, leading to smoother
transition into Year 4.
These are the grades for the quality of provision
|
The quality of teaching |
3 3 |
| The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships | 3 |
| The effectiveness of car, guidance and support | 2 |
How effective are leadership and management?
The new senior team, supported by governors who are providing increasing levels of
challenge, has implemented changes to systems and curriculum design which are
properly targeted at improving pupils' attainment and achievement. The impact of
these can be seen most in Years 4 and 5 where pupils' progress has started to
accelerate. Development planning focuses on the right priorities, such as improving
the proportion of good teaching, but the planned timescales for bringing about
improvements are not always sufficiently challenging. The school is committed to
equality of opportunity for all and provides good avenues for all parents and carers
to get involved with their children's learning. The mathematics workshop which took
place during the inspection helped those who attended to understand new learning
styles. Although the number of families who respond to these opportunities is
increasing, take-up is sometimes disappointing. The school's close working
partnerships with external agencies and individuals to support vulnerable pupils are
particularly helpful in developing their confidence and self-esteem. Safeguarding
procedures are thorough and governors take their responsibilities seriously for
ensuring the health and safety of staff and pupils. The school promotes community
cohesion well, using its links with the Caribbean and China to develop the
international dimension. Interactions with an ethnically diverse school in Reading
help pupils understand life in different parts of Britain and pupils from all
backgrounds get on well together in the school.
These are the grades for leadership and management
| The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning |
3 3 |
| The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met |
3 |
| The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers | 2 |
| The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being | 2 |
| The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination |
3 |
| The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures | 2 |
| The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion | 2 |
| The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money | 3 |
Views of parents and carers
The very large majority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire
are satisfied with most aspects of the school's provision and the outcomes for their
children. Those who made additional positive comments wrote about their children's
good achievement, good levels of support, how quickly pupils entering at nonstandard
times settle down and the good after-school and curriculum opportunities
provided. Those expressing concerns about the school's management of
unsatisfactory behaviour formed the highest proportion of negative comments.
Inspectors discussed this with senior staff, who agreed that they do not always
'publicise' what is done about poor behaviour, and that they would reconsider when
it might be appropriate to inform individual parents about sanctions. Inspectors also
discussed this with pupils, who showed a mature understanding of these issues.
They commented on how they feel it is appropriate to reward pupils whose
behaviour has improved, but may not yet be as good as many others', because this
helps them understand how their better behaviour is valued. Inspectors judge that
the school does deal properly with unsatisfactory behaviour when it occurs. A few
parents commented on more able pupils not being challenged enough and inspectors
agree that this is sometimes the case.
Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire
Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Branksome Heath Middle
School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school.
In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13
statements about the school.
The inspection team received 80 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In
total, there are 472 pupils registered at the school.
| Statements | Strongly Agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
| Total / % | Total / % | Total / % | Total / % | |
| My child enjoys school | 28 / 35% | 47 / 59% | 3 / 4% | 1 / 1% |
| The school keeps my child safe | 32 / 40% | 44 / 55% | 4 / 5% | 0 / 0% |
| The school informs me about my child's progress | 13 / 16% | 55 / 69% | 10 / 13% | 1 / 1% |
| My child is making enough progress at this school | 18 / 23% | 51 / 64% | 10 / 13% | 10/01% |
| The teaching is good at this school | 18 / 23% | 59 / 74% | 2 / 3% | 0 / 0% |
| The school helps me to support my child's learning | 20 / 25% | 53 / 66% | 4 / 5% | 0 / 0% |
| The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle | 19 / 24% | 56 / 70% | 4 / 5% | 0 / 0% |
| The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) |
16 / 20% | 49 / 61% | 9 / 11% | 0 / 0% |
| The school meets my child's particular needs | 16 / 20% | 52 / 65% | 10 / 13% | 1 / 1% |
| The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour | 10 / 13% | 47 / 59% | 13 / 16% | 8 / 10% |
| The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns | 8 / 10% | 54 / 68% | 11 / 14% | 3 / 4% |
| The school is led and managed effectively | 14 / 18% | 59 / 74% | 2 / 3% | 3 / 4% |
| Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school | 22 / 28% | 52 / 65% | 4 / 5% | 1 / 1% |
The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The
percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number
of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular
question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.
Glossary
What inspection judgements mean
| Grade | Judgement | Description |
| Grade 1 | Outstanding | These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. |
| Grade 2 | Good | These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. |
| Grade 3 | Satisfactory | These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. |
| Grade 4 | Inadequate | These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. |
Overall effectiveness of schools inspected between September
2007 and July 2008
Overall effectiveness judgement (percentage of schools)
| Type of School | Outstanding | Good | Satisfactory | Inadequate |
| Nursery Schools | 39 | 58 | 3 | 0 |
| Primary Schools | 13 | 50 | 33 | 4 |
| Secondary Schools | 17 | 40 | 34 | 9 |
| Sixth form | 18 | 43 | 37 | 2 |
| Special Schools | 26 | 54 | 18 | 2 |
| Pupil referral units | 7 | 55 | 30 | 7 |
| All Schools | 15 | 49 | 32 | 5 |
New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that
inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously.
The data in the table above were reported in The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of
Education, Children's Services and Skills 2007/08.
Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Secondary school figures include
those that have sixth forms, and sixth form figures include only the data specifically for sixth form
inspection judgements.
Common terminology used by inspectors
Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their
learning, development or training.
Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and
examination results and in lessons.
Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue
improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what
the school has accomplished so far and on the
quality of its systems to maintain improvement.
Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities,
not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities,
directing and motivating staff and running the
school.
Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their
understanding, learn and practise skills and are
developing their competence as learners.
Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall
effectiveness based on the findings from their
inspection of the school. The following judgements,
in particular, influence what the overall
effectiveness judgement will be.
The school's capacity for sustained
improvement.
Outcomes for individuals and groups of
pupils.
The quality of teaching.
The extent to which the curriculum meets
pupils' needs, including, where relevant,
through partnerships.
The effectiveness of care, guidance and
support.
Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and
over longer periods of time. It is often measured
by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a
key stage with their attainment when they started.
This letter is provided for the school, parents and
carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's
main findings from the inspection of their school.
4 March 2010
Dear Pupils
Inspection of Branksome Heath Middle School, Poole BH12 3DX
Thank you so much for welcoming us into your school when we came for the
inspection. We enjoyed being there, especially talking to you in your lessons and in
groups. I am writing to tell you what we found out.
Yours is a satisfactory school which is steadily improving. Your behaviour in class is
often good, but it is sometimes rather boisterous around the school. We enjoyed the
way you talk to each other about your work in groups and pairs when teachers give
you the chance. We were pleased to hear how well you can explain things by talking
about them. Most of you achieve as you should and we have asked the school to
improve your progress even more, especially in writing. Your reading, mathematics
and science learning are all coming along steadily, but many of you have difficulties
with writing, especially boys. We were pleased to see how the 'Big Write' is starting
to improve this. We have asked the school to make sure you write about lots of
interesting, enjoyable things across all your subjects, so that you get better at
putting your good thoughts down on paper.
Teachers and other adults do a good job of keeping you safe and they look after you
well. Some lessons help you make good progress, while in others you make slower
progress. We have asked the school to improve the teaching so that your lessons are
consistently good. We found that the staff have improved the way they assess your
learning so that they give you good advice about how to do better, especially in
English and mathematics. We were pleased that you could tell us about your targets
in these subjects. We have asked the school to improve the marking of your work in
other subjects, especially when you write, so that will help too. You can help your
teachers by reading carefully what they say in their marking, and by doing what they
advise.
Thank you again
Yours sincerely
Janet Simms
Lead Inspector
Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the
procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available
from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy
of the guidance, please telephone 08456 404045, or email .
