Ofsted

Brooklands is a ‘Good’ school with 'Outstanding' leadership and management

Summary of Key Findings:  

• • Brooklands is a “warm and welcoming school. Pupils, staff and families are proud to be a part of this school community.”
  • The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
  • Leaders have taken effective steps to ensure that their ambitious aims for the curriculum, including in early reading, are realised in practice. Staff understand and implement this vision well. They know how to support pupils gain and remember knowledge, and this means that pupils achieve well.
  • Pupils enjoy the range of experiences beyond the academic curriculum, such as educational visits and extra-curricular clubs. Pupils have the opportunity to be part of the pupil parliament or to become one of the school’s eco-warriors.
  • The leadership and management at this school are exceptional. At all levels, there is a tangible commitment to supporting the Brooklands community as well as ensuring that pupils achieve highly. The trust board and local academy committee know the school well. They provide a highly effective balance of support and challenge. Decisive and reflective action is taken in the best interests of the pupils.
  • The school’s curriculum is ambitious. Starting from the early years, curriculum thinking clearly sets out the precise skills and knowledge that pupils need to learn.
  • Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life. Any additional needs are quickly identified and support is put in place. Staff training ensures effective adaptations in lessons so that pupils with SEND learn well alongside their peers.
  • Pupils enjoy school. They are polite and respectful. In lessons, pupils are focused on their learning.

What will we be working to improve further?

Some aspects of the curriculum are new and not fully embedded. Although staff
understand and implement the school’s curriculum well, there are a few aspects
that need to be embedded further so that pupils’ learning deepens as leaders
intend and pupils remember detailed knowledge in the long term. The trust and
the school need to continue supporting leaders and staff to fully embed the
school’s curriculum so that it has the intended impact on pupils’ learning.

To read the full report, please click here.