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What have been our successes this year?

This has been an excellent and extremely successful year for Broadgate School.

Building on the excellent grade achieved for Inclusion at our last Ofsted, we have continued to provide a huge range of opportunities for all children regardless of disability, gender, race or social background.

Every member of the school community has been involved in our Healthy Eating and Keep Fit campaigns, and we are particularly proud of the "Activemark" and "Smokefree" awards we gained this year.

An extensive range of activities has taken place throughout the year. Our performance at Leeds Town Hall Music Festival, frequent drama productions, the newly formed Integrated Childcare facility, "Broadgate Butterflies", and many sporting successes have all been celebrated enthusiastically by children and parents.

The re-furbishment and further development of our buildings and grounds which began twelve months ago, will culminate in the opening of our purpose built Children's Centre in Spring 2008. A "Magical Garden" which has been constructed with the aid of a grant of £30,000, will be unveiled at the same time.

Ours is an exciting, vibrant and extremely popular school which is a pleasure to attend.

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What are we trying to improve?

This year we are concentrating on five important areas which are fully documented in our School Development Plan:

• We are addressing major Health and Safety issues around school, including writing a Fire Risk Assessment Plan.
• We are working towards the introduction of the Common Assessment Framework, ensuring staff receive training in its application.
• We are continuing to introduce "Assessment for Learning" throughout the school.
• We are ensuring that the new Pay and Grading scheme for support staff is successfully implemented.
• We are working towards the opening of the Children's Centre.

All of the projects above are linked closely to the "Every Child Matters" agenda, ensuring Excellence and Enjoyment underpins structured, challenging and enjoyable teaching, creating a sound learning culture.

Our School Development Plan also contains a further 40 medium and longer term priorities which are fully documented under the "5 Outcomes" headings: "Stay Safe", "Be Healthy", "Enjoy and Achieve", "Make a Positive Contribution" and "Achieve Economic Well-being".

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How much progress do pupils make between age 7 and 11?

Our school

Confidence interval

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How well do pupils achieve at age 11?

We are extremely proud of the achievements of our children at the age of 11. Building on the excellent teaching and learning  that has taken place throughout their time at Broadgate, our children perform extremely well in their KS2 SATs, often exceeding expectations by several fine grades.We adopt a series of intervention stategies throughout the school, managed by an experienced senior teacher.

Such is our committment to maximising the potential of every pupil, we employ at least one Teaching Assistant to support each class teacher. Consequently, our pupil/staff ratios in every class never exceeds 1:15, and this is frequently much lower, particularly in the Foundation Stage and KS1, where ratios are typically 1:10.

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How have our results changed over time?

Our annual tests, including SATs, show that the children continue to make good progress and that they achieve high standards for their abilities in Mathematics, English and Science. We are particularly proud of our KS2 results in 2007 which show a very positive trend.

Ofsted states that our teachers have a "good" subject knowledge. They adopt "good" assessment procedures and information is used well to set targets for pupils. Our teaching of reading, using a variety of strategies including the RML phonics scheme, has proved to be particularly successful for reluctant readers, with numerous children making outstanding progress.

Value added scores reveal that by the time children reach eleven years of age, they are consistently scoring much more highly than was expected of them when they entered school, thus providing proof that excellent teaching is taking place.

Ofsted recognises that children with Special Educational Needs are extremely well supported, making excellent progress.

Our Foundation Stage team has worked tirelessly to ensure children make very good progress in all areas of learning, setting high expectations and giving every learner the confidence to succeed.

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How are we making sure that every child gets teaching to meet their individual needs?

Every child attending Broadgate School is treated as an individual, with work matched to age, ability and aptitude. All teachers plan lessons to cater for different levels of learning, and children are fully engaged in sharing the process of setting targets for their own improvement.

Progress is very carefully monitored, with praise, encouragement and rewards used to help children appreciate the importance of working hard and learning well. Their personal, social and emotional development receives the highest priority.

We are proud of our partnership with parents, ensuring that they too are involved in their children's learning. Regular Class Meetings and Parents Evenings are held, and an annual calendar and frequent newsletters provide up to date information about school activities.

We have an impressive level of highly qualified support in each classroom, with Teaching Assistants and Nursery Nurses supporting individuals, groups and whole classes, helping to provide a rich, broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum, accessible to all.

We are particularly experienced in working with children who have Special Educational Needs, gifted and talented children and children from wide and diverse cultural backgrounds.

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How are we working with parents and the community?

We are extremely proud of our excellent relationship with parents and the wider school community, who are invited into school and the Children's Centre on a regular basis to participate in a variety of school and social events.

Parents from Broadgate and other local schools are encouraged to enjoy the numerous activities we provide, both in class, and also at the free courses provided specifically for them. They take place during school time and include:

Relaxation and Aromatherapy, Yoga, Art and Craft, Computer training, Behaviour Management and Return to Work courses.

Our well supported "STEPS" and "SHARE" courses provide support and guidance for parents from throughout the Horsforth area.

Our multi-agency drop-in sessions for parents, "KIDSCOPE", attended by doctors, School Nurses and Educational Psychologists were described as exemplary by Ofsted.

Many workshops are also organised on a regular basis covering such subjects as "Mathematics", "Helping your child with Reading" and "Preparing for SATs".

Our fund raising activities have an extremely high profile in the community, engaging small and large charitable organisations.

Sponsored links with many local businesses and companies provide mutually beneficial support.

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What have pupils told us about the school, and what have we done as a result?

Our School Council is a very influential group of children who have been elected by their friends to represent their views about Broadgate School and how we can further improve what we already provide. They meet regularly on a formal basis and later report back to classes during their Circle Time. Many issues raised at School Council meetings have been acted upon for the benefit of the whole school community, for example drinking fountains, playground activities, school security and healthy schools issues.

Children are empowered and encouraged to make appropriate decisions about their education. Their voices are listened too, appreciated and valued.

Regular polls and surveys are carried out amongst children and their parents. Staff, Governors and members of the School Council analyse these surveys and always respond accordingly.

Sue Scholes, our Inclusion Manager, meets with children on a daily basis and has developed very effective strategies for listening to and supporting them.

We are active members of a Family of Schools, with our Headteacher acting as Chair of this influential body for the last nine years. Our pupils meet regularly with those from other schools to share ideas and good practice.

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How do we make sure our pupils are healthy, safe and well-supported?

Broadgate School gives the highest priority to the health, safety and support of all children and their families. During our last Ofsted inspection, we were recognised as being a distinctive school which provides excellent support for pupils.

We have recently been awarded the National Healthy Schools and the Leeds Advanced Healthy Schools Awards and the Activemark Award in recognition of our excellent achievement in this area.

Children and staff are fully committed to healthy eating. We provide a Healthy Tuckshop, fresh water, milk and free fruit to children. Our school dinners are carefully balanced and nutritional.

Our anti-bullying and anti-racist policies are fully embedded and rigorously supported by all.

We operate a highly successful lunchtime reward scheme and have ensured that all staff are fully trained.

Our support for vulnerable and "Looked After" children has been recognised as being excellent by the many agencies we work alongside.

Personal and social education, including appropriate drugs, sex and relationship training, is given high priority.

Our annual Health Fair is very well supported by the whole community. Staff from Broadgate are frequently invited to advise colleagues in local schools and schools nationally.

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How do our absence rates compare with other schools?

We are justifiably proud that the absence rates for our pupils are lower than both local schools and schools nationally. We feel that this is due to a number of measures we have put in place which include: very close liaison with our Attendance Improvement Officer, regular attendance campaigns organised by our Inclusion Manager, first day absence telephone calls and, perhaps most importantly, excellent relationships with our parents, who are extremely supportive and appreciative of the firm stance we take.

In September 2007 we introduced a zero tolerance of parents taking their children out of school for holidays during the month of September and during SATs weeks. Through our involvement with the local Area Mangement Board, we were able to deliver leaflets which gave details of this project to all families within the Horsforth area. Once again, this has been enthusiastically supported by the whole school community.

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What activities and options are available to pupils?

We offer an extensive range of activities for our children both during the school day, and also before and after school, during Staff Training Days and school holidays. Our Wraparound facility for 2 to 6 year olds, "Broadgate Butterflies", and Out of School Club for 7 to 11 year olds, further complement these, providing a truly extended school. These activities are coordinated by our experienced and caring Children's Centre Manager.

Examples of some of the many opportunities we provide include: Gymnastics, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Cross Country, Golf, Dance, Internet, Art, Maths and Homework clubs. Our teams compete in local leagues and competitions and are open to all, regardless of gender or disability.

All children receive swimming lessons during their time at Broadgate.

We have a strong commitment to music and drama and provide opportunities for children from throughout the school to participate.

In addition, we ensure that all children benefit from a range of residential trips we organise. Every year groups of up to 40 children and staff  visit such places as Robinwood and Peat Rigg Outdoor Centres, enjoying caving, climbing, abseiling, canoeing, archery, problem solving and fell walking activities.

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What do our pupils do after leaving this school?

When pupils leave us at the end of Year 6, the majority transfer to Horsforth High School which is located on a large site only 250m away from our school. This is a popular, successful and highly regarded Specialist Science College, which is always over-subscribed.

Because children are attracted to our school from a wide radius, a small number opt to attend other High Schools in Leeds when they leave Broadgate. 

Occasionally, some of our most able pupils opt to sit an entrance examination for Leeds Grammar School, and over the years quite a number have been successful, going on to achieve impressive results there too.

We have excellent relationships with all of these schools through the Family of Schools network Chaired by our Headteacher, Alan Tootill. Staff liaise closely throughout the year ensuring smooth, carefully managed transfers take place.

Due to the close proximity of Horsforth High School, our children are able to make full use of the facilities available there. Science, Sports, Computer and Library clubs, held after school and during weekends, are very well attended. Groups of Y6 children frequently visit Horsforth School during lesson times, and their staff come to Broadgate to work with our children.

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What have we done in response to Ofsted?

We were delighted with our last Ofsted inspection and have responded positively and successfully to key issues raised, most of which had been previously identified through our rigorous school self-evaluation process.

•     There are now many more planned opportunities in lessons to develop pupils speaking skills.
•     Children now consolidate and reinforce their learning through writing about their activities and experiences where appropriate.
•     The skills of Subject Leaders are used more fully to improve the quality of teaching.

 The Leadership Team, recently expanded to include our new Children's Centre Manager, meets weekly, constantly monitoring and evaluating the work of the school and the children's learning.

Our three Governing Body Committees, "Resources", "Teaching and Learning" and "Pupil Support", meet six times a year, providing advice and support to the school management through their role as "critical friend".

Through these important teams, we are able to respond very positively to the ever changing demands of the Ofsted Framework.

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More Information

If you would like more information about school policies, including our policies on special educational needs and disability, admissions, finance, school food and our complaints procedure, please contact us:

By telephone: 113 2582685

Our website: http://www.broadgate.ik.org

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