Brackensdale Spencer celebrate remarkable transformation with recent Ofsted inspection
Staff, parents and pupils at Brackensdale Spencer Academy are celebrating this week after receiving a phenomenal report from their recent Ofsted inspection. In line with the new grading system, the school were awarded ‘Good’ for Quality of Education, Behaviour and Personal Development and ‘Outstanding’ for Leadership and Management and Early Years Provision.
This is a truly remarkable achievement following the Academy’s starting point with the Spencer Academies Trust when they academised and joined the Trust back in April 2021, following their previous inspection as Brackensdale Primary School, which rated the school as ‘Inadequate’ in 2019.
Principal, Joanna McGregor, (who also took up post in April 2021), alongside her dedicated team and support of Spencer Academies Trust, have transformed the school into one where pupils thrive and develop a love for learning.
The report opens: “This is a school where pupils feel valued and included and enjoy learning and spending time with their friends. The school has high expectations for pupils to succeed. This is reflected in the ambition that the school has for its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).”
The school’s values – ‘be kind, shine bright, aim high’ were also acknowledged, with inspectors noting how ‘pupils’ everyday actions embody the school’s values’ and how this is further strengthened through the positive and trusting relationships staff have with pupils: “They trust that staff will help them with any worries or concerns. This helps pupils to feel happy and safe at school. Pupils behave well and show kindness and empathy to each other.”
The “highly ambitious” curriculum for all children was highlighted alongside discussions of the curriculum for children in the school’s enhanced SEND resource provision, in which inspectors note that it is “expertly tailored to meet pupils’ individual needs”, describing the school’s work to support with SEND across the whole school as “praiseworthy”.
The report also spotlights the school’s reading curriculum, sharing how “children delight in joining in with their favourite books at story time.” The inspector commented that “The foundations for learning to read are securely built in the Nursery class, where pupils learn sounds through games and rhymes. From the start of the Reception Year, pupils are supported to learn to read confidently and fluently. A love of reading is built into the whole-school curriculum through the careful choice of class books.”
Inspectors also applauded the strong leadership which has been integral to the transformation; “Exceptional leadership at all levels has ensured rapid and sustainable improvement in all areas of the school’s work.”
As part of the visit, inspectors also look at parent feedback through discussions and responses to online surveys. The report highlights one parent who commented: “I am proud my children go to Brackensdale; the staff are very caring people and work very hard”.
This significant milestone reflects the dedication and hard work of the staff and Leadership Team at Brackensdale Spencer Academy.
Principal, Joanna McGregor, was thrilled with the report: “Children have always been at the centre of the development of our ethos, culture and provision and we pride ourselves on this. We are so proud to have the hard work and dedication of the staff team recognised as providing a place for our children to learn and thrive. I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made together and the positive impact we continue to have on our children’s education and wellbeing.”
Director of Primary Education, Kate Green, added: “We are immensely proud of the sustained journey of improvement at Brackensdale Spencer since the school joined the Spencer Academies Trust. The deliberate and purposeful leadership approach has built systems which put the children at the centre of every decision, while the love, care and excellent teaching which fills the building means that all children are thriving. It is a pleasure to see how the recent inspection has been celebrated in the whole community and is a huge achievement for everyone.”
Paul West, CEO of Spencer Academies Trust, also shared: “I am thrilled that Brackensdale Spencer has been judged Good and Outstanding by Ofsted. When the academy joined Spencer Academies Trust, we had a clear vision for the transformation of Brackensdale so that the children of the community could receive the quality education that they deserve; that vision has been realised. Brackensdale Spencer children also achieved their best ever results last Summer. Joanna, and the academy and Trust teams should feel rightly proud.”
Well done to all at Brackensdale Spencer on this incredible achievement!