Broadbeck Learning Centre

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 April 2025

Pupils are happy and safe in this caring school community. They join the school having faced significant challenges. The school prioritises pupils' well-being and gives them every opportunity to thrive. School staff work collaboratively with clinical, therapeutic and home staff to help pupils overcome any barriers to their learning. Pupils soon build positive self-esteem, they develop healthy relationships and start to practise ways to manage their emotions and behaviour. Staff support them expertly, giving pupils the time they need to think and express themselves. Pupils understand what bullying may look like. They are confident to voice any concerns they may have. The school takes appropriate action in response to the rare incidents that happen. The school has high expectations for pupils' academic achievement and social development. Pupils respond to these well. They start to develop a positive mindset to learning and achieve well from their individual starting points. Pupils leave the school well prepared for their future lives. Pupils have many opportunities to pursue their wider interests. For example, every Friday, pupils try out a range of activities, such as ice-skating or adventurous woodland activities. They take on additional leadership responsibilities at the school, such as becoming anti-bullying ambassadors.

What the school should improve

• Expectations for pupils' writing across the curriculum are not consistent. Pupils do not have the opportunities they need to practise and apply their knowledge of writing in subjects other than English. The school should ensure that staff have consistent expectations of, and approaches to, the teaching of writing across all subjects so that pupils improve the quality of their writing across the curriculum.
• Some of the school's systems to evaluate the impact of the quality of education on pupils' learning are in their infancy. This is specifically the case in the school's recently revised primary curriculum, where identified actions for improvement are not yet being realised effectively. As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff have appropriate knowledge to make improvements to the curriculum, where these are needed.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)