Clifton Primary School

Clifton Primary School Clitheroe Road, Ansdell, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 3PY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher provides a clear sense of direction for the school. All staff share her vision for pupils to reach their full potential in their academic achievement and personal development.  Throughout their time in the early years, children develop a genuine eagerness to learn new things. They build positive relationships with one another and the adults around them and achieve well.  Pupils across the range of abilities make good progress. Many are making rapid progress in response to better quality teaching and additional support.  The standards that pupils attain by the end of Year 6 reflect their good achievement.  Teaching is typically good across the school and some is outstanding. Teachers plan well for the different abilities of individual pupils.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils mix and learn well together. They show good attitudes to one another and their work. These qualities help to sustain pupils’ good and improving learning.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school’s work in keeping pupils safe and secure is good. All pupils are treated equally and benefit from high-quality care.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is well developed. Visitors and trips bring learning to life. Pupils engage enthusiastically in sports, music and dance.  The headteacher has effectively led several whole- school changes. In a relatively short space of time, there have been significant improvements. The staff’s relationships with pupils, parents, grandparents and the local community are positive.  All staff and members of the governing body are dedicated to improving the lives of pupils and they work well as a team. Their successful actions have a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements. The school continues to improve.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.  Not all teachers consistently provide precise guidance on how pupils can improve their work.  Some leaders and managers do not always check that new initiatives to raise achievement in their areas of responsibility are rigorously monitored across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in lessons taught by teachers, two of which were jointly observed with the headteacher. Sessions led by teaching assistants were observed and the inspectors also listened to pupils read.  Inspectors held discussions with staff, pupils, the headteacher, governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including safeguarding documents, the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its own performance, development plans, records of pupils’ standards and progress, documents relating to attendance and behaviour, and pupils’ work in their books.  There were 44 parental responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) which were taken into account along with the school’s latest parent survey. The 20 responses to the staff questionnaire were also reviewed. In addition, the inspectors spoke informally to parents at the start and end of the school

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Clifton is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils joining the school during Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is higher than the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported by the pupil premium, is higher than that found nationally. The pupil premium is additional government funding that schools receive for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is similar to the national average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed.  Building work was taking place during the inspection to accommodate another early years classroom. Those joining the school in September 2015 are anticipated to double the usual number of children in early years. Provision in the Reception class is full time.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of pupils who make more than the expected progress and build on existing strengths in teaching by:  teachers having consistently high and clear expectations of what pupils can achieve as they move from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2  improving the quality of teachers’ marking so that pupils know how to improve their work and learn from their mistakes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leaders, managers and governors by ensuring the impact of new initiatives is systematically checked across subjects and year groups.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher knows every pupil at the school very well indeed and is highly ambitious for each one of them. She deservedly has the full confidence and support of staff and governors and demonstrates her expertise, skill and determination by leading school improvement. For example, she has restructured the senior leadership team and organised teachers to teach different year groups. This has raised the quality of teaching so that it is usually never less than good.  Teaching and learning are checked thoroughly; training is provided to support the development of individual members of staff and also to fit with school priorities. Some leaders, including middle leaders, have not fully developed the range of ways in which they intend to check on the impact that new initiatives are having on their areas of responsibility across the whole school. As a result, the headteacher shoulders much responsibility.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective systems to track pupils’ progress ensure pupils receive help if they start to fall behind. Care is taken to promote good achievement for all, including pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium. The funding for these pupils is spent well to meet their needs. This confirms the school’s commitment to making sure that there is no discrimination and that all pupils have equal opportunities to succeed in this harmonious community where behaviour is good and good relations flourish.  Pupils enjoy their learning because the exciting curriculum provided is of a high quality and takes account of pupils’ needs and interests. There is a wide range of after-school activities and visits and visitors to further enrich the subjects on offer. Bi-annually, older pupils perform as part of a schools’ choir at the Manchester Arena.  The school prepares pupils very well for life in modern British society. For example, excellent attention is

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The leadership and management are good

given to promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. During a ‘Faith and Communities Day’, Zulus visited the school to promote celebrating the diversity of life. They immersed pupils in their culture through singing and dancing culminating in pupils performing for the local community.  The primary school physical education and sport funding has been used well to increase opportunities for sport and physical development. Specialist coaches work with staff and pupils who are now able to lead sporting activities at lunchtimes. New equipment has been acquired and pupils develop their skills in an exceptionally wide range of sports including tag rugby, freestyle dance and dodgeball. Meticulous records are kept to ensure all pupils are provided with opportunities to help them to lead a healthy lifestyle.  School leaders, including governors, make sure that staff and pupils are kept safe and statutory

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The leadership and management are good

requirements including safeguarding are met. School policies, checks on staff and paperwork are carefully maintained and up to date.  The local authority provides effective light-touch support for this good school which ensures that the school’s work is accurate.  The governance of the school:  The governors are highly committed to and supportive of the school. They know the school and its provision well including the quality of teaching, because they receive very detailed information from the headteacher, visit the school as often as possible and question what they do not understand. They analyse data well and make comparisons with the national test results. Governors know the requirements relating to the management of teachers’ performance and make sure that salary increases are linked to how effective staff are. Recently there have been some changes to membership of the governing body bringing more expertise to the role. There are governors who are able to analyse data

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The leadership and management are good

about pupils’ progress and ensure value for money in how the budget is spent. A range of training opportunities are planned to ensure all governors are fully up to date.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils show a great deal of respect towards one another and the adults around them. This is reflected in all of the responses to the staff questionnaire, in the views of most parents who met the inspectors and most of the views expressed on Parent View.  Pupils develop good attitudes to learning from an early age. However, when activities do not challenge them sufficiently, a minority of pupils become inattentive.  Pupils look very smart in their school uniforms. They take pride in their school and this is helped by the work of the eco-council members who constantly examine ways in which the school considers its impact on the environment. For example, they are vigilant in promoting recycling to reduce harm to nature both locally and globally.  The school council is pro-active in raising money for charities. Members have organised activities to raise monies for a wide range of charities; Year 5 pupils raised money for water filters for Madagascar,

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Behaviour

emphasising their consideration for others by helping those less fortunate than themselves.  Attendance is higher than the national average and reflects just how much pupils enjoy coming to school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and they have positive relationships with one another and the adults around them. They understand different forms of bullying, although they say it is very rare at this school. School documentation and discussions with staff and parents support this view.  Almost all parents who responded to Parent View believe the school keeps their children safe.  Pupils develop a good understanding of how to stay safe in unfamiliar surroundings. For example, most Year 6 pupils are being prepared for a trip to London where they will be using different forms of transport which they are not used to, such as the underground system.  Year 6 pupils are trained as playground leaders and encourage younger children to keep safe and play games during break times. This shows how well the older pupils develop close bonds with the younger

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The quality of teaching is good

 The headteacher has been relentless in driving improvements in teaching. Pupils make good progress because of the effective quality of teaching on learning and achievement in a wide range of subjects including in literacy, reading and mathematics. This is further confirmed by work in pupils’ books and the school’s records of pupils’ progress.  Staff respect that every pupil is unique and take care to make sure that individual learning and pastoral needs are very well met. Teachers and teaching assistants work very well together and this results in an excellent level of support, especially for the least able pupils and those who experience social and emotional challenges.  Teachers use questions skilfully to assess pupils’ learning throughout lessons. Pupils discuss their ideas and learn from each other. Staff make sure that there is a good range of resources available to pupils so that they can help themselves and one another when they are a little unsure about what to do next.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is good. Pupils are taught how to use their knowledge of phonics (matching letters to the sounds that they make) to work out unfamiliar words. They can retell what they have read, showing a high level of understanding. Older pupils told the inspectors who their favourite authors are and why.  There have been improvements in the way that mathematics is taught in order to make learning relevant. For example, in Key Stage 2, pupils were learning about measuring perimeters and areas. Using a plan of a house, they demonstrated how they could carefully measure the area of a kitchen in order to work out how much flooring would be needed. Girls and boys alike made great strides in their understanding and progress.  The focus on developing writing across the school has had a significant impact on improving pupils’ writing. The staff team is extremely inventive in choosing topics which provide a lot of scope in developing

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils’ interests. For example, a recent visit from Paddington Bear led to a wide range of written work in Key Stage 1, including research into life in Peru. This highly motivated pupils. However, the presentation of pupils’ work across different subjects and year groups is variable. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of pupils, especially in lower Key Stage 2.  There is a whole-school approach to marking. However, the quality of teachers’ marking is variable and this slows pupils’ progress. Teachers’ guidance is not always precise enough in how pupils can improve their work. Pupils are encouraged to check their own and one another’s work before it is marked so that they can learn from each other.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress during their time at Clifton and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.  In 2014, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected level in the Year 1 phonics screening check was similar to the national average. Current tracking shows an improving picture. This is because teachers and teaching assistants are highly skilled in the teaching of phonics. The few pupils who struggle to read are given very effective support and this leads to rapid improvements. Pupils develop a love of books from an early age.  Standards are rising across the school as a direct result of improvements to the quality of teaching. Published data can be deceiving because of the high proportion of pupils in each year group who have joined the school during Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. These pupils have not had the benefit of the good start that the Reception class in this school provides.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards reached in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 have risen since the previous inspection and are continuing to rise. The headteacher instigated whole-school approaches to the teaching of these subjects. In 2014, the proportions reaching the expected levels in reading and mathematics were higher than the national average. In writing, the proportion was similar to the national average. However, the proportions of those reaching the higher level were slightly higher than the national average in writing but lower in reading and mathematics. Current work in books and tracking of pupils’ progress show that the number of pupils reaching the higher levels in all core subjects has significantly increased. Pupils make good, and sometimes outstanding progress during their time in Key Stage 1.  In 2014, the proportions of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected levels in reading and writing were similar

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The achievement of pupils is good

to the national average. Mathematics was lower because several girls did not reach the expected levels. The school has addressed this and current work in pupils’ books and tracking of pupils’ progress show that there is no longer a discrepancy between girls and boys. Standards reached across all core subjects are higher than last year. There is a significant increase in the proportion working at the higher level.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is because their additional needs are identified early and are fully met through one-to-one and small-group sessions, led by highly skilled teaching assistants. Exceptionally strong links with a wide range of external agencies also support both academic and personal needs of individual pupils. The school goes to great lengths to support the wider family and circumstances beyond school.  The pupil premium is now being used effectively and is directed towards supporting the disadvantaged

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils. In 2014, the disadvantaged pupils were approximately one year behind their classmates and other pupils nationally in reading. They were two terms behind in mathematics compared to others in school and other pupils nationally. In writing they were in line with classmates and other pupils nationally. Strategies to improve the progress of this group of pupils across year groups have been effective in significantly narrowing the gap so that their progress is now good.  The most able pupils make good progress. For example, in the last two years there have been pupils working at levels normally associated with Key Stage 3 in mathematics. Several pupils excel in music and sport.

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The early years provision is good

 Children settle very well into the early years. Prior to starting school, children and parents visit the early years setting. This gives staff an insight into what children enjoy doing and so activities are planned to fully engage them in a range of activities.  Children join the early years with general skills and knowledge that are typical, although skills in communication and language are not as strong. During their time in early years, children make good progress. In 2014, the proportions reaching a good level of development were similar to the national average. Current work and tracking of children’s progress show an improving picture. All children are well prepared for learning in Year 1 whether they are supported by additional funding, children with special educational needs or the most able children.  Communication between school and home is strong. Staff are available at the start and end of the school

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The early years provision is good

day so that everyone can share relevant information with one another. Parents are kept well informed of the progress their children are making through records known as learning journeys. These are used by staff and most parents to record each child’s achievements throughout their time in early years both in school and at home. Such records help staff to plan challenging activities to ensure children build on their experiences and make good progress.  Good care is taken to keep children safe and ensure their good behaviour. When they are given free choice of activities in which to engage, the children show respect for one another, learn to be patient and take turns to use the equipment available to them.  Children achieve well in the early years because of the good-quality teaching from the dedicated staff team, which is well led and managed. Staff meticulously follow up the children’s interests to extend their

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The early years provision is good

learning. For example, having been captivated by the ‘seaside’ topic, children enthusiastically used the travel agents area to choose and book holidays. Skilled questioning from staff made children think about how much the holiday would cost and the times of flights. The children thoroughly enjoyed this practical and fun way of developing numeracy skills.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 119291 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 461922

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 239 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kevin Waby Headteacher Rachel Legge Date of previous school inspection 7 December 2011 Telephone number 01253 727664 Fax number 01253 727949 Email address bursar@clifton-pri.lancs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

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 and 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 assesses 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

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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