Barnoldswick Church of England Controlled Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Michelle Ellis Headteacher Barnoldswick Church of England Controlled Primary School Kelbrook Road Barnoldswick Lancashire BB18 5TB

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School

Following my visit on 14 March 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2011.

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School

The leadership team has maintained and significantly improved upon the good quality of education since the last inspection. You, the governors and staff have worked effectively to establish new systems to assess pupils’ learning, to track their progress and to introduce new procedures to check on and improve the quality of teaching. The new school site is extensive, spacious and you have taken actions that have improved the environment further, particularly for the early years children. The school was asked at the last inspection to improve the achievement of the most able pupils. This work has been successful. Most-able pupils, including the disadvantaged, now make good progress in English and mathematics from their starting points. The next step for the school is to make sure that all pupils, particularly the most able, achieve well in history and geography.

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School

Comments such as ‘We love to come to school’ and ‘I have improved as a teacher’ are indications of how you have created high staff morale, commitment and positivity. The culture that you and the governors have created is one of learning and development. Staff frequently and readily share ideas and expertise to improve teaching, most recently in science and in developing problem-solving in mathematics.

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School

Pupils are also positive. They said that they feel safe and mostly enjoy lessons. Teachers work hard to make sure that the school is inclusive. Pupils with a disability are fully included and work very well with able-bodied pupils. Boys mix and work well with girls and there is evidence across the school of a good working atmosphere, with pupils cooperating and communicating well with each other. Some pupils and parents in the surveys mentioned that there was some bullying and disruption to lessons, but as one pupil commented, ‘The teachers don’t put up with it’. The next step for the school is to introduce greater diversity in the curriculum to cover the full range of different people and cultures that are identified in the 2010 Equality Act.

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School

Safeguarding is high profile. The site is secure, well maintained and there is a thorough system to check that all staff are cleared to work with children. You and the deputy headteacher provide frequent training to make sure that all staff and governors are up to date with the latest information about child protection and health and safety. Good systems are in place to respond to any referrals identifying possible concerns about a child and for following these up through working closely with other agencies such as social care or the police. You also make sure that documentation is thorough, detailed and that events are in the correct chronological order.

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Inspection findings

 I focused on four areas for this inspection. Initially I considered how well the most able disadvantaged pupils achieve. This is because the published assessment information indicates that few disadvantaged pupils in the past attained the higher standards and that this group only made average progress. You identified that this group needs to be challenged further and have taken effective action to make sure that they have focused teaching that enables them to attain as high a standard as possible. Pupils’ work, and your own assessment systems, indicate that this group makes good progress in English and mathematics, particularly in Year 4.  Second, I considered how well the curriculum covers diversity, because the curriculum plans online show that pupils only seem to study men in art, music, history and science. The diversity leader has recognised that more needs to be done in this area. She is due very shortly to lead a staff meeting and training on

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Inspection findings

how to broaden the curriculum to incorporate a full range of diversity. There are already signs in some classes that teachers reflect people and communities found in modern Britain. In Year 1, for example, pupils study Marie Curie, Rosa Parks and traditions of other religions. In the early years, children thought about a full range of different families, including those with single parents, same-gender parents, those who have a disability and those with a mix of religion or ethnicity. In music, the teacher has identified some female musicians to provide as role models for girls. In some year groups, particularly in key stage 2, pupils’ geography work shows that they have a generalised and stereotypical view of countries, places and peoples. Across subjects there are not enough examples of pupils’ learning about people with different genders, ethnicities, sexualities or disabilities.  Third, I focused on the impact that pupils’ work in science and history has on

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Inspection findings

their achievement. Your improvement plan has already identified science as an area to develop and you have provide effective training. Pupils’ work shows a significant improvement in their science work, investigations and recording of science. In history, however, teaching is disjointed and requires improvement. Pupils do not have a good sense of chronology and some of the teaching leads to pupils having a narrow view of people who lived in the past, for example, ‘Tudor people wore posh clothes.’ The quality of pupils’ writing or reading is not reflected in their history work, which is limited by short spaces to write into worksheets. There are few examples of where pupils have interpreted or analysed a range of sources to derive their own view about events. Pupils study map skills in geography, such as using keys to find landmarks on maps, and they produce some good work identifying natural and physical features such as

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Inspection findings

volcanoes. Their wider geographical knowledge requires improvement.  Finally, I focused on the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The published assessment information indicates that this group has higher-than-average persistent absence. There are valid medical reasons behind most of this absence, such as hospital or specialist appointments. You track each pupil’s attendance carefully and have put in successful measures to improve individual pupils’ attendance.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the effectiveness of teaching in history and geography improves so that pupils, particularly the most able, have a deeper understanding of historical events and chronology and of places and countries around the world  the curriculum covers a full range of diversity, particularly in key stage 2, so that pupils are better prepared for life in modern Britain and any name calling is prevented.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Leeds (CE), the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I observed teaching, with you and/or the deputy headteacher in five classes to look at the quality and impact of teaching in subjects other than English and mathematics. I looked through a sample of work from the most able pupils from Year 1 to Year 6.

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Information about the inspection

I took into account the views of a group of pupils, the 28 pupils who completed Ofsted’s online survey and the results of governors’ survey of pupils’ views.

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Information about the inspection

I considered the views of the 74 parents who completed Ofsted’s online survey and the school’s own survey of parents.

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Information about the inspection

I spoke with a group of four teachers who lead subjects or parts of the school’s work and also considered the views of 36 members of staff who completed the online survey.

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Information about the inspection

I spoke with a representative of the local authority and with four members of the governing body.

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