Blackshaw Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Blackshaw Primary School Bideford Drive, Breightmet, Bolton, Lancashire BL2 6TE

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Outcome

Blackshaw Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they love attending Blackshaw Primary School. They see themselves as being part of one big, happy family. The school provides opportunities for all pupils to succeed. Pupils appreciate the high expectations that teachers have of them. The curriculum provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils to broaden their horizons. Teachers prepare interesting lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in a wide variety of clubs and extra-curricular activities. This enriches their learning by building on what they have studied in class. Exciting residential trips enable pupils to grow in confidence and maturity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers meet and greet pupils and parents each morning with genuine warmth. Parents said that staff are easy to talk to and swift to respond to any concerns that they may have. Pupils spoke about how well staff care for them. As a result, pupils blossom by the time they move on to secondary school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. The atmosphere in school is friendly and purposeful. Pupils feel safe because bullying is a rare occurrence. Pupils are confident that teachers will sort out any concerns that they may have.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school is led well by knowledgeable leaders. Governors know the school well and visit often to check on how it is doing. Governors have not ensured that the school’s website contains the required detail about the curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

School leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. Pupils study a range of subjects which goes beyond the expectations of the national curriculum. The curriculum is well planned so that pupils can build their knowledge and understanding in each subject. Prior learning is often revisited. This helps children to remember key facts and concepts. Leaders have appropriate plans in place to help all teachers, including those new to the 11–12 September 2019

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profession, to share ideas and learn from each other to enhance their teaching skills.

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Teachers share a passion to do their best for pupils. Teachers make good use of the extra guidance that subject leaders provide to help them teach their subjects well. Some teachers draw on innovative ways to support pupils in knowing more and remembering more.

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Leaders know how important reading is for pupils to learn and succeed in life. Pupils get off to a good start in reading. This is because well-trained staff deliver good-quality phonics teaching from the outset. As a result, nearly all pupils achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. As pupils move through the school, they learn to read fluently. After-lunch reading times ensure that pupils have lots of opportunities to read for pleasure. Pupils study a wide range of texts, from the action stories of Anthony Horowitz to the dramas of William Shakespeare. These experiences enhance pupils’ love of literature. I heard pupils speak eloquently about their favourite authors and the reasons why they enjoy their books. I saw pupils’ faces light up when they spoke about losing themselves in a good book.

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Pupils achieve well in mathematics. The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, irrespective of their abilities. Leaders check what works well for their pupils and devise the most appropriate curriculum for their needs. Teachers are well trained and knowledgeable. They plan their lessons so that pupils can build on what they learned before. Teachers use practical activities and investigations to deepen pupils’ understanding.

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In science, interesting practical experiments ignite pupils’ love of the subject and bring their learning to life. For example, I saw pupils learn about the scientific concept of friction by measuring the force needed to move a brick on different surfaces. However, now and then some learning activities introduce misconceptions in science which later need to be untaught.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) take full advantage of all the school has to offer and achieve well. Staff have a can-do attitude to help pupils with SEND learn. As a result, all pupils do well across the curriculum. This is illustrated in pupils’ high achievements in end-of-key-stage 2-assessments.

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Pupils have many opportunities to learn about the wider world. For example, pupils learn about democracy by taking part in school elections. Pupils explore new cultures through a range of visits. They also learn new languages, skills and sports through a wide range of clubs.

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Early years is a vibrant, safe and exciting place to learn. As a result, children achieve well. Staff are caring and welcoming. The curriculum allows children to thrive. There is a strong focus on language and communication. Adults use the outside space creatively so that children learn about wildlife and conservation.

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Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. Disruption to learning because of unruly behaviour is extremely rare. 11–12 September 2019

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and all staff at Blackshaw Primary School are committed to keeping pupils safe. They are vigilant and receive up-to- date training. All appropriate checks are completed to ensure the suitability of staff. Leaders keep meticulous records that are fit for purpose. They share information with the right people when it is necessary to protect children who may be at risk of harm. Governors make sure that the school’s internet connection is subject to appropriate monitoring and filtering to keep pupils safe from online threats.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Governors know a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This is because of the quality of information they receive from leaders. They check this out through frequent visits to the school. The governing body does not celebrate the quality of the school’s curriculum. Its content is not published, as required, on the school website. Governors must ensure that they keep this information up to date.  In science pupils have many high-quality opportunities to enrich their learning through independent learning experiences. This is particularly prominent in the early years and key stage 1. However, some experiences may introduce scientific misconceptions such as that all metals attract magnets. These misconceptions then need to be untaught later in school. Teachers must ensure that they use secure science subject knowledge to mitigate the risks of introducing misconceptions when designing these enrichment

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged Blackshaw Primary School to be good on 2 March 2011.

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find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 11–12 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111033 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 January 2016

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Information about this school

 Blackshaw Primary School is an average-sized primary school. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEND.  Three new members of staff joined the school at the start of the autumn term 2019, including newly qualified and recently qualified teachers.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, I focused deeply on reading, mathematics and science. This involved discussions with subject leaders, visits to lessons, looking at examples of pupils’ work, discussions with teachers and discussions with pupils. I also listened to pupils reading.  I spoke with pupils in a range of formal and informal situations about their work and school life. I spoke with members of the governing body, the headteacher, members of the senior leadership team and the subject leaders for the subjects in which I undertook inspection activities. I also met with the teachers responsible for Reception and Nursery classes.  I reviewed a range of documentation including that relating to safeguarding and checks 11–12 September 2019

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undertaken on newly appointed staff.  I considered the responses to online questionnaires for parents, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

John Nixon, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 11–12 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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