Lyme Community Primary School

Inspection of Lyme Community Primary School Lyme Street, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside WA12 9HD

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 24–25 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils typically commented, ‘Teachers inspire us, and we inspire them.’ This quote sums up Lyme Primary. Leaders fulfil their motto: To inspire, challenge, achieve and nurture (ICAN). Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. They have made improvements. Disadvantaged pupils reach higher standards than in previous years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers, through the different subjects, make learning fun and exciting. This means that pupils want to carry on learning. They concentrate in lessons and are eager for more. In return, pupils are polite and friendly, and respond well to adults. Pupils said that they feel happy and safe. Most pupils behave most of the time. Some of the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) find it hard to behave. Staff manage the pupils with SEND well and minimise poor behaviour. In physical education (PE) lessons, some younger pupils do not listen to the teachers. They mess around when they should be listening. Pupils said that there is little name-calling. They said that adults sort out any bullying so that it does not happen again.

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better?

One of the children gave me a ticket in the outdoor area used by Nursery and Reception children. The ticket allowed me to sit on a milk crate at the back of a makeshift bus. From this vantage point, I could see that the youngest children are happy at school. They know which resources to get to inspire different games and activities. They concentrate and are willing to have a go. Sometimes, the staff do not help the children to express themselves in full sentences. At times, staff across the school do not model the correct use of language.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is not planned and sequenced in some subjects. Leaders already have plans for next year’s curriculum and plans to train staff in how to deliver it. They are bringing this about. Leaders have been successful in improving teaching in mathematics, reading and science. Pupils, as they move through school, know more and remember more. Their achievement is good. This is because teachers make sure that pupils understand before moving on to further learning. Leaders know they have been less successful in PE. They have plans to increase the time spent on PE and to improve the long-term plans in the subject. They are also about to change the language they have been learning from Spanish to French. It was good to hear pupils in the playground answering my ‘Hola’ with ‘Bien, que tal?’

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better?

In most subjects, pupils remember what they learned in previous years. However, sometimes, the knowledge has not stuck. They have forgotten key pieces of information, such as the names and location of the world’s continents or key skills in sports. This means that teachers have to slow down to fill in the gaps in pupils’ knowledge before moving on to the next piece of learning.

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better?

The school is not a results factory. Leaders do not narrow the curriculum to chase higher attainment at the end of Year 6. Nor do they take pupils off the school roll 24–25 September 2019

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unless necessary. The curriculum is ambitious. Teachers take time to build up pupils’ knowledge in most subjects. This is less successful in PE. Staff moved on too quickly, for example, before checking that all pupils knew how to hold the tennis racquet. Overall, pupils have a positive attitude to learning. However, on occasions, younger pupils’ behaviour in PE lessons is not as good as it could be.

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Reading has a high profile. By the end of Year 2 in 2019, every pupil could read at the expected standard. Very capable teaching assistants help pupils to catch up if they fall behind. Pupils read fluently, particularly story books.

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Provision for pupils’ personal development is strong. There is a very well-crafted curriculum which develops pupils’ understanding of the world and their rights as citizens. Teachers develop pupils’ sense of responsibility through jobs around the school but also through campaigning for social change. Pupils are respectful and know how to treat others. They cooperate well in lessons and this aids their learning.

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Teachers teach pupils with SEND well and make sure that they study the full curriculum.

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Governors have helped to shape the ethos and direction of the school. They support and challenge leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a high priority for the school. Leaders make sure that the staff have the training that they need to protect pupils. The school uses a good system to identify pupils and families who may need early help. Staff manage incidents well and follow through on cases. Staff work well with other specialists, including health workers.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In PE, the long-term plans do not fully cover the national curriculum. They are not sequenced as well as they could be, for example in dance. Pupils only have an hour of structured PE a week, which is below the recommended two hours a week. Leaders should make sure that the pupils learn PE from well-constructed and sequenced plans that gradually build up their knowledge and skills. They need to ensure that staff delivering PE lessons make better use of assessment and check that pupils have the knowledge and skills they need before moving on to further learning. Leaders also need to ensure that the behaviour of some younger pupils during PE lessons improves.  In some subjects, at the start of a topic, the pupils have forgotten important 24–25 September 2019

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knowledge and information. In mathematics, teachers revise key information and build pupils’ memory. The school should work on building pupils’ memory of the knowledge that they will need for further learning in other subjects, such as geography and PE.  In some classes, the adults do not model or teach pupils to improve their spoken language. In some lessons, pupils do not express themselves using good vocabulary or technical language. Some staff use non-standard spoken English and model incorrect grammar when they teach pupils. The school should consider ways of helping pupils to speak clearly and correctly, using good vocabulary, technical terms and standard English.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 24–25 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110883 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Caroline Unsworth

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6–7 June 2017

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Information about this school

 The main change since the previous inspection in 2017 is the return, full-time, of the deputy headteacher after maternity leave.  The school caters for pupils with communication special educational needs. It also caters for those pupils with physical needs, learning needs and those with social and emotional and behavioural needs.  The school manages a breakfast club and an after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 To take account of pupils’ views, we looked at the 107 replies to Ofsted’s online survey. We also spoke with groups of pupils, whom we observed in PE, mathematics and science lessons. We also talked with some groups of pupils about behaviour and about other aspects of school life.  To take account of parents’ views, we looked at the 50 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey. We also considered the 27 parents who wrote additional 24–25 September 2019

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comments on Parent View, most of which were very positive.  We met a range of teachers, mostly those whose lessons we visited during the day. We looked at the nine responses from staff who completed Ofsted’s online survey. We met with the headteacher and deputy. We also met with a group of staff, including teaching assistants. We met the subject leaders for science, mathematics, English and PE.  We met a representative of the local authority and with five members of the governing body.  In looking at pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, we observed them in classes. We also observed them at break and lunchtime.  We met the staff responsible for safeguarding. We looked at attendance and behaviour records. We also looked at case studies of how the school works with other agencies to protect pupils.  As a part of the inspection, we looked in depth in reading, mathematics, science and PE. We also looked at geography, computing and music but in much less

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Inspection team

Allan Torr, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mary Maybank Ofsted Inspector 24–25 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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