Moorfield Primary School

Inspection of Moorfield Primary School School Way, Moorfield Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 3HJ

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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 2–3 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school motto: ‘vibrant, loving, proud’. They say that this is how their school helps them to feel. Pupils know that their welfare and learning are important to the headteacher and staff. This helps pupils to feel safe, secure and happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers expect all pupils to try their best. The corridors are alive with their work, such as models, pictures and writing. Pupils are proud of this work and enjoy showing it to parents and to visitors. Pupils develop personally through activities such as sports, choir and residential stays.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is generally good. They understand the rules and usually follow them very well. Pupils say that, although there are sometimes disagreements, bullying is rare. If it did happen, pupils know that their teachers would step in and put a stop to it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Attendance is good. Most pupils attend very regularly. They strive for the special rewards for pupils who come to school every single day. There are a few pupils who are absent too often. These pupils are missing important learning. Leaders are striving to improve the attendance of these pupils, but there is still some work to do.

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better?

Children make a strong start to their education in the early years. They benefit from a carefully planned curriculum that helps them to learn well. Teachers listen to what parents and carers say about their children. This helps them to plan better for children’s needs. Staff help children to learn successfully and they are well prepared for Year 1 when the time comes.

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better?

School leaders have made important improvements to the school since the last inspection. More pupils now reach at least the standards they need to in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. This means that pupils are now better prepared for secondary school.

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better?

The school’s curriculum enables pupils to learn well across a wide range of subjects and in exciting ways. For example, in English, some pupils wrote about the story, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’. They then used different techniques to make sculptures of the story characters. They showed their work for parents to see. The school’s revised curriculum in history and geography is newer than in other subjects. It is too early to see how well pupils are learning as a result.

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better?

Pupils at Moorfield enjoy reading. Daily phonics lessons begin as soon as children start in the Reception class. These lessons teach them about letters and sounds. Children quickly become confident enough to read the words in their reading books. Older pupils read with fluency and enjoyment. They talk about their favourite 2–3 October 2019

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authors, such as Roald Dahl and David Walliams. Pupils learn to read and spell a wide range of words. These good skills are reflected in their writing.

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Pupils develop strong mathematical skills. They enjoy the challenges that their teachers provide and take pride in their work. Sometimes they even cheer when the class ‘gets it right’!

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Teachers make sure that pupils’ learning is secure, before they introduce new work. This helps pupils to build up their skills and knowledge over time. Teachers use their assessments to check if any pupils are falling behind. They provide extra help if pupils need to catch up.

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Most pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make progress. Younger children and pupils with SEND are usually identified quickly. This ensures that they receive the support they need. However, some older pupils have not received timely support in the past. This means that they have not been able to move forward strongly in their learning.

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Leaders make sure pupils learn about the diversity of the world around them. Pupils learn about other faiths and cultures. They know that people and families can be different. Pupils learn about fundamental British values such as respect, the rule of law and democracy. Even children in the Reception class vote for their daily story!

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Pupils usually listen attentively in class and get on with their work. When pupils work together on tasks, they do it sensibly. Consequently, classrooms are orderly places, as is the rest of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders make appropriate checks on staff, in line with legislation. All staff, including those new to the school, have regular training about protecting pupils from harm. This enables them to report in the right way any concerns they may have about pupils’ welfare. Leaders and teachers make sure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have successfully planned a curriculum that meets the requirements of the national curriculum for each year group in each subject. Their work on implementing the curriculum in geography and history is more recent. Leaders should ensure that the school’s new curriculum in these remaining areas of learning is now fully introduced, drawing on teachers’ effective practice in other subjects. 2–3 October 2019

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 The needs of younger children and pupils with SEND are usually identified quickly. They get the support they need as a result. However, this has not always been the case. Some older pupils have not received the support they have needed quickly enough. This has prevented them from reaching their full potential. Leaders now need to ensure that there is consistency in the timeliness of support and the effectiveness of help for all pupils with SEND.  Leaders have worked effectively with parents to ensure that most pupils attend school regularly. This work has improved the attendance of some pupils whose absences were causing concern. There are still a few pupils who are missing important learning as a result of their persistent absences. Leaders now need to build on their recent successes to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly.

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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. 2–3 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110891 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 3–4 May 2017

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Information about this school

 A new chair of governors has taken up the role since the last inspection.  Some classes are taught in mixed age groups.

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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

 We met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, teachers and support staff, members of the governing body and with two representatives from the local authority.  We spoke with some parents at the beginning of the school day.  We considered the 91 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. We also considered the 24 responses to the staff survey and the 189 responses to the pupil survey.  We visited lessons in each year group. We looked in detail at mathematics, geography, history and reading. For each of these subjects, we visited lessons and held discussions with leaders, teachers and pupils. We scrutinised pupils’ work in all these subjects. 2–3 October 2019

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 To help us to review the early years, we visited the classrooms and outdoor areas and spoke with leaders. We watched story time in the Reception class.  We reviewed the school’s work to develop pupils’ personal development and their behaviour by talking with pupils in meetings, at breaks and during lunchtimes. A group of pupils took us on a tour of their school to show us their work on display.  We carried out a range of activities to inspect the effectiveness of safeguarding. We reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s checks on the suitability of staff to work with children and records of staff training. We held discussions with pupils, staff, leaders and governors.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Aspinwall Ofsted Inspector 2–3 October 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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