Sunny Bank Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Sunny Bank Primary School Hathaway Road, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8EQ

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 September 2021

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Outcome

Sunny Bank Primary continues to be a good school. There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this initial (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now. The next inspection will therefore be a full (section 5) inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that this is a fun, welcoming school where there is always someone to talk to. They said that they feel happy and safe. A few parents, carers and pupils mentioned that there is some occasional name-calling and bullying. Pupils said that teachers deal with these instances well to make sure that they do not happen again.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught how to protect themselves, for example when playing or socialising online. Pupils talked enthusiastically about the wide range of trips, after-school clubs and class activities that they participate in. For example, they said that they enjoyed the virtual aeroplane trip to Egypt.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told the inspector that most pupils behave well most of the time. Pupils walk quietly around school with little fuss. In class, most pupils concentrate well. Occasionally, some pupils misbehave but this is mainly when they do not know what to do during lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher has high expectations of what all pupils should achieve, but these are not always reflected in the expectations that some teachers have of all pupils. The headteacher has identified that leaders have not carefully planned the order in which the school teaches knowledge across different subjects. He has started to reshape the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) struggle to read fluently or with confidence. These, and some other pupils, have gaps in their knowledge across a range of subjects. 15–16 September 2021

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

Leaders place a high priority on reading. Most pupils read widely and often. To develop pupils’ love of reading further, leaders have invested in a range of additional resources. At breaktimes, pupils choose well-maintained, high-quality books from a trolley. Some pupils then use this time to discuss the books enthusiastically or to read quietly.

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

There is a reading curriculum in place, but this is not helping some pupils, especially those with SEND, to read with accuracy or confidence. Some of the reading books are too difficult. This means that pupils cannot practise what they know. Some pupils need to decode every sound in a word. Adults do not spend enough time asking these pupils to practise their reading. Sometimes, teachers do not use assessment effectively enough to quickly identify pupils who are falling behind with their reading. Although teachers use extra sessions to help pupils to catch up with their reading, these have not worked well for every pupil. As a result, some pupils have missing knowledge in reading.

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

The curriculum is not as well planned as it should be. It does not identify clearly what pupils need to know and understand. This hinders pupils from building their knowledge over time. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The curriculum content sometimes moves on too quickly without pupils being secure in their earlier learning. Pupils are sometimes overwhelmed by too much new information. This is especially true for pupils with SEND. Added to this, some older pupils have missing knowledge in several subjects, including mathematics, religious education and French. Assessment strategies are too general and do not find out if pupils know more and can remember more.

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

The headteacher has an accurate understanding of what needs to improve. He has started to reshape the curriculum in each subject. This includes the early years curriculum. For example, leaders in geography are ready to launch a new scheme of work. This will start in the Reception Year. Leaders and teachers from across the trust are also working to improve other subjects, for example history and science.

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

Almost all pupils, including children in the early years, behave well. They listen carefully and respond quickly to adults’ requests. There is little disruption to learning. A few children in the early years, and pupils in key stage 1, become distracted when they are unsure of what to do in lessons.

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

Leaders have planned the wider personal development curriculum well. This means that pupils understand and learn about different families and cultures. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, such as when using the roads. Staff and parents agree that the school is well led and managed. Leaders identify pupils with SEND effectively. They also make sure that the curriculum is not narrowed, particularly in Year 6 and for pupils with SEND. Leaders make sure that teachers have manageable workloads and a positive work- life balance.

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

In discussion with the headteacher, the inspector agreed that geography, history and science may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection. 15–16 September 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at Sunny Bank. Staff are alert to the potential risks that pupils may face. Leaders have ensured that staff receive appropriate training to enable them to identify any signs of abuse, including peer-on-peer harassment. Staff follow up any allegations by making use of specialists such as social services, the police and health professionals.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Adults do not give enough time for pupils with SEND to practise and become secure in the grapheme-phoneme correspondences. The books that this group of pupils read are not matched well enough to the phonemes that they know and have learned. As a result, pupils with SEND, and those pupils who find reading difficult, struggle to read fluently or decode words easily. Leaders should review and improve the teaching and assessment of early reading to prevent pupils from falling behind. Leaders should improve how effectively they match books to pupils’ reading ability.  The curriculum is not consistently well planned, including in the early years. Leaders do not make clear enough what knowledge pupils need to have remembered before moving on to new learning. As a result, some pupils have missing knowledge. Leaders should reshape the subject curriculums, including in the early years, so that children and pupils build knowledge sequentially.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school to be good in February 2015. 15–16 September 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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. 15–16 September 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200767 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Sunny Bank Primary School converted to become an academy school on 1 July 2017. When its predecessor school, Sunny Bank Primary, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall. Sunny Bank Primary School is now part of Vision multi- academy trust (MAT), with two other primary schools.  The school manages before- and after-school clubs which operate on site.  The headteacher has been in post since March 2021.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspector met the chief executive officer of the MAT and the chair of the governing body. He met with a range of staff, including the headteacher and assistant headteachers. The inspector talked to the special educational needs coordinator. 15–16 September 2021

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and religious education. As part of each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector looked at subject plans for some other subjects including art and design, geography, science, history, design and technology, and French.  To find out how well pupils are protected, the inspector spoke with the school’s designated safeguarding leads. He looked at the single central record which records the checks made on staff. He looked at comments made by parents, staff and pupils to Ofsted’s surveys. The inspector talked through behaviour and safeguarding records.  The inspector spoke with three groups of pupils. He spoke with pupils in class and outside at morning and lunch break. The inspector met with a group of pupils with

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another adult present. The inspector also took account of the 50 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.  The inspector considered the 33 responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey. He also took account of the 18 responses made by staff to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Allan Torr, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 15–16 September 2021

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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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