Rushbrook Primary Academy

Inspection of Rushbrook Primary Academy Shillingford Road, Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire M18 7TN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 22 and 23 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are happy to belong to this diverse and welcoming school community. Pupils get on well together and make lots of friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the strong relationships that staff forge with them. Pupils said that staff are caring and will listen to any concerns that they may have. Pupils are confident that staff will act swiftly to sort out any bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that leaders and teachers expect them to try their best. Pupils enjoy learning and they work hard in their lessons. However, in some subjects, pupils, including children in the early years, do not achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that they have a voice. They eagerly carry out responsible roles such as ‘happiness ambassadors’ to make a positive difference. The ‘environment group’ is proud to have presented its ideas to school leaders about reducing the school’s carbon footprint.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs they can attend, such as dance, art, hockey and choir, to pursue their interests and talents. The very popular breakfast club helps pupils to make a positive start to the day.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for the pupils. They have established clear priorities and are taking appropriate action to improve the school further.

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better?

Leaders have introduced a behaviour system that is clearly understood by pupils and used consistently well by staff. Leaders have trained staff to handle any behaviour issues in a constructive and sensitive way. As a result, those pupils who struggled to regulate their own behaviour in the past benefit from appropriate and tailored support. Pupils behave well and lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.

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better?

In the early years, warm relationships with encouraging staff help children to settle in well to routines. Children are happy to share with their friends and they enjoy the wide range of appealing activities that teachers set up for them.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that pupils, including pupils with SEND, access a suitably broad and balanced curriculum. Subject leaders have received training recently to help them to clarify what they want pupils to know in each subject by the end of each year.

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better?

In some subjects, leaders are clear about the important knowledge that pupils need to learn and the order in which they should learn it. In these subjects, teachers have sufficient guidance to help them design learning that builds on pupils’ earlier 22 and 23 March 2022

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knowledge. That said, leaders’ curriculum thinking in a few other subjects is not as far along. In these subjects, leaders are not as clear about what pupils, including children in the early years, should know. This hinders teachers in their efforts to design learning that builds on what pupils know already. From time to time, it also prevents teachers from checking that pupils have understood earlier learning before they introduce new ideas. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects.

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Leaders have placed a high priority on ensuring that pupils learn to read well. Children in the early years begin to learn sounds and letters as soon as they are ready in the Nursery class. The programme for early reading sets out clearly what leaders want pupils to learn and when they should learn it. Pupils practise their reading with books that closely match their phonics knowledge to develop fluency and accuracy. Leaders have invested in high-quality books to encourage an interest in reading. However, a few older pupils do not benefit from the support that they need from staff to help them to catch up with their reading. These pupils lack confidence in reading.

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Leaders plan carefully to provide opportunities for pupils to learn about equality. Pupils develop a strong understanding of the importance of respect for all.

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Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND attend school regularly and that the needs of this group of pupils are identified early. Teachers have been trained to support pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. For example, they are supported well with any behavioural and emotional difficulties. That said, some pupils with SEND do not receive the timely, additional support that they need to catch up with their learning.

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Governors are proud to serve the school community and they want the best for pupils. Members of the governing body have supported leaders well through a challenging period. However, governors are not well informed about some aspects of the school’s curriculum. This prevents them from holding leaders to account effectively for the quality of education that pupils receive.

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Staff share leaders’ ambitions for the pupils and the school. They said that leaders are approachable and considerate of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff are trained regularly to recognise the signs that could indicate that a pupil is at risk or suffering from harm. Staff have a clear understanding of how they should report concerns.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding team uses its expertise and local knowledge well to leave no stone unturned when accessing support for vulnerable pupils and their families. 22 and 23 March 2022

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Leaders provide pupils with helpful guidance to help them to stay safe. This includes learning about online safety and about some of the features of healthy relationships such as consent.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, including in the early years, leaders have not clarified the essential steps of knowledge that pupils need to acquire to access future learning. This hinders teachers in designing learning that builds on what pupils already know. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders provide information to help teachers understand the important knowledge that pupils should acquire to make progress through the curriculum as intended.  Occasionally, teachers do not check that pupils have a secure understanding of their previous learning before introducing new concepts. This means that pupils struggle to access new learning and ideas. Leaders should ensure that teachers are provided with sufficient guidance to check pupils’ understanding and to make appropriate adjustments to the curriculum to meet their needs.  Some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not benefit from the additional support that they need to catch up with their learning, including in reading.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders should ensure that pupils are provided with the extra support they need to address any gaps they have in their knowledge, including in reading, so they can access the full curriculum and achieve well.  The governing body is not sufficiently informed about some aspects of the school’s curriculum. This means that governors are unable to challenge leaders about the quality of education for pupils as effectively as possible. Members of the governing body should ensure that they are better informed about the curriculum so they can provide informed support and challenge to school leaders.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 22 and 23 March 2022

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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. 22 and 23 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211691 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25–26 April 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Rushbrook Primary Academy is part of the Bright Futures Educational Trust.  Since the previous inspection, there have been several changes to the leadership team, including the appointment of a new principal from September 2019.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with the principal and other leaders. They also spoke with subject leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector spoke with two trustees of the multi-academy trust, including the chief executive officer. The lead inspector met with four members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors, and also met with a representative of the local authority. 22 and 23 March 2022

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 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, during playtimes and lunchtimes and around the school. They spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  Inspectors checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. They reviewed documentation, checked attendance information and spoke to leaders, governors and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, English, geography, science and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and reviewed samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. Inspectors also considered aspects of a number of other subjects on the school’s curriculum.  Inspectors spoke to parents and considered the views of parents and carers

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shared through Ofsted Parent View. This included the comments received via the free-text facility. They also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.  Inspectors considered a range of documentation shared by school leaders, including the MAT scheme of delegation, the school development plan, the minutes taken at governors’ meetings and leaders’ self-evaluation document.

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Inspection team

Janette Walker, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andy Hunt Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 March 2022

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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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