Barton Clough Primary School

Inspection of Barton Clough Primary School Audley Avenue, Stretford, Manchester M32 9TG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 15 and 16 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school. They told inspectors that they enjoy learning. Pupils are proud of how they help to include each other in every aspect of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have raised their expectations of how well pupils and children in the early years should achieve. Pupils are catching up in areas where they have fallen behind. However, subject curriculums are at different stages of development. There remain weaknesses in how well some subject curriculums are planned and delivered, including the early reading curriculum. This hinders some pupils and children from accessing the full curriculum and achieving as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. Staff listen to pupils and help them to overcome difficulties. Pupils told inspectors that when bullying does happen, leaders deal with incidents well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and respectful. They behave well. Pupils learn how to manage their behaviour if they find this difficult.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the wide range of clubs and other opportunities that leaders provide. For example, pupils develop their self-confidence and resilience when they explore their outdoor wooded area.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers who spoke with inspectors commented on how much the school has improved over time. Many parents are positive about how well children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are cared for and supported.

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better?

Leaders have developed a suitably ambitious curriculum that motivates pupils to want to learn more. This helps pupils to build up a greater body of knowledge than they had previously. Consequently, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 and children in the early years are learning more than they have done in the past.

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better?

That said, over recent years, leaders have introduced and adapted subject curriculums at different times. This means that some pupils have not acquired the knowledge that they need to access new curriculum content with confidence.

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better?

Leaders provide guidance for teachers about what learning to deliver and when topics should be taught. However, leaders do not make sure that teachers are clear about the building blocks of knowledge that pupils should know. This means that there are times when teachers omit important steps of learning or do not focus sufficiently on the knowledge that pupils most need. This hampers pupils’ progress through the curriculum. 15 and 16 June 2022

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Similarly, in the early years, leaders do not provide sufficient guidance for those staff who deliver and support the learning of children in the Reception class. At times, staff miss opportunities to reinforce or extend children’s knowledge. There is an unevenness in children’s development as a result. Some children are not as equipped as they should be to embrace the challenges of the Year 1 curriculum.

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Over time, leaders have made a number of changes to the reading curriculum. For older pupils, the reading curriculum is well established and delivered well by teachers. It enables those pupils who have a secure knowledge of phonics to become proficient and avid readers, broadening their knowledge across the curriculum.

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More recently, leaders have changed the school’s phonics programme with the aim of ensuring that more pupils become accurate and fluent readers as quickly as they should. Leaders have provided training for staff to deliver this new programme as intended. However, some staff are still getting to grips with how best to deliver this programme. This continues to hinder pupils’ progress in early reading.

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Children begin to learn how to use phonics to read words in the early years. Pupils in key stage 1 are beginning to benefit from recent changes and develop secure phonics knowledge. However, there remain pupils in other year groups who are still at the early stages of reading. This hinders how well they can access other areas of the curriculum.

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Leaders make sure that teachers check regularly on learning that pupils may have missed or forgotten, especially in reading and mathematics. Teachers also use these checks effectively to identify pupils with SEND. This ensures that pupils with SEND receive timely and appropriate assistance. This is also true for those pupils who access the curriculum in the specially resourced provision.

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Leaders have established a positive culture, focused on learning. Children quickly settle into school routines in the early years. Pupils respond well to leaders’ high expectations for behaviour. They learn not to give up when teachers challenge them to give their best effort. Classrooms are calm, orderly places. Learning is not disturbed.

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Personal development is a high priority at the school. Leaders make sure that children in the early years have opportunities to develop their social and emotional skills. Staff support pupils in building on this firm foundation as they progress through the school. Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from carefully selected opportunities to enhance their wider development. Pupils grow in confidence. They understand how they can make a positive contribution to their school and wider community.

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Governors and trustees work closely with leaders to meet the needs of pupils at the school, including those pupils with SEND in the specially resourced provision. For example, governors and trustees have provided effective support for leaders and 15 and 16 June 2022

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other staff, especially during times of staffing disruption. Staff morale is high as a result.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff are vigilant to signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. They are fastidious in passing on their concerns to leaders responsible for safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are adept at prioritising the varying needs of pupils at the school. They make sure that vulnerable pupils get the support they that need. Leaders keep close checks on vulnerable pupils to ensure that they remain safe.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They learn how to protect themselves when online. They also learn how to regulate their behaviour to help to keep themselves and others safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not ensure that staff are clear enough about the essential knowledge that pupils, including children in the early years, should learn. Pupils miss key learning as a result, and this hinders their progress. Leaders should ensure that teachers and other staff are clear about what pupils need to learn to achieve as well as they should across the curriculum.  Some staff are still developing their own expertise in how to best deliver the early reading and phonics curriculum. This hinders some pupils in becoming confident readers as quickly as they should. Leaders should ensure that staff are supported to deliver the phonics and early reading curriculum effectively so that pupils become fluent readers.  Some older pupils remain at the early stages of learning to read. This prevents them from accessing the curriculum and achieving as well as they should. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide these pupils with the support that they need

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

to address the gaps in their phonics knowledge to become confident and avid readers.  Leaders have not ensured that some pupils have covered the curriculum content that they need to embark on new learning successfully. This hinders pupils’ progress through more ambitious subject curriculums. Leaders should ensure that teachers equip pupils with the knowledge that they need to approach subsequent learning with confidence. 15 and 16 June 2022

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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.

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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 and 16 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226216 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website bartonclough.bright-futures.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school opened on 1 March 2018. It is part of Bright Futures Educational Trust.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. The specially resourced provision is for 20 pupils ranging from Reception-age children to pupils in Year 6. All places were allocated at the time of the inspection. Pupils’ primary needs in this base are varied but include speech, language and communication difficulties, specific learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder or behaviour, and emotional health difficulties. All pupils who attend the specially resourced provision have education, health and care plans.  The headteacher is also responsible for another school in the multi-academy trust.  There have been considerable changes to staffing over recent years.  Leaders do not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils. 15 and 16 June 2022

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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 spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school, including the special educational needs coordinator. They spoke with a group of governors and trustees, including the chair of governors and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation relating to safeguarding. This included the school’s central record of staff and visitors, staff training records, records of safeguarding and samples of the records kept on individual pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, history and science. They spoke with the curriculum leaders of these subject areas. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and

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Information about this inspection

talked with pupils. They looked at samples of work from other areas of the curriculum.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes, and as they moved around the school.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspector spoke with parents as they dropped their children off at school. They considered responses to Ofsted’s Parent View. This included the free-text responses.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils and to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Joan Williamson Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 June 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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