Ladybridge Primary School

Inspection of Ladybridge Primary School Councillor Lane, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 2JF

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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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 Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 18 and 19 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a calm and nurturing school environment where pupils thrive. Pupils feel safe and cared for.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations. Children in the early years classes adapt to clear routines soon after their admission to the school. They develop good learning habits. Older pupils develop as independent, successful learners. Low-level disruption in lessons is rare. Pupils further up the school manage their own behaviour in and out of the classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils trust in adults to help them address and resolve any concerns that they may have. They are confident that leaders would be swift to deal with bullying, should it ever occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils enjoy playing an instrument in the impressive school orchestra. Pupils love regular visits to the exceptionally well resourced library. Pupils and families benefit from the high-quality care offered by the pastoral support team. The school creates a range of opportunities to support parents and carers well, with initiatives such as ‘Mum and Me’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are warmly welcomed by their teachers each morning. They feel happy that their teachers know them well. Parents value the regular communication and strong relationships between school and families. They know how to contact the school and feel listened to.

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better?

Leaders have set out a well-ordered curriculum. Subject leaders have discussed and agreed their intentions for each subject curriculum. As a result, there is clarity and coherence about what is taught from the early years through to the end of key stage 2. Lessons are sequenced so that teachers build securely on what pupils have learned and remembered.

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better?

Teachers throughout the school have secure subject knowledge. They follow the curriculum carefully. They provide clear explanations to pupils when they build on previous learning or when they introduce a new topic.

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better?

Teachers make regular and careful checks on how well pupils learn. For instance, staff check pupils’ phonics knowledge. Teachers use astute questioning to check pupils’ understanding of new concepts or subject-specific vocabulary. Leaders check pupils’ progress through regular monitoring of pupils’ workbooks. Staff use these checks to identify where pupils need support before moving on to new learning. That said, staff sometimes do not address pupils’ repeated spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors in their independent writing during lessons. This means that some pupils do not secure their knowledge and achieve as well as they should in their writing. 18 and 19 October 2022

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Pupils enjoy their learning and engage positively in lessons. This includes children in the early years, who develop the independence needed for Year 1. Pupils achieve well. Pupils spoken with were able to link their past work to what they are now learning.

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Reading is a strength of the school. Pupils develop as fluent, successful readers. Children in early years are enthusiastic when learning phonics. They work happily in pairs to test each other’s reading knowledge. Pupils enjoy reading and take reading books home each night. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) develop independence in their reading, spelling and comprehension by the time they reach the end of Year 6. Pupils who find difficulty in reading and phonics benefit from additional, helpful support.

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The personal development of pupils, including those with SEND, is a priority for all. This is recognised within the school’s vision. Pupils take initiative in being effective citizens for their community through the fundraising and community projects they lead. Pupils understand democratic processes. They find out about differences, for example, when they learn about the protected characteristics.

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Pupils benefit from diverse experiences. There are many opportunities for pupils to engage in activities that promote their spiritual, moral, cultural and social (SMSC) development. However, despite these opportunities, some pupils do not remember important aspects of this learning.

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Leaders ensure that there is high ambition for all pupils, including for those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged. Staff work with parents and other professionals to identify pupils with SEND. Pupils attending the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) receive targeted teaching and support relating to their education, health and care plans. They benefit from attending mainstream classes with their peers for some of their learning.

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Staff feel extremely well supported in their well-being by leaders. Leaders take account of staff workload and well-being when taking decisions.

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Governors provide the right support and challenge to leaders. They keep a careful oversight of pupils’ attendance and behaviour. They check the impact of leaders’ decisions, including those relating to pupils with SEND.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors ensure that there are clear procedures to keep pupils safe. Staff and governors receive updated training on safeguarding. This means that they are aware of the signs that may indicate concerns, for example relating to internet grooming or domestic abuse. 18 and 19 October 2022

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Leaders have implemented an electronic system for staff to report and log any issues. This information is followed up with relevant agencies and families in a timely way.

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Staff teach pupils about keeping safe and to recognise situations where they might feel at risk. Pupils learn what they might do to manage that risk.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some cases, teachers do not identify the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors that pupils make when they write independently in lessons. This means that pupils sometimes continue to make the same errors in later lessons. Leaders should ensure that teachers identify and address these errors to ensure that pupils develop their writing expertise.  The school’s curriculum lacks precise detail about how pupils should develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. This means that opportunities to focus on these areas are sometimes missed. Leaders should strengthen the curriculum organisation so that pupils have carefully ordered opportunities to develop their SMSC understanding still further.

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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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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. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241186 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a specially resourced provision which meets the needs of eight pupils with SEND.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, other school leaders and members of staff. An inspector held a discussion with a group of governors. An inspector spoke with a small group of parents. An inspector met with a representative from the local authority. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 Inspectors checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. They looked at a range of documentation and spoke to leaders and staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading and phonics, English, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons (including in the specially resourced provision), looked at samples of work, talked to pupils and held discussions with teachers. Inspectors also spoke to leaders and pupils about the curriculum in other subjects and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They spoke with pupils about their experiences in school.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered the free-text responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils and Ofsted’s

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online survey for staff.  Inspectors considered a range of documentation shared by school leaders, including the school’s self-evaluation form, a recent local authority report on the school and minutes of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Jon Ashley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Metcalfe Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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