Fishburn Primary School

Inspection of Fishburn Primary School East View, Fishburn, Stockton-on-Tees TS21 4AU

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

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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 Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 10 and 11 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an improving school. Leaders’ plans to make the school better are coming to fruition. Staff and most of the pupils are proud to be members of the school. Despite this, some parents and carers would not recommend the school to other parents.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and have a high opinion of the staff who work with them. Bullying is rare and is not tolerated. Pupils know that adults will listen to them and act if they have any worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and follow the school’s behaviour policies effectively. Consequently, the school is a calm and pleasant working environment. Pupils, including children in early years, enjoy learning with their friends and cooperate well with adults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a strong sense of equality. They say that everyone should be kind to each other and respect each other’s differences and views. Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to support local and national charities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers set work that captures pupils’ interests. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), work hard and are willing to ‘give things a go’. However, there are times when teachers do not check pupils’ learning well enough before moving pupils on.

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better?

Leaders have planned a curriculum that interests pupils and covers a wide range of subjects. The mathematics curriculum is well sequenced. In mathematics, teachers develop pupils’ subject-specific knowledge by building on previous learning. In some other subjects, such as science and history, the curriculum is not as strong. Leaders have not precisely defined the crucial knowledge that pupils will learn throughout the year. This leads to pupils learning key facts rather than building towards more complex subject knowledge. Teachers spark pupils’ interest in learning by asking searching questions. However, teachers do not consistently check how well pupils are learning. As a result, learning is moved on before pupils have developed a secure understanding.

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better?

The support for pupils with SEND is inconsistent. Teachers are not clear about pupils’ specific targets in all curriculum subjects. Teachers do not use pupils’ individual learning plans to provide learning that meets their needs. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) monitors the learning of pupils who have one-to-one support. However, the learning of other pupils with SEND is not monitored well. As a result, pupils with SEND are not making the progress they should.

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better?

Leaders have established a progressive scheme for teaching phonics. Teachers in Nursery introduce children to the early stages of identifying sounds. This is 10 and 11 January 2023

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developed further in Reception and key stage 1. Books are well matched to the sounds that pupils know. Pupils who find reading more difficult are given extra support and try hard to read well. Pupils listen well, are attentive and enjoy reading. However, in some early years phonics lessons, teachers do not check the sounds that children use consistently. Some adults do not model sounds well enough to support pupils’ learning. Parents of two-year-old children engage well in supporting reading at home. This is more variable with older children.

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Children in early years, including two-year-olds, interact well together. They enjoy learning indoors and in the well-resourced outdoor provision. There are many opportunities for children to strengthen their personal and physical development. Reception children cooperate when riding bicycles and playing together outside. Nursery children have settled quickly with their new teacher and enjoy their learning. Children in the provision for two-year-olds are settled, happy and confident with the staff working with them. On occasion, adults miss opportunities to strengthen children’s language and vocabulary during children’s play.

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Pupils build an understanding of democracy when voting for members of the children’s leadership team. Pupils on the team take their roles seriously. They enjoy sharing their ideas with governors and other leaders. Pupils learn about world religions and visit places of worship. Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to participate in theatre productions, such as the school’s Christmas production of ‘Scrooge’.

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Pupils behave well and persist with challenging learning tasks. They enjoy the rewards and certificates they receive for working and behaving well. Pupils play well together at breaktimes and lunchtimes, even in rainy weather. They line up in an orderly manner for their lunch and are polite to adults. Most pupils attend school regularly.

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Governors visit the school regularly. They assess the progress of actions on the school’s improvement plans. They use local authority reviews of the school and support from a local trust to support their findings. Governors have evaluated that the support given to the school, including professional development for new subject leaders, is helping the school to improve. Staff appreciate how leaders manage their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors have established a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are vigilant. Scripts of potential safeguarding incidents are used during training. This gives staff experience in deciding what to do if incidents occur. However, staff awareness of local issues that might affect children’s safety is inconsistent. Leaders work with parents and external agencies to make sure that children are safe. Thorough checks are made on the suitability of the adults who work with pupils. 10 and 11 January 2023

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Pupils are knowledgeable about how to stay safe when online. The local fire and police services contribute to pupils’ knowledge of how to stay safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not clearly outlined the small steps of knowledge that pupils need to learn across the year. Teachers do not have the information they need to design sequenced programmes of learning. As a result, pupils do not build and deepen their subject knowledge well enough. Leaders should make sure that subject curriculum plans identify what pupils should know and remember, and in what order, so that pupils deepen their subject knowledge and understanding.  Staff do not have the necessary subject knowledge to support pupils with SEND effectively. Staff do not use pupils’ individual support plans well to adapt and refine learning activities. Therefore, some pupils with SEND do not make as much progress as they should. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the training they need to support pupils with SEND to achieve well.  In early years, staff miss opportunities to develop children’s language and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

vocabulary. In phonics lessons, some adults do not model sounds well. This impacts on the progress that children make. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the training necessary to develop children’s vocabulary, communication and language correctly across early years.

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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. 10 and 11 January 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

20 and 21 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant changes in leadership and staffing since the previous inspection. The new headteacher was appointed from 1 June 2022 after a period as acting headteacher. Some subject leaders were appointed in September 2022.  The school has been working in partnership with Cleves Cross Learning Trust since October 2021.  The school added provision for two-year-olds during the summer term of 2021.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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 the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 10 and 11 January 2023

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher and subject leaders. The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body and three other governors. The lead inspector met with a local authority representative.  Members of the inspection team carried out deep dives in early reading, history, science and mathematics. 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 looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and pupils’ work with leaders.  The team reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including recruitment checks. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and checked how leaders record and respond to safeguarding concerns. Inspectors

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checked the safeguarding and welfare requirements for children in early years. They spoke with staff about safeguarding and child protection. Inspectors spoke to pupils about safety and how they learn to stay safe.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the day. They spoke to pupils about their views of behaviour in school. Inspectors considered how the school is supporting pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors spoke to several parents at the end of the school day. Inspectors analysed responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors met with pupils and staff to consider their views. The lead inspector analysed staff and pupil responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Jim McGrath, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Heaton Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 January 2023

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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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