Eaves Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Eaves Primary School Eaves Lane, Marshalls Cross, St Helens, Merseyside WA9 3UB

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 February 2023

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Outcome

Eaves Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to belong to this welcoming school. Adults know pupils as individuals and they provide them with high-quality pastoral care. Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and children in the early years are happy and feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with SEND. Pupils endeavour to model the school’s values of trust, equality, aspiration, compassion and happiness in all that they do. They live up to leaders’ high expectations and they achieve well. Pupils are aspirational for their futures.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils show respect towards each other. There is an understanding of the importance of being tolerant of people’s differences. Pupils behave very well in lessons and at playtimes. Pupils said that any incidents of bullying are dealt with swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the extra-curricular activities that are available to them, for example the well- being and craft clubs. They also enjoy regular educational trips and residential visits. Pupils cherish the many leadership roles on offer to them, such as the junior leadership team which helps and supports younger children in the school. Pupils said that these roles help them to develop as responsible citizens.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum for pupils, including children in the early years. It is carefully designed, broad and balanced. The curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge progressively. It helps pupils to make secure connections between subjects. This is because the curriculum is well matched to pupils’ learning needs. All staff have been involved in the curriculum construction. Consequently, there is a shared ownership and understanding of what pupils should learn. Overall, the curriculum enables pupils, including children in the early years, to learn well. 22 and 23 February 2023

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Leaders review the curriculum content regularly. In most subjects, leaders have considered the important knowledge that they want pupils to know from the Nursery class to Year 6. Leaders have ensured that new subject knowledge is delivered in a logical order. The knowledge and vocabulary that pupils should learn have been well thought out.

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Teachers deliver the curriculum effectively. They have strong subject knowledge. Adults use leaders’ assessment systems appropriately to check what pupils have learned.

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In the main, pupils can talk confidently about their current learning. However, a few pupils are less sure when asked to recall or explain key subject-specific content from previous years. This is because some teachers do not ensure that pupils have enough chances to revisit and recap their learning. Occasionally, this means that some pupils do not have a sufficiently deep and rich body of subject knowledge.

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Leaders have successfully promoted a love of reading. Pupils study a range of high-quality books. They are encouraged to read more widely for pleasure. Pupils enjoy reading and speak enthusiastically about the authors that they have read.

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The well-established phonics programme is delivered effectively. It begins as soon as children start in the early years. Staff are knowledgeable in how to teach early reading. They use this knowledge well to design activities to meet pupils’ individual needs. Teachers select books that are matched to pupils’ abilities. This enables pupils to practise their reading skills well. Pupils’ progress in phonics is regularly checked. Immediate support is put in place if pupils need to catch up. As a result, pupils achieve well in reading.

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Leaders and staff have high aspirations for pupils with SEND, including in the early years. They identify these pupils’ needs quickly. Staff know each pupil with SEND well and use appropriate strategies to help them to succeed. Consequently, pupils with SEND are fully involved in lessons and school activities.

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Pupils behave well and have strong attitudes to learning. They are polite and kind to each other. In lessons, pupils respond to teachers’ requests sensibly. They work hard and disruption to learning is extremely rare.

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Leaders’ work to promote pupils’ wider personal development is effective. Pupils learn about diversity and celebrate different cultures and societies. They speak about the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect.

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The school is well led and managed. Staff feel valued. They appreciate the consideration that leaders give to their workload and well-being. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Typically, they said that staff go above and beyond for all their children. Some parents said that staff truly do what they can to achieve their vision for excellence in everything.

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Governors are well informed. They understand their strategic role. As a group, they have a useful and diverse skill set. Governors provide an appropriate balance of support and challenge to improve the quality of education for pupils. 22 and 23 February 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. They have created a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are well trained to spot the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. They know how to report any welfare concerns that they may have. Leaders follow up on any safeguarding referrals quickly and efficiently.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff know their families and pupils well. They work well with external agencies to ensure that pupils and families receive the early help they may need. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, especially when they are online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, some pupils are unable to recall learning from previous years. As a result, these pupils do not have the depth of knowledge that they should across subjects. Leaders should ensure that pupils are given sufficient opportunities to recap and recall important learning from previous years.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2017.

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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. 22 and 23 February 2023

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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. 22 and 23 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The governing body is responsible for the before- and after-school provision.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  A new chair of governors and several other new governors have been appointed since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector completed deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. She met with subject leaders, visited lessons, reviewed pupils’ work and spoke with staff and pupils. The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects with leaders.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other leaders throughout the inspection. 22 and 23 February 2023

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 The inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector met with leaders, staff and pupils. The inspector checked a sample of leaders’ safeguarding records.  The inspector met with leaders to discuss SEND, behaviour and the provision for pupils’ personal development.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. She took account of the responses from staff and pupils to Ofsted’s online surveys. The inspector gathered the views of staff and pupils during the inspection.  The inspector spoke with staff to discuss leaders’ support for their workload and well- being.

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Inspection team

Julie Barlow, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 February 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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