Marton Primary Academy and Nursery

Inspection of a good school: Marton Primary Academy and Nursery Whernside, Off Highfield Road, Marton, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 5LY

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Outcome

Marton Primary Academy and Nursery continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this school. They feel happy and safe. Pupils develop strong and trusting bonds with staff. They are confident that they can talk with any member of staff if they feel worried. Pupils know that their concerns will be taken seriously. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, leaders and staff deal with it swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect pupils to behave well and to achieve their best. They also expect pupils to develop the social skills that they need to interact with their peers confidently. Pupils respond positively to these expectations. They behave well, build new knowledge securely and mix together harmoniously.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful. They do not judge each other. Rather they celebrate the rich diversity in the school. Pupils’ various leadership roles help them to understand what it means to be an active citizen. Those pupils who act as eco-council members are passionate about the environment. Pupils strive to make a difference in the community. They work collaboratively to enhance the local environment and are keen to use the on- site forest and sensory garden.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a strong sense of social justice. For example, they organise own clothes days and cake sales to raise funds for the homeless and different children’s charities.

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

Leaders have created a strong culture where the whole-school community lives the school motto of ‘Working together to be the best that we can be’. They have developed a carefully constructed and aspirational curriculum that meets pupils’ needs and interests. Leaders’ curriculum is designed to enable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well across a broad range of subjects. This includes pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision). 16 and 17 May 2023

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Leaders support teachers to deliver most subject curriculums well. This helps to ensure that pupils build their knowledge securely in these subjects as they progress through the school. Teachers check how well pupils are learning the curriculum. However, in a few subjects, leaders do not routinely check how well teachers deliver the curriculum. This means that they do not provide teachers with useful advice and guidance to develop their subject expertise further.

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Leaders prioritise reading. They want pupils to experience a rich and varied range of literature, including poetry. Pupils in every class learn at least one classic play. For example, children in the Reception Year recently performed their version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the school’s wooded area.

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Pupils typically achieve well in reading. However, in 2022, the proportion of Year 1 pupils who did not meet the expected standard for the phonics screening check was low. This does not reflect how well current pupils are learning to read. Children in the Nursery Year, including two-year-olds, are immediately introduced to the sounds that the letters in their names make. Children start to learn to read as soon as they enter the Reception Year. Leaders ensure that staff are suitably trained to deliver the early reading and phonics curriculums successfully. Consequently, pupils develop their reading fluency quickly. Pupils who find reading difficult receive high-quality additional support. This helps them to develop their reading confidence well.

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Leaders make sure that pupils with SEND are identified as soon as they enter the school. Leaders work closely with parents, carers and external specialists to make sure that pupils with SEND get the expert help that they need. Teachers and staff benefit from specialist training. They are adept at helping pupils with SEND to participate in learning. Pupils in the specially resourced provision receive effective support to access a tailored curriculum successfully. Leaders’ considerable experience, and careful approach, means that pupils with SEND learn effectively across the school.

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Typically, children in the Nursery Year follow instructions closely. Two-year-old children thoroughly enjoy learning. They listen carefully and play sensibly. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 build on this strong start. They are disciplined in lessons. Their positive attitudes to learning help to ensure that the school is a purposeful place where disruption in lessons is rare.

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Pupils develop their talents in different ways. For example, they regularly attend a wide range of after-school clubs. These include diverse activities such as boccia, curling, cookery, origami and Spanish club. Pupils enjoy visits to the theatre and museums as well as opportunities to attend residential visits and to learn sign language. Pupils are respectful of other cultures and traditions. They visit different places of worship and celebrate cultural events such as Diwali, Eid and Chinese New Year. Pupils know how to keep themselves fit. They understand the importance of eating healthily and exercising regularly.

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Members of the local governing body and trustees know what is working well in the school and what needs further improvement. Staff are not burdened with unnecessary work. They told the inspector that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being. 16 and 17 May 2023

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Parents are positive about the school. Many describe their children’s learning as being transformed by the care and support that they receive from staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Governors and leaders are acutely aware of pupils’ vulnerabilities. They ensure that comprehensive safeguarding procedures are in place and adhered to by staff. Staff keep pupils safe from harm. They are skilled at identifying potential signs of neglect and abuse.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make certain that staff are familiar with the government’s latest guidelines on keeping pupils safe in education. Leaders also ensure that staff are regularly briefed on safeguarding matters. Pupils who need additional help from external specialists receive it promptly.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know what safe and unsafe situations are. For example, they learn how to maintain healthy relationships.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, subject leaders do not have a thorough understanding of how well the curriculum is delivered. This limits the effectiveness of the advice that they give to teachers to improve their practice further. Senior leaders should make sure that curriculum leaders have the expertise that they need to evaluate how well the curriculum is delivered in their respective subject areas.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018. 16 and 17 May 2023

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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.

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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. 16 and 17 May 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10269019 Type of school Primary

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Bright Futures Education Trust.  A small number of pupils are dual-registered and attend other primary schools.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher and executive headteacher have been appointed. The executive headteacher is also responsible for another school in the trust.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. The specially resourced provision is for 32 primary-aged pupils. Pupils’ primary needs in this base include autism spectrum disorder. All pupils who attend the specially resourced provision have education, health and care plans.  There is provision for two-year-old children in the Nursery class.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that 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 his evaluation of the school. 16 and 17 May 2023

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 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the executive principal and other senior leaders to discuss provision for pupils with SEND, attendance and pupils’ behaviour, welfare and personal development.  The inspector met with members of the governing body and trustees. He held a conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, he discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also heard pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. He reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The inspector met with parents and reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View,

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including the free-text comments. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey to consider.  The inspector spoke to safeguarding leaders about the reporting and recording of safeguarding incidents. He talked with pupils about their safety and welfare. He examined a range of policies and documents relating to safeguarding, including the school’s safeguarding policy.

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Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 May 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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