Frenchwood Community Primary School

Inspection of Frenchwood Community Primary School Frenchwood Knoll, Preston, Lancashire PR1 4LE

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well cared for and safe at this nurturing school. They have positive relationships with their teachers and their classmates. Pupils enjoy the many calming spaces around the school, such as the pods and the secret garden. They also make good use of the allotment area in which they grow fresh produce such as strawberries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that occurrences of bullying are rare. Leaders and staff deal with any fallings-out quickly and effectively so that issues do not spread. However, they are less effective at dealing with some instances of low-level misbehaviour that occur during the school day. In part, this is because some staff do not have high expectations for pupils’ conduct.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In some subjects, leaders have high expectation for what pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), should achieve in their learning. Pupils are beginning to achieve well in these subjects. However, in other subjects, pupils’ achievement is not as strong as it should be. This is also true for children in the early years. This is because leaders have not developed some curriculums well enough to help pupils build their knowledge securely from the Nursery class through to Year 6.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the opportunities that they have to develop their talents and interests. They spoke positively about the cookery club as well as the various sports clubs and tournaments that leaders organise for them.

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better?

Leaders have broadly outlined what pupils should learn. In some subjects, leaders have designed or adopted curriculums that clearly set out the important knowledge that pupils will be taught. However, since the last inspection, leaders have not done enough to make sure that this is the case in some other subjects and in the early years. In these areas of the curriculum, teachers are unclear about what knowledge they should teach. This occasionally leads to teachers designing activities that do not help pupils to learn the knowledge that they need. In these curriculum areas, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. In addition, some children in the early years are not ready to access the key stage 1 curriculum.

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better?

Teachers use strategies to assess what pupils have learned. They often provide helpful guidance for pupils. This is more the case when teachers are clearer about the specific knowledge that they are expected to help pupils to learn.

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better?

Some subject leaders have not improved their expertise sufficiently since the last inspection. Leaders are still at the early stages of developing systems that will help them to check how well teachers are delivering curriculum content. This means that some leaders are not well equipped to evaluate the quality of their curriculums. This includes in the early years. In turn, this hinders leaders from addressing the 21 and 22 June 2023

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weaknesses in curriculum design and delivery that are preventing pupils from acquiring the knowledge that they need.

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Leaders have implemented clear systems to identify pupils with potential SEND. They make sure that these pupils have their needs assessed quickly. Leaders make sure that staff have a clear understanding of how to meet the individual needs of each pupil with SEND.

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Leaders promote a love of reading. They have carefully considered the class novels that they read to pupils so that they experience the works of different authors. Leaders ensure that children learn phonics as soon as they join the school in the Reception Year. Staff are sufficiently trained and typically deliver the phonics programme well. Most pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils who struggle with learning new sounds get additional support that helps them to read more fluently.

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Leaders provide for pupils’ personal development well. Pupils develop an impressive knowledge of mental and physical well-being. For example, pupils could talk at length about how parts of the brain, such as the amygdala, contribute to emotional responses in different situations. Pupils have opportunities to develop their leadership skills through school council groups. They are respectful of people’s differences. They appreciate the additional experiences that leaders organise to enhance the curriculum. These experiences include trips to places such as a car museum as part of a history study.

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Most pupils behave well. However, some pupils do not conduct themselves as sensibly as they should. This includes when they move around the school. This sometimes causes disruption to pupils’ learning. A small number of staff do not routinely put a stop to such low-level misbehaviour. These issues are mirrored in the early years classes, where some children rush around in a precarious manner that some staff do not deal with.

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A considerable number of pupils do not attend school regularly. For some of these pupils, leaders do all that they can to remove the barriers that are preventing regular attendance. However, this is not the case for some other pupils who also do not attend as often as they should. This means that these pupils continue to miss out on some of their learning.

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Governors understand their responsibilities. They carry out their duties appropriately. Staff value leaders’ and governors’ consideration of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff and governors are well trained in their safeguarding duties. Staff are vigilant to the signs that might indicate a concern about a pupil’s welfare. They know how to raise their concerns and do so in a timely manner. Leaders take appropriate action 21 and 22 June 2023

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as soon as they are alerted to any safeguarding issues. Leaders work well with other agencies to provide additional support for vulnerable pupils and their families.

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Pupils learn how to stay safe online and when using the internet. They understand how to protect their online identify. For example, they could explain how to keep their online accounts secure through strong passwords.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subject curriculums, and the curriculum in the early years, are not designed well. Consequently, teachers are sometimes unclear about what to teach. In turn, they sometimes design learning activities that are not effective in helping pupils to learn what they should. Leaders should complete the design of these curriculums. They should also provide teachers with guidance on how to teach these curriculums well.  A few subject leaders lack expertise. They are not able to carry out effective checks on how well teachers deliver curriculums, including in the early years. This means that weaknesses in curriculum design and delivery that have an impact on pupils’ achievement are not being addressed. Leaders should equip subject leaders with the knowledge, skills and systems that they need to contribute towards improving pupils’ achievement.  Some staff do not consistently uphold high expectations for behaviour. At times,

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

this means that pupils experience low-level disruption to lessons and misbehaviour around the school that go unchecked. Leaders should ensure that staff raise their expectations of pupils’ conduct and deal with misbehaviour effectively when it occurs.  A considerable number of pupils do not attend school regularly. This means that they frequently miss out on some of their learning. Leaders should review their systems and actions to remove the barriers that prevent these pupils from attending school as often as they should.

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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. 21 and 22 June 2023

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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. 21 and 22 June 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 February 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Governors are responsible for the breakfast club at the school.  Leaders make use of one alternative provider.

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: early reading, geography, physical education, science and mathematics. They met with subject leaders and teachers. They visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked with groups of pupils about their learning. The lead inspector heard pupils read to a familiar adult. 21 and 22 June 2023

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 Inspectors also considered the curriculum, spoke with pupils about their learning and evaluated their work in some other subjects.  The lead inspector spoke with a group of governors. He spoke with a representative of the local authority. He also spoke to the school’s external improvement partner.  Inspectors talked to staff about their workload and well-being.  Inspectors met with the leaders who are responsible for attendance, behaviour and pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about safeguarding and their wider experience of school.  Inspectors looked at a range of policies and documents related to pupils’ welfare and education. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school.  Inspectors reviewed leaders’ policies and procedures to keep pupils safe. They discussed safeguarding arrangements with leaders and staff. They also checked the school’s records of the suitability of staff to work with pupils.

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 Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met with parents and carers at the start of the school day and took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

David Spruce, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sharon Cliff Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 June 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’ services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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