Heybrook Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Heybrook Primary School Park Road, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 9BJ

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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Outcome

Heybrook Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is warmly welcomed to this school. Pupils from many different countries and backgrounds arrive at different times of the year. Regardless of their past experiences, they benefit from every opportunity to be successful in their education. The school teaches pupils to celebrate their differences. Pupils said that learning about different cultures and religions helps them to treat each other with kindness and respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of the standards that pupils can achieve in their learning. Pupils work hard to meet these expectations. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), typically achieve well because of the effective support that they receive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in early years, come to school with smiles on their faces. They know that staff take very good care of them. Right from the start of Nursery Year, children build strong relationships with staff. This helps them to settle in quickly and feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are excited to contribute to school life. They enjoy taking on responsibilities as play leaders and junior librarians. The school encourages pupils to try out new things. For instance, pupils in the school choir look forward to performing on stage for an audience.

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

The school has strengthened the curriculum in recent years. This reflects leaders’ and governors’ ambition for all pupils to experience a high-quality education. Some of the changes that the school has made, such as those in reading and mathematics, have rapidly become embedded. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are learning increasingly well in these subjects.

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

In most subjects, the curriculum is well organised. Subject leaders have thought about how pupils build their knowledge from Nursery Year to Year 6. The curriculum in early 17 and 18 October 2023

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years prepares children very well for their learning in key stage 1. By the end of key stage 2, pupils typically achieve highly in national tests.

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In a small number of subjects, improvements began more recently. The exact knowledge that pupils should learn has not been finalised. As a result, teachers sometimes lack the clarity that they need to deliver these subjects well. This hinders how well pupils build up their knowledge in these subjects.

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Staff are swift to identify any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Staff expertly adapt their delivery of the curriculum to address these gaps before they can grow any wider. This helps pupils who have recently arrived at the school to catch up with their peers.

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The school has ensured that teachers are skilled at supporting pupils with SEND to learn well. This begins in Nursery Year, where highly trained staff identify any additional needs that children may have. This helps these children to get the support that they need as early as possible. Pupils who join the school later have their needs identified equally swiftly. In all key stages, pupils with SEND succeed alongside their classmates.

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Reading has a high priority across the school. Two- and three-year-olds in Nursery confidently recite rhymes and join in with songs. This helps them get off to a flying start with their phonics learning at the beginning of Reception Year. Older pupils in key stage 2 spoke enthusiastically about the books that they have enjoyed.

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Staff are experts in teaching pupils to read. They deliver the phonics programme effectively. Most pupils read accurately and with increasing fluency by the end of Year 1. Skilled support from staff ensures that pupils who find reading difficult, including pupils who are new to learning English, can catch up quickly. The school ensures that this support can continue at home, for instance by demonstrating to parents and carers effective ways to read with their children.

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Pupils behave well. They attend regularly, follow routines promptly and are eager to learn. Children in early years settle quickly. They learn to share and take turns. They continue to demonstrate this learning as they grow older. If pupils do fall out with each other, staff take the opportunity to revisit pupils’ learning about tolerance and respect. This leads to a calm atmosphere in the school.

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The school provides carefully chosen opportunities to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to stay healthy and safe, for example by learning to ride a bike safely on the roads. Visitors to school help pupils to learn about the role of elected officials and the diversity of their local community.

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Staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at this school. They feel valued and supported, for example by the school’s emphasis on reducing unnecessary workload. They said that leaders consult with them before making decisions that will affect them. Governors work closely with leaders to help the school to improve. 17 and 18 October 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the building blocks of knowledge that pupils need for subsequent learning have not been fully defined. This means that teachers sometimes lack clarity about the knowledge that they should emphasise when they deliver the curriculum. This hinders pupils in building up their knowledge in these subjects. The school should provide teachers with greater clarity about what pupils need to learn and remember.

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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 March 2018.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, 17 and 18 October 2023

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 17 and 18 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school’s Nursery provision, which includes provision for two-year-olds, operates from separate premises located at South Street, Rochdale OL16 2EP.  A significant number of pupils join this school throughout the year from other countries.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors completed deep dives in early reading, geography, religious education and mathematics. They met with subject leaders, visited some lessons, reviewed pupils’ work and spoke with teachers and pupils. The lead inspector also listened to pupils reading to a familiar adult. 17 and 18 October 2023

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 Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in several other subjects.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation. They spoke to the headteacher and senior leaders throughout the inspection. An inspector also met with the SEND coordinator.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair of the governing body. He also met with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for pupils and for staff.

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Inspection team

Ben Hill, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Young Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 October 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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