New Brighton Primary School

Inspection of New Brighton Primary School Vaughan Road, Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 1LH

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 17 and 18 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All pupils, including those in the specially resourced provisions for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provisions), value the strong relationships that they have with adults in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Recently, the school has raised its expectations of what pupils can and should achieve. Pupils, including those with SEND, and those who are disadvantaged, rise to these expectations. They work hard in lessons and they try their best to succeed. As a result of pupils’ hard work, they achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave respectfully towards one another and towards adults. Pupils told inspectors that they feel happy and safe. From the early years to Year 6, there is a calm and orderly atmosphere that enables pupils to focus well on their learning. Disruption to lessons is rare. Pupils trust adults to deal with any incidents of misbehaviour quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take full advantage of the wide range of enrichment activities that the school provides for them beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils benefit from opportunities to take part in activities such as fencing and football. They relish performing with the school’s singing club, for example at a local church.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy visiting the local beach, museums and a safari park. To enhance their learning about staying safe in the local area, a national charity visited pupils to deliver sessions on coastal safety. A local Olympic boxer also spoke at the school to help pupils to understand the importance of resilience and perseverance.

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better?

Following a period of considerable change and staffing instability, the school has successfully overhauled the quality of education that pupils receive. In most subjects, and in the early years, the school has given careful thought to the important knowledge that pupils should learn. Curriculums are ordered logically. Typically, this enables most pupils to build securely on what they already know and can do. Children in the early years are well prepared for all that Year 1 has to offer.

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better?

In one or two subjects, the school has not ensured that staff are clear enough about the knowledge that pupils should learn. In these subjects, staff are sometimes less well equipped to design the most appropriate activities to help pupils to learn new ideas. On occasion, this means that some pupils, including a few pupils with SEND, do not achieve all that they could. Nevertheless, in the main, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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better?

In most subjects, staff are adept at addressing pupils’ misconceptions. They use assessment strategies well to identify where pupils have gaps in their knowledge. 17 and 18 October 2023

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Staff successfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum to address any deficits in pupils’ learning. Consequently, most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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A love of reading permeates the school. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2, and children in the early years, read widely and often. Staff have been suitably trained to deliver the coherent phonics programme. Children in the early years build their communication skills and begin to link sounds and letters. Pupils practise reading using books that closely match the sounds that they have learned. Staff check carefully that pupils can remember previously learned sounds. Pupils who may be struggling to keep up with the phonics programme receive effective support. As a result, most pupils are confident and fluent readers by the end of Year 2.

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The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. Staff in the specially resourced provisions successfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with more complex SEND. These pupils achieve consistently well. In the main school, however, a small number of staff are not as confident in how to use the information that they have about pupils with SEND to adapt the delivery of the curriculum. On occasion, this prevents some pupils with SEND in the main school from achieving all that they could.

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Children in the early years quickly learn to follow routines. Pupils across the rest of the school concentrate well in lessons. They are proud of themselves when they succeed. The school has successfully embedded systems to improve pupils’ rates of attendance. The majority of pupils attend school every day.

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Pupils make everyone feel welcome in their school. They learn about fundamental British values and they understand the need to respect people’s differences. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. Annual residential trips, such as going on a ferry to the Isle of Man, or visiting London, help to develop pupils’ independence skills and to broaden their horizons. Pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, benefit from the wide range of extra-curricular clubs that are offered to nurture their talents.

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Governors understand their statutory duties and they fulfil their responsibilities well. They have a firm grasp of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. Governors are supportive of staff. They also challenge and successfully hold the leadership team to account for the quality of education that pupils receive.

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Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the consideration that leaders give to their workload when they introduce change. Staff feel valued and they take pride in their work.

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Parents and carers praised the school’s approach to communication. Typically, parents feel confident to ask questions and they reported that any issues are dealt with quickly and effectively. 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 curriculum areas, the school has not ensured that staff understand exactly what pupils must learn. This hinders how well some staff design activities to help pupils to learn new information. Occasionally this also prevents a few pupils from achieving all that they could. The school should make sure that staff have the knowledge and skills that they need to deliver the curriculum as intended.  In a few subjects, the school has not ensured that some staff know how to adapt the delivery of the curriculum for pupils with SEND. From time to time, this means that a few pupils with SEND do not achieve as highly as they could. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to meet the needs of pupils with SEND so that they learn all that 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.

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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, 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

Date of previous inspection 23 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in January 2022.  The school hosts two local authority commissioned specially resourced provisions. In total, there are 24 places.  The first specially resourced provision is in the early years and in key stage 1. It is for children with speech, language and communication needs. There are 11 places and there are currently 11 pupils in this provision.  There is a second specially resourced provision in key stage 2. This is for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. There are 12 places and currently there are 12 pupils in the key stage 2 provision.  The school makes use of one registered alternative provider for a small number of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 17 and 18 October 2023

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school 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.  During the inspection, the lead inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and staff. She also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation including the school improvement plan and documentation relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector spoke with the headteacher of the alternative provision.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, history, science and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the

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curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to a trusted adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes. They also spoke with pupils about their experiences of school.  Inspectors spoke with a group of parents while pupils were arriving at school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for

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Inspection team

Ruth Moran, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Aspinwall 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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