Worth Primary School

Inspection of Worth Primary School Birch Road, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1QA

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Sarah Giles. This school is part of an academy trust named Worth Primary School, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is a single-academy trust overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sarah Elisabeth Moores.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Ofsted has not previously inspected Worth Primary School as an academy under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 as, until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. However, the academy received an ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Act on 12 March 2019. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection of the predecessor school. 28 and 29 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They told inspectors that staff are caring and that they are always willing to help them. Pupils learn that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of any differences. They make friends easily and get on well together. This helps pupils to feel happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well mannered and respectful towards staff and each other. They look forward to weekly assemblies where they are keen to be nominated for the ‘bucket of excellence’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high aspirations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, these aspirations are not fully realised. In many subjects, the school has not been ambitious enough in designing the curriculum to enable pupils to build a deep body of knowledge. This means that, in these subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a variety of clubs, such as tennis, football and musical theatre. They learn to play musical instruments, including the cello and the violin. The choir enjoy singing at concerts and to residents of a local care home. Older pupils spoke with excitement about exchanging letters with pupils from another country.

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better?

Worth Primary School is on an improvement journey. Trustees have worked determinedly to steer the school through a period of significant turbulence. To some extent, they have minimised the impact of recent changes, for example, with regards to staffing. Trustees share the school’s ambition to provide pupils with a high-quality education. However, they have not carried out their roles effectively to address weaknesses in the quality of education.

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better?

The school has ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced, and that it captures pupils’ interests. In some subjects, such as mathematics and English, the most important knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should be taught has been determined. In these subjects, teachers design learning that builds on pupils’ earlier knowledge. They use assessment information to identify and address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

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better?

Curriculum thinking in many other subjects is not well developed. While the school has identified the overarching focus areas for each subject, it has not pinpointed the important knowledge that underpins these broad themes. This hinders teachers from designing learning that supports pupils to build their knowledge in these subjects. The school has not provided subject leads with sufficient opportunity to check that these curriculums are being delivered effectively by teachers. This means that teachers do not gain from the training and support that they need to deliver subject curriculums consistently well. This hampers pupils’ achievement in these subjects. 28 and 29 November 2023

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Reading is prioritised from the start of the early years. Pupils read widely and often in and out of school. Teachers read a range of stories and texts regularly to pupils. Older pupils are proud to be buddy readers for younger pupils in the school.

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The school has successfully introduced a structured phonics programme. From the beginning of the Reception Year, pupils learn letters and the sounds that they represent. They read books that contain the sounds that they already know. This helps pupils to become confident and fluent readers in readiness for key stage 2. Staff help pupils who struggle to keep up with the pace of the phonics programme to catch up quickly.

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Leaders quickly identify pupils with SEND. These pupils access the same curriculum as their peers. However, as is the case for other pupils, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should due to weaknesses in some subject curriculums.

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Children in the Reception class learn to take turns during play and socialise well with their friends. Pupils behave well during lessons and around school. They are eager to learn.

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Pupils are proud of their leadership responsibilities, such as being members of the school council. They support charities through fundraising initiatives, including collecting food donations for people less fortunate than themselves. Staff teach pupils how to look after their own mental health and to also consider the well-being of others. These rich opportunities help pupils to make a positive contribution to the school and to the local community.

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Staff are positive about the actions that the school has taken to prioritise their workload and well-being during a challenging time. They feel supported and are provided with the time they need to fulfil their roles.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In many subjects, including areas of learning in the early years, the school has not identified clearly enough the knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should be taught. This hinders staff in designing learning and checking that pupils achieve as well as they should in these subjects. The school should ensure that teachers are clear about the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and when.  The school has not ensured that subject leads have been provided with sufficient opportunity to check that curriculums are being delivered effectively by teachers. This means that they are unclear about how well pupils know and remember the 28 and 29 November 2023

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curriculum content. The school should ensure that subject leaders are suitably supported and equipped to monitor the implementation of their curriculums.  The school recognises that staff have not had access to subject-specific training for some subjects. This means that subject knowledge is not as secure as it should be. This prevents staff from delivering subject content to pupils as effectively as they could. The school should ensure that staff are fully trained to have the subject knowledge that they require.  Trustees do not have enough oversight of the quality of education. They do not know how well pupils are learning across a range of subjects. This means that they are unable to hold leaders to account for the quality of education that pupils receive. Trustees should ensure that they have the information that they need to check how well pupils are achieving in all subjects.

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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). 28 and 29 November 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Worth Primary School converted to become an academy school in April 2013. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  The school is an academy trust named Worth Primary School.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed. A significant number of staff have also been appointed since this time.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.  The school does not make use of alternative provision for pupils.

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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

 Inspections are point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 28 and 29 November 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection that the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors had discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke with subject leaders and pupils about their learning in some other subjects.  The lead inspector observed pupils from key stages 1 and 2 reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other school leaders. The lead inspector spoke with members of the board of trustees, including the chair of trustees. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local

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authority.  Inspectors talked with staff and leaders about their workload and well-being.  Inspectors met with leaders responsible for attendance, behaviour, early years, the provision for pupils with SEND and pupils’ personal development.  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 spoke with pupils about their wider experiences of school. They looked at a range of documents related to pupils’ welfare and education. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around the school.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  Inspectors met with parents at the start of the school day. They took account of

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the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Jewitt, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Keith Pullen Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 November 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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