Elton Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Elton Community Primary School Alston Street, Bury, Lancashire BL8 1SB

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 January 2024

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The headteacher of this school is Emma Collopy. The school is part of Bury College Education Trust, which means that other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), David Stephens, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mark Granby.

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Outcome

Elton Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thoroughly enjoy learning and playing at this school. It is a happy, safe, caring and creative environment where everyone is valued. Pupils know that staff expect them to do their very best. They work hard in lessons and become successful learners who achieve well. From the early years onwards, pupils know and fully understand the school’s simple but effective rules. In lessons and at social times pupils’ behaviour is impeccable.

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What is it like to attend this school?

As part of ‘Elton’s Outdoor Learning’, pupils relish spending time outside and appreciating the natural world. Pupils construct dens and build and light fires. In this way children in the early years add to their knowledge and understanding of the world, and older pupils learn more about science and design and technology.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enthusiastically take part in a wide variety of activities which the school organises for them outside lessons. These include coding club, sewing, line dancing and little linguists. Pupils learn to put themselves in the shoes of people less fortunate than themselves. They raise funds for local and national charities and help in the local community, for example when the school choir sings in local care homes.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum which flows from the early years to Year 6. The curriculum is tailored to the needs of the pupils at this school. It reflects the diverse range of cultures and backgrounds represented in the school and in modern Britain. The curriculum makes good use of the rich heritage of the local area, such as the East Lancashire Railway and the Victorian cotton mills. Teachers know what pupils should learn 25 and 26 January 2024

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and when they should learn it. Teachers have detailed knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They design learning which helps pupils to build on what they already know. Pupils have opportunities to revisit previous work. Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum. However, for some pupils, the school’s strategies to help pupils to remember learning over time are not working sufficiently well. Some pupils do not remember enough of what they have learned in the past to be able to use it when learning something new.

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Teachers apply a range of effective strategies to check what pupils know. They usually use this information well to adapt future teaching. However, occasionally, in some subjects, they move some pupils on too quickly. As a result, at times, some pupils do not fully understand new learning and they struggle to complete the tasks set.

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The school quickly and accurately identifies the needs of pupils with SEND and makes sure that they can participate fully in all aspects of school life. Teachers and teaching assistants, including specialist staff for hearing impairment, skilfully use a range of strategies and resources to enable pupils with SEND to follow the school’s curriculum with success, alongside their classmates.

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Reading is a priority in this school. Early reading starts as soon as children join the Nursery Year. Children excitedly learn about books and the sounds that letters make. This prepares them well for starting the phonics programme in the Reception Year. Skilled staff expertly teach the phonics curriculum. They carefully match books to pupils’ phonics knowledge. They help pupils to catch up quickly if they are not keeping up. Staff share their own enthusiasm for reading. Most pupils become fluent and accurate readers by the end of Year 1.

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The very positive behaviour evident throughout the school starts in the Nursery Year with a culture of respect, warmth, encouragement and well-established routines. Pupils follow instructions and listen to staff with rapt attention. They contribute to lessons enthusiastically and are unfailingly courteous.

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Good attendance is a high priority for the school. Most pupils attend regularly. The school works effectively to improve the attendance of the small number of pupils who are very frequently absent. Staff analyse the causes of absence and use this information well to work extensively with external agencies and families.

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The school provides many and varied opportunities for pupils’ personal development, including giving pupils responsibilities such as being librarians and sports leaders. Pupils celebrate difference, including in race and religion, with great enthusiasm. They warmly welcome those recently arrived from other countries. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.

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Staff appreciate that the school considers their workload and well-being when making decisions. They value opportunities to develop professionally, including sharing best practice with colleagues from other schools within the trust. Members of the local governing body and the trust board know the school well and contribute significantly to school improvement. The school takes great care to involve parents and carers as partners in their children’s education. 25 and 26 January 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s strategies for helping pupils to retain knowledge over time are not sufficiently effective. As a result, some pupils cannot remember well enough what they have learned in the recent past and in previous years. The school should review how it builds pupils’ long-term memory so that they remember more of what they have learned and can better apply past knowledge to new learning.  Occasionally, in some subjects, teachers do not use assessment information sufficiently well to adapt future teaching. As a result, sometimes they move on to new learning before some pupils are ready. The school should make sure that teachers check pupils’ understanding and clarify misconceptions before introducing something new.

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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 November 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. 25 and 26 January 2024

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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). 25 and 26 January 2024

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 Elton Community Primary School is part of Bury College Education Trust.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school provides a breakfast club and an after-school club.

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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 received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector conducted deep dives in these subjects: early reading, science and history. For each deep dive, she discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. She listened to pupils read to a familiar adult. 25 and 26 January 2024

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 The inspector met with the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team and the CEO of the Bury College Education Trust. She also met with a cross-section of staff.  The inspector met with members of the trust board. She met with members of the local governing body. On the telephone, she spoke to a representative of the local authority and the trust’s director of school improvement.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The inspector spoke with pupils in meetings and around the school.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, the staff questionnaire and the pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Liz Kelly, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 January 2024

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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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