Pebble Brook Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Pebble Brook Primary School Balmoral Avenue, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 6PL

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 February 2024

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Outcome

Pebble Brook Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this vibrant and harmonious school. They are happy and safe. Typically, pupils behave well. They approach their learning positively. Pupils develop strong and trusting bonds with their peers and with staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the early years, children are curious. They like to discover new areas of learning with their classmates. Across the school, pupils respond well to the high expectations that staff have of their learning. This helps to ensure that most pupils achieve consistently well across a wide range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils to value their community. For example, pupils take pleasure from singing in the local church and care home, and in discovering things about the world around them. Pupils relish field trips. They enjoy finding out about the history of their local area.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils pursue the school’s values wholeheartedly, including those of equality, partnership and independence. They understand democratic principles and the rule of law. Pupils appreciate and celebrate the diverse nature of the school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy educational outings, including to theatres, museums and galleries. Year 6 pupils look forward to their annual residential trip. They are especially keen on outdoor activities such as orienteering. Pupils respond well to the different opportunities available to them to demonstrate that they are responsible and active citizens. For example, they shine as class ambassadors and safety officers.

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

Governors, leaders and staff are united in their vision for the school. Together they have devised a creative and ambitious curriculum. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), respond well to the curriculum. In the main, the curriculum in many subjects is delivered successfully by well-trained and ambitious 13 and 14 February 2024

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teachers. By the time that pupils leave school at the end of Year 6, most have the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful in high school and beyond.

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Recently, the school has extended its provision to include two Nursery classes. One class is for two-year-old children. Children are looked after well. Skilled staff support children to develop their language and communication skills effectively.

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The school has ensured that effective checks are in place so that teachers can assess how well pupils are learning and remembering the curriculum. However, in a small number of subjects, teachers’ delivery of the curriculum does not help some pupils to develop the depth of understanding that they need to move onto new, and more complex, areas of learning.

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The school identifies pupils with additional needs quickly. Staff work in partnership with different experts, and parents and carers, to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the specialist help that they need. When necessary, staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can access all areas of the curriculum. Teachers’ successful strategies ensure that pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Reading is prioritised. This starts in the early years. For example, children in the Nursery Year enjoy sounding-out new words and learning different rhymes and nursery stories. The phonics and early reading curriculums are taught well by knowledgeable and skilled staff. Pupils practise their reading using books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Staff provide appropriate additional support for those pupils who find reading more difficult. This helps these pupils to read with fluency and confidence, and to keep up with their classmates.

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A range of reading materials, including fiction and non-fiction books, is available to pupils. However, some pupils’ appreciation of the work of wider literature, for example different novelists and poets, is limited. Occasionally, pupils’ lack of wider reading knowledge hinders their access to aspects of the curriculum.

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The school’s behaviour policy is implemented consistently well by staff. Typically, pupils respond well to staff’s high expectations of their behaviour. Pupils are respectful and they listen carefully in class. The school has equally effective strategies in place to promote pupils’ regular attendance. Consequently, pupils’ overall rates of attendance have improved.

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The school broadens pupils’ horizons and enhances their personal development well. Pupils regularly access the different after-school clubs on offer. They told inspectors that they like attending dance, netball, sewing, enterprise, dodge ball and athletics clubs. Pupils develop their talents in different ways. For example, the school has produced kickboxing champions and, with the support of the local football academy, skilled footballers.

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The school ensures that pupils learn how to form safe and appropriate relationships. Pupils also learn how to maintain their mental and physical health. For instance, visiting speakers talk to pupils about the dangers associated with gang affiliation and, drug and 13 and 14 February 2024

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alcohol abuse. Pupils enjoy raising funds for different worthy causes, including children’s charities.

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Governors know the school’s strengths and priorities for further development. This enables governors to challenge and support the school well. Staff reported that leaders are aware of their well-being and workload. For example, staff appreciate the subject- specific support that the school has provided to enable them to design effective learning for pupils.

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Typically, parents were positive about the school. They told inspectors that they enjoy opportunities to visit the school to find out how well their children are learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, in a few subjects, teachers do not deliver the curriculum as effectively as they could. From time to time, this hinders some pupils from deepening their knowledge and enhancing their skills. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers are fully equipped to a deliver the intended curriculum successfully.  Some pupils do not read as widely, or as often, as they should. This impacts on a few pupils’ ability to access some wider aspects of the curriculum. The school should encourage these pupils to read more regularly. The school should also ensure that pupils develop their appreciation of the work of a wider range of writers.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2014. 13 and 14 February 2024

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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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 13 and 14 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.  Governors recently took over the management of the on-site nursery, which was formally part of a children’s centre, in April 2023. This provision includes a small number of two-year-old children.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 his evaluation.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher. He also held meetings with other staff, including those 13 and 14 February 2024

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responsible for SEND, attendance and pupils’ behaviour, welfare and personal development.  The inspector met with members of the governing body. He held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. The inspector also held a telephone conversation with the school’s education consultant.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and geography. For each deep dive, he discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to pupils read.  The inspector met with pupils to discuss their learning in some other subjects. He spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector met with parents and reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. He took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff and

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pupil surveys.  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.

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Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 February 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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