Warrington St Barnabas CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Warrington St Barnabas CofE Primary School Collin Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA5 1TG

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Outcome

Warrington St Barnabas CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St Barnabas live up to the school’s motto and ‘let their light shine’. They are polite, respectful and happy. Pupils feel safe in this welcoming community. They know that staff care for them. Children in the early years, including in the two-year-old provision, thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in lessons enthusiastically. They enjoy learning and try their best. Pupils’ behaviour around school is exemplary. They follow the school’s rules diligently. Pupils wear their reward and leadership badges with pride. Their achievements, no matter how small, are celebrated.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that the school is ‘a place for everyone’. They celebrate their uniqueness and diversity. Pupils appreciate each other’s differences. They are kind to one another. Children in the Nursery class learn how to share and to take turns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers esteemed leadership roles for many pupils. Pupils relish the responsibility of being mini-police or worship leaders. Most pupils make use of the many fantastic enrichment opportunities. For instance, pupils enjoy learning about cookery, gardening and circus skills.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects the best from its pupils and staff. Pupils live up to these high expectations. By the end of key stage 2, most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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

The school has designed an ambitious and broad curriculum. The essential knowledge that pupils should learn has been carefully chosen. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum successfully. They expertly model the use of subject- specific vocabulary. In turn, pupils use this vocabulary to confidently explain their ideas clearly. In most subjects, teachers design learning effectively to help pupils to remember more. However, in a small number of subjects, some teachers do not use the information 20 and 21 March 2024

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that they are given about pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as effectively as they could. As a result, a small number of pupils with SEND do not always build their understanding securely.

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In the Nursery and Reception classes, staff have identified where children’s gaps in learning are. They use this information to put effective support in place. Consequently, children in the early years are prepared well for learning in key stage 1. Across the school, teachers regularly check how well pupils have learned the intended curriculum. This helps them to identify and remedy misconceptions quickly so that by the end of key stage 2, most pupils achieve well.

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Reading is seen as the gateway to opportunity. Meaningful text choices are intertwined through the curriculum. Staff are trained to deliver the phonics programme well. Those pupils who struggle with reading receive support that helps them to keep up with the phonics programme. Pupils enjoy reading a rich selection of books. In early years, children readily recall the rhyme of the week. Pupils, including those who arrive later in the school year, learn to read fluently and accurately.

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The school is tenacious in its approach to improving attendance rates. It supports parents and carers effectively to help them to get their child to attend regularly. The number of pupils who are persistently absent has reduced. Pupils understand the importance of attending school each day.

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Staff act as positive role models for pupils. They teach pupils how to behave exceptionally well. Staff gently remind pupils of the behaviour expectations. This starts with the children in early years, who quickly settle into the school. They learn to follow the school’s routines swiftly. Pupils who arrive in school at different points in the year, soon feel part of the community.

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Staff are adept at identifying any additional needs that pupils may have. In the main, staff are skilled to adapt the delivery of the curriculum for these pupils in most subjects. In these subjects, pupils with SEND achieve well.

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The school’s programme for pupils’ wider development is ambitious. In particular, the focus on careers and raising pupils’ aspirations for their future steps is remarkable. Pupils are supported, from an early age, to aspire high. There is no ceiling put on their achievement. Take-up of the extensive enrichment opportunities is high. Pupils value the chance to learn new skills. Their experience of the world is widened through interesting and carefully planned trips and visits that stretch beyond the curriculum. For example, they benefitted from a talk with a local scientist about the impact of climate change on her work.

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The school is supported well by the governing body. The governing body embraces the school’s context and supports the school to work successfully to overcome barriers to learning that pupils may have. Staff are immensely proud to work at this school. Their views are listened to and taken into consideration. For example, workload has been eased by reducing the number of assessment tasks that they complete. 20 and 21 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, some teachers do not use the information that they receive about pupils with SEND well enough to adapt the delivery of the curriculum. As a result, a small number of pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff are supported to use this information well to adapt and break down learning to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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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.

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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 20 and 21 March 2024

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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). 20 and 21 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school is part of the Diocese of Liverpool. The last section 48 inspection was carried out in November 2022. The next inspection is due before the end of 2027.  The school has provision for two- and three-year-olds in the nursery.

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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 spoke to the headteacher, other senior leaders and members of staff.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 20 and 21 March 2024

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 The inspector met with representatives of the governing body including the chair and vice-chair of governors.  The inspector held discussions with a representative of the Dicoese, the local authority and the school improvement partner.  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 considered the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View. She also considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jenny Jones, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 20 and 21 March 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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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