Mab Lane Junior Mixed and Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Mab Lane Primary School Mab Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside L12 6QL

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Outcome

Mab Lane Junior Mixed and Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school motto ‘Only the best’ is lived out in every aspect of school life. Pupils have highly positive attitudes to school and a keen readiness to learn. Staff greet pupils with a warm smile each day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are considerate and polite. They benefit from positive relationships with staff, built on mutual respect. Throughout the school there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere. Pupils feel valued and are happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respond positively to the high expectations that the school sets. They benefit from an ambitious curriculum. In lessons, pupils listen well and work diligently to the best of their ability. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school plans events that expand and enrich the curriculum and wider development of pupils. Visits, such as to museums and other places of interest help bring the curriculum to life. Pupils were immensely proud of their fundraising efforts for a local children’s hospice. These opportunities and experiences help pupils to become well-rounded individuals, ready for the next stage in their educational journey.

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

The school has designed an engaging and ambitious curriculum for pupils, including for those with SEND. It has carefully considered the most important knowledge and vocabulary that it wants pupils to learn and by when. This begins from the moment that children enter the early years where there is a clear focus on developing language skills. The same high ambition is also evident in the highly personalised curriculum designed to meet the needs of children who attend the speech and language unit.

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

The school has provided high-quality training so that teachers can deliver the curriculum effectively. Activities are designed to help pupils remember the intended curriculum. However, in a small number of subjects, from time to time, some of the activities selected 26 and 27 June 2024

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do not help pupils to deepen their knowledge as effectively as they could. This hinders some pupils from learning all that they could.

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Reading is central to the school’s curriculum. The school has made sure that pupils develop a love of reading from an early age. In the Nursery class, children have many opportunities to listen to stories and rhymes that develop their vocabulary. Through high-quality training, staff have developed an expertise in the teaching of phonics. Pupils who find reading more difficult, receive the support that they need in a timely manner. Books that pupils read match the sounds that they already know. This helps them to become fluent, confident readers.

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Older pupils recognise the importance of reading and were able to talk about the books that they had read and their favourite authors. They read frequently in school, helping to build their confidence and interest as readers. Pupils said that they particularly enjoyed reading during lunchtime, under the gazebos, on hot days.

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The school has highly effective systems to enable them to identify the specific needs of pupils with SEND at the earliest opportunity. Appropriate support is in place for these pupils as they move through school. This support enables pupils with SEND to achieve well and participate in all aspects of school life.

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Pupils are keen to attend school. The school tracks pupils’ attendance rigorously. When pupils’ attendance falls below the accepted level, the school works compassionately with families to provide the right support to bring about improvement. Lessons are rarely disrupted by pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are able to concentrate on their learning.

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The school has taken account of pupils’ prior experiences when designing wider development opportunities. ‘50 things to do before you leave Mab Lane’ identifies key experiences that the school want pupils to enjoy. These include a forest experience for the youngest children and residential visits for older pupils.

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Pupils understand how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally. They also know how to keep themselves safe when online. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures and understand that they should not discriminate because of race. They were less clear about some of the other fundamental British values. This means that pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for life in modern Britain.

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Pupils benefit from a wealth of activities that help them to develop their talents and interests. For instance, pupils take part in sports clubs, cross country and choir. They develop their understanding of the arts when they visit the theatre or listen to visiting poets and authors.

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Governors use their considerable and varied experiences to contribute to the school’s ongoing development. They understand the community that they serve. Governors provide a balance of support and challenge to hold the school to account for the educational outcomes of its pupils. 26 and 27 June 2024

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Staff are appreciative of the considerations that the school takes concerning their well- being and workload, for example, in the changes made to the school’s marking policy. They feel valued and supported.

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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, on occasion, some teachers do not select appropriate activities that support pupils to learn the intended curriculum. This hinders some pupils’ learning and prevents them from building securely on what they know already. The school should ensure that teachers are supported well in these subjects to design appropriate learning activities for pupils.  Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge of modern British society. They are less aware of some of the fundamental British values and why it is necessary to understand these. This means that they are less well prepared for life in modern Britain than they should be. The school should ensure that pupils learn about the full range of fundamental British values so that they are well prepared for next stage of their lives.

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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 June 2016.

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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. 26 and 27 June 2024

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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). 26 and 27 June 2024

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provision

Appropriate authority The governing body

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provision

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

◼ The school has provision for 2 year olds in Nursery. ◼ There is a resource base catering for early years children with specific speech and language needs attached to the school. Children in this provision attend part time. ◼ The school runs breakfast- and after-school provision. ◼ The school makes use of registered alternative provision.

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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 that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken this into account in her evaluation. 26 and 27 June 2024

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 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher and other members of staff. She spoke with representatives of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair of governors. The inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke with teachers and with some pupils about their learning. The inspector also looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to pupils from Years 1 to 3 read with a familiar adult.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at various times during the school day, including during lessons and at playtime.  The inspector considered the views expressed by parents in their responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. She also spoke with some parents and carers at the beginning of the school day.  The inspector also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Pat Speed, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 26 and 27 June 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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