St Berteline's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Berteline’s CofE Primary School Norton Lane, Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 6QN

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 1 and 2 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive and learn happily in this school. They get on well with school staff and with each other. Children in the early years settle in quickly. Older pupils look forward to breaktimes, when they can play games or just chat quietly to their classmates. They know that there is always someone to talk to if ever they are worried.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects pupils to work hard and to achieve well. Pupils listen attentively in lessons and they complete their work with care. They know that staff will help them if there is anything that they do not understand. Pupils typically rise to the school’s high expectations and achieve well. This includes pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the early years, children learn to follow simple rules such as treating toys with care. Older pupils move around school quietly and sensibly. The school is a calm and orderly place.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of clubs, such as choir, football and a club for making friendship bracelets. Pupils learn to consider the needs of others through a range of fund-raising activities. Through the curriculum, they learn how to take care of their physical and mental health.

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

Pupils are provided with a curriculum that is broad and exciting. This curriculum reflects the school’s ambition for pupils to achieve well, including those with SEND.

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

The school has carefully considered the key information that it wants pupils to learn. This knowledge has been carefully organised into smaller, well-ordered steps from the early years to Year 6. This helps to ensure that pupils build new knowledge on firm foundations, in readiness for the next stage in their learning.

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

In lessons, staff are adept at recognising any misconceptions that pupils may have. They provide swift and effective support to address these so that pupils’ learning remains secure.

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

The school quickly identifies any pupils who may have SEND. Where necessary, adaptations are made to ensure that these pupils are able to learn the curriculum successfully. The school works effectively with parents and carers and professionals to ensure that these pupils receive any additional support that they need. As a result, pupils with SEND produce work of equal standard and secure an equivalent understanding of the curriculum as their peers.

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

In the majority of subjects, the school has in place suitable systems for checking pupils’ learning. This means that the school clearly understands what pupils know. However, in a few subjects, this work is less developed. Consequently, this prevents the school from making any refinements to the curriculum to address any omissions in pupils’ learning. 1 and 2 October 2024

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Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Children begin learning the phonics programme as soon as they join the Reception class. They steadily build their knowledge of a wide range of letters and sounds. This continues with more complex groups of letters and sounds in Year 1. Staff carefully ensure that reading books contain only those letters and sounds that pupils know, so that pupils, including those with SEND, learn to read with confidence and accuracy.

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Older pupils read with increasing fluency and understanding. These strong reading skills support pupils’ learning in other subjects as well as in English. Pupils of all ages learn to love reading and they typically achieve well, including pupils with SEND.

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Pupils’ responsible attitudes make an important contribution to their learning. For example, in lessons, pupils do not disturb others by chatting too much. The vast majority of pupils attend school regularly. This helps to ensure that they benefit from the school’s strong curriculum.

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The school ensures that pupils learn, in ways appropriate to their age, about difference and diversity. For example, pupils learn about a range of world faiths and cultures. They learn about different family structures and about disability. The school organises a range of trips, visits and residential stays to enrich pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when they use the internet. These experiences help to prepare pupils for future life.

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Governors carry out a range of activities to check that the school continues to run effectively. Governors and the school take appropriate account of the impact on staff’s workload when making decisions. Staff appreciate this concern for their well-being. The majority of parents are supportive of the school. However, a small but significant minority of parents are less positive about aspects of the school’s work, such as its communication of information, or its response to any concerns that they raise.

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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, the school’s work to understand the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ knowledge is at an early stage. This limits the school’s ability to make further refinements to the curriculum when necessary. The school should ensure that, in all subjects, there is a clear overview of the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning.  Some parents’ opinions of the school are mixed. These parents feel that the school does not communicate key information or respond to their concerns as effectively as it 1 and 2 October 2024

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should. From time to time, these parents are not as supportive of the school as they could be. The school should consider ways to engage more effectively with parents so that communication is improved.

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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). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 December 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher and a new deputy headteacher have been appointed.  St Berteline’s is a Church of England school within the diocese of Chester. The school’s last section 48 inspection for schools with a religious character took place in March 2018. The school is awaiting confirmation from the diocese about its next section 48 inspection.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 1 and 2 October 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body. She also spoke on the telephone with representatives of the local authority and of the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, geography and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects and

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looked at a range of pupils’ books.  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.  The inspectors considered the views expressed by parents and carers in their responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text comments. The inspectors also spoke to some parents at the start of the school day.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The inspectors spoke to some pupils about school life.  The inspectors spoke with staff to discuss the school’s support for their workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Aspinwall Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 October 2024

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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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