Devonshire Primary Academy

Inspection of Devonshire Primary Academy Devonshire Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 8AF

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 November 2024

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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 Requires improvement

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The headteacher of this school is Daniel Simm. This school is part of the Sea View Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Angela Holdsworth, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Martyn Jones. 26 and 27 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Devonshire Primary Academy. The school’s motto of ‘the best that we can be’ is brought to life daily. Pupils try their best. They feel valued and accepted.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious about what pupils can achieve. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are positive about their school and their learning. Many pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The nurturing environment that the school has fostered helps pupils to feel safe. They know whom to speak to if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils are ably supported to manage their emotions and make positive choices. This helps them to follow the school’s rules.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ school experience is enriched by a range of trips and visits. For example, pupils spoke enthusiastically about visits to the seaside and a zoo, as well as residential trips and travelling on a tram. These experiences help pupils better understand the wider world.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish in their various roles and responsibilities. These include acting as head pupils, playground buddies and school councillors. These opportunities enable pupils to demonstrate the school’s values of cooperation, pride and respect.

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

The school has carefully considered the needs and interests of all pupils in its curriculum design. It has developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in most subjects across key stages 1 and 2.

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

The school ensures that staff have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively across a number of subjects. In most subjects, staff carefully check what pupils know and address any gaps in knowledge that pupils have. In the main, staff select activities that enable pupils to develop their knowledge in a logical and coherent way. Nevertheless, from time to time, the activities that some staff choose to deliver the curriculum do not support pupils to deepen their knowledge as well as they could. Occasionally, this hinders how well some pupils learn.

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

Children in the early years benefit from an engaging and well-designed environment. Adults focus on developing children’s communication and language skills through effective questioning and strong modelling of ambitious vocabulary. However, some of the learning in the early years does not link as well as it could to learning in key stage 1. This hinders how well some children build up new knowledge. Some pupils are not as well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum as they could be.

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

The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting books. Staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. The books pupils read are matched carefully to the sounds they know. Typically, pupils who do not keep up with 26 and 27 November 2024

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the phonics programme are supported to catch up quickly. As a result, many children in the Reception class and pupils in key stage 1 gain a secure knowledge of phonics.

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Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. There are effective systems in place to identify pupils’ additional needs. The school ensures that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to achieve well.

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Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. They engage in their learning and are attentive during lessons. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes settle in well. They receive effective support to learn classroom routines and expectations. This helps children to learn and to play cooperatively alongside each other.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance. It works closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school. For some pupils who do not attend school regularly, the school offers effective support to families to reduce absence levels.

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Pupils learn about being safe and the importance of values such as democracy. They also learn about the differences between people, for example different families. Pupils know about different religions, and they visit places of worship. They understand the importance of treating everyone with respect. This contributes to pupils’ increasing understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in modern Britain.

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Members of the local governing committee know the school well. Governors ensure that leaders focus on improving the quality of education pupils receive. Governors check that staff have the expertise they need to do their jobs well. As a result, most staff feel well supported to develop their expertise. There are effective systems in place to ensure smooth working and communication between the local governing committee and the trust. Trustees check that pupils across the school achieve well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, the activities staff select to deliver the curriculum do not help pupils to deepen their learning as effectively as they could. This hinders some pupils from learning all they should. The school should support staff in selecting activities that help pupils to acquire and remember knowledge securely overtime.  In a few areas of learning, the school has not ensured that the links between the early years and the key stage 1 curriculum are identified clearly. This means that some of the children’s key knowledge does not build up as effectively as it could. The school should refine its curriculum thinking in the early years so children are well prepared for 26 and 27 November 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). 26 and 27 November 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 May 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Sea View Trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision for pupils.  The school provides a breakfast and after-school club.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 26 and 27 November 2024

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the CEO, the headteacher, other school leaders and members of staff.  The lead inspector spoke with members of the local governing committee, including the chair. She also spoke with members of the board of trustees.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography, history and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. They spoke with leaders

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and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at breaktimes and at lunchtime.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors also spoke with some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no

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responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 November 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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