Thornton Cleveleys Royles Brook Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Thornton Cleveleys Royles Brook Primary School Marsh Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire FY5 2TY

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 December 2024

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Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like their school. They know that a warm welcome awaits them each day. In the early years, children settle in quickly because they feel safe and secure. Older pupils are confident that staff will take good care of them at all times. If ever pupils are worried, there is always a trusted adult to talk to. Pupils especially enjoy spending time with their much-loved school dog, Bertie.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants pupils to learn successfully. However, weaknesses in the curriculum have prevented some pupils from achieving as well as they should. Work is now under way to make things better. This is beginning to have an impact. However, despite this, some pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for the next stage in their education, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud members of their school. They talk with enthusiasm about the exciting activities that the school provides. For instance, pupils enjoy visits to museums and places of interest. They look forward to participating in choir performances with other schools. Pupils participate wholeheartedly in these experiences, including pupils with SEND.

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

Since the school was last inspected, the quality of education has declined. Over time, the school has not ensured that the curriculum provides pupils with sufficient knowledge in the subjects that they learn. The school has not acted quickly enough in the past to remedy these shortfalls. Pupils’ achievement has suffered as a result. Many pupils did not 17 and 18 December 2024

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achieve as well as they should have in the 2024 national tests in reading and mathematics.

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The school is now taking more effective action. Improvements to the curriculum are beginning to have an impact, especially for younger pupils in the school. However, pupils in Year 6 are having to work hard to make up for lost time in order to be ready for high school.

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The curriculum is suitably broad and ambitious. However, in several subjects, the school has not given enough thought to all of the important smaller steps of knowledge that pupils need in order to reach long-term goals. Consequently, some younger pupils in mixed-age classes do not develop a sufficient body of knowledge in readiness for the following year. The curriculum does not help pupils to connect what they have learned previously to what they are learning now. This hampers pupils’ achievement.

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The school provides training to help staff teach the curriculum more effectively. For example, it has worked with other local schools to strengthen mathematics. This is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning. However, there remain a small number of inconsistencies in the way that mathematics is taught. Pupils learn less well when this happens.

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The school has now improved the way that it uses information from checks that teachers make in English and mathematics. This is helping the school to identify and address more quickly any missing knowledge that pupils may have. Work to check pupils’ knowledge in other subjects is at a much earlier stage. This hampers the school’s understanding of the impact of the curriculum in these subjects.

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The additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified quickly. Staff are skilled at making effective adaptations, when needed, to enable these pupils to learn the curriculum well. However, these pupils are affected by the same weaknesses in the curriculum as other pupils.

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Reading is a priority. In the early years, children make a swift start to phonics learning. Staff provide prompt support to ensure that children keep up with the programme. By the time that pupils reach the end of Year 1, they, including pupils with SEND, are well prepared for the national phonics screening check. The school has improved the range and quality of books that pupils read. Across the school, pupils develop a love of reading.

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The curriculum provides pupils with an appreciation of diversity and difference in wider society. They learn about democracy and the rule of law. Pupils enjoy roles of responsibility. Their sensible behaviour in class contributes well to their learning.

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Staff appreciate the concern that governors and leaders show for their well-being. Staff typically enjoy working at the school. Governors have improved their work to hold school leaders to account effectively. For example, they now ask more challenging questions to reassure themselves that the school is improving quickly enough. 17 and 18 December 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 instances, the mathematics curriculum is not delivered effectively. When this is the case, pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that the mathematics curriculum is delivered consistently well so that pupils of all ages learn the knowledge that they need to be ready for the next stage of their education.  The school’s work to make effective use of information from assessments is at an early stage, especially in the foundation subjects. This makes it difficult for leaders and staff to identify when pupils may have missing knowledge. The school should ensure that work to improve assessment is embedded swiftly and successfully in all subjects.  In the foundation subjects, the curriculum does not make clear what knowledge pupils in the mixed-age classes should learn in order to be ready for the next stage. This means that younger pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for future

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

learning. Additionally, older pupils sometimes repeat knowledge that they have already learned. The school should ensure that in all subjects the most important knowledge is clearly identified and sequenced so that pupils build a solid and sufficient body of knowledge over time.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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. 17 and 18 December 2024

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in April 2015.

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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). 17 and 18 December 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Claire Williamson

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School details

Website www.roylesbrookprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 2 April 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher was appointed to the school on 1 January 2024. Since the last inspection, a new chair of the governing body and a number of new governors have been appointed.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other school leaders.  The inspector met with governors. She also spoke on the telephone with a representative of the local authority. 17 and 18 December 2024

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also spoke with some pupils about wider school life.  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

Mavis Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 December 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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