Barton Moss Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Barton Moss Community Primary School Trippier Road, Peel Green, Eccles, Manchester M30 7PT

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

Barton Moss Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The head of school is Claire Woolley. This school is part of Prestolee Multi-Academy 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), Michael Tonge, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andrew Sargeant. There is also an executive headteacher, Alex Keane, who is responsible for this school and one other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils have the chance to shine at Barton Moss. The school is a place of community and belonging. Pupils have faith in staff. They rightly trust staff to sort out any problems or worries they might have. Pupils feel happy, secure and able to give their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Most pupils relish the opportunity to live up to these expectations. They talk about their learning, and particularly their reading, with infectious enthusiasm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years learn in a welcoming and purposeful environment. They follow well-planned routines and learn to cooperate with others. Older pupils work hard in lessons. They show resilience when they find things difficult. Pupils are considerate and kind towards their peers, including during playtimes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school prepares pupils for a future of possibilities. Pupils enjoy an extensive range of clubs, including sign language, yoga and chess.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils fulfil their leadership roles with pride. These roles include membership of the school, faith and eco councils. Pupils become active citizens during their time at the 11–12 February 2025

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school. Pupils in Year 6 make a strong contribution to the community food hub, which operates from the school.

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

The school’s curriculum reflects the ambition that staff have for pupils’ learning. The school has prioritised early reading, writing and mathematics. This is to ensure that future learning builds on strong foundations. Children get off to an exceptional start in the early years. They benefit from meticulously planned opportunities to develop their speech and communication. Pupils’ enjoyment of rhymes, stories and songs starts in the early years.

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

Reading is at the heart of the school’s work. Most pupils become accurate readers quickly. Staff support those who need more help. Once pupils can read accurately, the school helps them to read with fluency and expression. Staff teach early mathematics and writing well. They break down learning into small, manageable steps. They explain and model things clearly. Pupils practise new skills until their learning is secure. This helps them to master basic skills, such as handwriting and times tables.

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

The school has made further improvements since the last inspection. The school has thought carefully about the ambitious vocabulary that it wants pupils to learn across the full curriculum. The curriculum builds seamlessly from what children learn in the early years. The school has improved the way that it checks pupils’ learning. The school uses strategies that help pupils to remember the most important curriculum content. These improvements are reflected in pupils’ improved performance in national tests and assessments.

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

Despite these clear improvements, pupils’ learning is uneven across subjects. The school has introduced new curriculums and ways to check pupils’ understanding in several subjects recently. Where this is the case, some pupils have not learned important content well. This is because new curriculums and the way teachers check learning are not fully embedded.

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

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly. Staff help pupils with SEND so they can learn alongside their peers and work towards the same goals. Pupils with SEND learn well and are fully involved in all aspects of school life.

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

The school takes appropriate action to ensure that pupils attend regularly. It works closely with families to remove barriers to regular attendance. Staff use different rewards effectively to incentivise good attendance. Despite this, the school’s impact on pupils’ attendance varies between year groups. The school has taken appropriate steps to further strengthen its work in this area recently.

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

The programme to support pupils’ personal development is impressive. The school’s ‘STAR’ values thread through all aspects of school life. They are well understood by pupils and make a strong contribution to the growth of their character. Pupils develop a strong sense of right and wrong. This is reflected in their commitment to raising money for different charities. The school provides many opportunities to develop pupils’ interests and 11–12 February 2025

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talents through a range of sporting and creative endeavours. These opportunities ensure that most pupils are very well prepared for life at secondary school and beyond.

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The school has created a welcoming and aspirational culture. The school’s effective engagement means that many parents and carers recognise the school has made a big difference to their child and family. Similarly, the school has established a culture where staff are exceptionally proud to work there. Leaders are considerate of staff’s workload and well-being, and staff rightly feel trusted and supported.

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School and trust leaders share a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities. Those responsible for governance understand their roles well. They provide appropriate support and challenge. This has helped to sustain improvement over time.

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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 has introduced new curriculums and methods of assessment recently. In these subjects, pupils’ knowledge is less secure than in other areas. The school should embed, and where necessary refine, these subject curriculums and approaches to assessment so that pupils know and remember more across the full curriculum.

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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. 11–12 February 2025

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2020.

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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). 11–12 February 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed.  The school does not use 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 his evaluation of the school.  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 11–12 February 2025

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector held meetings with the head of school, executive headteacher, CEO and other leaders. He also met with representatives of the trust board and the local governing body. This included the chairs of the trust board and local governing body.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and wider school life and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector spoke to staff about the school’s work and considered a range of documents.  The inspector spoke to some parents and carers before school and considered the views expressed by parents in their responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. He also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Will Smith, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11–12 February 2025

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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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