Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School Heron Street, Oldham, Greater Manchester OL8 4JD

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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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

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The interim executive principal of this school is Ewan McPherson. This school is part of Focus 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), Helen Rowland, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Spencer. The interim executive principal is responsible for this school and one other within the trust. 28 and 29 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School. They are excited to learn new information. They are polite, well mannered and care deeply for each other. They are kind and welcoming to visitors and new pupils that join the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons, at social times and in the popular breakfast club. They concentrate fully on their learning and produce high-quality work. Pupils enjoy the opportunities provided through the ‘Seven Musts of Focus-Trust’, such as visiting London, completing a first-aid course and planning a charity event. They trust staff to look after them and help them if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils gain many skills through a wide range of extra activities, such as the engineering club and the sign language club. Pupils particularly appreciate the school’s reading-rich environment, which inspires them to read widely. They take on leadership roles enthusiastically. For instance, older pupils enjoy helping younger pupils at lunchtimes. The school organises educational visits and meetings with visitors carefully to deepen pupils’ knowledge in different subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Mostly, children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve well. This is because the school has high expectations for all its pupils. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

The school has set out an ambitious curriculum for all its pupils, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, the school has thought carefully about the knowledge that children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 should learn, and when this should be taught. However, in a few subjects, the curriculum is less clear about what teachers should teach and the order in which this should happen. This sometimes hinders pupils from building their knowledge securely over time.

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

Pupils typically achieve well. However, in 2024, their attainment in writing by the end of Year 6 was below the national average. The school has responded swiftly to this dip in published data. It has revised the English curriculum and made changes to the way reading and writing are taught. Pupils benefit from effective modelling of spoken and written language. Pupils currently in the school are supported well to build their writing knowledge and skills.

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

Learning to read is one of the school’s top priorities. Starting in the Nursery class, children learn selected rhymes, poems and songs. They begin to learn from the carefully selected phonics programme as soon as they enter the Reception Year. The school ensures that its staff are experts in teaching phonics. Staff give those pupils who find reading difficult extra support that helps them to catch up. 28 and 29 January 2025

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In 2024, the school welcomed a number of pupils into Year 1 that had not previously been in school or had been taught in England. The school worked effectively with these pupils to give them the help that they needed to catch up with the phonics programme. This strategy has been successful. By the end of Year 2, the majority of pupils achieve the phonics screening check. Staff share many books with pupils to develop their vocabulary, understanding of stories and love of reading. Pupils enjoy reading a range of types of books, including some complex traditional stories.

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Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make a confident start to their time in school. Teachers and teaching assistants effectively model how to speak and listen. Children build a secure knowledge of important vocabulary.

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Staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND swiftly and accurately. These pupils receive expert support in school. Staff adapt how they teach the curriculum so that pupils with SEND take part in lessons successfully. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Pupils behave very well in and around school. They are polite and well mannered. The school does all that it can to ensure that pupils attend school and are on time. As a result of this work, pupils’ attendance has improved noticeably. The school praises and rewards pupils for their efforts in attending regularly. It makes sure that additional support is given to individual families when pupils’ attendance needs to improve.

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Pupils benefit from a carefully constructed personal, social, health and economic education curriculum. They understand how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally. They know how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values. They are taught about the importance of respecting others and celebrating diversity. Pupils learn in an age- appropriate way about different families and what constitutes healthy relationships.

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Trustees and members of the local governing body know the school very well. They offer high-quality support and challenge to the school. The school provides effective support for staff, including a range of professional development opportunities to help them refine their teaching, while ensuring that the workload required is manageable. This creates a culture in which staff feel increasingly well supported to strengthen and enjoy their work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum lacks precision around what important content pupils need to learn and when they need to be taught it. This sometimes affects how well the curriculum in these subjects is implemented and how well pupils build their knowledge. 28 and 29 January 2025

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The school should ensure that, in these subjects, the curriculum makes it clear what should be taught so that pupils’ knowledge builds securely over time.

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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). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Principal Ewan McPherson (interim executive principal) Website www.lyndhurstprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 November 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Focus Academy Trust.  The interim executive principal has been in post since November 2024.  The school does not make use of alternative provision for pupils.  The school operates a before-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. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the interim executive principal, other leaders, members of the local governing body, trustees and staff. They also met with the CEO and the deputy CEO of the trust. The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, including early reading, mathematics, geography and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors

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also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 lead inspector observed some pupils reading to staff.  Inspectors observed pupils at social times, in breakfast club and when moving around the school.  Inspectors spoke with parents and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including their free-text comments.  Inspectors spoke with pupils and staff to gather their views. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including those related to the governance of the school.

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Inspection team

Wendy Tracey, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Nicola Howard Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 January 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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