Sharples Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Sharples Primary School Hugh Lupus Street, Bolton BL1 8RU

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

Sharples Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this happy and harmonious school. The school has high aspirations for all pupils. Pupils typically achieve well. They are eager to embrace the challenges of secondary education by the time that they reach the end of Year 6.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the effective support of skilled and caring staff. This is particularly true for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those who access the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of the diversity at their school. They support each other well and celebrate each other’s achievements. Pupils enjoy social times together. They carry out leadership roles with diligence, such as prefects, school councillors and well-being warriors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive to earn the many awards on offer for demonstrating that they are ‘Sharples Super Stars’. They are respectful and resilient. Pupils behave well as they move around the school and focus on their learning during lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils are well motivated to try their best. For example, pupils learn about a wide range of careers that they might access when they are older. They demonstrate determination in developing the skills and knowledge that they will need for these. 11 and 12 February 2025

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

There is a strong sense of community and common purpose at the school. The governing body works closely with staff to ensure that all pupils benefit from a high-quality education. Governors also make sure that staff receive the support that they need to deliver the curriculum as effectively as possible.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and well organised. This supports teachers to enhance and deepen pupils’ learning as they progress through the school. Teachers deliver the intended curriculum consistently well, including in reading. They check pupils’ understanding routinely and help them to build on what they already know. This is particularly important for pupils who are still at the early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language to help them to develop their understanding of vocabulary. Pupils develop a secure body of knowledge in most areas of the curriculum.

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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 curriculum. The school focuses on ensuring that pupils develop secure reading knowledge so that they can access the rest of the curriculum. Most pupils become fluent and accurate readers by the end of Year 6.

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

Children in the early years and pupils who have recently arrived from overseas, benefit from the support of well-trained staff in developing their understanding of how to use phonics to read words. For many children, this begins in the Nursery Year, where children learn to recognise different types of sounds. They respond well to familiar stories, songs and rhymes. As they progress into the Reception Year and beyond, pupils apply their knowledge of phonics with growing skill and confidence as they practise their reading. The school provides effective additional support for pupils who find reading more difficult.

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

The school’s work to develop pupils’ writing is at an earlier stage. Some pupils’ writing is not as fluent as it could be, which affects how easily they are able to record their ideas. This is because, at times, teachers do not provide sufficient support for pupils who have not developed letter formation skills well enough. This gets in the way of pupils developing fluency in their writing. The school has recently adapted its curriculum to help pupils to overcome the difficulties that some of them experience as a result of underdeveloped writing skills. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work.

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

Teachers are quick to recognise when pupils may have SEND. The school makes the most of the expertise it has to provide effective support for these pupils. Class teachers liaise closely with those who work in the specially resourced provision to ensure that pupils with SEND benefit from well-matched support. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

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

Attendance at the school has improved considerably in recent years. This is because the school has a clear picture of those pupils whose attendance is causing most concern. It provides well-targeted and effective support for these pupils. Most pupils now attend regularly. This is helping to improve their achievement across the curriculum.

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

Pupils’ personal development is a high priority for the school. Pupils benefit from a rich diet of high-quality activities and opportunities. These help to prepare them for their next 11 and 12 February 2025

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stages of education and for the challenges that they are likely to meet in the wider world. Pupils develop confidence and independence in activities such as preparing meals, deciding how to raise money for local charities or taking part in national projects such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not ensure that some pupils secure early writing skills well enough. For these pupils, this means that they do not develop fluency in their writing as well as they could. The school should ensure that pupils receive the support that they need to record their ideas with consistently clear and fluent written work.

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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.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2019. 11 and 12 February 2025

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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 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There is a new headteacher in post since the time of the last inspection. There have also been other changes to leadership arrangements.  A new chair of governors has been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with a visual impairment. There are currently seven pupils accessing this provision.  Pupils often join the school at non-standard times. Some of these pupils have lived overseas previously.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 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 spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school.  The inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. She also listened to pupils from Years 1 to 5 reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector visited the specially resourced provision.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector spoke with parents and carers as they dropped their children off at school. She also considered parents’ responses to Ofsted Parent View, including their free-text responses.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. She also spoke with members of staff.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 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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