Springside Primary School

Inspection of Springside Primary School Springside Road, Bury, Lancashire BL9 5JB

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 February 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

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Gillian Thornicroft. This school is part of the 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. 25 and 26 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a warm welcome to all pupils. Pupils are well supported by caring staff. This is particularly true for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children settle quickly in the early years. They enjoy making the most of the wide range of opportunities provided to support their learning and wider development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Established routines ensure that the school is a calm and well-ordered environment. Pupils play and learn happily alongside each other. They are polite, respectful and well- behaved. Pupils focus on their learning during lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the high focus that the school places on personal development. Pupils look forward to assemblies where they earn celebratory postcards or certificates.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, fit and healthy in mind and body. They also learn how to support others in this endeavour. For example, older pupils support younger pupils effectively in a range of roles, such as play leaders or lunchtime monitors. Similarly, ‘happiness heroes’ ensure that pupils’ emotional and mental well-being is maintained.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement. Pupils’ success in this is improving. As a result, most achieve well and are suitably prepared for their next stages of education.

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

The school’s curriculum is ambitious and well organised. The curriculum has been revised in recent years to ensure that pupils build up their knowledge consistently as they progress from the Nursery Year to the end of Year 6. Pupils develop a wide range of useful knowledge, which they can recall with increasing ease. This helps them to learn new information successfully. The development of the curriculum has also resulted in teachers managing their workload more effectively.

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

Teachers usually check that pupils have understood their learning before moving on to something new. However, there is some variability in this, including for some pupils at the early stages of reading. Sometimes, teachers do not notice or address pupils’ misconceptions. Occasionally, teachers do not provide the most appropriate support for pupils who find learning more difficult. As a result, some pupils continue to find some aspects of their learning difficult. This is particularly true for writing. The legibility and fluency of some pupils’ writing are hampered by incorrect letter formation.

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

The school’s systems for checking the impact of the revised curriculum on pupils’ learning are at the early stages of development. Therefore, at times, the school is not clear where it needs to focus its support to enable teachers to deliver the curriculum with the greatest effect.

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

Reading is central to the school’s curriculum. The reading curriculum includes a wide range of high-quality literature that captures pupils’ interest and broadens their horizons. 25 and 26 February 2025

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The school has recently taken decisive action to improve the delivery of its phonics programme to address the fact that some pupils have not developed a secure enough understanding of phonics in the past. As a result of this action, children in the early years get off to a flying start and apply their secure phonics knowledge with enthusiasm to begin to read and write words. Some pupils, however, in Years 1 and 2 still do not develop fluency and accuracy in reading as well as they could. This impacts on how well they access the rest of the curriculum.

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The school ensures that staff are well trained in identifying and meeting pupils’ differing needs, including those with SEND. Staff make suitable adaptations skilfully to enable all pupils to access the curriculum and wider life of the school. Pupils with SEND flourish and achieve well.

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Pupils adhere willingly to the school’s rules and values. They appreciate being part of a diverse community where staff and pupils support each other. Pupils recognise that behaving responsibly at school and while accessing the locality helps to create an environment that is more pleasant for everyone. This prepares them well for making a positive contribution as a citizen of their wider community when they are older.

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The school benefits from the support of the trust. Positive and professional relationships are evident between the school, the local governing body and members of the trust. The trust is supporting the school to increase its focus on accurately evaluating the quality of education pupils receive. This is enabling the school to make greater strides forward in its work to support all pupils in achieving as well as they can.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, teachers do not support pupils to build up their knowledge as well as they could. For some pupils, this includes in reading and writing. This makes it more difficult for pupils to successfully secure new learning. The school should ensure that teachers consistently and accurately check what pupils know and can do before introducing new information.  The school does not identify how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum in different subjects consistently well. This gets in the way of providing support to teachers where it is most needed. The school should ensure curriculum leaders are well equipped to check that pupils’ learning is having the desired impact on their achievement. 25 and 26 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). 25 and 26 February 2025

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School details

Website sites.google.com/springsideprimary.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Springside Primary School converted to become an academy in June 2022. When its predecessor school, Springside Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.

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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 25 and 26 February 2025

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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 spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school, including the CEO.  An inspector met with a group of members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors. The chair of the board of trustees also attended this meeting.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, including early reading, mathematics and history. They spoke with the leaders of these areas of the curriculum. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, including science and religious education.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.

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 An inspector listened to pupils from Years 1 to 3 reading to a familiar adult.  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.  Inspectors spoke with parents and carers at the start of the school day. They also considered the responses to the online Ofsted Parent View survey and parents’ free- text responses.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rob Brown Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 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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