Worthington Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Worthington Primary School Worthington Road, Sale, Cheshire M33 2JJ

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Outcome

Worthington 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 flourish in this welcoming school. They benefit from caring, supportive and respectful relationships with staff and each other. Each pupil is known by staff and made to feel special. This helps pupils to feel safe and happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils. Pupils rise to staff’s high expectations of their behaviour and learning. They work hard and achieve well. Inclusion is at the heart of the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to access the full curriculum alongside their peers and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has carefully considered the extra-curricular programme on offer to pupils. They enjoy access to a wide range of high-quality clubs. These include cookery, clay creators, choir and a wide range of sports. Many pupils have been given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument including the ocarina, ukulele and flute.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make a real contribution to the school community by taking on leadership roles. For example, school councillors meet regularly to review what they can improve within the school. Pupils also work hard raising money for a wide range of charities. The school nurtures pupils’ talents and interests extremely well. Through their journey at the school, pupils blossom into confident individuals who are very well prepared for their futures.

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

Since the previous inspection, there have been many changes to the school. These include rapid expansion of the school to accommodate a significant rise in pupil numbers, as well as changes to leadership and staffing. Throughout this time, the school has 18 and 19 March 2025

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maintained its focus on improving all aspects of its work, developing innovative and creative enhancements to the curriculum on offer.

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The school has designed an ambitious and high-quality curriculum from the early years to Year 6. It has ensured that pupils’ learning is relevant to them and to their local context. Overall, this curriculum is delivered well. In most subjects, staff have strong subject knowledge. Pupils are excited by their learning and enjoy talking about what they have been learning about. In many subjects, staff check what pupils have remembered and address any gaps or errors quickly. These checks on pupils’ learning are especially strong in English and mathematics. However, in a small number of subjects, some older pupils have developed gaps in their knowledge. At times, teachers have not identified these gaps, and they persist. This hinders how well these pupils build new learning on top of what has been taught previously.

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The early years provides a stimulating environment that fosters children’s learning effectively. Children benefit from meaningful adult-led activities. However, sometimes adult interactions with children are less effective, particularly when children are choosing their own activities. When this happens, it reduces how well children develop their communication and language skills through their learning.

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From the beginning of the Reception Year, pupils get off to a strong start with reading. Staff deliver the phonics programme with expertise. Pupils quickly learn sounds and the letters that they represent. They practise reading using books that match the sounds that they know. Pupils across the school enjoy reading. They particularly enjoy reading to Connie and Freddie, the school therapy dogs. Pupils who are falling behind in the phonics programme are identified swiftly and effective support is put in place. Typically, pupils are fluent and accurate readers by the end of Year 1.

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The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND promptly and accurately. Staff make careful adaptions to the delivery of the curriculum, when needed. This allows pupils with SEND to learn the same content as their peers.

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Through the ‘Worthy Way’, the school has created a culture of mutual respect. Relationships are very positive. Pupils listen attentively and try their best to live by the school motto, ‘reach for the highest’. Pupils’ high attendance shows that they appreciate all that the school has to offer them.

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The provision to support pupils’ personal development is well thought through. Pupils are taught and understand important topics, such as equality, diversity and tolerance. The school offers various educational trips to different areas of the country and residential visits. All of these experiences ignite pupils’ interests and broaden their aspirations and horizons.

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Governors know the school and its community well. They provide insightful challenge and support to ensure that the school keeps improving. Governors and leaders are mindful of staff’s workload and well-being in the decisions that they make about the school. Staff are 18 and 19 March 2025

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extremely proud to work at this school. They feel valued and appreciate the many efforts that the school takes to support them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some interactions in the early years between adults and children do not develop children’s communication and language knowledge as well as they could. As a result, some children are not provided with enough opportunities to rehearse and extend their language skills when they are in more open learning activities. The school should further develop staff’s expertise so that interactions across the early years provision are of a consistently high quality.  In a small number of subjects, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge as a result of weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Some of these gaps have not been identified or addressed. Consequently, this hinders the ability of these pupils to make sense of new learning. The school should ensure that teachers are able to identify and remedy these gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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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 February 2020. 18 and 19 March 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). 18 and 19 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Ian Robbins and Clare Smith (Co-chairs)

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School details

Website www.worthington-primary.trafford.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 February 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 co-chair of governors have been appointed.  The school does not 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.  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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed some pupils from Year 1 and Year 2 read to a familiar adult. 18 and 19 March 2025

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 During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and staff. She also met with members of the governing body.  The inspector spoke with representatives of the local authority.  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.  The inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. She also considered the views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online staff survey.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school and their views of behaviour and bullying. She also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  The inspector spoke with some parents. She considered the responses to Ofsted Parent

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View. This included the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Julie Barlow, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 March 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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