Thornton Cleveleys Baines Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of Thornton Cleveleys Baines Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School Station Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire FY5 5HY

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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 School 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this welcoming school. They feel cared for and safe. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils are kind and respectful. They look after one another. The school is a harmonious place to learn and play. Pupils understand the school rules and relish the praise and rewards that they receive for working hard and trying their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high aspirations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils are positive about their learning. They achieve well. Children in the early years are well prepared for key stage 1, and pupils in Year 6 are ready for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils excel in their various roles and responsibilities. These include as prefects, librarians and in pupil leadership roles. Pupils are proud to care for their local and wider community. They learn that they can make a positive difference by raising donations for charities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ school experience is enriched by a range of trips, visits and events. Pupils take part in outdoor activities, which helps them to learn more about the natural world. For example, pupils enjoy working in the school’s woodland area and listening to stories in the school teepee. This helps them to become resilient, and it nurtures their imagination.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum that builds logically from the beginning of the early years to the end of Year 6. The school has identified the most important information that pupils should learn in each subject curriculum and when they should learn it.

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

Typically, the curriculum is delivered well. Staff use their subject knowledge to design activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum successfully. However, on occasion, learning activities do not match accurately to the knowledge that the school has identified for pupils to learn. Where this is the case, some pupils do not learn some of the key curriculum content as well as they could.

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

Generally, staff are adept at checking that pupils have learned all that they should. They skilfully identify and address any misconceptions that would otherwise affect pupils’ learning. However, in a few subjects, the school is in the process of developing its approach to checking what pupils know and remember. In these subjects, on occasion, this hinders how well teachers identify and address key gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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

Reading is a priority. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting and diverse books. Most pupils are fluent, accurate readers. Staff act swiftly to help any pupils who find reading difficult. This helps these pupils to keep up with the phonics programme.

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

Pupils’ individual needs, interests and talents are known well at this school. The school quickly and effectively identifies pupils’ additional needs, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff receive effective guidance to equip School 25 and 26 March 2025

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them with the knowledge to best support these pupils. Typically, pupils benefit from the support that they receive.

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Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. They engage positively in their learning and are attentive during lessons. Children in the Reception class settle in well. They receive effective support to learn classroom routines and expectations. This helps children to learn and to play cooperatively alongside each other.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance. It works closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school. For some pupils who do not attend school regularly, the school offers effective support to families to reduce absence levels.

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The school provides a wide range of high-quality opportunities to nurture pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy taking part in activities such as football and dodgeball club. Pupils in key stage 2 organise lunchtime activities for other pupils, such as the popular ‘well-being Wednesday’ events. The school makes sure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils learn about the differences between people, including different religions and faiths. They are respectful towards others who may have different beliefs, cultures or backgrounds. This contributes effectively to pupils’ increasing understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in modern Britain.

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Staff are happy and proud to work at this school. The school is considerate of their workload and well-being. Governors support the school well. They have a range of skills that allow them to understand the school and support its development. Governors are well informed about the school curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, learning activities are not matched sufficiently well to the knowledge that the school has identified for pupils to learn. This means that some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not learn key curriculum content as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are well equipped to design learning activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum in sufficient depth.  In some subjects, assessment strategies are at an early stage of development. As a result, the school sometimes does not identify key gaps in pupils’ learning, including pupils with SEND, or adapt future teaching to help pupils overcome these deficits in knowledge. The school should ensure teachers are suitably equipped to check pupils’ learning across the curriculum and ensure that they learn the important knowledge securely. School 25 and 26 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). School 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 and 29 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher took up post in September 2024.  A new chair of governors and several other governors have been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school does not make use of alternative provision 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 provision. School 25 and 26 March 2025

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 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 headteacher and with other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair of governors, and spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. They spoke with pupils about their learning in some of these subjects and looked at samples of their work.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors also spoke with some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Debbie Withey Ofsted Inspector School 25 and 26 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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