Blackthorns Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged outstanding for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Blackthorns Community Primary Academy 3 Blackthorns Close, Lindfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 2UA

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Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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Outcome

The executive principal of this school is Marcus Still. He is also responsible for Lindfield Primary Academy. This school is part of the University of Brighton Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the interim chief executive officer (CEO), Mark Blackman, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Rose Durban.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to this school. The school’s values of ‘determination, respect, kindness, independence and teamwork’ are threaded across the curriculum. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong and positive. Pupils feel safe. They know that adults care for them and are here to help them both academically and emotionally.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy playing with their friends. They are polite to adults and each other. At playtimes and lunchtimes, pupils confidently access the wide range of play equipment on offer. Trained Year 5 and Year 6 play leaders are available to sort out any friendship problems.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the opportunities to take on roles of responsibility. For example, the eco- committee is currently applying for its second award. Year 6 pupils apply to become sports leaders or house captains. The school council contributed to a project to get the woodland area ready, which enables pupils to enjoy forest school activities. Year 5 are proud to organise and run the school’s Christmas fayre. 29 and 30 April 2025

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The school has high expectations for all pupils. Overall, they achieve well. However, there is further work to do to ensure that pupils are learning the essential knowledge they need to know and remember across the curriculum.

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

The school has designed a curriculum that is ambitious for all, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It reflects the school’s high expectations of pupils’ academic achievement. Most pupils achieve well.

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

The school has identified the important information that it wants pupils to remember. This starts in the early years and builds as pupils move up the school. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They start each lesson by revisiting prior learning. However, while pupils are enthused by the creativity in the curriculum, some pupils struggle to articulate what they are learning. They talk about the activity, not the knowledge and skills they are building over time. For example, in mathematics, pupils make long paper chains but do not link the task to previous learning on measurement. Teachers do not clearly explain the associated skills and knowledge in all subjects to enable pupils to know and remember more and link prior learning across the years.

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

Reading is a priority in the school. Teachers are experts in phonics and early reading. The proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check was well above the national average. Children in Reception learn phonics as soon as they begin at the school. Teachers match the books pupils read to the sounds they know. Pupils who struggle with reading are quickly identified, and targeted support is given to enable them to keep up and become fluent readers. The school takes every opportunity to develop pupils’ love of reading. Pupils are exposed to a broad diet of texts across the curriculum.

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

The school is highly ambitious for pupils with SEND and makes sure they study the same curriculum as their peers. It has robust procedures for identifying pupils with SEND. However, there is more work to be done to ensure that teachers are proficient in adapting approaches to learning so pupils with SEND grow in confidence and independence.

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

Pupils know the school’s behaviour rules of ‘be ready, be respectful and be safe’. However, in some lessons, pupils do not listen or concentrate as well as they should, including the youngest children. At times, the approaches staff use are not effective. As a result, these pupils do not learn as much as they could.

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

Personal development is a thread that runs through all aspects of school life and is a strength of the school. This is evident when talking to pupils. They learn to be respectful of diversity. Pupils know and respect different religions and cultures. They have an age- appropriate understanding of the protected characteristics. Pupils learn about healthy relationships and the importance of looking after their physical and mental health. The school helps pupils stay safe by helping them understand how to keep safe online and outside of school. 29 and 30 April 2025

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Despite the unsettling times currently, those responsible for governance know the school well. They hold the school to account effectively. The trust is continuing to support the school. Staff feel valued and appreciated. School leaders are supportive and mindful of staff well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has made recent changes to the curriculum, but this needs further embedding. As a result, some pupils do not retain important subject content and are not building their knowledge and understanding as well as they should in some subjects. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers are explicit as to what pupils need to learn and remember over time.  Some pupils with SEND do not get the support they need in lessons to learn the curriculum well. Teachers sometimes do not make effective adaptations to help these pupils access the curriculum as intended. The school should ensure that teachers understand how to support pupils with SEND to learn and achieve well.  Expectations of pupils’ learning behaviours are not consistent across the school. Some pupils struggle to concentrate and listen and respond to adults. This slows their learning. The school should ensure that routines and procedures are embedded,

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

understood and applied by all staff, so in lessons, pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive.

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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 outstanding 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, 29 and 30 April 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to outstanding for overall effectiveness in September 2018.

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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). 29 and 30 April 2025

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School details

CEO of the trust Mark Blackman (Interim CEO)

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School details

Principal Marcus Still (Executive Principal)

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School details

Website www.blackthornsprimaryacademy.org.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Blackthorns Community Primary Academy is currently part of the University of Brighton Academies Trust.  The school has an executive principal.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. 29 and 30 April 2025

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 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 met remotely with two trustees. They met with the chair of the local governing body and spoke with the trust’s director for school improvement.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also took into consideration the responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Becky Greenhalgh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 April 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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