Gisburn Road Community Primary School

Inspection of Gisburn Road Community Primary School Gisburn Road, Barnoldswick, Lancashire BB18 5LS

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 29 and 30 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Gisburn Road is a truly inclusive school where pupils, and children in the early years, thrive in a nurturing environment. Pupils show high levels of respect for each other and for adults. Pupils are happy and safe at school. They are cared for very well. Staff are always available for pupils to speak to if they have any worries. Pupils work hard in lessons and enjoy their playtimes together. Most pupils respond well to the high expectations the school has of their achievement. This means that pupils learn successfully and are typically ready for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision of being a place ‘where family and learning unite’ is realised through the highly positive relationships between the school, its pupils and their parents and carers. Preparing pupils to become active and respectful citizens is a high priority. Routines are set from the early years, where children learn to work cooperatively together. Pupils behave exceptionally well. Any pupils who struggle to manage their emotions receive the help they need from caring staff who know them well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils have access to an impressively wide range of extra-curricular activities. These include team-building and adventurous activities. These experiences help pupils to become confident and independent young people.

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

Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum. The knowledge, skills and key vocabulary that pupils learn is clearly set out from the early years to Year 6. The curriculum prepares most pupils well for each stage of their education. However, some older pupils have not had time to benefit from the school’s recent work to improve aspects of the curriculum in a small number of subjects. At times, these pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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

Staff in the early years are extremely well trained to deliver the meticulously crafted curriculum with infectious enthusiasm. Every opportunity is grasped to support and extend children’s communication and language skills.

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

In most subjects, staff design appropriate and engaging activities to ensure that pupils learn key knowledge securely. They use their strong subject knowledge to check on what pupils know and remember. Staff use this information to address any gaps. Pupils remember much of what they have learned, and in most subjects pupils build their knowledge securely. However, at times, the activities that pupils complete do not help them to develop sufficient depth of knowledge in a small number of subjects. When this happens, pupils do not learn as much as they should.

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

The school is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It identifies their additional needs accurately. The school ensures that staff receive detailed information about the needs of pupils with SEND. This information is used to give pupils the help that they need. The school ensures that pupils with SEND participate fully in the same curriculum and wider opportunities as their peers. 29 and 30 April 2025

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The school ensures that pupils develop a love of reading. Well-trained staff teach the phonics programme effectively. Pupils who need further support to learn to read benefit from precisely targeted sessions that help them to catch up quickly. Most pupils gain the knowledge and skills that they need to read with confidence and fluency. Children in the early years enjoy learning about patterns of sounds in words through stories, songs and rhymes. The ‘reading fairy’ regularly delivers new books that pupils have requested. Older pupils speak with enthusiasm about authors and books that they particularly enjoy.

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Pupils are exceptionally polite and respectful and demonstrate exemplary levels of motivation towards their learning. The school has taken robust action to improve pupils’ attendance. This has resulted in rates of attendance continuing to rise.

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The school’s approach to supporting pupils’ personal development is exceptional. It provides a wealth of opportunities for all pupils to engage in enriching activities that develop their talents and interests. Pupils learn how to stay safe and how to look after their physical and mental health. Pupils discuss their differing beliefs maturely and respectfully.

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Pupils have an active involvement in school life. They take on an extensive range of responsibilities such as reading ambassadors. Older pupils are proud of their role supporting their youngest peers. They are known by the title of ‘gardeners’, who have the important job of looking after younger ‘seeds’.

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Governors carry out their roles effectively. They work well with leaders to ensure that all pupils benefit from the education the school provides. Staff appreciate the consideration that the school has for their well-being. They are given the time and resources that they need to carry out their duties well. Parents hold the school in high regard.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, the activities that pupils complete do not help them to develop a secure knowledge of the subjects that they study. This prevents some pupils from achieving as well as they could. The school should ensure that it supports staff to design learning activities that prepare pupils well for each step in their education. 29 and 30 April 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). 29 and 30 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Rachel Waddington

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School details

Headteacher Nicola Walker (co-headteacher) Laura Toor (co-headteacher) Website www.gisburnroad.com

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 22 and 23 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There is a before- and after-school club, which is run by the school.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 29 and 30 April 2025

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 Inspectors met with the co-headteachers and other school leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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 a sample of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector observed pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum and reviewed pupils’ work in some other subjects.  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.  The lead inspector held a meeting with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors. She spoke to a representative of the local authority.

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 Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They considered responses from staff and pupils to Ofsted’s online surveys.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experiences of school and their views of behaviour and bullying.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Cleo Cunningham, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Louise McArdle 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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