Red Lane Primary School

Inspection of Red Lane Primary School Red Lane, Breightmet, Bolton, Lancashire BL2 5HP

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

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The headteacher of this school is Rhian Driver. This school is part of Base Academy, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Lisa Whittaker, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Craig Graham. 7 and 8 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The ‘Red Lane Way’ values, such as feeling valued and developing resilience, lie at the heart of this happy school. Most pupils behave well, show respect for others and make a positive contribution to the school and beyond. Pupils help the school to plan and lead events, such as organising World Book Day. The school strives to understand each pupil’s needs and to ensure that they are included in its provision. Pupils have warm relationships with staff and appreciate the many ways that the school helps them to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils work hard and show a willingness to learn. Typically, they progress well through the curriculum. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school promotes pupils’ personal development exceptionally well. Carefully designed programmes teach pupils about community risks and personal safety. Pupils take pride in their responsibilities, such as being prefects and reading champions. They support younger pupils thoughtfully. Pupils benefit from residential trips to London and outdoor pursuit areas, and visits such as to museums and the local library. The school makes sure that it does all that it can to remove any barriers that might prevent pupils from accessing these opportunities.

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

The school has developed a comprehensive and stimulating curriculum for children in the early years through to pupils in Year 6. The curriculum has been shaped to ensure that pupils’ learning is meaningful through its connection to the local environment.

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

The school has thoughtfully determined the essential knowledge that pupils should gain in each subject and when this subject content will be delivered. Staff use a range of effective ways to check pupils’ understanding of what has been taught. Staff ask questions and provide opportunities for pupils to demonstrate what they know. Pupils build successfully on their previous knowledge. They are well equipped for future learning.

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

The school has a clear and accurate understanding of its successes and priorities. Together with the trust, it has strengthened pupils’ achievement, for example by improving the design and delivery of the curriculum. This is clear in the rapid response that the school made to the Year 4 outcomes in the 2024 multiplication check. Immediate changes to the mathematics curriculum mean that current pupils are gaining a secure understanding of multiplication facts.

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

The school identifies any learning barriers swiftly and ensures that pupils can learn the curriculum. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. The school provides activities to develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills. However, some pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to practise 7 and 8 May 2025

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articulating their ideas clearly. As a result, some pupils find it challenging to express their learning confidently and effectively.

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Staff teach the school’s phonics programme skilfully. The school engages positively with parents and carers to provide them with guidance on how they can support their children’s reading at home. Staff provide effective support for pupils who face any difficulties with reading. This helps most pupils to catch up quickly and gain the knowledge and skills they need to read with confidence and fluency.

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From the Nursery Year onwards, staff sensitively and skilfully help pupils to understand and manage their own feelings and behaviour. Most pupils respond well to this approach. The school has recently enhanced its provision further to make sure that those pupils whose behaviour falls below the school’s expectations receive individual support that is highly effective. As a result, the number of suspensions from school have reduced markedly. Trustees, members of the local governing body and the school review information on pupils’ attendance carefully. The school takes suitable action to support pupils and their families when attendance rates are not high enough. Nevertheless, some pupils have too many absences and miss important learning and wider experiences.

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The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development is exceptional. It offers a wide range of experiences from the early years to Year 6. These include pupils performing for large audiences and working with published authors. The school enriches pupils’ understanding of diversity, for instance by meeting with visitors who share their different life experiences. Pupils are impressively well prepared for life beyond school, with a mature understanding of mental health. Most pupils take part in the school’s extensive range of extra-curricular activities. These include gardening, photography, theatre, sports and art. Many pupils represent the school at a wide range of events such as sporting and musical competitions.

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The school has established a culture of continual improvement to ensure that pupils succeed academically, socially and emotionally. As a result, barriers to learning are swiftly removed and pupils have the chance to thrive. Staff work in an environment where respect and support are tangible. Staff value the care and attention that leaders give to their well-being, workload and training.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils miss too much time away from school. This limits how well they achieve and it restricts them from benefiting from the wider experiences that the school offers. 7 and 8 May 2025

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The school should review and bolster its approach to tackling persistent absence to ensure that pupils attend school more regularly.  The school’s approach to developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills is not as well established as it could be. This limits how well some pupils engage in discussions and how confidently and clearly they articulate their learning. The school should review its strategies for developing pupils’ oracy so that pupils have the skills to achieve as well as they can.

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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). 7 and 8 May 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 October 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has provision for two-year-old children.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  There is a before- and after-school club managed by the school.

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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. 7 and 8 May 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. The inspectors also met with a range of teaching and support staff.  The inspectors met with the CEO and representatives from the board of trustees and held conversations with representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design, science and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to pupils about their learning in other subjects and reviewed samples

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of their work. They also heard some pupils read.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspectors took account of a range of other information, including the school’s self- evaluation, improvement plan, a sample of policies and minutes of meetings of the local governing body.  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 inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. The inspectors also evaluated the responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Julie Brown, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Claire Walmsley Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 May 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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