Neston Primary School

Neston Primary School

Address: Burton Road, Little Neston, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 9RE Unique reference number (URN): 110987

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Teachers encourage pupils to reflect on their beliefs and experiences. Pupils learn to tell right from wrong and to respect the views of others. Pupils speak positively about how staff help them resolve disagreements and understand the impact of their actions. This helps create a calm and respectful school culture.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school develops pupils’ social skills through daily routines and shared activities. Pupils learn to cooperate, take turns and listen to others. Opportunities such as pupil voice activities and responsibilities help pupils take part in school life and understand democratic processes. These experiences support pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils take part in activities that widen their understanding of the world. Visits, events and creative activities help pupils learn about different cultures, heritage and communities. Pupils enjoy clubs and enrichment activities that support their interests and talents. However, while pupils are positive about their experiences in school, they do not develop a consistently secure and detailed knowledge across the personal, social and health education curriculum. Leaders track pupils’ participation in the personal development programme to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be involved.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The personal development programme is suitable for pupils’ ages and needs. Relationships and health education helps pupils understand friendships, consent and how to stay safe, both online and offline. Pupils recall key messages and explain how to manage risks to their wellbeing.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pastoral support is a strength. Staff know pupils well and provide timely help when pupils are worried. Pupils feel confident asking for support and value the care they receive. This is particularly important for pupils who face additional challenges.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils do not make the same progress across the school. Some pupils build knowledge well in individual subjects. For example, pupils acquire secure early reading skills. The results of the Year 1 phonics check have been above the national average for the past 3 years. However, the progress pupils make in their learning is inconsistent. In several classes, pupils do not revisit learning often enough or correct misunderstandings quickly. As a result, gaps in learning remain.

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Achievement Needs attention

Results in national tests show that too many pupils do not reach the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. While outcomes are weak overall, some groups are more affected than others. Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not achieve as well as their peers. Gaps in their attainment have remained over time. As a result, not all pupils are ready for the next stage of their education. Some pupils leave the school without the secure knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Attendance is below the national average. Many pupils miss school too often. This is particularly the case for some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders work closely with families and use supportive approaches to encourage attendance. These actions help some pupils attend more regularly. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of attendance strategies sharply enough. They do not escalate concerns consistently, when absence continues. As a result, improvement is not sustained and absence disrupts learning for some pupils. Pupils who miss school frequently struggle to keep up, and gaps in learning widen over time.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Behaviour across the school is generally calm and orderly. Pupils are polite and respectful. They usually follow routines and settle quickly to learn. Leaders promote a positive culture, where staff know pupils well and provide care and support. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning and want to do well. Staff apply the school’s behaviour policies consistently, including for pupils with SEND, where reasonable adjustments are made. A small number of pupils report unkind behaviour. Staff respond to concerns and do not tolerate bullying. However, pupils do not always feel that issues are resolved quickly or consistently. At times, low-level disruption interrupts learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders evaluate that the quality of curriculum and teaching is inconsistent. They have identified appropriate priorities, including early reading, handwriting and curriculum coherence. However, leaders’ evaluation focuses more on actions taken rather than on their impact. Weaknesses in curriculum and teaching are not spotted or dealt with quickly enough.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that caters for mixed-age classes. In some subjects, curriculums do not set out important knowledge and skills clearly enough. This limits how well staff teach the curriculum and prepare pupils for their next steps. Leaders have not ensured that teachers have the subject knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum effectively. This hinders the quality of their explanations, teaching of specific vocabulary and how well pupils' misconceptions are addressed.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The school’s phonics programme is delivered well. However, teaching does not consistently secure pupils’ foundational knowledge in writing and mathematics. In these areas, pupils do not revisit prior learning regularly enough. As a result, gaps persist and pupils do not catch up quickly.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff know pupils well. However, teaching is not consistently adapted well across all year groups to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Reasonable adjustments are not applied in a consistent manner. This limits pupils’ access to the curriculum and leads to weaker achievement over time.

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Early years Needs attention

Staff establish calm routines and prioritise warm relationships. They know the children well. Children feel a sense of security and belonging. They settle quickly and are happy in their play. Staff do not always use interactions as well as they should to extend children's language. They do not routinely model vocabulary or use questioning to promote high- quality talk. As a result, many children do not routinely practise early communication skills.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders have created a curriculum that is ambitious for their youngest learners. They have not considered the precise knowledge and skills that children will build from nursery to Reception. Consequently, staff are not able to provide suitable activities that closely match to what children need to secure in their learning. Children are not sufficiently prepared for Year 1.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders prioritise reading and the teaching of phonics starts promptly in the Reception class.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders recognise early years as a priority for further improvement. They have begun to develop the environment and further refine their curriculum. Leaders recognise the importance of working with parents and carers to support children’s development. Staff build trusting relationships with families, who want the best for their children.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders and staff know pupils and families well. They identify the broad needs of pupils who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, assessment information is not consistently used well enough to identify pupils’ precise needs and next steps. As a result, support is not consistently targeted to address pupils’ specific barriers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders provide a range of support and make necessary adjustments to pupils' learning and wellbeing. In some classes, inclusive practices help pupils access learning. However, this approach is not consistent across the school. When adjustments to teaching are not effective, barriers remain and pupils miss out on the full curriculum benefits.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Systems to monitor pupils’ progress are underdeveloped. Leaders do not use assessment data well enough to check how well interventions or support strategies work. As a result, leaders do not identify concerns quickly enough or adapt support with sufficient precision.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Staff receive training to promote inclusive practices, including how to apply the graduated approach. However, this training is not specific enough to secure consistent practice. Leaders collaborate with families and outside experts, such as children’s social care and the Virtual School. Leaders allocated pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of these strategies sharply enough, including in relation to the impact on pupil outcomes.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders are committed to the school and understand its community well. They recognise key strengths, including positive relationships and pupils’ wellbeing. Leaders have identified priorities for improvement, such as curriculum quality, inclusion and attendance. However, leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is not precise enough. Leaders do not focus sharply enough on the quality of day-to-day practice or its impact on pupils through their monitoring. As a result, weaknesses are not identified or addressed quickly enough.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Those responsible for governance meet statutory duties and understand the broad challenges facing the school. Governors manage resources appropriately and provide support to leaders. However, they do not consistently hold leaders to account for the impact of actions taken. Governors do not consistently receive clear, timely information about pupils’ learning, attendance and inclusion. This limits the level of challenge they provide and slows improvement.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and governors make decisions with pupils’ best interests in mind. However, support for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning, varies across the school. Leaders do not routinely evaluate whether decisions remove barriers or improve outcomes for these pupils.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders provide access to professional learning for staff, including early career teachers. Training supports staff to become more confident in delivering the curriculum. However, professional learning is not sufficiently focused on the development of secure subject knowledge. This limits the impact that training has on the quality of teaching. Leaders consider staff workload and wellbeing in their decision-making, which staff value.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils at Neston Primary School are welcomed warmly by staff, who know them well. They feel safe because staff notice when pupils are worried and take time to check in with them. Most pupils behave kindly and treat one another with respect. Behaviour is generally calm and orderly, which helps pupils feel settled in school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years settle quickly into established routines. These routines help children to feel secure at the start of the day. However, staff do not consistently support children to develop their vocabulary and communication. This limits how confidently some children engage in early learning and their readiness for Year 1.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are keen to learn and enjoy coming to school. However, teaching does not consistently build securely on what pupils already know. As a result, some pupils do not remember learning as well as they should over time. This particularly affects pupils who need additional support. Consequently, some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of learning as they should be.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are included in the day-to-day life of the school. They have opportunities to share their views and contribute to school life. This supports pupils' confidence and a sense of belonging. Pupils value the range of clubs on offer, including sporting, creative and performance activities.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy trips and special events that extend learning beyond the classroom. For example, activities linked to 'Parliament week' help pupils understand democracy and fundamental British values. These experiences support pupils’ understanding of life in modern Britain.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Most pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to learning. A small number of pupils report unkind behaviour. Staff respond to concerns, but they do not consistently resolve issues as quickly as some pupils expect.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Attendance is below national levels. Many pupils miss school too often, which interrupts learning and affects how well they keep up with their work.

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Next steps

• Leaders should check carefully that their attendance strategy is having the intended impact to raise pupils’ attendance rates, particularly those who are disadvantaged, and take swift action where needed. • Leaders should ensure that highly effective teaching is embedded across the school so that all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can make strong progress across the curriculum. • Leaders should ensure that adaptations to support disadvantaged pupils, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are matched closely to need and consistently remove barriers to pupils’ learning across the curriculum. • Leaders should ensure staff in the early years use purposeful, consistent interactions with children to help them build language, their ability to read and foundational knowledge from their starting points. • Leaders should strengthen the personal development programme so that pupils develop a

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Next steps

secure and detailed knowledge across the personal, social and health education curriculum.

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About this inspection

The chair of the Board of Governors in this school is Mr Gareth Powell.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other senior leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator during the inspection. The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority. She also spoke with a group of governors that included the chair of the governing body.

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Lead inspector:

Dianne Holcroft, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Stuart Perkins, His Majesty's Inspector Valmai Roberts, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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School capacity

Inspectors visited lessons, spoke with pupils, looked at curriculum information and pupils’ workbooks. They reviewed school documentation that included: the school’s self-evaluation document; the school development plan; external quality assurance visit records and governing body meeting minutes records.

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School capacity

There were no responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for pupils. However, inspectors sought their views in person through various activities. Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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School capacity

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school: The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2023/24 (final) 56% 61% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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national average

2023/24 (final) 70% 74% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 67% 72% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 73% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 67% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 55% 46% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 64% 62% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 67% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 64% 58% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 67% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.9% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 6.6% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 16.8% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 18.6% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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