Griffin Park Primary School

Griffin Park Primary School

Address: Cavendish Place, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 2PN Unique reference number (URN): 119116

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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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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils generally achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other barriers to learning, typically make the progress that they should through the curriculum. They know and remember important knowledge across the curriculum.

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Achievement Expected standard

By the end of Year 6, pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is close to the national average. Disadvantaged pupils also achieve well. Their attainment is above other disadvantaged pupils nationally in mathematics. Consequently, pupils are suitably prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Achievement Expected standard

Some pupils in key stage 1 have gaps in their writing knowledge. This stems from earlier weaknesses in the early years curriculum. However, most pupils catch up by the end of key stage 2 and gain a secure foundation in early reading and mathematics.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Attendance and behaviour have a high profile. Leaders know the community and their families well and use this knowledge effectively. Leaders work successfully to reduce the barriers to pupils’ regular attendance. This means that pupils do not miss out on learning or wider opportunities. Attendance rates have improved in recent times and are broadly in line with the national average. This is also true for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, whose attendance compares favourably with national figures. Staff hold a common view that attendance is everyone’s responsibility. Pupil ‘attendance angels’ take a leading role in promoting attendance. They act as mentors and provide a listening ear to pupils who need extra help to attend school each day.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils respond positively to leaders' and staff's high expectations of their behaviour. They try their best in lessons. Relationships between pupils and staff are warm and trusting. Pupils feel safe and confident to be themselves. Bullying and discrimination are rare, and incidents are dealt with quickly.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The ‘rainbow room’ provides a calm and supportive space for those pupils who need help to manage their emotions. Here, pupils receive tailored support to help them to make positive behaviour choices.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of the quality of the curriculum. They prioritise the right actions to refine and improve curriculum design and teaching practice. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and enables pupils to build their knowledge over time. Leaders train staff in what to teach and how to teach it. For example, staff have benefited from training on the new writing curriculum. Staff are suitably skilled to deliver the curriculum as leaders intend. This includes the teaching of basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Overall, teachers help pupils to remember what they have learned. They ensure that pupils have the opportunity to recap their prior learning. Most teachers use resources well to support pupils' understanding. However, at times, staff do not use the information that they hold about what pupils can and cannot do to reshape their teaching. As a result, some

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

learning tasks do not match pupils’ needs well enough.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The reading curriculum is clear and well established. From the early years onwards, staff teach phonics effectively. Targeted support and carefully ordered steps help those pupils with barriers to learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to build their knowledge securely.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders place a high priority on inclusion. They have a precise understanding of the range of pupils’ needs within the school. Leaders identify, assess and address these needs quickly. This often begins in the Nursery Year when children join the school. However, the same rigour also applies to pupils who join the school at different points in the year. Leaders work closely with other professionals and external agencies to ensure that the support that pupils receive has a positive impact. When needed, leaders work with alternative provision providers to enable pupils to benefit from specialist support. Leaders monitor their work closely and act with pupils’ best interests at the core. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities access the curriculum well. Most learn alongside their peers. Those with more complex needs follow tailored programmes matched closely to their next steps.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Disadvantaged pupils and those who may face other challenges are supported well through the strategic use of additional funding. This improves pupils’ engagement and readiness to learn. Some pupils benefit from the school’s offer of emotional and wellbeing support. This high-quality provision provides a range of therapeutic strategies and practical help for families that extend beyond the school day.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders wrap their arms around their community. They understand the challenges that families face. Leaders take action to reduce barriers to pupils’ education. This helps pupils to thrive. Relationships with parents and carers are a strength of the school. These relationships, built on mutual trust and respect, keep pupils’ best interests at the heart.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Since their recent appointment, leaders have gained an accurate view of the strengths and areas for improvement across the school. They look beyond the walls of their own school. They work with other organisations, including the local authority, to improve the school’s work. Leaders prioritise staff's professional development to develop their expertise. Staff prosper because of these opportunities. They are proud of their school. Staff value leaders’ focus on reducing workload and promoting wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders’ understanding of how to support the youngest children to gain knowledge is less secure. As a result, staff in the early years are not fully equipped to provide the teaching that some children need. Even so, leaders are beginning to take action to address this shortcoming.

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Needs attention

Governors are committed to the school. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. Visits, alongside link governor roles, enable governors to support and challenge leaders. They use available information, such as the pupil premium strategy, to monitor and evaluate the impact of leaders’ work on vulnerable pupils. They have a secure understanding of their statutory duties.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have created a coherent offer that supports pupils’ wider development beyond the classroom. For example, Year 4 pupils visit Blackpool to deepen their knowledge of coastal geography. Year 2 pupils use the school’s pond area to learn about frog life cycles through pond dipping. These experiences make learning meaningful.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders are equally committed to developing pupils’ life experiences, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. A summer school broadens pupils’ horizons through visits to theatres and museums during the summer holidays. Staff provide practical support for families. This includes access to the food bank and specialist advice through parenting courses.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils benefit from outdoor learning. The allotment area enables pupils to grow vegetables to use in the school kitchen. Pupils cherish the ‘memory garden’. They describe it as a place to reflect and remember people in life who are important to them. This helps pupils to sensitively process loss and grief. When life is overwhelming, leaders provide dedicated pastoral support for pupils and their families, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and others facing barriers to their wellbeing. Activities such as cooking, gardening and therapeutic support help pupils to understand their emotions and develop social skills.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The personal, social, health and economic education programme prepares pupils well for the future. Pupils speak confidently about staying safe online and in the community. They understand healthy relationships and the importance of consent. Pupils celebrate diversity. They understand difference and demonstrate respect and appreciation for people who are different to themselves. Assemblies and leadership roles, such as prefects and house captains, promote fundamental British values, including democracy through elections. These leadership roles develop pupils’ independence and resilience, ready for life in modern Britain.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders have created a curriculum that prioritises children's personal, social and emotional development. However, they have not identified the important knowledge and skills that children will build from the Nursery Year through to the end of the Reception Year. Consequently, staff do not routinely design activities that closely match what children need to know and be able to do by the end of their time in the early years. The classroom provision lacks sufficient opportunities for children to deepen their knowledge and practise newly acquired skills. This hampers their progress through the curriculum, particularly in writing. Typically, children do not develop the habits they need for writing during their time in the early years. This includes sitting correctly, holding a pencil and forming letters accurately. As a result, children are not sufficiently prepared for some aspects of the Year 1 curriculum.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders prioritise early reading and the teaching of phonics, which starts promptly in the early years. Children develop a love of reading through the books available in the classroom. Staff support children’s vocabulary through interactions. However, these interactions do not routinely extend children’s talk, nor do staff’s questions deepen children’s thinking consistently well.

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Early years Needs attention

Children gain a sense of security and belonging within the early years. They develop increasing independence and focus within learning. Leaders prioritise partnerships with parents and carers. New families are warmly welcomed to the school community. Staff build trusting relationships with families.

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

Pupils feel happy in school because they are helped to feel safe, supported and recognised as individuals. Leaders know families well. This sense of belonging encourages pupils' regular attendance and fuels their enthusiasm for learning.

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

Classrooms are abuzz with purposeful learning activity. Pupils show commitment and sustain concentration in lessons. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from precise, well-matched support. Pupils develop a love of reading, strengthened by opportunities such as ‘reading gladiators’ who read with staff at lunchtimes. Older pupils leave key stage 2 ready for the demands of secondary school, including those pupils who are disadvantaged. However, children in the early years do not gain the secure foundations that they need to move seamlessly into key stage 1. This limits how well some begin their writing journey within the school.

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

Pupils feel part of a community that values kindness and respect. They move calmly around the school and show care for one another. This creates a settled atmosphere where learning is rarely disrupted. Pupils cooperate well together and show kindness to one another. Bullying is rare. Should it occur, leaders act quickly and deal with it effectively. Pupils recognise ‘Gilbert Griffin’, the school mascot, as a representative and reminder of positive behaviour. This helps pupils to understand the importance of compassion. Year 6 pupils wear their leavers’ jackets with pride. Pupils are fond of their school and endeavour to uphold its values.

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

Pupils, including those who face additional challenges, take part in experiences that extend beyond the classroom. These opportunities raise pupils’ aspirations and develop their talents. For example, pupils visit universities and learn to play brass instruments. Leaders ensure that pupils' experiences contribute to their preparation for life beyond school. For example, younger pupils learn about the role of the emergency services through fire safety

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Lead inspector:

Elliot Costas-Walker, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Sheena Clark, His Majesty's Inspector Amy Fidler, Ofsted Inspector visits. Older pupils learn about risks such as anti-social behaviour and knife crime through visits from the police.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff in the early years have the necessary expertise to design learning that helps children to learn all that they should in readiness for their next stage of learning. Leaders should ensure that early writing is developed consistently well in the early years so that pupils in key stage 1 do not have gaps in their knowledge and can access the curriculum fully. Leaders should ensure that staff use assessment information more effectively, including in the early years, to reshape their teaching so that learning activities better match pupils' needs.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Trevor Anderton.

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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 school leaders, including governors, during the inspection. Inspectors spoke with a representative from the local authority and the headteacher of an alternative provision setting used by the school.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of one alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone significant leadership changes since the last inspection. A new headteacher and assistant headteacher were appointed in 2025.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 16 June 2026

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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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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 6 years. National average: 26.3%

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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 needs support 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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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (final) 79% 75% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 71% 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

2024/25 (final) 79% 72% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 75% 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) 79% 73% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 77% 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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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) 59% 62% 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) 65% 58% Close to average

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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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average

2023/24 (final) 71% 59% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 67% 59% Close to average

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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

2024/25 (3 term) 5.9% 5.2% 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

2024/25 (3 term) 11.4% 13.0% 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

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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