Adlington Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this friendly school where everyone is welcome.

The warm and caring environment that staff provide creates a safe space for pupils to flourish. Pupils benefit from kind and supportive relationships with staff. They are confident that staff will listen to them and help them if they have any worries or concerns.

This helps pupils to feel happy and safe in school.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' achievement and behaviour. Pupils live up to these expectations each day.

For example, they listen carefully and work hard during lessons. Pupils know that they can ask for help if they do not understand something. Typically, p...upils achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils understand the school rules and they are eager to follow them. For example, they line up promptly at the end of breaktime. In the early years, children learn to tidy away the resources that they have used.

Pupils learn about the differences between bullying and falling out with their friends. Leaders take swift and appropriate action to address any incidents of bullying.

Pupils' personal development is exceptional.

Pupils value the many opportunities that they have beyond the academic curriculum. For instance, they take part in a wide variety of before- and after-school clubs. Added to this, pupils are eager to contribute to leaders' decisions through their roles as school councillors, anti-bullying ambassadors and reading buddies.

They are also keen to help others and raise money for charities.

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

Leaders have designed a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum which meets the needs of pupils, including those with SEND, well. The attainment of Year 6 pupils in the national assessments in 2022 was lower than is typical at the school.

This is because a high proportion of pupils in this year group joined or left the school during the academic year. As a result, some of these pupils arrived too late in key stage 2 to benefit fully from the leaders' curriculum. In the main, current pupils achieve well across a range of subjects.

In most subjects, leaders have identified the essential knowledge that they want pupils, and children in the early years, to learn. For example, they have considered the key vocabulary that they want pupils to understand and be able to use. Leaders have organised the curriculum so that pupils learn this knowledge in a logical order.

This helps pupils to make connections in their learning and develop a rich body of subject knowledge over time.

In a small number of subjects leaders have not designed the curriculum as well. This prevents some pupils from connecting aspects of new learning with their prior knowledge.

This hinders some pupils in deepening their understanding of concepts.

Leaders provide staff with high-quality training to enable them to deliver the curriculum effectively. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to design activities that help pupils to learn all that they should.

Teachers check routinely that pupils understand earlier learning. This enables staff to swiftly identify and correct any misconceptions that pupils may develop. Learning during lessons is rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.

Leaders have made reading a high priority for staff. Children begin learning phonics as soon as they join the school in the early years. Staff ensure that the books that pupils read are closely matched to their phonics knowledge.

This helps pupils to read with increasing fluency and confidence. Staff ensure that any pupils who are at risk of not keeping up in reading receive appropriate help to catch up quickly with their peers.

As pupils move into key stage 2, they read a wide range of high-quality texts from the school's well-stocked library.

Leaders and staff inspire pupils to read more widely and often. For example, older pupils are keen to promote the benefits of reading to younger pupils in their roles as reading ambassadors. Pupils enjoy hearing from famous authors when they make visits to the school.

Pupils of all ages develop a real love of reading and appreciate the joy that books offer.

Leaders have appropriate systems in place to identify pupils' additional needs quickly and accurately. Leaders ensure that staff are furnished with the information that they need to support pupils with SEND effectively.

Pupils with SEND learn the curriculum successfully alongside their classmates.

Leaders provide exceptionally well for pupils' wider development. Pupils benefit from a wealth of activities that help them to develop further their talents and interests.

For instance, pupils take part in exciting activities ranging from karate to band music. They develop their understanding of the arts and other cultures when they go to see professional orchestras and choirs perform.

Pupils learn to speak confidently in public and to participate in meaningful debates.

Staff encourage pupils to challenge traditional stereotypes and celebrate diversity. For example, pupils learn to play football with a local women's professional football team. Pupils learn about different faiths, cultures and fundamental British values such as democracy.

All these experiences prepare pupils very well for life in a modern British society.

Governors provide a robust level of challenge to leaders. Members of the governing body are informed well about the quality of education for pupils.

Leaders consider staff's workload and well-being when making decisions about the school. Staff feel valued by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that there are stringent procedures in place to ensure that safeguarding is everyone's priority. Staff are trained well. They know what to do if they have any safeguarding concerns about a pupil.

Added to this, staff have a secure understanding of the potential safeguarding risks that pupils may face in the local community.

Leaders liaise closely with external agencies to ensure that those families facing challenging circumstances receive the help and support that they need.

Pupils learn how to manage risk and keep themselves safe in different situations such as when learning and playing online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not designed the curriculum to enable pupils to connect aspects of new learning with what they already know and can do. This hinders some pupils in developing their understanding of more complex concepts. In these subjects, leaders should ensure that the curriculum is well designed to enable pupils to make connections in their learning.