Barton Clough Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is warmly welcomed to this school.

Pupils learn to celebrate each other's differences. They told inspectors that everyone is included and that they are supported to be the best that they can be. Pupils are happy.

They make friends easily and treat each other with kindness and respect.

Pupils behave well during lessons and at social times. They benefit from the support of caring staff, who know them well.

Pupils spoke about how they are supported to be 'brave, positive and determined'. When they succeed at this, pupils are presented with much-coveted 'learner' and 'citizen' awards during weekly assemblies.

The school has high expecta...tions of what pupils should achieve.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils work hard to meet these aspirations. They typically achieve well.

Pupils are excited to contribute to school life. They enjoy acting as role models and taking on responsibilities, such as sports leaders and prefects. The school encourages pupils to try out new things.

For instance, pupils take part in a range of sports activities and after-school clubs, such as chess and art. They look forward to residentials, where they can challenge themselves. This helps them to develop their self-confidence.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has worked effectively with the trust and the local governing body to overhaul the quality of education that pupils receive. Together, they have taken effective steps to ensure that pupils benefit from a suitably ambitious curriculum. This includes for those pupils who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision).

Published data does not reflect the quality of education provided by the school. In 2023, attainment at the end of Year 2 was significantly below the national average. In addition, the proportion of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading was significantly below average.

The school has identified the reasons for this outcome. It has taken effective steps to overcome instability in staffing and to address weaknesses in the previous curriculum. As a result, current pupils learn the curriculum well.

In most subjects, the school has ensured that the important knowledge to be taught is carefully ordered from the start of the early years to the end of Year 6. This helps pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum, as new learning builds on their prior knowledge. However, in some subjects where improvements to curriculum design are more recent, pupils' knowledge is less secure.

Pupils have had fewer opportunities to strengthen their learning in these subjects.

Staff explain new concepts to pupils clearly. During lessons, teachers check pupils' understanding and address any misconceptions successfully.

However, in one or two subjects, the school's approaches in checking pupils' learning do not allow teachers to identify with sufficient precision whether pupils are making secure connections between past and future learning. In these subjects, some pupils struggle to remember important knowledge.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum.

There are enticing book areas across the school. Pupils read books from a range of different authors. Older pupils confidently discuss the books that they have read.

They are proud of their roles as reading buddies.

Staff, including those working in the specially resourced provision, are well trained to deliver the school's phonics programme. They ensure that the books that pupils read from match the sounds that they already know.

Teachers are alert to pupils who struggle to keep up with their peers. They provide swift intervention to support pupils in becoming fluent and accurate readers.

Staff identify pupils' additional needs quickly and accurately.

They successfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum for pupils with SEND. The school works with external agencies to make sure that pupils who need specialist support receive it.

Pupils benefit from clear and consistent routines.

This supports their behaviour successfully. Pupils engage well in their learning. They concentrate on learning activities and listen attentively to staff.

The school prioritises pupils' attendance. It works closely with individual families to identify reasons for the low attendance rates of some pupils. It takes swift and effective action to provide support for these pupils and their families.

As a result, pupils' rates of attendance are improving.

Pupils develop aspirations for their future careers and lives. They understand the importance of striving for goals in the short and long term.

Staff support pupils to develop strategies to support their mental and physical health. Pupils learn how to manage their feelings and about the importance of healthy relationships.

The school is mindful of staff's well-being and ensures that staff's workload is reduced wherever possible.

This helps staff to fulfil their roles well and to feel valued. They are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, curriculums are not well embedded. Pupils have had less time to develop and connect their learning, which means that their knowledge and skills are not as secure as they should be. The school should ensure that pupils build and further strengthen their knowledge in these subjects.

• In a few subjects, the strategies for checking how well pupils are learning are not focused on the most important knowledge and concepts that staff teach. Some pupils have gaps in their understanding and do not retain important knowledge over time. The school should further refine its assessment methods so that teachers check more thoroughly that pupils learn all that they should.

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