Padiham Green Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Padiham Green Church of England Primary School.

They told inspectors that they feel safe and are well cared for. Pupils have many trusted adults whom they can talk to, should they have any worries or anxieties.

In the main, pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning.

They know that staff have high expectations of them. Pupils behave well and want to try their best. Leaders have high aspirations for pupils' learning and achievement.

However, over time, governors and leaders have not ensured that pupils achieve as highly as they should. This is because of weaknesses in how well the curriculum has been designed and deli...vered.

Pupils reported that bullying is rare, although they also said that some name-calling does happen from time to time.

Staff act promptly to stop any such issues from reoccurring. Leaders deal with incidents of bullying swiftly and effectively.

Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of equality and diversity.

They understand the importance of respecting other people. For example, they spoke positively about people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transexual. Pupils said that everybody is welcome in their school.

They help to raise money for charities and they understand why this is important.

Pupils have ample opportunities to join in with multiple activities and visits. For example, they attend various sports-based clubs.

Pupils learn how to swim, from the early years, and they acquire the skills to play different musical instruments.

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

Leaders have very recently redesigned the whole curriculum, having identified historic weaknesses in the school's previous curriculum. Pupils are now experiencing an increasingly aspirational curriculum that is as broad and as ambitious as the national curriculum.

While leaders demonstrate high ambition for this recent work, their aims are far from being reached. Some subject leaders are new to leading their subjects. They have not had the time that they require to embed the new curriculum.

In addition, some staff are not addressing previous gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly enough. This hampers pupils from learning all that they should across all subjects. Conversely, in the early years, staff provide children with a strong start to their education.

This helps them to be well prepared for their learning in key stage 1.

Generally, teachers have the subject knowledge that they need to deliver most subjects well. For the most part, they choose effective activities to deliver new information and content.

However, in some subjects, teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to practise and apply what they have learned. Over time, this hinders how well pupils recall and remember earlier learning.Leaders and staff identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) early on and get them the support that they need.

They work well with parents and carers, and external agencies, to achieve this. Teachers successfully adapt their delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can access the same learning as their peers.

Staff encourage pupils to develop a love of reading.

Teachers read carefully chosen books to their classes each day. Children in the early years have cosy spaces where they can sit and enjoy looking at familiar stories. Pupils select books from the school library to take home.

They know that reading helps to broaden their knowledge across a variety of subjects. Staff encourage parents to read regularly with their children.

Leaders have very recently introduced a new phonics programme.

Children start to learn phonics from the beginning of the Reception class. Typically, teachers check how well pupils are developing their phonic knowledge, providing support for pupils when needed. However, leaders have not ensured that some staff have the knowledge that they need to deliver the early reading curriculum well.

Staff do not consistently follow the agreed strategies to teaching phonics, including providing pupils with books which closely match their current phonic knowledge. This hinders how well some pupils learn to read. This is not the case in the early years.

Pupils behave well across the school. They are well-mannered and polite. At breaktime and lunchtime, pupils play well with each other.

Children in the early years settle into school life quickly. They demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and successfully learn routines from the start of the Reception class. Overall, pupils have high levels of attendance.

However, some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Leaders have taken effective steps to improve these pupils' rates of attendance.

Pupils benefit from wider development opportunities.

For example, children in the early years attend weekly outdoor learning sessions in the woodland area. All pupils in the school benefit from these sessions. Older pupils were eager to talk about some of the leadership roles that they have.

A small number of school ambassadors visit different schools. Pupils in Year 6 buddy up with children in the Reception class and support them, such as on trips to the local church.

Governors understand their statutory duties.

They work well with leaders. Governors and leaders are mindful of staff's well-being and workload. This helps staff to feel sufficiently supported in their roles.

Nonetheless, in the past, governors have not held leaders to account well enough for the legacy of pupils' underachievement. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that the school's safeguarding culture is robust. Staff receive up-to-date safeguarding training. They understand the steps to take in the event of any welfare concerns or allegations.

Leaders and staff place strong emphasis on getting to know pupils and their families. This helps leaders to identify issues early and provide appropriate support.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy and safe.

For example, they learn about the risks that they may encounter while using social media. Visitors to the school, such as police officers, provide pupils with further information about their safety in the local community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Over time, governors have not challenged leaders well enough about pupils' underachievement in some subjects.

This means that some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Governors should ensure that they are well equipped to hold leaders to account fully for the quality of education that pupils receive. ? Many revised subject curriculums have only recently been introduced by leaders.

This means that, over time, pupils have not benefited from the strengthened curriculums in these subjects. As a result, pupils have developed gaps in their learning which are not being addressed by teachers as quickly as they should. Leaders should fully embed the curriculum, while addressing the gaps in pupils' learning, so that pupils develop a deep and rich body of knowledge across the curriculum.

• In some subjects, teachers do not give pupils sufficient opportunities to practise and recall what they have learned. This hampers how well pupils can commit important knowledge to their long-term memory. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide enough opportunities for pupils to practise new content, to enable them to remember more of what they learn.

• Leaders have not made sure that some staff have the necessary expertise to deliver the early reading curriculum, including the phonics programme, well. This hinders pupils' reading accuracy and hampers their fluency in reading. Leaders should ensure that staff deliver the reading curriculum well and that the books that pupils read are closely aligned to their current phonic knowledge.