Worsley Bridge Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Worsley Bridge Primary School continues to be a good school.

The executive headteacher of this school is Angela James. This school is part of Nexus Education Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Paula Farrow, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ann Golding.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a tight-knit community, where everyone works together to 'care for the whole child'. Pupils love coming to school. They enter the school gates cheerfully, greeting adults with a smile.

They behave well, are happy and kept safe. They know they c...an speak up if they have any concerns or worries. Pupils are confident that adults are always there to listen to them.

Pupils particularly like the school's large play spaces, where they have fun together with their friends.

Staff at all levels share high ambition for pupils. They expect pupils to have a 'desire to be the best they can be at all times in everything they do'.

Pupils rise to this. Overall, they learn the curriculum well, particularly in writing and mathematics. Ensuring that pupils achieve just as highly in other subjects is a priority for the school, with staff working hard to achieve this aim.

Pupils are respectful towards each other, and towards adults. They are confident, articulate and courteous. Pupils move around the school sensibly.

Pupils appreciate the many opportunities that they receive to learn about and understand the world around them. This includes getting involved with their local community through the nearby library and church-based organisations. Pupils also take pride in their efforts to support local and national charities through links with a charitable foundation and fundraising for the local food bank.

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

The school aspires for pupils to achieve well, both academically and personally. It has designed a curriculum that clearly sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn over time. Overall, the curriculum is carefully thought out, with a focus on ensuring that pupils are continuously prepared for new learning.

In art, for example, children in early years learn to draw outlines of human faces using simple lines. This prepares them for when they learn about drawing self-portraits in Year 1. By the time they get to Year 6, pupils can confidently and competently produce drawings with a variety of tones, shades, and perspectives.

The curriculum is delivered well, with consistent emphasis on increasing pupils' understanding of important subject content. In most cases, pupils benefit from teaching that models and demonstrates ideas effectively. For example, teaching builds up pupils' grasp of concepts by using well-explained examples and illustrations.

In some instances, however, pupils struggle to make sense of new ideas that they are taught. This is because teaching has not checked that pupils are secure in the knowledge required to do so.

Overall, the school uses assessment information effectively.

Gaps in pupils' learning are identified, and effective extra help is put in place. Sometimes, however, pupils' misconceptions are not identified and corrected swiftly enough.

The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) at the earliest opportunity.

Assessment information, supported by guidance from specialists, allows staff to understand pupils' additional needs. In classrooms, teaching includes effective adaptations so that pupils with SEND learn the curriculum well.

The school is highly committed to its pupils learning how to read with fluency.

Classroom staff are trained as expert teachers of reading. The school is well resourced to deliver its chosen phonics programme. The teaching of phonics is consistent and ensures that pupils have plenty of opportunities to practise and consolidate their phonics knowledge.

Pupils also read books that contain the letter sounds they already know. Pupils who are falling behind in their phonics knowledge are identified without delay. They receive effective further help, and they catch up quickly.

Pupils show a genuine love of reading. They enjoy hearing adults read to them during their daily story time. They recommend books to each other.

Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. They are focused, work hard in lessons and follow adult instructions promptly. Disruptions to learning are rare, and pupils work well together.

The school works closely with families and other agencies to provide effective support to pupils who are at risk of not attending regularly.

The school creates many opportunities for pupils to develop beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils enjoy hearing from external visitors, who talk to them about a range of themes, including online safety and mental health.

Pupils take part in enriching educational visits, like trips to museums, galleries, and places of worship.

Staff appreciate that the school has streamlined processes to make their workload more manageable. They value how leaders are approachable.

The school receives effective support from the multi-academy trust. The local committee performs its delegated responsibilities diligently. It has high aspirations for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.

Experts from the trust provide purposeful challenge to leaders and staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, pupils do not have a secure enough understanding of the knowledge required to learn new ideas.

When this happens, pupils struggle to make sense of this new learning. The school needs to ensure that teaching fully considers the component knowledge that is required to enable pupils to understand new concepts. ? In some instances, pupils' misconceptions are not identified early enough.

This means that these misconceptions and errors are not routinely corrected. The school should ensure that misconceptions are picked up and addressed routinely to prevent pupils from accumulating gaps in their learning.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in 11 and 12 September 2018.

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