Barton Clough Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school. They told inspectors that they enjoy learning.

Pupils are proud of how they help to include each other in every aspect of school life.

Leaders have raised their expectations of how well pupils and children in the early years should achieve. Pupils are catching up in areas where they have fallen behind.

However, subject curriculums are at different stages of development. There remain weaknesses in how well some subject curriculums are planned and delivered, including the early reading curriculum. This hinders some pupils and children from accessing the full curriculum and achieving as well as they should.

Pupils feel safe i...n school. Staff listen to pupils and help them to overcome difficulties. Pupils told inspectors that when bullying does happen, leaders deal with incidents well.

Pupils are polite and respectful. They behave well. Pupils learn how to manage their behaviour if they find this difficult.

Pupils benefit from the wide range of clubs and other opportunities that leaders provide. For example, pupils develop their self-confidence and resilience when they explore their outdoor wooded area.

Parents and carers who spoke with inspectors commented on how much the school has improved over time.

Many parents are positive about how well children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are cared for and supported.

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

Leaders have developed a suitably ambitious curriculum that motivates pupils to want to learn more. This helps pupils to build up a greater body of knowledge than they had previously.

Consequently, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 and children in the early years are learning more than they have done in the past.

That said, over recent years, leaders have introduced and adapted subject curriculums at different times. This means that some pupils have not acquired the knowledge that they need to access new curriculum content with confidence.

Leaders provide guidance for teachers about what learning to deliver and when topics should be taught. However, leaders do not make sure that teachers are clear about the building blocks of knowledge that pupils should know. This means that there are times when teachers omit important steps of learning or do not focus sufficiently on the knowledge that pupils most need.

This hampers pupils' progress through the curriculum.

Similarly, in the early years, leaders do not provide sufficient guidance for those staff who deliver and support the learning of children in the Reception class. At times, staff miss opportunities to reinforce or extend children's knowledge.

There is an unevenness in children's development as a result. Some children are not as equipped as they should be to embrace the challenges of the Year 1 curriculum.

Over time, leaders have made a number of changes to the reading curriculum.

For older pupils, the reading curriculum is well established and delivered well by teachers. It enables those pupils who have a secure knowledge of phonics to become proficient and avid readers, broadening their knowledge across the curriculum.

More recently, leaders have changed the school's phonics programme with the aim of ensuring that more pupils become accurate and fluent readers as quickly as they should.

Leaders have provided training for staff to deliver this new programme as intended. However, some staff are still getting to grips with how best to deliver this programme. This continues to hinder pupils' progress in early reading.

Children begin to learn how to use phonics to read words in the early years. Pupils in key stage 1 are beginning to benefit from recent changes and develop secure phonics knowledge. However, there remain pupils in other year groups who are still at the early stages of reading.

This hinders how well they can access other areas of the curriculum.

Leaders make sure that teachers check regularly on learning that pupils may have missed or forgotten, especially in reading and mathematics. Teachers also use these checks effectively to identify pupils with SEND.

This ensures that pupils with SEND receive timely and appropriate assistance. This is also true for those pupils who access the curriculum in the specially resourced provision.

Leaders have established a positive culture, focused on learning.

Children quickly settle into school routines in the early years. Pupils respond well to leaders' high expectations for behaviour. They learn not to give up when teachers challenge them to give their best effort.

Classrooms are calm, orderly places. Learning is not disturbed.

Personal development is a high priority at the school.

Leaders make sure that children in the early years have opportunities to develop their social and emotional skills. Staff support pupils in building on this firm foundation as they progress through the school. Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from carefully selected opportunities to enhance their wider development.

Pupils grow in confidence. They understand how they can make a positive contribution to their school and wider community.

Governors and trustees work closely with leaders to meet the needs of pupils at the school, including those pupils with SEND in the specially resourced provision.

For example, governors and trustees have provided effective support for leaders and other staff, especially during times of staffing disruption. Staff morale is high as a result.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff are vigilant to signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. They are fastidious in passing on their concerns to leaders responsible for safeguarding.

Leaders are adept at prioritising the varying needs of pupils at the school. They make sure that vulnerable pupils get the support they that need. Leaders keep close checks on vulnerable pupils to ensure that they remain safe.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They learn how to protect themselves when online. They also learn how to regulate their behaviour to help to keep themselves and others safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders do not ensure that staff are clear enough about the essential knowledge that pupils, including children in the early years, should learn. Pupils miss key learning as a result, and this hinders their progress. Leaders should ensure that teachers and other staff are clear about what pupils need to learn to achieve as well as they should across the curriculum.

• Some staff are still developing their own expertise in how to best deliver the early reading and phonics curriculum. This hinders some pupils in becoming confident readers as quickly as they should. Leaders should ensure that staff are supported to deliver the phonics and early reading curriculum effectively so that pupils become fluent readers.

• Some older pupils remain at the early stages of learning to read. This prevents them from accessing the curriculum and achieving as well as they should. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide these pupils with the support that they need to address the gaps in their phonics knowledge to become confident and avid readers.

• Leaders have not ensured that some pupils have covered the curriculum content that they need to embark on new learning successfully. This hinders pupils' progress through more ambitious subject curriculums. Leaders should ensure that teachers equip pupils with the knowledge that they need to approach subsequent learning with confidence.

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