Albrighton Primary School & Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Albrighton Primary School & Nursery has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Albrighton Primary School is a place where all pupils strive to be 'the best they can be'.The school has high ambitions for all pupils.

It strives to ensure that all pupils have a sense of belonging and achieve. Their lived motto, 'Only the best will do', is shown in the way pupils work and play together. They believe in the importance of trying their hardest, saying '… and as long as you do that, it doesn't matter if you don't always get it right!' As a result, pupils attend well, enjoy their learning and succeed..../>
Parents appreciate the high-quality pastoral support and the wide range of opportunities on offer. Pupils and families value the school's extensive grounds. They speak positively about the outside area, and the clubs and activities, and pupils particularly enjoy building dens.

Pupils behave well and feel safe. They say that bullying rarely happens. When it does occur, they trust adults to help them.

They know whom to go to if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils are proud to take on leadership roles, such as play leaders and online safety and safeguarding ambassadors. This caring and respectful culture of collective responsibility helps pupils to prepare for life beyond school.

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

The school has created an ambitious curriculum. In the early years, children have many opportunities to explore ideas, to mark make and to secure early number skills. This means that children gain a wide vocabulary and learn how to communicate well.

Carefully planned activities are targeted to children's individual needs. Children engage in these with enthusiasm. For example, when making potions, one child explained they needed more petals so it smells nice for their mummy.

Play-based activities develop into formal learning structures through Reception and Year 1. Here, pupils secure phonics knowledge and practise clear letter formation. As a result, the foundational knowledge and skills needed for future learning are well embedded.

Reading is prioritised, with targeted interventions for specific pupils. This enables pupils to gain success and confidence in their reading. As a result, the vast majority of pupils enjoy reading and develop in fluency.

The recently reviewed mathematics curriculum has ensured that progress and attainment are now in line with age-related expectations. For a minority of pupils, adaptations could be further refined. For example, a few pupils could not read the questions in mathematics without support.

In these instances, pupils are unable to access the learning fully and do not make as much progress as they could.

Pupils access the intended curriculum. Extra resources are in place for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

For example, staff use visual supports and assistive technology to help pupils engage with learning. Recent training on working memory, processing and de-escalation also help staff to adapt learning. This is having a positive impact for most pupils.

However, for some pupils who require additional support, adaptations to help them access the curriculum are not as well established. As a result, these pupils are not able to fully access the curriculum, which can slow their progress and affect how well they retain key knowledge over time.

The school has developed 'threads' of learning across foundation subjects.

Teachers reinforce and revisit these concepts. This approach helps most pupils to secure important knowledge and ideas over time. However, in some foundation subjects, key concepts are not fully embedded and activities do not always support pupils in making secure connections across their learning.

As a result, not all pupils are able to apply their knowledge with clarity and confidence across different contexts.

Pupils are well prepared for life beyond school. The curriculum ensures that pupils know how to keep themselves healthy and to recognise risks to their well-being.

Pupils have a growing number of leadership opportunities. There is also a wide programme of clubs and enrichment, for example musical theatre, multi-sports, youth club and deployment club. High-quality pastoral support is woven through these opportunities, helping to promote pupils' confidence and resilience.

Leaders and governors engage effectively with their staff. Staff report that leaders are very aware, and take account, of their well-being and workload. They value the support, and challenge, that leaders give them and the opportunities that they receive to develop and share their own expertise.

Staff say that they feel well supported. They speak positively about the resources that are available to them and the way they all work closely together.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, some pupils with SEND are not accessing new learning consistently. As a result, they are not making the progress they are capable of. The school needs to ensure that precise and well-matched support is in place to help these pupils access learning and achieve well.

• In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is not implemented consistently. As a result, some pupils are not fully securing the intended knowledge or retaining it over time. The school should continue to strengthen the delivery of the curriculum to ensure all pupils are able to secure and retain key knowledge effectively.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2016.

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