Great Budworth CofE Primary School

Overview

The report states that the school “requires special measures” because it is “failing to provide an acceptable standard of education” and leaders are “not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement.” Inspectors found that “learning remains fragmented” with “significant gaps in learning,” meaning pupils are “not prepared well enough for their next steps.”

Strengths

• Pupils are “polite and welcoming” and “treat each other respectfully,” forging “warm friendships” across year groups.
• The school provides a “welcoming and emotionally supportive environment” where pupils are “ambitious for their futures.”
• Pupils “relish taking part in community activities,” such as charity fundraisers and maypole dancing, and value clubs and leadership roles.
• Staff are “highly positive about the new approach to leadership” and feel “motivated and committed to their roles.”
• Attendance has “improved recently” following focused action, though this work is still at an early stage.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure the curriculum, including in the early years, is “set out sequentially and in its entirety” so pupils secure essential knowledge in reading, writing, and mathematics.
• Governors must “fulfil their statutory responsibilities” and develop the skills to “hold leaders to account effectively,” as governance has failed to prevent a decline in standards.
• Leaders must ensure the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs are “identified swiftly and accurately” and that staff receive appropriate guidance to support them.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” ensuring pupils are “made safer and feel safe.”