Headteacher praised for swift improvements at Wigan primary school

That was the verdict of Ofsted inspectors who carried out a two-day visit to Abram Bryn Gates Primary School in Bamfurlong.

They found Gillian Talbot had quickly taken action in a number of areas to improve the school since taking charge

Lead inspector Liz Kelly wrote: “As soon as the very experienced executive headteacher took up post in September, she made important changes which have improved the school significantly.

“She has done this while managing a difficult financial situation and improving staff morale.

“Staff are enthusiastic about the changes and are keen to give the executive headteacher their full support.

“The executive headteacher, ably supported by the long-standing deputy headteacher and a highly effective governing body, is well on the way to transforming how and what pupils learn in all subjects.

“She has made teachers more ambitious about what pupils should achieve.”

Ofsted found pupils enjoyed learning because lessons were “varied and interesting”, they were “seldom” absent from school and reported there was no bullying.

Pupils’ progress in reading and maths had improved “considerably”, after three years of pupils not achieving well by the end of years two and six. However, there had not been time to make up for all of the gaps in pupils’ learning.

Changes have been made to the learning programme, which ensured children learn things in a logical order, and the plan for learning in reception was “organised and ambitious”.

Staff had training in how to develop pupils’ memory and in some subjects, older children could remembers things they had learned in year one, but there were “considerable lapses” in memory in other subjects.

Pupils’ behaviour was managed “well”, with support for the “small minority” of children who needed it.

The school was judged to be “good” in four out of five areas, but the quality of education was found to “require improvement”.

This latter rating was the overall score given, the same as in its previous inspection in 2018.

Inspectors said that while changes had made a positive impact, because they were recent the impact was not fully evident in pupils’ reading and maths from years one to six. They wanted the changes to be sustained and extended.

They also said there should be more opportunities for children to recap work and changes to the curriculum in science and foundation subjects, so it takes into account opportunities for learning in the local area and gaps in pupils’ skills and life experiences.

Joanne Buckler, the school’s chairman of governors, said: “The judgement of ‘requires improvement’ does not fully represent the hard work of everyone in the school over the last 12 months, but does represent the changes and difficulties that the school has endeavoured to overcome over the last three years.

“The governing body and I are confident that the continued improvements that are required will be made and the school will continue to move forward with the current senior leadership team and staffing, with the support of the governing body.

“We are very proud of the children, staff and parents of our school.”

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.