Milnrow Parish Church of England Primary School

Milnrow Parish Church of England Primary School Inspection report

p.1

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 28–29 February 2012 Inspection number 377307 Unique Reference Number 105823 Local authority Rochdale Inspection number 377307 Inspection dates 28–29 February 2012 Lead inspector Robert Pye

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 170 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Harrison Headteacher Chris Windle (Interim) Date of previous school inspection 1 July 2009 School address St James Street Milnrow Rochdale OL16 3JT Telephone number 01706 643973 Fax number 01706 868327 Email address office@milnrowparishce.rochdale.sch.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

p.1

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers thi nk about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.2

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

p.2

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

p.2

To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to 'Subscribe'.

p.2

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

Introduction

Robert Pye Zahid Aziz Additional inspector Additional inspector

p.3

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice by two additional inspectors. They observed teaching and learning in 18 lessons or part-lessons, taught by seven teachers. They held meetings with pupils, teachers, support staff, representatives from the local education authority and members of the governing body. They observed the school's work, looked at school development planning, progress monitoring documentation, and also pupils' workbooks. The inspectors also analysed 34 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, 23 completed by staff and 100 returned by pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2. No responses from the online questionnaire (Parent View) were available to the inspectors.

p.3

Information about the school

This is a smaller than average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is just below average. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is very small. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is close to average, but the percentage who receive external support, including those with a statement of special educational needs is slightly above average. The school meets the current floor standard.

p.3

Information about the school

Since November 2011 the school has been led by an interim headteacher. The governing body has made a permanent appointment, due to take up the post in April. The school has Healthy School, the Activemark and Green Flag Eco status.

p.3

Information about the school

There is a privately run out-of-school club on site. This is subject to separate inspection arrangements. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.3

Key Findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Parents, carers, staff and pupils agree it is a happy and much improved community. Under the determined leadership of the interim headteacher improvements are very evident, especially in rising attainment across all year groups. The school is not good because the quality of teaching is not yet consistently good enough to ensure pupils make consistently good progress.

p.4

Key Findings

 Achievement in English and mathematics is satisfactory. Overall, children start school with skills that are expected for their age. Progress through the school, including in the Early Years Foundation Stage, is satisfactory. By the end of Year 6, attainment is broadly average. Pupils have good spiritual, moral and social development, but awareness and appreciation of different cultures are not developed to the same extent.

p.4

Key Findings

 Teaching is satisfactory. Some good teaching was observed in Key Stages 1 and 2 but this more evident in Key Stage 2. In lessons where teaching is good, pupils are eager to learn because tasks are challenging and the pace is brisk. However, this is not always the case as work is not always matched closely to pupils’ learning needs. Assessment provides an accurate indication of progress. Pupils’ targets indicate how they can improve their work but these are not used consistently enough to challenge all pupils. The curriculum is satisfactory, but in the Early Years Foundation Stage planned use of the outdoor area is not sufficiently good to accelerate all areas of learning.

p.4

Key Findings

 Behaviour is satisfactory overall. However, it has significantly improved as a result of a more consistent approach by leaders and teachers. Pupils feel safe in school and say that incidents of bullying are rare.

p.4

Key Findings

 The interim headteacher has galvanised the staff into a coherent team because she has introduced robust self-evaluation and set a clear vision for the future. Action taken during the autumn term to lead and manage performance has led to rapid improvements in the quality of most teaching and consequently pupils' achievement. However, while leadership of teaching by the interim headteacher is effective, there are some inconsistencies in the use of school data by senior leaders and this limits their effectiveness in monitoring and helping to improve the quality of teaching. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics to at least good by: - consistently setting individual targets that are sufficiently high for all pupils, referring to them regularly in lessons and adjusting them as soon as they are achieved - providing ample opportunities for pupils to develop and practise their skills in meaningful contexts in all subjects.

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better by: - sharing existing good practice - ensuring tasks always closely match pupils’ abilities and that the pace of learning is brisk enough to move pupils on more quickly with their learning.

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the curriculum by: - ensuring the outdoor area in the Early Years Foundation Stage provides a stimulating experience to extend children’s learning - providing more opportunities throughout the school for pupils to reflect on different cultures around the world.

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by ensuring all senior leaders are rigorous in the use of school data, including the school’s system for tracking pupils’ progress, to enable robust monitoring of teaching in order to further improve its quality.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The vast majority of parents and carers who returned questionnaires identified that their children are now making good progress. Inspection evidence agrees that progress is improving but it is still satisfactory overall. Most pupils enjoy learning and have the required basic skills to enable them to progress satisfactorily to the next stage in their learning. Pupils commented how they now felt much more confident about doing the work they were given by teachers. In all year groups, pupils develop their oral communication skills well and are confident discussing their thoughts and feelings with adults and each other. For example, in a Year 2 lesson, pupils discussed purposefully with a `talking partner ’, possible adjectives to describe the inside of a giant’s house. They then created ‘super sentences’ such as, ‘The huge shimmery, shining, golden table.’

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with the skills and understanding that are expected for children of their age. They make satisfactory progress and most are close to the level expected for their age when they start in Year 1. Attainment at the end of Year 2 has been consistently average but improving rates in progress evident during this year shows that attainment has improved in reading and writing particularly. Teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 deliver a structured programme to encourage young readers’ grasp of the sounds that letters make. By the end of Year 2, most pupils decode words well and attainment in reading is broadly average. Attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 had declined gradually over a few years. However, there is clear evidence of a reversal in this downward trend in both English and mathematics across Key Stage 2. Attainment is now broadly average. By the end of Year 6, attainment in reading is

p.5

Achievement of pupils

average and rising in response to structured guided reading sessions.

p.6

Achievement of pupils

There are no significant gaps between the performance of boys and girls. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those identified as having special educational needs are making the same satisfactory progress as their peers because of the level of support they receive within lessons.

p.6

Quality of teaching

The vast majority of parents and carers agree that their children enjoy school and are well taught. Inspection evidence found that teaching is satisfactory overall with examples of good teaching that contribute strongly to the rising trend in attainment. Pupils say that teaching has improved, especially for the older pupils who have had their learning disturbed by numerous staffing changes in the past. Throughout the school, teachers organise lessons well. In the better lessons teachers plan varied activities and pupils are thoroughly engaged in their learning. For example, in Year 5, pupils enthused at using old maps and satellite photographs to compare Victorian Rochdale with the present day. Their imagination was fired up as they learnt about the hardships people experienced in bygone times. Pace is brisk and expectations high in the best lessons but these strengths in teaching are not yet consistent. In some lessons, the work set does not take sufficient account of pupils’ prior

p.6

Quality of teaching

attainment and so is not always challenging enough to ensure rapid progress.

p.6

Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage staff support children well to learn letters and sounds and number facts. However, opportunities to work independently and explore their own ideas, especially outside, are not provided frequently enough to allow children to develop their knowledge of the world, or use their imagination, for example through role play.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Although some lessons lack the necessary spark to make learning special, spirituality is developed well when pupils are excited by the topics being promoted. This was evident in Key Stage 2 when pupils spoke with enthusiasm about science and history topics which had captured their interest and created a fascination for learning. In contrast to this, teachers do not make the most of opportunities to explore cultural differences. Guided reading sessions across school have contributed to pupils’ improved reading comprehension and enjoyment. For example in a Year 3 lesson, one guided reading group used the information in the text well to discuss being castaway and create a ‘message in a bottle.’ Teaching assistants are a strength and provide good classroom support, especially to targeted groups, such as the more able or those pupils identified as having special educational needs, therefore, allowing them to make the same progress as their peers.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Teachers are beginning to involve pupils more purposefully in assessment in English and mathematics. Pupils have targets, however, in some classes these are not reviewed systematically or referred to enough in marking and lessons to help pupils improve further. Teachers miss some opportunities in the planned curriculum to enable pupils to practise and develop their literacy and numeracy skills in meaningful contexts.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is satisfactory overall. Teachers have only recently adopted a consistent, effective approach to behaviour management involving clear boundaries and a simple but effective choice of consequence. This is already having some impact. Rewards are used effectively and help pupils understand what is expected of them. However, these procedures are not fully embedded and where the pace of teaching is not brisk enough, pupils talk and become restless. Many pupils were confident to talk about their experiences of school and share their views with inspectors. They say that behaviour is usually good now and that bullying in any form is not a problem because it would not be tolerated by adults and pupils generally get on well together. They all commented that behaviour has not always been good but how much it had improved recently under the current leadership and how much more enjoyable school is as a result. The improvement in behaviour was commented upon by many parents

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

and carers, who felt that school is now a happy place for their children to learn.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

The curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to explore whether their actions and those of others are right or wrong, thus making a good contribution to their social and moral development. Positive attitudes spill over to larger gatherings. Inspectors observed well- managed movement around school and during a whole school visit to the church.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils readily take on responsibilities and seek out ways to be helpful. For example, Year 6 pupils are proud that they are playground pals helping younger children at breaks and lunchtime. Pupils say they feel safe and have a good understanding about the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise. In discussions, pupils described how to stay safe when crossing roads or playing outside after school hours. Older pupils had a good understanding associated with the use of modern technology, such as computers and mobile phones. They also appreciated a visit from the ‘Crucial Crew’, who taught them how to put a person in the recovery position when they are unconscious.

p.7

Leadership and management

The interim headteacher’s enthusiasm and determination to improve the school is infectious. Consequently, most staff have quickly responded to the many changes made to promote more good teaching and this has led to rapid improvements in pupils’ attainment. These changes are appreciated by parents and carers, who have increased confidence in the school. An initial audit identified a concern about behaviour, which has been tackled vigorously so that a calm platform for learning is mostly in place throughout the school. The interim headteacher has introduced effective systems for tracking pupils' progress and acting upon the data. Consequently, the proportion of good teaching has increased. However, there are still some inconsistencies in the use of this and other school data by senior leaders, which limits their effectiveness in monitoring and improving the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better. As a result, the school is only satisfactorily placed

p.7

Leadership and management

to promote equality and tackle discrimination.

p.7

Leadership and management

The governing body have been instrumental in bringing about changes in senior leadership. They are aware of the continued need to seek improvement and to support and challenge the school further. Consequently the school’s capacity to improve is satisfactory. Members of the governing body and senior leaders check closely on security and ensure safeguarding measures meet statutory requirements. The curriculum is satisfactory. It includes a good balance of activities and visits and teachers are steadily introducing more imaginative topics. A more structured approach to teaching letters and their sounds is established. This is leading to rising attainment in reading and writing. Overall, the promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. The curriculum underpins pupils’ spiritual, social and moral development well, however, opportunities for cultural development, especially opportunities to learn about

p.7

Leadership and management

other cultures around the world are often missed.

p.8

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

p.9

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

p.10

to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

p.11

OL16 3JT

 Thank you all for your warm welcome when we inspected your school recently. We enjoyed the tour of the school with some of you. You were very polite and kind to us. We are also grateful to those of you who came to talk to us on Tuesday lunchtime. We were very pleased that your behaviour has improved in recent times and the way you support each other confidently in class.

p.11

OL16 3JT

Milnrow Parish is a satisfactory school. The rate of progress you make is improving along with your behaviour and you enjoy learning. By the time you leave school at the end of Year 6, your attainment is at least broadly average. You have suitable knowledge on how to stay safe. The adults who work with you care for and look after you well. In turn, older pupils look after younger children very well, too. You are not afraid to give visitors advice on how to stay healthy! Your school is very effective at developing your spiritual, moral, social development, but could do more to let you explore other cultures around the world.

p.11

OL16 3JT

Your headteacher and all the other staff are very proud of you and they are always looking for ways to make the school even better. We would like to help them with this, so we have asked your teachers to set challenging targets for each one of you to achieve. To help them with this, we have asked that the pace of some lessons quickens and that all your work is challenging in order to help you learn faster. We would also like your school leaders to check your progress in reading, writing and mathematics more closely and take action to make sure that the teaching always helps you make good progress. In the Reception class we would like children to be given more exciting ways to explore and learn through fun activities.

p.11

OL16 3JT

Thank you again for your kindness to us. Please keep working hard and looking after each other.

p.11

OL16 3JT

Robert Pye Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11