Rectory CofE Primary School

Rectory CE Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 21–22 June 2012 Inspection number 377129 Unique Reference Number 104797 Local authority St. Helens Inspection number 377129 Inspection dates 21–22 June 2012 Lead inspector Geoffrey Yates

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

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 164 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tony Narayanan Headteacher Janet Prowse Date of previous school inspection 21 January 2009 School address Rectory Road North Ashton Ashton-in-Makerfield Wigan WN4 0QF Telephone number 01744 678470 Fax number 01744 678475 Email address rectory@sthelens.org.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.

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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.

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Introduction

Geoffrey Yates Maureen Coleman Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspection team visited 18 lessons, observing seven teachers. Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders teaching staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and groups of pupils. The inspectors also heard 12 pupils read. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at the minutes of the governing body meetings, systems for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress, safeguarding procedures, pupils’ work, and teachers’ planning and marking. Inspectors took account of the responses to questionnaires completed by 44 parents and carers and those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Rectory Church of England Primary School is a smaller than average-sized primary school. There is resource provision for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for children within and outside the normal catchment area. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. There are no pupils at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above that seen nationally. The school has achieved a number of awards, including the Basic Skills award. The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress. 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

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Key Findings

 This is a good school. It is not yet outstanding because teaching is good rather than outstanding. The needs of individual pupils are at the centre of everything the school does and parents and carers are highly positive about the school.

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Key Findings

 Pupils make good progress overall, and achievement is good from their starting points. This includes disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those in the school’s resource base. Children achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is average in English and mathematics, but in the most recent unvalidated national tests, outcomes were higher in English than in mathematics.

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Key Findings

 The overall quality of teaching is good, with examples of outstanding practice. Where teaching is good or better, lessons move at a very fast pace, questioning is used well and teachers are highly effective in ensuring that pupils have sufficient time to carry out the work. Where teaching is not as strong, questioning does not probe pupils’ understanding, and teachers talk too much. In some classes, opportunities are missed to ensure pupils develop basic numeracy skills well and opportunities for pupils to apply them in solving problems are inconsistent.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ behaviour, attitudes to learning and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding. Incidents of bullying or racial harassment are rare, and dealt with well. Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in various situations, including when using the internet.

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Key Findings

 Leadership and management are good, including the leadership of teaching and management of performance. Pupils enjoy all aspects of school life and are well prepared for the future due to the school’s clear focus on academic and personal needs. There are good systems in place to evaluate the school’s work. 

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching further by:  making sure there is a brisk pace in lessons  providing a good balance between teachers talking and pupils’ working independently  making sure questioning is consistently good in probing pupils’ understanding  providing more opportunities for pupils to develop their basic numeracy skills well and for them to apply them in solving challenging mathematical problems. 

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils enjoy their learning and are keen to do well. Their good attitudes mean that they work with enthusiasm and determination even when they encounter challenges. For example, in a Year 2 information and communication technology (ICT) lesson all pupils were absorbed in working out how to shrink a picture, and persevered with the task. They worked at a good pace and with a high degree of concentration on succeeding. Activities such as this ensure learning is at least good and develops pupils’ independence well.

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Achievement of pupils

Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage from a well below average start. However, by the time they enter Year 1, their skills in all areas of learning are still below those expected. Children show tremendous enthusiasm for learning and are keen to talk about what they are doing. For example, they gave a very good account about the vegetables they had planted and how rain and sunshine help them to grow. There is a good balance between child-initiated and teacher-led activities.

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Achievement of pupils

Good learning and progress continue throughout Years 1 to 6. Some cohorts of pupils are small and this, together with having pupils on role in the resource base, means that attainment data requires cautious analysis. Inspection evidence shows pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics is broadly average by the time they leave. In 2011, attainment at the end of Year 6 was lower in mathematics compared to that in reading and writing. The school has successfully implemented a range of strategies to develop pupils’ mental and problem solving skills. However, the full impact of these strategies has yet to be seen. Pupils say they enjoy reading and demonstrate good skills for their age. Attainment in reading is average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. During the inspection, outstanding teaching of basic letter sounds was observed.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers agree that their children make good progress. Nearly all pupils say they learn a lot in lessons. Inspection evidence confirms pupils make good progress from their starting points. Highly effective support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs both in mainstream classes and in the resource base enables them to make good progress towards their targets.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers state that their children are well taught and inspectors agree. Pupils trust and respect their teachers, relationships are of a high quality and adults work diligently to provide a range of interesting learning experiences. Most teaching seen was good, with assessment information about pupils’ progress used well. A minority of lessons were satisfactory and a few were outstanding. The most significant differences between satisfactory and good teaching relates to pace of learning, whether questioning is used well and the balance of time between teachers talking and pupils’ involvement in independent learning.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching is good, there is a brisk pace, good questioning and sufficient time for pupils to carry out tasks. This is not the case where teaching is less strong. For example, sometimes questioning only involves a small number of pupils, with little or no attempt to involve a greater number. Good teaching in Year 6 ensured sufficient time for more-able pupils to use their ICT skills well in carrying out challenging mathematical problem-solving tasks working out percentage discounts on certain items. However, in the rest of the school opportunities are sometimes missed in ensuring pupils develop a good understanding of basic numbers and to apply these skills in problem-solving situations. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, activities are very well matched to children’s needs and ensure they make good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Reading is taught well. Regular opportunities exist for pupils to read for pleasure. Pupils in Key Stage 1, and some in Key Stage 2, take part in daily sessions that help them to develop their knowledge of the sounds letters make. These sessions are taught well so pupils are confident working out how unfamiliar words are likely to sound. Marking in books is of a good quality overall, but is stronger in literacy. In the best examples seen teachers give pupils clear guidance on how they can improve their work.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, including those in the resource base, are supported very effectively so they can access the curriculum fully and thrive. Teachers and teaching assistants know the individual needs of pupils exceptionally well and make appropriate adaptations that ensure learning is of a good quality. Teachers take every opportunity to thread the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development into their teaching. One pupil’s writing focussed on achieving personal goals and included the statement, ‘My goal is friendship. I will achieve this by saying kind words and being helpful.’

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils enjoy school; this is demonstrated in their above average attendance. Observations during lessons and around the school confirm that pupils’ behaviour is outstanding and other evidence, including pupils' views, indicates that this is the case. Pupils show very high levels of engagement, courtesy, collaboration, and cooperation in classrooms and around the school. This was particularly noticeable when during the inspection highly inclement weather meant that pupils could not go outside at playtimes yet continued to behave very well. Pupils confirm that there is no bullying of any kind and they know about different types of bullying such as name-calling and racist harassment. They are confident that any poor behaviour is always dealt with effectively, fairly, and promptly; school records reflect this. The ASD Resource Provision Base contains some pupils excluded from other schools who settle exceedingly well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school’s strong ethos of care leads to pupils showing great respect for the feelings and beliefs of others. They have very good attitudes to learning and develop considerate relationships with peers and adults. They enjoy taking on responsibly such as school council members or Eco club members. The school’s council has undertaken its own survey of pupils’ views. All groups of pupils say they feel safe at school. They understand what constitutes unsafe situations and are aware of how to keep themselves and others safe. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage clearly enjoy school and have settled into routines well, playing happily both together and individually, indoors and out.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The great majority of parents and carers feel that behaviour is very good and that their children are looked after well and are safe. This was confirmed by the inspection evidence.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher provides a strong sense of purpose, promotes teamwork and maintains an unrelenting focus meeting the needs of each child, no matter what the need may be. There is good support from the leadership team. Accurate self-evaluation underpins the drive for improvement and staff work together successfully to improve their practice, with a good programme of continuing professional development in place. These have a positive impact on pupils’ all-round development and achievement. Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school, with one parent commenting, ’This is a very caring school which takes account of all individual children and their needs.’

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Leadership and management

The school provides a good and interesting curriculum that promotes pupils’ personal development well, prepares them for the next stage of their education and ensures they understand how to stay safe. Provision for the promotion of pupils’ outstanding spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is a notable strength. For example, a recent visit to the Imperial War Museum allowed pupils to gain a good understanding of what life was like during times of war. The importance of caring for others less fortunate than themselves is high on the school’s agenda.

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Leadership and management

Weaknesses identified at the last inspection have been tackled effectively. Much of the school’s success is down to consistent practices that help staff to provide an overall good quality of teaching. This results from the good leadership and management of teaching and learning. The accuracy of leaders’ monitoring and evaluation and their success in tackling weaknesses and maintaining pupils’ good achievement show there is good capacity for more improvement.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is led well and carries out all its duties effectively. All safeguarding requirements are met and robust systems are in place to ensure pupils are safe. Pupils of all abilities and needs, including those in the resource base, are welcomed to the school and included fully in all aspects of school life. Equality of opportunity is ensured and discrimination in any form is not tolerated.

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 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 ).

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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.

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school's efforts to encourage good attendance.

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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.

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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.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Rectory CE Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0QF

 Thank you for the warm and friendly welcome you gave us when we inspected your school recently. It was great to see you trying your very best, including those pupils in the resource provision. We really enjoyed our visit, especially talking with you. The pupils we spoke with are excellent ambassadors.

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Inspection of Rectory CE Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0QF

The inspectors agree with your school that you receive a good education. Older pupils told us how much they enjoy school and that they do not want to leave. It was a delight to see how much children in the Reception class enjoy the activities they were taking part in and how well you all sing during acts of worship. You behave exceedingly well, not just in lessons but around the school. We agree with you that everyone who works in the school takes very good care of you. You work hard in lessons and are polite. You told us that you feel very safe in school.

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Inspection of Rectory CE Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0QF

There is currently some good teaching in your school and some that is outstanding, but that is not the case in every class. We want your school to do all it can to make all teaching even better so that the progress you make is even better. You can help by making sure you work as hard as you can all the time. We especially want your teachers to make sure you develop your basic numbers skills well and for you to use them in solving mathematical problems a bit more. You can help, for example, by really knowing your number bonds and times tables.

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Inspection of Rectory CE Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0QF

We hope you keep on working hard so you play a big part in trying to make your school even better. Also, please keep up your good attendance record!

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Inspection of Rectory CE Primary School, Wigan, WN4 0QF

Geoffrey Yates 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 .

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