St Clement's CofE Primary School

School report St Clements CE Primary School Abbey Hey Lane, Higher Openshaw, Manchester, M11 1LR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The progress for pupils in reading and writing in Years 3 to 5 is not good enough.  More-able pupils are not consistently challenged to the full in English and too few are working at the higher levels.  Although leaders and managers have raised the quality of teaching, this is not yet good enough in Key Stage 2 to ensure that all pupils make good progress.  The schoool has a number of improvement plans in place but they are not sufficiently coordinated to ensure that leaders and managers work efficiently together, or to maintain a sufficiently rapid pace to improvements, especially in teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 Improvements to provision and teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 mean that these chidlren and pupils make good progress overall and develop a secure platform for their later work in Key Stage 2.  Pupils in Year 6 often make rapid progress.  Behaviour and safety are good. This makes a significant contribution to pupils’ enjoyment of school and to the industrious atmosphere in lessons. Attendance has improved and is above average.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through a range of activities woven throughout the curriculum.  Good, harmonious relationships exist between the diverse range of backgrounds and cultures within the school community.  Senior leaders have good systems for tracking pupils’ progress and monitoring the quality of teaching. As a result, they have accurately identified the areas that require improvement.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 13 lessons, two of which were held jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, middle managers and staff.  Inspectors observed the school's work and looked at a range of evidence, including the school's documents for self-evaluation, safeguarding and improvement planning. They also studied standards in reading, pupils’ workbooks and systems used to monitor pupils' progress.  The 20 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) were considered, alongside the school’s own analysis of a survey sent to parents recently. Inspectors also spoke informally to parents at the start of the school day. Responses to the staff questionnaire were also checked.

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Inspection team

Lynne Read, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Dunne Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is broadly average. A smaller than average proportion are supported at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs.  Around a quarter of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and a few are learning English as an additional language.  Almost a half of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is high compared to the national average.  The governing body provides a daily breakfast club for pupils.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the proportion of good teaching in Years 3 to 5 by: - ensuring that work is carefully planned with the correct amount of challenge or targeted support in order to address the learning issues in English, listed below - ensuring that all staff have a good level of subject knowledge, especially in writing - providing more opportunities for teachers to work alongside the best practitioners in planning and delivering good lessons - increasing the frequency and range of monitoring to ensure that improvements are fully embedded and promoting good progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve progress in English at Key Stage 2 by: - ensuring that the remaining difficulties in pupils’ spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting are addressed swiftly - improving the quality of guided reading sessions so that all groups, especially the more able, are fully challenged - injecting more challenge into writing tasks for those pupils capable of working at the higher levels - providing more opportunities for pupils to write independently across the curriculum - ensuring that writing demonstrated by adults is consistently of the highest quality so that it provides a good model for pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership and management of teaching and the pace of improvement by: - involving all tiers of management, including governors, in translating the detailed evaluations of teaching into a coherent improvement plan - implementing the plan swiftly and setting challenging deadlines - ensuring that all tiers of management, including governors, are fully involved in monitoring progress towards improvement in teaching, and the outcomes, in terms of pupils’ progress and attainment.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter the Nursery with a range of skills that are below those usually seen. They make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage and are close to expected levels of learning by the time they enter Year 1. This marks a good improvement over previous years.  Good improvements in progress throughout Key Stage 1 have resulted in an increased, and average, proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in reading, writing and mathematics by Year 2. Fewer than average pupils, however, attain the higher level. By the end of Year 1, a good number of pupils are becoming confident readers and attain the expected proficiencies in phonics (the sounds letters make).  Progress is uneven across Key Stage 2. It is consistently good in Year 6 but is sometimes slower in the other classes where pupils do not have the challenge or targeted support they need in order to do their best.  Standards in mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 have improved considerably this year and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

are broadly average. Progress from pupils’ starting points at Year 3 in this subject is often good.  Standards in English are below average. Reading is stronger with pupils enjoying a wide range of fiction genres and using non-fiction texts effectively for study purposes. However, too few pupils work at the higher levels. Many junior pupils did not benefit from the good provision now in place at Key Stage 1 and entered Year 3 with gaps in their writing skills. Through additional support, much of the past underachievement has been addressed but too many pupils still experience difficulty with spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting.  Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those who are learning English as an additional language, have good support throughout the school. Their achievement is equal to their classmates. The progress of those who are supported by the pupil premium is

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

carefully tracked, with additional support provided where a need arises. Consequently, their attainment is broadly in line with that of pupils who do not receive the extra funding.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff interact well with children and are especially competent in helping to develop speech and language, as well as social skills. A good range of activities are provided, both inside and out. Staff are currently developing a wider, more exciting range of independent activities to extend early reading and writing skills further.  Across the school, there are good relationships in classes so pupils are motivated to work hard and do their best. Teachers generate interesting class discussions; they encourage and praise pupils and promote positive attitudes to learning.  Good teaching is seen in Key Stage 1 and in Year 6.  Teaching is less effective in Years 3 to 5 because: - some pupils do not receive the targeted support or intervention work to help them overcome difficulties with their writing - classroom support is not targeted sufficiently to challenge the more able, especially in terms

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

of reading and writing - some classroom demonstrations promote good progress in writing but there are occasions when modelled handwriting or that on display is not of the best quality, or contains inaccuracies - pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise their repertoire of writing skills in other l essons.  There is some sharing of best practice in Key Stage 2. Several improvements have been introduced but are not fully embedded. For example, new activities for guided reading proved to be effective but were not fully sustained.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour code is displayed widely around school; sanctions are well understood and described by pupils as ‘fair’. In addition, a wide range of rewards is valued by pupils; they encourage hard work, good conduct and consideration for others. The ‘behaviour star Jersey’ is worn with great pride by the winner.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. They are well- equipped to deal with risk and know what to do if they have a problem. Through anti-bullying projects and lessons on personal development, they have a good understanding of different types of bullying. Pupils assert that teachers and other adults deal swiftly with any worries they report. Incidences of bullying and exclusion have been reduced significantly and the school is now working towards eradicating them completely.  Pupils who have emotional or behavioural difficulties are enabled to cope with the conventions

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

of school life because staff know their pupils well and are alert to any problems that arise. The learning mentor is proactive in working with families and ensuring that barriers to learning are kept to a minimum.  The very large majority of parents agree that the school makes sure pupils are well behaved, well looked after and feel safe.  A wide range of opportunities exist for pupils to experience responsibility. For example, school councillors contribute to the process of decision making and prefects help with the day-to-day running of the school.  The work of the attendance officer has been the major factor in reducing absence and the value of regular attendance is well recognised by pupils.  The breakfast club provides a good, social experience to start the day and is helping to improve punctuality.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, well supported by the deputy headteacher, provides clear direction for the school and is instrumental in maintaining the supportive and caring ethos. Staff, managers and governors work diligently to provide the best for pupils and are keen to move the school forward.  A detailed tracking system ensures that senior leaders have a clear overview of pupils’ progress year on year. Very detailed and accurate evaluations of teaching highlight strengths and weaknesses in performance. All this information is used to set improvement targets that are agreed by managers and governors. However, three separate action plans are produced by senior and middle managers and not cross-referenced. This results in some duplication of work and makes it confusing and very difficult for governors and managers to monitor and evaluate improvements. Consequently, the pace of change has been slower than intended.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 On the positive side, the leaders have been successful in improving progress from the start of the Nursery class to the end of Key Stage 1, in progress in mathematics at Key Stage 2 and in improving attendance. There is sound capacity for this school to improve further.  Professional development opportunities are based accurately on the identified needs of staff and make good use of expert support and advice provided on a regular basis by the local authority. This has helped to improve teaching in some areas, for example, in mathematics. Opportunities for teachers to share their skills and expertise have been successful in spreading elements of good practice but classroom monitoring has not been rigorous enough to ensure that improvements are sustained.  The curriculum is broad and includes a balance in developing pupils’ academic, practical, creative and personal skills. Pupils experience an interesting selection of activities out of school

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The leadership and management requires improvement

time, including sporting and competitive opportunities. Good links with the church help to promote their personal development well.  This school is especially successful in reaching out to parents and in encouraging them to be partners in the education process. The work of the learning mentor and partnerships with the children’s centre help to provide valuable support for families. There is good attendance at the numerous courses where parents learn how to support their children at home, for example, in reading.  The governance of the school: - the governing body is enthusiastic and ambitious. Members are thorough in ensuring that statutory duties are fulfilled, especially in terms of safeguarding, health and safety and child protection. They are pro-active in seeking and analysing the views of stakeholders - members have an extensive range of expertise and experience to bring to management and have undergone relevant training to support their governor roles

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The leadership and management requires improvement

- they monitor and evaluate performance and provision but have found the process difficult because of the different evaluations and improvement plans in place. They are keen to develop a more rationalised, collaborative approach.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 105501 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 404995

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rev Dr Clare McBeath Headteacher Mrs Janet FitzGerald Date of previous school inspection 10 November 2010 Telephone number 0161 301 3268 Fax number 0161 371 0267 Email address head@st-clements.manchester.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think 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

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School details

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. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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School details

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

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

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