St Andrew's CofE Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Primary School Broom Avenue, Levenshulme, Manchester, M192UH

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Almost all pupils, at all stages throughout the school, make good progress from their starting points. Since the previous inspection attainment in English and mathematics has been on an upward trend.  Pupils throughout the school make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  In the large majority of lessons teaching is good and some is outstanding.  Pupils are polite and well mannered. They are keen to learn and behaviour is good.  The school ensures each individual pupil is fully involved in all aspects of school life. For example, pupils supported through the hearing-impaired provision are well integrated into the main school.  Pupils feel safe in school and this view is supported by parents.  Attendance has improved steadily over recent years and is now in line with the national average.  The leaders, managers and governors know the school well and provide effective

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are insufficient opportunities to clearly identify and share best practice to improve the quality of teaching further. As a result, not enough lessons are outstanding and a few require improvement to be good.  Pupils, especially the more able, are not always set specific targets that will provide greater challenge and enable them to make more rapid progress.  Systems and procedures used to monitor, record and evaluate the work of the school are not sufficiently robust to enable governors to provide further challenge and support to school leaders.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 19 lessons taught by 13 teachers, two of which were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team.  The inspectors held meetings with three groups of pupils, staff, two members of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, including documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, minutes of governors’ meetings, the school’s analysis of how well it is doing and improvement plan, internal and external pupil progress data and pupils’ work.  The inspectors took account of the 20 responses from parents recorded in Parent View, together with 86 replies to a parental survey carried out by the school in April 2012, three letters received from parents and two informal conversations with parents.

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Inspection team

Alan Parkinson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Ellwood Additional Inspector Mary Liptrot Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Andrew’s is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average.  The proportions of students supported through school action and school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are above the national average.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum standards for attainment and progress expected by the government.  The school has a resourced provision for 15 hearing-impaired pupils.  Since the previous inspection, the number of pupils has increased. There are now two classes in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching that is outstanding, so as to raise achievement by:  strengthening systems to monitor the quality of teaching and learning by all leaders and enable best practice to be shared across all areas  providing pupils with more specific targets to create greater challenge, especially for the more- able pupils.  Develop the effectiveness of monitoring, recording and evaluating systems and procedures. Share this information with governors to enable them to hold the school to account more robustly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are below those that are expected for their age and well below for some children, especially in language and physical development. Effective planning ensures that activities and tasks are tailored to meet the developing needs of the children. This good provision in all areas of learning enables them to make good progress in both Nursery and Reception classes. By the end of Reception their skills are slightly above that typically expected for their age across all areas of learning.  Good progress continues through Key Stage 1. Although there was a slight decline in attainment in reading and writing in 2012 compared to 2011, most pupils read and write well. There is an improving trend in attainment in reading, writing and mathematics over recent years. Lesson observations, hearing pupils read and scrutiny of work confirm that current pupils are making

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The achievement of pupils is good

good progress.  Pupils continue to make good progress through Key Stage 2. By the end of the Year 6, pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics is well above national averages. Pupils read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction which supports learning across the curriculum. Parents are accurate in their positive views that their child is making good progress.  Pupils work well on their own and with others. They are enthusiastic to learn and as a result achieve well in lessons.  The gaps in learning and progress between different groups of pupils, including those supported by pupil premium, are closing. The very effective support provided by teaching assistants to pupils with a hearing impairment was evident in their lessons. This enabled them to be fully integrated into the lesson and make good progress in line with their peers.  The school has processes in place to monitor the progress of groups and individual pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

However, it does not always make effective use of the data to provide pupils with more specific targets to give greater challenge, especially for the more-able pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils say that they enjoy school and feel that they are taught well. They work well together in groups and are very cooperative with each other and with adults. This promotes very positive attitudes to learning for pupils of all abilities and groupings.  Good teaching provides children with many opportunities to become actively involved in lessons. In the best lessons teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge, teaching is well organised and planned, pupils respond well to effective questioning and they participate fully and are challenged through a variety of activities. As a result, learning takes place at a good rate.  The school adopts some very good practice for meeting individual needs and promoting very effective learning. For example, across Key Stage 1 phonics (letters and the sounds they make) sessions are organised effectively by ability groups with tasks that are very well focused to

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The quality of teaching is good

match individual needs. This enables children to work at and achieve age-related expectations, with some exceeding them.  The school’s accelerated reading scheme, used from Year 2 to Year 6, is very effective and develops pupils’ literacy skills well. Pupils respond well to this strategy and teachers’ monitoring of their progress shows that most make good progress in developing their reading skills.  In most lessons teachers’ standards are being met well. However, the systems and processes used to monitor and improve the quality of teaching and learning further do not contribute fully to teachers’ professional development. This is because leaders do not always identify best practice and provide opportunities to share them across all areas.  Teachers make an effective contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through activities such as school assemblies, singing and greeting pupils in a

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The quality of teaching is good

foreign language.  Pupils’ work is regularly marked with the majority of written comments using praise to encourage. However, it does not always inform pupils how well they are doing compared to national attainment levels and make use of specific targets to ensure the work is hard enough, especially for the more able.  Teaching assistants form very good relationships with teachers and their pupils. They are used very effectively in lessons and make a significant contribution to the learning and progress of lower-ability pupils and those who are disabled or who have special educational needs. As a result, these pupils make good progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of pupils behave well in lessons. Pupils say that behaviour throughout the school is good but could be better. They are aware of the different forms of bullying and say that it is dealt with effectively on the few occasions that it does happen.  Pupils say they feel safe because they are well cared for by teachers and other adults. They understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, Year 4 pupils learn about swimming safety and how to swim.  Pupils understand and value the rewards and sanctions system where their attitudes to work and behaviour can result in gaining or losing `Golden Time’.  Weekly `Celebration of Achievement’ assemblies are valued by the pupils and motivate them to work hard and behave well by celebrating exemplary behaviour, excellent work and achievements outside school.  The pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning are demonstrated by their enthusiastic participation in

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

lessons. They support each other’s learning through very effective collaboration and cooperation. This enables lessons to proceed without interruption.  The responses to the parent questionnaire on the school’s website and to Parent View indicate that a very large majority of parents support the views that pupils are well cared for. They also support pupils’ views when they say they feel safe at school and the school deals effectively with bad behaviour and bullying.  The school does not have a systematic approach to record keeping, particularly in relation to incidents of bullying and behaviour. Class teachers keep their own records of individual incidents involving pupils in their class. However, this does not enable senior leaders and governors to monitor the overall effectiveness of the strategies implemented to improve behaviour further.  Attendance has been improving steadily over the last four years and is in line with the national

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders and governors monitor and evaluate the school’s overall progress and performance. As a result, the school knows its strengths and weaknesses well. Consequently, it sets the right priorities in the school improvement plan to raise standards further. However, systems and procedures are not yet sufficiently rigorous to provide the information so that the governing body can robustly hold the school to account.  The school’s senior leaders and governors are developing the performance management systems to incorporate more fully the teachers’ standards.  The systems and processes used to monitor and improve the quality of teaching and learning further are not always rigorously applied to provide fully accurate information on the quality of teaching over time. They do not sufficiently contribute to teachers’ professional development by identifying best practice and providing opportunities to share them across all areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses data from monitoring the progress of individual pupils to identify any areas of underachievement and implements targeted support when required. This intervention is generally effective.  The curriculum meets pupils’ needs well. It is well planned and provides opportunities for pupils to develop a wide range of skills. Work seen in Year 6 pupils’ books showed that a history topic inspired pupils’ imagination and developed their creative skills. Social skills are developed from the day children join the school and have resulted in a culture of respect throughout the school. The school offers pupils a wide range of extra-curricular activities such as the Year 5 trip to a Halle for Youth Concert for Schools and the Year 6 overnight trip to Rock and River. These are valued by the pupils and contribute positively to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Themes and topics are planned creatively to promote interest and enjoyment in lessons. For

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The leadership and management are good

example, a Year 5 topic based on previous work about space and the planets provided opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy skills. High expectations, which pupils respond to well, enabled them to make good progress. In a Year 3 lesson, pupils were creating their own sandwich. The excellent relationships and the pupils eagerness to contribute ensured that they all made good progress with some making outstanding progress.  The local authority provides light touch support for this good school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is actively involved in shaping the strategic direction of the school and has identified areas for improvement. However, more rigorous monitoring, recording and evaluating systems and procedures would enable the governors to ask questions and provide greater challenge and support to school leaders to drive improvement more rapidly.  Governors ensure that funding for those eligible for the pupil premium is effectively allocated.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors undertake their statutory duties effectively. Safeguarding procedures and policies meet statutory requirements.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 105507 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 402979

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 350 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Carolyn Jess Headteacher Joan Hassall Date of previous school inspection 15 April 2008 Telephone number 0161 4322731 Fax number 0161 4320857 Email address head@st-andrews.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, please

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School details

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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