Rose Hill Primary School

Rose Hill Primary School Elmfield Drive, Marple, Stockport, SK6 6DW

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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 Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 The quality of teaching is not effective enough to make sure that pupils make good progress. There is not enough concentration on improving pupils’ basic skills in English nor on supporting them to use their skills in mathematics to solve problems.  Weaknesses in the quality of teaching are being tackled by leaders but this work has not yet led to enough teaching being good.  Pupils are not given helpful enough guidance on how to improve their work.  Teaching does not routinely give pupils enough challenge to help them reach their potential, nor provide them with clear explanations about what they are expected to learn. In less well taught lessons, pupils’ behaviour requires some improvement.  The governing body does not probe the school’s performance precisely enough about pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 Leaders are working closely together to improve the school’s effectiveness, now that staff and pupils are housed together in the attractive and spacious new building.  Children do well in the Nursery and Reception classes because teaching is consistently good. The highly stimulating surroundings encourage them to want to learn.  Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. They are polite and very welcoming. When they are clear about what is expected of them, pupils are excited about learning and want to do their best. Their attendance is above average.  Pupils in the resource base and pupils with complex special educational needs make good progress because they are well taught.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, the inspection team made a number of brief visits to lessons and heard pupils reading.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, the headteacher, senior and subject leaders, one representative from the local authority and the Chair of the Governing Body.  Inspectors took account of the 52 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).  They observed the school’s work and scrutinised a number of documents including the school’s improvement plan, data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring files, minutes of the governing body meetings, school improvement reports and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Marie Cordey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Doreen Davenport Additional Inspector Stephen Helm Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much larger than average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.  The proportions of pupils supported at school action and at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are below the national average.  A resource base at the school provides for the needs of a small number of pupils with moderate learning difficulties.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has recently moved into a new building following the amalgamation of three primary schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, so that it is good or better by:  ensuring that pupils’ work is closely matched to their individual abilities and interests, and is challenging enough for them to make good or better progress  making sure that pupils know precisely what is expected from them as well as how to make their work of the best possible quality  improving the quality of marking so that pupils are very clear about what they can do to improve their work and teachers regularly check pupils’ understanding  ensuring that pupils are always interested and involved in their work in order to reduce any distraction and restlessness  teachers and teaching assistants consistently planning together to better support those pupils who find learning more difficult.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment and improve progress, especially for Key Stage 2 pupils, by:  focusing sharply on improving pupils’ skills in spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence and paragraph construction  making sure that older pupils use their skills in mental mathematics to solve problems that are increasingly challenging  ensuring that pupils apply their literacy and numeracy skills across the whole range of subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  providing clearer direction to teachers on how to improve the quality of their teaching  checking on the progress of each pupil in relation to their targets, and acting swiftly on that information to make sure pupils reach their potential  ensuring that governors further challenge the school to investigate exactly how well individual pupils are learning, as well as how well they are taught.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2011 pupils’ standards were above average in English and mathematics and they made expected progress. Results in 2012 dipped and many pupils did not move on fast enough from the good start they made in the Nursery and Reception classes. The school’s deliberate focus on making sure that more-able pupils achieved, however, resulted in improving standards at the higher level.  Currently, most pupils are making expected progress. Pupils with special educational needs and those who sometimes find learning difficult also make expected progress. This improves when teaching assistants plan lessons with the teacher so that they know exactly what is required of them when supporting pupils.  Pupils with more complex needs and those taught in the resource base make good progress because work is closely matched to precisely what each individual requires in order to do well.  Pupils supported through the pupil premium make expected progress. Funds for their support

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

are allocated precisely so that teaching assistants, books and electronic equipment are tailor- made to best support their learning.  A period of disruption caused by building works, including some staff absence, when combining three schools into one, had an impact on pupils’ achievement. This is now a key priority and the school’s actions are beginning to raise pupils’ attainment and accelerate their progress.  Where pupils are taught how to reach their challenging targets, the quality of their learning is good. For example, Year 6 pupils wrote biographies accurately and stylishly because they were expected to research their subject, use the ‘best words’ and only present their best work.  Phonic skills (linking letters and sounds), counting and using numbers are well-taught in the Nursery and Reception classes. Children in the Reception class, for instance, are pleased to be able to read and also succeed in doing this expressively.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 These skills are not consistently developed as pupils move through Years 1 to 6. For example, some pupils do not develop their reading skills well enough to enable them to skim text rapidly when reading for understanding. .  Pupils are beginning to use their skills in mental mathematics to solve problems. This is, however, at an early stage of development, and pupils are not always provided with challenging enough problems.  The majority of parents who responded to the on-line questionnaire consider that their children make good progress. This view is accurate in the Nursery and Reception classes but not in Key Stages 1 and 2 where progress currently requires improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is consistently good in the Nursery and Reception classes but more variable in Years 1 to 6. Work is not always closely matched to the individual abilities and interests of pupils and there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to use the skills they have learned in English and mathematics. This results in pupils making better progress in some classes than in others. There are examples of good teaching which are now being shared with other teachers in order to help all teaching become good or better. However, much teaching requires improvement and does not move pupils on to achieve their best. Pupils become restless and lose interest when their teacher speaks for too long or when instructions for work are not clear enough.  The best teaching leaves pupils wanting to find out more about their subjects but also about the world around them. Year 1 pupils said they ‘couldn’t wait to get going’ in their writing and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

reading because they were so excited by the range of fiction and non-fiction books. They linked letters and sounds to help with their reading and clearly enjoyed reading aloud to each other and to adults.  Some of the best teaching observed was for the pupils taught in the resource base. This was characterised by careful planning which ensured that pupils were set work and received support that ensured their good progress.  Children in the Nursery and Reception classes benefit from learning their letters and numbers in a variety of ways. Whether making words out of letters in the sand-pit or doing sums outdoors adding numbers hidden under tables, children enjoy thinking for themselves and developing a zest for learning.  In the best lessons, pupils mark their own work and that of their classmates because they are very aware of the standards required. However, written feedback from teachers and teaching

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

assistants is inconsistent. It works best when pupils know what they need to do in order to improve their work further. It is less helpful when pupils are not given targets to help them improve or when teachers do not check work to see if pupils have acted on advice for improvement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils like their new school building. They are proud of the information and communication technology (ICT) equipment and the displays of their work around the school. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes settle down quickly and happily because they are made to feel so welcomed.  Parents, pupils and staff appreciate the calm atmosphere around the school despite a small number of concerns. Inspectors found that pupils are courteous and helpful. Behaviour is not as positive when pupils are not motivated in lessons.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that bullying is rare. They know who to turn to if they have any concerns. Even younger pupils were able to talk knowledgeably about internet safety and older pupils become increasingly thoughtful about what are the right and wrong ways to live peacefully together.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is above average.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 After a period of disruption, leaders and teachers are now working together to drive improvement. They have put in place systems to improve teaching and to increase pupils’ rates of progress but these are at an early stage and have yet to make a sustained impact.  Partnerships with the local cluster of schools are strong. These links have been very helpful in the creation of one school as trouble-free as possible. More advanced secondary school level work is provided for older pupils by the local high school and this whets pupils’ appetite for the next stage in their education. Parents are largely supportive and involved in school life. The school is aware of the need to act on some negative perceptions of the school’s effectiveness by a small number of parents.  Strengthened systems to judge the performance of teachers are supported by dedicated funding and are now clearly linked to whether or not pupils make good progress. These are beginning to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

unite the staff in a shared drive to raise pupils’ attainment but are not yet closely focused enough on individual pupils to ensure that all make good progress.  Specialist support from the local authority, for example, in clearly identifying improvement points for pupils in Years 1 to 6. The headteacher is determined that pupils should make at least good progress. She is keenly aware of where the school is going and what to do to make it better. Middle leaders are now very involved in making sure that pupils learn well in their subjects.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported through reflective assemblies, a clear moral purpose and a wide range of cultural trips, sport and music activities. Strong links with the local community have helped to minimise the inconvenience caused by the building works.  A newly designed curriculum is beginning to emphasise pupils’ learning of basic numeracy and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

literacy skills while still providing a broad range of knowledge. At present there is not enough focus on ensuring that pupils use these skills in subjects other than mathematics and English.  The governance of the school:  Governors have been good at supporting the school during the three years it has taken to amalgamate the three schools on to one site. Along with the headteacher they have scrutinised building plans to make sure that the school is a pleasant and inspiring place to work and learn. It is airy, bright and deliberately festooned with both pupils’ work and artists’ paintings and sculptures.  Governors have paid particular attention to safeguarding pupils while building works are taking place. They meet their responsibilities well in ensuring the safety of pupils.  Governors are keen to ensure that pupils do well. They are beginning to have a deeper understanding of what is needed, specifically, to help all pupils achieve to the best of their

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The leadership and management requires improvement

ability. In the past, they have been too slow to question precisely how well teachers ensure that the pupils in their class make progress.  Governors undertake regular training to help them support the school, including the way in which the school uses the budget and in understanding data. Consequently, they have a clearer understanding of pupils’ achievement. Funds are allocated appropriately for pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium.

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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 106076 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 405020

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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 489 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Carol Candler Headteacher Mrs Lynn Bragg Date of previous school inspection 4 October 2010 Telephone number 0161 427 9168 Fax number 0161 427 4174 Email address headteacher@rosehill.stockport.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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