St Paul's CofE Primary School

St. Paul's C.E. (VA) Primary School Hindle Drive, Royton, Oldham, OL2 5LU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 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 make good or better progress from their starting points at all stages throughout the school. Since the previous inspection, pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching have improved.  Good leadership and team work have ensured good improvements since the last inspection. Senior leaders have planned a vision for the school and share ideas about how to reach it.  In a very large majority of lessons, teaching is good or better. Assessment is used effectively to plan improvement. Different ways of teaching are used to promote learning.  This is a very inclusive school that meets pupils’ additional needs well. Staff show high levels of care for pupils.  The behaviour of pupils and their attitudes to learning and each other are often exemplary. They are extremely well cared for and are exceptionally polite and well mannered. There is a very happy atmosphere and the school

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceedingly well.  Pupils feel very safe in school and parents overwhelmingly support this view. Pupils are highly respectful and trusting of the adults in school.  Attendance is well above national averages because pupils really like coming to this school.  Governors, together with leaders, managers and other staff, make a significant contribution to improving the pupils’ education. The governors know the school well and are active in checking the school’s life and work.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching.  Attainment and progress are good but not outstanding because sometimes the learning activities do not move along quickly enough.  Pupils do not always present their work to the highest standards or act on the teachers’ advice for improvement.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not get enough opportunities to share activities across Nursery and Reception.  Although senior leaders and governors check the school’s work well, teachers are not involved as much in their checking, particularly in some subjects and in boys’ writing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 21 lessons or parts of lessons taught by 11 teachers. Two observations were conducted jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing and its improvement plan, documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, minutes of governors’ meetings, internal and external pupil progress data and pupils’ work.  The inspectors held meetings with pupils, staff, three members of the governing body and with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the 26 responses from parents recorded in Parent View, the online questionnaire, together with the replies to a staff survey, letters received from parents and informal conversations with several parents.

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Inspection team

Barbara Flitcroft, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Gary Kirkley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Paul’s is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of girls at the school is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below the national average and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funds provided by the government) is slightly below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is in line with the national average and the proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above the national average.  The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school houses a resource base for pupils with speech and language difficulties and autism.

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Information about this school

The resource base is due to be designated as local authority provision.  Since the last inspection, some teachers have left and some new teachers have joined the school.  The school is a lead school in the Peace Education Project and has achieved the Silver Kitemark for extensive involvement in sport.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so as to raise achievement further by:  providing more opportunities for pupils to do their corrections or act on the advice recommended in teachers’ written comments  encouraging high standards of presentation by all pupils  matching better the pace of the activities to pupils’ abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all leaders and teachers monitor more effectively all aspects of teaching and learning, especially:  the content and presentation of boys’ writing  the balance of activities across the range of ages in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Over time, good teaching helps pupils to achieve well. Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are broadly in line with those that are expected for their age. By the end of Reception, the vast majority of children have developed skills in line with the national average in all areas of learning. However, although children are making relatively good progress, opportunities for children in both years of the Early Years Foundation Stage to share their indoor and outdoor learning are limited. The two bases for the year groups have recently been joined by a corridor to assist the sharing of good practice and activities.  Pupils’ progress through Key Stage 1 is good. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in 2012 rose to slightly above national averages. This good progress continues throughout Key Stage 2.  By the end of Year 6, pupils’ progress in 2012 was in line with the national averages in English

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The achievement of pupils is good

and mathematics from their then low starting points on entry to Key Stage 2. In writing, the proportion of pupils who attained higher than average standards was well above the national average. However, some of the topics that pupils write about do not appeal to boys so they lack pride in their work, rush and present it poorly.  Pupils’ enthusiasm for reading and their reading skills have been improved by the school’s purchase of attractive new reading books.  Leaders, managers and teachers have improved the quality of teaching by introducing successful strategies to raise pupils’ attainment. For example, the colour-coded expectations for lesson outcomes clearly show pupils what they need to do to achieve a higher standard and this motivates their efforts.  Pupils’ achievement in lessons is good. Pupils have good attitudes to their work, are enthusiastic to learn and work well on their own and with others.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Scrutiny of pupils’ work, teachers’ planning and evaluations, lesson observations and hearing pupils read confirm that current pupils, including those in the resource base, are making good progress. Parents are accurate in their positive views that their children are making good progress.  Since the previous inspection, the school has developed robust and rigorous processes to monitor the progress of individuals and groups of pupils. Pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs, and those eligible for pupil premium funding, achieve as well as their peers because work in lessons is well planned and meets their specific needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The vast majority of parents believe that the quality of teaching is good.  In the best lessons, learning takes place at a good rate and timed activities keep pupils focused on their work. This good teaching provides pupils with many opportunities to become actively involved in lessons. Teachers are knowledgeable and teaching is well organised. Lessons are well planned and activities and resources are used that match the needs of individual and groups of pupils well. Teachers skilfully use questioning to challenge pupils and check their understanding. Teaching in the resource base is highly personalised to meet individual needs in a welcoming and caring setting.  In the vast majority of lessons, teachers’ standards are met well. Teachers’ professional development is used to identify and develop best practice in the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. The pace of a few lessons does not reflect the speed of which pupils are capable

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The quality of teaching is good

and so there are missed opportunities for pupils to achieve their best efforts. Pupils, especially boys, are not sufficiently challenged to present their neatest written work.  In Nursery, Reception and across Key Stage 1, phonics (letters and the sounds they make) sessions are organised effectively by ability groups. Tasks are well focused to interest the children and further develop their skills. This enables pupils to work towards, and achieve, age- related expectations.  Pupils say they enjoy their lessons, know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. However, although teachers provide generally good feedback through their marking of pupils’ work, inspectors found little evidence of pupils following up the teachers’ advice or doing corrections.  Teaching assistants make a significant contribution to the learning of pupils including those who are disabled or with special educational needs and those identified by the school for additional

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The quality of teaching is good

support. This enables them to make the same rate of progress as other pupils.  The school has very strong relationships with parents and regularly invites them to school events. For example, parents of Year 1 came to enjoy the class assembly. This was extremely well led, demonstrating the pupils’ self-confidence and presentation skills, and contributed well to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  At present, there is not enough outstanding teaching to lead to outstanding achievement throughout the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are excellent and they are keen to be actively engaged in their lessons. Instances of them becoming distracted or distracting others are rare.  Pupils are polite and well mannered and relationships between pupils and also between pupils and adults are exemplary. Pupils are fully aware of the different forms of bullying. They report that bullying is rare and any instances are quickly resolved. Pupils feel confident to talk to an adult if they have any concerns.  Pupils say they feel very safe in school because the adults look after them well. Year 6 buddies help to look after pupils at playtime. Parents’ responses to the Parent View questionnaire indicate that a vast majority of parents feel that their children are safe at school and all of the parents who responded would recommend the school to other parents.  Safeguarding requirements are met and the school site is secure. Pupils understand how to keep

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

themselves safe. For example, pupils know about internet safety and are working with other schools in their network to produce an e-safety DVD.  Pupils are very well cared for. One parent told inspectors, ‘The website is excellent; parents are well informed about school.’ Parents are also pleased with the promotion of healthy lunchboxes.  Effective monitoring systems help the school to quickly identify and support pupils who display any cause for concern. The school’s support for pupils whose circumstance make them most vulnerable is very effective. The work of the staff in the resource base results in high-quality experiences that pupils enjoy.  Attendance is high. Punctuality is also very good.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, ably supported by the other senior leaders, provides a clear vision, ‘Love to learn and learn to love’, for improving the learning, performance and opportunities for every pupil. An increased focus on higher expectations and greater accountability has put the school on a firm footing and capacity to secure further improvement is good. The local authority provides light touch support for this good school.  Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have successfully focused on ensuring that most teaching is at least good. They have identified rightly that the next step is to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching. Performance management and professional development are used effectively to help staff realise the school’s raised expectations of teaching and learning.  The curriculum meets pupils’ needs well. Older pupils are looking forward to their residential trip. Year 3 went to meet their link school with whom letters and pictures had been exchanged.

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The leadership and management are good

Pupils speak with excitement about the Olympic week which was held last term. The physical education coordinator received an award for an outstanding contribution to physical education and games.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. School collective worship fosters a strong sense of community, celebration of achievement, time for prayer and reflection. In the Peace Education Project, pupils linked with 24 schools and international guests in the grand ceremony. Pupils participate well in the after-school clubs on offer.  The school promotes equality of opportunity in all its work while ensuring that any discrimination is quickly tackled. Pupils’ progress is tracked closely, with particular attention to the performance of different groups. Well-managed use of the pupil premium ensures that all groups achieve well.  The governance of the school:

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors keep themselves very well informed and so effectively challenge and support school leaders. They are actively involved in shaping the direction of the school and have identified areas for improvement. The governors have a good understanding of the allocation of funding for different groups of pupils such as those eligible for the pupil premium and those in the resource base. 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 131848 Local authority Oldham Inspection number 406456

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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 Church of England Voluntary Aided Age range of pupils 3  11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 231 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Father Peter McEvitt Headteacher Joanne Caine Date of previous school inspection 29  30 September 2010 Telephone number 0161 6249019 Fax number 0161 6241858 Email address info@stpauls.oldham.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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