Baguley Hall Primary School

Baguley Hall Primary School Ackworth Drive, Manchester, Lancashire, M23 1LB

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Adults and pupils are extremely welcoming and inclusive, especially towards pupils who join during the school year.  Children make outstanding progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Between Years 1 and 6, pupils achieve well. They make good progress overall in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils with special educational needs make outstanding progress in their learning.  Teaching is good, with some outstanding practice evident. Lessons are lively and exciting and provide well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they say that they feel safe in school and their parents agree with this unanimously.  Strong leadership, along with effective support from the governing body has improved the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement significantly in the last two years.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always provide work that challenges pupils’ thinking or is focused on providing pupils with new learning.  Not all teachers insist that pupils present their work to the highest standard.  Governors do not yet link closely enough with subject leaders in order to find out whether pupils are achieving as well as they can in all subjects.  There is not enough time or resources available for pupils to practise their information, communication and technology (ICT) skills within other subjects of the curriculum.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 21 lessons, two of which were joint observations with the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body, groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors checked school documents relating to safeguarding, looked at pupils’ work in their books, heard some pupils read and reviewed the ways in which the school checks on pupils’ learning.  The inspectors took account of the 10 parental responses received at the time of the inspection from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own parental survey.

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Inspection team

Clare Henderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Lawrence Additional Inspector Terry Bond Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school.  It provides for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage unit in the Nursery and Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above average. (This is extra government funding to support children of armed forces families, pupils who are looked after by the local authority, and pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals).  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and for whom English is an additional language has increased and is currently above average.  The proportion that joins the school other than at the usual times is above average.  The school is federated with a primary and secondary school within the neighbourhood.

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Information about this school

 A breakfast-club is managed by the governing body.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so that achievement is outstanding by ensuring that:  teachers provide work that always challenges pupils’ thinking and is focused on providing pupils with new learning in all lessons  all teachers insist that pupils’ work is presented to the highest quality  pupils have enough time and resources to use and put into practice their ICT skills when they complete work in other curriculum subjects.  Strengthen the links between subject leaders and governors so that the governors are clear that pupils are achieving as well as they can in all curriculum subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start school with skills which are below those typically expected for their age and particularly low in their social, speaking and listening skills. They do very well in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of the high quality of teaching they receive.  Between Years 1 and 6, pupils make good progress and so by the time they leave in Year 6, they reach above average levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. These standards are higher than those reported at the last inspection.  Inspection evidence also shows that this trend of improvement is set to continue. The work in pupils’ books currently in Year 2 for example, shows that pupils’ attainment is average in reading, writing and mathematics and higher than that of Year 2 pupils last year.  The strong focus given to regular reading sessions throughout the school and daily knowledge of letters and sounds to help them read unfamiliar words means pupils’ reading skills are now

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The achievement of pupils is good

average by the end of Year 2.  Pupils make good rather than outstanding progress in their time in the school because teachers do not always provide enough challenge or focus on providing pupils with new learning in all lessons.  Pupils clearly enjoy their lessons. For example, pupils in a mixed-aged Years 5 and 6 class said how much they learned from creating a parachute suitable to land on Mars. Within this topic, pupils were given good opportunities to use and put into practice their ICT skills. However, these opportunities are not fully utilised in all classes.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium, those who speak English as an additional language and those who join the school during the school year do as well as other pupils because of the good support they receive in lessons and the equal opportunities and encouragement they are given to achieve well. Records show that the school is narrowing the gap in attainment between pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are not.  Those pupils with special educational needs make outstanding progress because staff in school support really well and specialist external support is provided and carefully tailored to meet their individual needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good and at times outstanding teaching contributes well to pupils’ good achievement. This view is supported unanimously by parents who completed the parents’ and the school’s own survey and by pupils who say ‘learning is fun’.  Where teaching is outstanding teachers make sure they get the most out of pupils by providing them with challenging activities and new learning. An example of this was seen in a religious education lesson in a Year 2 class when pupils studied about the traditions of Shrove Tuesday. They confidently collated the new information they had learnt and wrote up their findings within a group, commenting positively on each other’s thoughts and ideas.  Teachers make a strong contribution to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This was observed by inspectors for instance, as pupils enthusiastically and skilfully played the steel pans during a lunchtime session. Such experiences and skills give them

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The quality of teaching is good

confidence and prepare them well for their future lives.  Marking and regular homework are used well to help pupils to improve their work. Time is provided for pupils to review their own work and to follow up on teachers’ comments.  The teaching of the pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, those who speak English as an additional language and those who join during the school year is managed well, with good use of specialist support staff. This ensures that these pupils achieve well.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is outstanding because all adults, and particularly the highly skilled teaching assistants, ensure that pupils receive appropriate help specific to their needs. As a result, all pupils have equal opportunities and potential discrimination is tackled well.  In all the lessons observed, teachers set high expectations of behaviour which most pupils

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The quality of teaching is good

embrace. However, expectations that work in pupils’ books will be presented to the highest quality are not applied consistently.  Occasionally, teachers spend too long going over with pupils work they already know and understand. Furthermore, in some classes, not enough time is provided for pupils to use and put into practice their ICT skills within other subjects of the curriculum.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school is calm and harmonious and pupils fully understand the importance of good behaviour. Consequently, their behaviour and attitudes to learning are typically good both in classrooms and around the school. Parents fully agree with this view.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school contributes well to their good achievement. In class, they share ideas, help each other with suggestions, and generally work well on collaborative tasks, listening to each other’s ideas and contributing their own thoughtfully.  Pupils feel involved in school life and enthusiastically welcome the responsibilities given to them, such as being school councillors or anti-bullying leaders. Such roles enable them to learn to act responsibly and to support each other well.  Pupils are well-mannered and very happy to conform to the school rules because they themselves have helped to put them in place and consequently played a part in improving their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school. Systems for recording and for following up the rare incidents of misbehaviour are consistent and secure.  Pupils feel safe in school and can explain why. They know how to contribute to their own and their classmates’ safety through their sensible behaviour. The older pupils have a clear sense of responsibility and see it as part of their role to keep an eye out for younger pupils and those new to the school, to help them if they are hurt or distressed.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including, for example, racism and can explain clearly the difference between bullying and other poor behaviour. They say that incidents are rare, and are confident that adults quickly confront these as they arise.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school and opportunities to attend the enjoyable breakfast-club is reflected in much-improved attendance, which has continued to rise and is now broadly average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children share equipment well and happily take turns. Strong links with parents and opportunities such as `stay and play’ sessions strengthen these partnerships and children’s confidence and enjoyment of school very well.

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The leadership and management are good

 Excellent leadership by the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the leader of the Early Years department and the special educational needs leader are at the heart of school improvements. This, accompanied by a close partnership with the local authority, has ensured that the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement have improved rapidly since the last inspection.  There are good systems in place to check the quality of teaching, and to cross-check this against how well pupils learn in each class. Leaders have used the resulting information to help teachers to improve their practice, and to set targets to measure their success in this.  Responsibilities for each subject of the curriculum are shared well. However, the new strategy of governors and subject leaders to link up and work together on checking pupils’ achievements is not yet having a full impact on the quality of teaching and learning.  An exciting range of activities within the curriculum makes a good contribution to pupils’ good

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The leadership and management are good

spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Links with a school in Zambia, visits to a dance festival in Cyprus, and a wide variety of clubs, extend pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding and enjoyment of school well. However, there is not enough time or resources available for pupils to practise their ICT skills within other subjects of the curriculum.  Parents say they are well-informed about the work of the school through regular opportunities to speak to staff about any concerns they may have. This is particularly effective in helping children to settle happily when they start school.  Strong partnerships which exist within the federation provide good opportunities for staff to share their expertise and learn from each other.  The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement through their regular visits to school. They ensure that performance management is used well

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The leadership and management are good

to improve teaching and to reward good performance. They undertake a good range of training and support the staff in ensuring that procedures for safeguarding pupils meet requirements. They check that the school spends funds wisely every term, and ensure that the pupil premium money has helped to continue to raise the attainment of the eligible pupils.

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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 105485 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 404994

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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 366 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Gaunt Headteacher John McKie Date of previous school inspection 4 July 2011 Telephone number 0161 9982090 Fax number 0161 9454327 Email address head@baguleyhall.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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