St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School

St Martin's CofE Primary School St Martin's Road, Fitton Hill, Oldham, Lancashire, OL8 2PY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This is an outstanding school

 Pupils make rapid and sustained progress throughout the school, leaving Year 6 with attainment well above the national average. They are very well prepared for the next stage in their education.  Over the past two years, progress from the age of seven up to Year 6 has been in the top 3% nationally. Results have been consistently strong in Year 6.  Progress in lessons is excellent and where there is a suggestion that a pupil may fall behind, swift and effective action is taken by staff to ensure they continue to make the same progress as others. Therefore all pupils do equally well.  In many lessons teaching was of the highest quality. Most lessons have outstanding elements. Teaching and learning is consistently strong throughout the school and across all subjects.  Teachers have the highest expectation for the pupils. They have excellent subject knowledge and strive to make lessons interesting and challenging. Arrangements in

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This is an outstanding school

lessons for pupils of different abilities are often creative and stimulating.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary at all times. They are eager to learn and work diligently during lessons in order to complete work to a high standard. Older pupils are given trust and help support the younger ones in the playground and around school. They say they feel safe in school and know that adults can always be relied upon for support.  The curriculum has been designed specifically to meet the needs and interests of the pupils. It equips them well through extensive opportunities to find out about the wider world around them. It makes a significant contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The headteacher leads the school with enthusiasm and commitment. She has the vigorous support of all staff and together they have transformed the quality of provision within the school leading to highly effective

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This is an outstanding school

teaching, and rapid and sustained improvements to pupils’ achievement.  The governance at the school is excellent. The school ensures money is spent wisely and that those pupils entitled to additional funding are well provided for.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons. In addition, the inspection team made a number of shorter visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, a member of the governing body, a representative from the local education authority and members of the senior and teaching staff.  There were not enough responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) to take into account in planning the inspection. Seventeen staff questionnaires were also scrutinised.  The inspection team listened to pupils read, spoke to them about their learning and looked at work in their books. They looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own tracking data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and those documents relating to attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Robert Pye, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Shutt Additional Inspector Michael Cooper Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Martin’s C of E is an average-sized primary school, managed by the governing body. The overwhelming majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding allocated for pupils in the care of the local authority or known to be eligible for free school meals or whose family are in the armed forces) is well above average.  The proportion of pupils whose learning needs are supported at a level known as school action is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above average.  The school meets the government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school has a before-school care club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise all teaching to the quality of the best by:  always presenting introductions to the tasks that pupils will do in a way that covers all the essential points as quickly as possible in order to make the most efficient use of time for learning  insisting all pupils’ handwriting is fluent and joined up by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children join the school with skills and abilities that are exceptionally lower than those expected for their age. They initiate their own learning to explore the world around them in a well organised Early Years Foundation Stage setting: one group of children developed the language of shape and structures, using mallets, canes and bed sheets to construct their own shelters on a blustery day.  National assessments in Year 6 are consistently well above the national average. Reading, mathematics and writing standards are high, with no gaps between these subjects. In Year 2, standards have risen consistently over a three-year period and are now similar to that found nationally. Boys do as well as girls throughout the school.  All pupils including those known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding make excellent progress as they move through the school.  Pupils are accustomed to reading widely and often. For instance, just prior to lunch time, midday

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

supervisors and a host of volunteers sit with pupils in the corridors listening to them read. The high importance given to reading ensures that pupils reading and their general communication skills develop exceptionally well. Some Year 6 pupils are currently working at the highest available standards for their age.  By the end of Year 4 many pupils are working at standards more typical of the end of Year 5. They have developed a capacity to manage their own work. In mathematics they check their own work and make their own corrections. By Year 6 they draw on a wealth of calculation skills to solve investigations such as finding the mean, mode and median averages from class spelling test results.  The enriched curriculum offers a rich range of exciting experiences that allows pupils to experiment with and adopt a range of technical and more interesting vocabulary. Pupils become articulate and apply these skills very well in discussion and also to their written work.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The particular needs of the disabled pupils and those who have special education needs are addressed extremely well. The support they receive from very effective teachers and teaching assistants enables them to make outstanding progress from their starting points.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Many of the lessons seen had teaching of the highest quality, many more have outstanding features and no teaching was less than good.  Pupils greatly enjoy learning. They are keen to take part and answer questions to show what they have learnt. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and are clear about what they want to teach. Pupils respect them and appreciate the interesting lessons that teachers prepare, and the clear supportive advice about how to improve their work. Pupils’ books are well kept and reflect the enthusiasm they have for all that they do. Pupils’ handwriting is neat; however, teachers do not always insist that it is joined up as they move through Key Stage 2.  An example of such a lesson was seen in Year 6. Pupils had to write a report following a visit based around a chef. In this lesson they quickly settled to the task working closely with a partner and even being able to ‘phone a friend’ for ideas. Quality questioning by the teacher

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

stretched their learning further and humour was used effectively to ensure relationships in the class were of the highest order. Consequently, pupils were engrossed in their work and made rapid gains in their learning.  Teachers have high aspirations for the pupils and expect them to make the utmost effort. They set pupils of different abilities different tasks, with supervision appropriate to their needs. Pupils are invigorated by opportunities to first overcome difficulties in their work by themselves, before seeking help from the adults. This approach empowers pupils and promotes high achievement.  When explaining to pupils what they are going to do, teachers are usually clear and to the point. Occasionally, they take a little too long, giving too many illustrations of what to do, and very occasionally points are missed.  Teaching assistants are very skilled. They liaise closely with teachers and know the pupils well.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

They are highly effective at giving support. Support for those who find it hard to learn, or who may be falling behind, is very well tuned to the pupils’ needs and is guided by the school’s records on the progress of individuals. When needed, well-focused additional reading and spelling work on the links between letters and the sounds they make is provided for pupils of a wide range of ages.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s self-designed motto ‘SHINE’ is used by all the pupils and accurately reflects the nurturing environment that prepares pupils to meet many of life’s challenges. Pupils thrive on the many opportunities provided to share learning with friends and so they learn to be supportive of each other in lessons and around the school. Their excellent attendance and punctuality reflect their commitment to school life.  Teachers and other adults have high expectations of behaviour and excellent classroom management skills.  Excellent behaviour is reinforced from the outset; pupils from an early age are congratulated by staff for their good manners. Older pupils wear special bands reflecting the trust placed upon them. Pupils know this trust must be earned and nurtured. In lessons and on the playground they are deliberately polite and courteous to others.  Pupils are aware that friendships may change and minor fallouts will occur, but say that pupils

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

are never mean to each other. They understand the different forms that bullying can take and are aware of the safety issues with the use of modern technology. They say that they have no concerns about such things and have complete confidence that staff would sort out any problems that pupils might have about experiences around school or beyond.  The breakfast club provides a warm welcoming start to the day with older pupils playing happily alongside younger ones.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The highly ambitious headteacher has established a quality leadership team that have put in place well formulated plans for development, leading to high standards in pupils’ achievement. The aspirations of the senior leaders are resolutely supported by the whole staff, who feel they have a voice in shaping the school improvement with precise actions that are quickly and successfully put into place.  The school’s leaders have put in place clear systems to improve the quality of teaching. They accurately assess all teachers’ performance and provide appropriate training to ensure they continue to develop their skills. Teachers have targets based on their performance and increases in salaries are based on the achievement of these targets.  The school keeps an accurate track of the progress that individuals are making. The progress of those entitled to benefit from the pupil premium and those on the special needs register is

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The leadership and management are outstanding

checked frequently. Where there is a suggestion that a pupil has fallen behind, appropriate help is arranged, often by trained teaching staff. This has been most effective in raising the progress of all pupils.  Leadership of the curriculum is excellent. The vibrant curriculum has been specifically designed to widen pupils’ horizons, promote their thinking skills and enable them to develop their ability to express their thoughts and feelings. For example, all pupils experience a French week, visiting theatres. During the inspection, all pupils in Year 4 enjoyed learning how to play a brass musical instrument. There is an abundance of additional after-school activities, including an Easter school run by the teachers.  Pupils’ personal development is admirable. Through assemblies and a wealth of other activities, pupils gain a reflective appreciation of the spiritual dimensions of life. Direct links with a school

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The leadership and management are outstanding

in India helps ensure that other cultures and faiths are given due consideration and respect by the pupils.  The local education authority has provided effective support for the school through brokerage of external support and moderation of the pupils’ work and the quality of teaching.  The governance of the school:  The governing body contributes extremely well to the management of the school. By reviewing data about pupils’ progress, governors have a clear overview of how the school is performing. Governors are very well informed about the quality of teaching and hold the headteacher to account for the actions taken to improve the quality of teaching through the professional training of staff. They take advice from outside agencies when setting the headteacher’s targets and check other staff have ambitious targets linked to salary progression. Members of the governing body manage the budget well, especially checking on

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The leadership and management are outstanding

how effectively the pupil premium has been spent in order to raise achievement.

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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 105703 Local authority Oldham Inspection number 400794

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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 aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 259 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Gaunt Headteacher Dianne Wright Date of previous school inspection 24 November 2009 Telephone number 0161 7708303 Fax number 0161 6652484 Email address head@st-martins.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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