St Andrew's CofE Primary School

School report St Andrew's CofE Primary School Vicars Hall Lane, Boothstown, Worsley, Manchester M28 1HS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children enter the school with a range of skills that overall are above what could be expected for their age. They make excellent progress during their time in school and attainment is consistently high by the time they leave Year 6. A high proportion of pupils attain the higher Level 5, or above, in both English and mathematics.  Teachers ensure that lessons are active and very well planned to engage pupils’ interest and so they learn exceptionally well. Lessons move at a relentless pace to maximise learning opportunities. Occasionally, a teacher moves on to the next step before all pupils have fully understood an idea.  At its best, and in most classes, marking is of high quality but this is not yet fully consistent across the school.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, both in lessons and at playtime, and this makes an excellent contribution to their learning. Attendance has been well above average for several years.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very effectively and prepares pupils very well for the future.  The very rigorous management of teachers’ performance by senior leaders, fully supported by the governing body, has been used very effectively to improve the quality of teaching and sustain high standards. Success in meeting stringent targets is reflected in the pay scales.  Governors are a regular presence in the school and provide very well informed challenge and support to senior leaders.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 teachers in 28 lessons, four of which were joint observations with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons.  Discussions were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and scrutinised work in their books.  They looked at the school development plan and school documentation about pupils’ progress, on procedures for safeguarding pupils and the monitoring of staff performance. They also looked at the analysis of funding received through the pupil premium. (The pupil premium is additional funding provided for children in local authority care, those from services families and those known to be eligible for free school meals)  Inspectors took account of the 78 responses by parents to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and also spoke informally to parents before school. They also scrutinised 12 staff

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Inspection team

Shirley Herring, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Susan Davis Additional Inspector Mark Hilton Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average sized primary school and all classes contain a single age group.  Almost all pupils are from a White British background. None of the small number of pupils from a minority ethnic background is at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is low.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is low, as is the proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The headteacher supported a local school as executive headteacher for a term in September 2011.  Building work has been completed and all classes are now on the same site.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  An independent after-school club on the adjacent site is inspected separately and the report is

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of the remaining teaching that is good but not yet outstanding, and so raise pupils’ attainment even further, by:-  ensuring consistency in marking, to match the best practice, particularly in the way that teachers follow up areas identified for improvement with individual pupils  making sure that all pupils understand what is being taught in a lesson before moving on to the next step in learning.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 From an above average starting point for their age, children in the Early Years Foundation Stage build very well on their skills and almost all achieve and many exceed a good level of development for their age by the time they enter Year 1. Children achieve particularly well in developing language and social skills because of the high priority placed on these areas of learning.  This strong progress is maintained in Key Stage 1 and attainment has been significantly above average by the end of Year 2 for several years.  Pupils make rapid progress in Key Stage 2 and attainment at the end of Year 6 has been consistently high for several years. In the 2012 Year 6 national tests, almost all pupils attained the expected level for their age in English and mathematics and approximately two-thirds exceeded this. This is much higher than the proportion of pupils that do so nationally.  Almost all pupils make the expected rate of progress for their age and a much higher than

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

average proportion exceeds this.  The school’s rigorous assessments and the work in pupils’ books indicate that high standards are being maintained in Year 6 this year, with an increasing number on line to attain the exceptionally high Level 6.  The small number of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are identified at an early age. They receive very well-targeted support, tailored to their individual needs, and so they achieve equally well as others.  The very small number of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding, including the very few pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, achieve extremely well from their individual starting points. There is no discernible difference between their attainment and that of others.  Pupils use their significant mathematical skills very well to solve complex problems and their very wide vocabulary enriches their writing.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Consistently high standards and excellent progress indicate that the impact of teaching over time is outstanding.  Pupils respond well to teachers’ high expectations of behaviour and hard work and so they learn exceptionally well.  Teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage provide an extensive range of purposeful, practical activities, indoors and outside, that show an excellent understanding of how young children learn. This was seen when children were learning about prepositions and had to move under, over or through the outdoor equipment to avoid the cunning fox.  Teachers provide excellent opportunities for pupils to explain their ideas to deepen their understanding, whether it be explaining the meaning of personification or explaining different ways to find percentages of amounts. Teachers also use this skilfully to assess how well pupils are learning and to adjust the rest of the lesson if needed. Occasionally, teachers move on too

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

quickly before ensuring pupils have understood what has been taught so far.  Teachers provide a wide variety of interesting opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy, numeracy and communication skills across the curriculum. This was seen in the Year 2 topic books where pupils wrote about their heroes, including the founder of a computer company, Steve Jobs, as well as more traditional heroines such as Grace Darling.  Relevant homework is set and marked regularly to support pupils’ learning in school.  Marking is generally of high quality and teachers give pupils clear advice on how they can improve their work, but a small minority of teachers do not follow up the areas they have identified for improvement with pupils.  Teachers provide extensive opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, for example, working cooperatively with each other to solve a problem or

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils, parents and governors overwhelmingly agree that behaviour is excellent, one group of pupils describing it as `brilliant’.  Pupils are extremely polite, friendly and exceptionally well behaved and this makes a major contribution to the calm and productive atmosphere in lessons and around the school.  A strong feature throughout the school is the way in which pupils work so well together to discuss ideas and solve problems. This was evident even in the nursery when a small group of children, working without an adult, helped one another to steer the robot around ‘Rosie’s Walk.’  They are well aware of different forms of bullying, such as name calling, and are extremely clear that this does not take place at St Andrew’s.  They know how to keep safe and have a strong awareness of e-safety, because it is high on the school’s agenda.  Pupils take a great pride in what they do and the meticulous presentation of work in their books

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

is a joy to see.  They accept responsibilities in school readily, for example, as school councillors, playground buddies and when helping younger children. They are also aware of wider responsibilities, having achieved the Eco Schools Award.  Pupils say how much they enjoy school. They are punctual to lessons and attendance has been consistently high for several years.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Although pupils’ attainment has been well above average for some time, senior leaders are not complacent and the drive for further improvement is relentless. The school makes excellent use of the information from assessments to identify and address any underachievement at an early stage and ensure that all pupils achieve equally well. Consequently, a high proportion of pupils in each year group make progress at a faster rate than expected nationally.  The quality of teaching is monitored rigorously, not only by senior leaders but also by very skilled subject managers. This has helped to improve the quality of teaching and also raised attainment, particularly in ensuring that there is sufficient challenge for pupils to attain beyond the level expected for their age. Teachers are held to account for the progress that pupils make in their class and opportunities for further professional development are identified.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school’s evaluation of its work is accurate and is used highly effectively to plan further improvements. Improvements, since the last inspection, in the role of subject leaders and the sustained high standards indicate the school has an excellent capacity to improve. Leaders have a very clear and precise understanding of how they can improve the school even further. They know that their next steps are to make sure that some variations in the quality of teachers’ marking are addressed.  The school is committed to equality of opportunity and discrimination of any type is not tolerated.  The quality of the school’s leadership is recognised locally in its support for other schools and more widely as it is a Leadership Development School and the headteacher is a Professional Partner with the National College for School Leadership.  The curriculum has developed well to provide a more active approach to learning and to link

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The leadership and management are outstanding

subjects together. This has helped to increase pupils’ enjoyment and raise standards further. The school provides a wide range of additional activities, including sports coaching by professionals and specialist music teaching to enrich the curriculum.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is firmly based on the school’s Christian tradition. There are also planned opportunities to learn about other faiths and cultures, through activities such as Africa Week and India Day, as well as links with a school in Kenya. This is recognised by the school’s accreditation of the International Schools Award.  Parents are very positive about the school and all it has to offer and say they feel very well- informed.  The local authority gives very light touch support to this outstanding school.  The governance of the school:  Governors are well aware of their responsibilities for safeguarding pupils and staff. All the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

recommended systems and procedures are in place, well supported by modern technology . T he governing body has a clear, ambitious long-term plan for the school and is working very closely with staff and parents to achieve this. Governors are a regular presence in the school and have a very clear picture of the quality of teaching and the data related to pupils’ achievement. While they agreed that the headteacher could support a local school experiencing difficulties, they monitored the effect on St Andrew’s very closely. They are aware of how the pupil premium is being used and its effectiveness.

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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 105933 Local authority Salford Inspection number 402993

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 469 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair A Varma Headteacher Mike Platt Date of previous school inspection 13 December 2007 Telephone number 0161 7902113 Fax number 0161 7992975 Email address mike.platt@salford.gov.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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