Delph Primary School

Delph Primary School Denshaw Road, Delph, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL3 5HN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  Pupils’ achievement is good. The majority of pupils make good progress including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those in receipt of the pupil premium funding. Rates of progress are improving.  The quality of teaching is good overall. Teaching ensures that pupils learn well and reach above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Reading is taught particularly well and this year pupils have made excellent progress in reading, especially in Key Stage 2.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and developed through an exciting, vibrant and varied curriculum. There is an extensive and regular programme of educational visits to places of interest.  Pupils enjoy school and say that they feel safe and happy. Their attendance is good.  Pupils behave well and are sociable and friendly. They take part in a good range of clubs and activities at lunchtimes and after

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school and enjoy representing the school in sports teams.  The headteacher and senior leaders ensure that teachers and teaching assistants are well trained and make regular checks on pupils’ progress to ensure that all groups of pupils make good progress.  The governing body supports the school very well and governors regularly spend time in school. Governors check on the quality of teaching and look at how well pupils are working towards their end-of-year targets.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching has remained good since the last inspection but is not yet outstanding because in some lessons work is too easy for some pupils and too difficult for others. Although some teaching is outstanding, there is a small proportion which requires improvement.  Pupils’ targets which help them to improve their work are not always used regularly enough to accelerate progress.  Senior leaders collect information on how well pupils are meeting their end-of-year targets and this ensures that pupils make good progress. However, the use of this information to check in detail where teaching could be improved is not yet fully developed.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons and part lessons taught by eight different teachers.  Inspectors met with three groups of Key Stage 2 pupils and listened to a group of Key Stage 1 pupils reading.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body including the Chair, a representative from the local authority, the school’s independent school improvement partner, senior leaders and teachers.  Inspectors took account of the 26 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a letter from a parent.  The school’s work was observed and the inspection team looked at a number of documents, including safeguarding records, the school’s long and medium-term improvement plan, the school’s data for tracking pupils’ progress, reports on the quality of teaching, teachers’ planning and work in pupils’ books.

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Inspection team

Andrée Coleman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Neil Dixon Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  A below-average proportion are eligible for the pupil premium which, in this school, provides additional government funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils identified with special educational needs supported through school action is below average, as is the proportion identified with special educational needs supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  In 2012 the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Before- and after-school care is provided on the school site and is run by an independent

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Information about this school

company. Early Years Registered Provision (Delph Pre-School) is based within the school and managed by the governing body. Both of these provisions are inspected separately by Ofsted and reports are available on the Ofsted website.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further raise standards and increase pupils’ progress in English and mathematics by:  sharing the good practice which already exists in school to ensure that all teaching is consistently good and to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching  ensuring that work is well matched to pupils’ prior knowledge and skills and is neither to easy nor too difficult  using existing targets more regularly and more effectively to help pupils make more rapid progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the use of data about pupils’ progress to enable senior leaders and the governing body to make precise and detailed comparisons about the progress made by pupils in different classes and in different subjects in order to identify where teaching can be improved further.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the school with a level of skills and knowledge that is at least typical for children of that age, with strengths in their personal and social development. From these starting points pupils and groups of pupils including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding make good progress.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage as a result of good teaching and a range of well-planned activities both indoors and outdoors which meet their learning needs.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 make good progress and reach above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. In 2012 pupils’ attainment in mathematics was significantly higher than in most primary schools.  Rates of pupils’ progress in Key Stage 2 are good and are improving. By the time they leave the school pupils have attained above-average standards in English and mathematics. In 2012 pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

attained standards in writing that were significantly higher than for most primary schools.  After a dip in progress in reading last year in Key Stage 2 pupils are making excellent progress as a result of new and improved ways of teaching reading. In the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 sessions to teach pupils the sounds that letters make (phonics) are very effective in helping pupils learn to read.  In 2012 pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding attained standards above those of similar pupils nationally; attainment was about one year ahead of similar pupils nationally. The school has effective systems to track the progress of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding and this group is currently making similarly good progress compared to pupils not in receipt of the funding.  Achievement is not yet outstanding because pupils make good, rather than outstanding, progress overall, although rates of progress are improving, especially in Key Stage 2. Sometimes

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The achievement of pupils is good

in lessons a small number of pupils are not fully stretched because work is not difficult enough to extend their skills and knowledge further. In other lessons work is occasionally too difficult for a few pupils and this limits their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good overall with some examples of outstanding teaching and a small proportion which requires improvement. Where teaching is outstanding, lessons are packed with learning activities for pupils which are exactly at the right level to move them forward in their learning. They are neither too easy nor too difficult and pupils make outstanding progress as a result. This is not the case in all lessons.  In most lessons, and especially where teaching is outstanding, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ presentation of work, concentration and willingness to work hard. Explanations are clear and, as a result, pupils know what is expected of them, work hard and make good progress.  The curriculum is exciting, vibrant and varied. There is an excellent programme of educational visits for all pupils including residential stays. Such visits make an excellent contribution to pupils’

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The quality of teaching is good

learning and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in particular. Strong and very effective links are in place with two other schools so that pupils can meet and learn with other pupils from a different cultural heritage.  Throughout the school teaching assistants are deployed very well and they make a very effective contribution to the good progress made by pupils, especially disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs. Well-planned one-to-one support for some pupils ensures that they can access a good range of activities.  Teaching to help pupils to read is very effective and some outstanding teaching observed in Key Stage 2 is helping pupils to develop a love of literature and an understanding of the kinds of words authors use in books. For example, in one lesson the teacher’s excellent questioning encouraged pupils to use words to describe a character in a book. As a result of this, pupils

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The quality of teaching is good

learned to use unfamiliar words, explain their meaning and justify their choices.  Short-term targets are set for pupils to follow to make progress in their work, but the use of these targets is not consistent across the school. Pupils do not always look at them often enough or refer to them as they complete their work. This makes the targets less effective in some classes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons and around school. Pupils are sociable, friendly and get on well with each other. Behaviour is not yet outstanding because, occasionally, pupils lose interest because the work is too easy or too difficult. Where teaching is outstanding, pupils show very high levels of concentration. In a French lesson observed in Key Stage 2 pupils were very enthusiastic and keen to participate to show how well they could speak French.  Pupils’ attendance rates are higher than for most primary schools and these demonstrate their enjoyment of school. Along with exciting lessons, which pupils say they enjoy, they like participating in the many musical activities, sports and clubs offered by the school. Boys and girls rehearsing in the dance club impressed inspectors with their enthusiasm and dance moves.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that there is very little bullying of any kind. They are

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

confident that when problems arise adults will resolve them quickly. Older pupils are proud of their jobs that they do around school, such as helping at lunchtime or supporting Key Stage 1 pupils at break times.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Visits from the Fire Service, Road Safety Unit and local Police make a good contribution to their knowledge.  Most parents responding to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, said that their child was happy and felt safe in this school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have correctly identified key areas for school development and have taken appropriate action to bring about improvement. An example of this is in the great improvement made in rates of progress in reading as the result of training for staff in order to improve teaching in this subject.  The well-planned and exciting curriculum, coupled with good teaching and well-deployed teaching assistant support, ensures that all pupils have equal opportunities and make good progress regardless of background or ability.  The local authority has given appropriate light-touch support to this school, but reports on data, although accurate, have not always provided sufficient challenge to the school and have contributed to leaders and governors having an overgenerous view of pupils’ achievement, which is good rather than outstanding.  Effective systems are in place to reward teachers where performance is good or better and to

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The leadership and management are good

deal with underperformance. All teachers and the headteacher have targets set for them and there are regular checks to ensure that targets are met. These ensure that the quality of teaching is good.  Pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding are making similarly good progress to pupils not in receipt of the funding. However, the evaluation of the pupil premium spending lacks detail to show which strategies are most effective in supporting the progress of this group of pupils.  Data on pupils’ progress towards their end-of-year targets is collected regularly and shared with governors. However, from this these data it is quite difficult for senior leaders and governors to make clear and direct comparisons regarding rates of progress in subjects and across classes. This limits leaders’ ability to identify precisely where teaching could be improved further.  The governance of the school:  Governance is good. The governing body is highly supportive and governors spend time in

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The leadership and management are good

school and know it well. Information provided by the local authority is used by governors in holding the school to account, but a lack of challenge has led to their having an overgenerous view of pupils’ achievement. Governors understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school and make regular checks on the quality of teaching. Governors ensure that procedures to reward teachers and to tackle underperformance are in place and are effective. They regularly check on how well teachers and the headteacher are meeting their performance targets. The governing body ensures that pupils are kept safe and that staff training in safeguarding is good. As a result, procedures to safeguard pupils meet statutory requirements and are good.

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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 105669 Local authority Oldham Inspection number 413291

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Hopkins Headteacher Alison Leigh Date of previous school inspection 14 September 2009 Telephone number 01457 874400 Fax number 01457 872499 Email address info@delph.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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