Styal Primary School

Styal Primary School Altrincham Road, Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 4JE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  All groups of pupils make good progress from their starting points in all subjects because teaching is good. An increased proportion of pupils are getting the higher levels in all subjects.  Teachers create a good working atmosphere that encourages pupils to learn well. They maximise the use of teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning.  Teachers use a range of questions and resources well to promote pupils’ thinking skills.  Children get a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and achieve well.  Behaviour and attitudes to learning are good. Pupils feel safe and are well looked after by staff.  The governing body is dedicated and has a good overview of the school’s performance. Together with the headteacher’s determination this has led to improvements in teaching and the creation of a school that feels like a family, of which pupils are proud.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding so pupils’ progress is good rather than outstanding.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not freely access learning in the outdoor environment to develop fully their imagination.  At times teachers do not give pupils enough guidance as to how to improve the way they present their work.  Teachers do not always develop pupils’ ability to apply their mathematical skills.  Middle leaders are in the early stages of learning to fulfil their roles, so do not hold others to account about pupils’ performance in their areas.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight parts of lessons and one whole-school assembly. Four lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher.  The inspector listened to pupils read in Years 1, 2 and 6.  Meetings were held with key staff and with four members of the governing body. A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority. Discussions were also held with two groups of pupils.  The inspector looked at a number of documents including: the school’s evaluation of its own performance, pupils’ work, the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, minutes of the governing body meetings and notes of visits. Records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance were also looked at.  The inspector took account of the 33 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and analysed 13 questionnaires returned by staff.

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Inspection team

Sharona Semlali, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Most of the pupils are from White British backgrounds.  Pupils are taught in mixed-age classes.  Significant proportions of pupils leave and join the school at different points throughout the academic year.  Since the previous inspection, the school has a new building and outdoor space for the Early Years Foundation Stage. There have been a few changes to staff in Key Stage 1 and members of the leadership team are new to their role.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is extra funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those from service families and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action is above average. The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school manages its own breakfast club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise teaching to outstanding by ensuring that teachers: - give pupils more opportunities to solve mathematical problems linked to real-life situations - enable children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to freely access learning in the outdoor area - give clear guidance to pupils on how to record accurately in mathematics and improve their handwriting skills so that they can improve the presentation of their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthening the roles of the middle leaders so they are more involved in the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and can help to hold others to account about pupils’ performance in their areas of responsibility.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils start in the Reception class with skills that are typical for their age, and standards are above average by the time they leave at the end of Key Stage 2. Currently, pupils in the different year groups are making good progress in the different subjects.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are happy, settled and enjoy their learning. As a result, they quickly gain confidence enabling them to at least meet their targets, with a few exceeding them.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress from their individual starting points. This is because their needs are identified early and they are given the support needed, which is carefully monitored and regularly tracked.  The school works closely with the families of those pupils who join and leave the school throughout the year. This helps them to make good progress and establish secure friendships with other pupils. This is an example of how the school successfully promotes equality of

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The achievement of pupils is good

opportunity.  The pupil premium is used well to provide extra support in small groups and to subsidise residential visits. This is helping to narrow the achievement gap between the pupils who are entitled to the funding and the others, in all of the different year groups. There are too few eligible pupils in Year 6 to make a comment on their attainment.  Reading is promoted well throughout the different subjects. Those who are at the early stages of reading confidently use the sounds that letters make to read any unfamiliar words. The older pupils can confidently talk about their favourite authors and frequently visit their local library. Pupils enjoy reading for pleasure. In 2013, the proportion of more-able pupils achieving the higher levels at the end of both Key Stages 1 and 2 is above average in reading.  Pupils are given regular opportunities to write for extended periods of time in the ‘Everyone

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The achievement of pupils is good

Writes’ sessions. In 2013, 100% of the pupils made the expected progress and the proportion of pupils making even better progress was greater than that found nationally. The proportion of more-able pupils achieving a Level 5 in writing is similar to that nationally.  Results in the new grammar, punctuation and spelling test for Year 6 pupils were above average.  Since the previous inspection, more opportunities are given to pupils to investigate mathematics in the outdoor area. Although attainment dipped in 2012 it improved in 2013. However, pupils do not yet have enough opportunities to solve problems, using real-life situations, and occasionally there is an over-reliance on worksheets. As a result, pupils’ use of and application of skills in this subject are not fully developed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A significant feature of the teaching is the calm working atmosphere that is created in all of the classes. Pupils work extremely well, including together in pairs, small groups and by themselves. For example, in a mixed Year 5 and Year 6 English lesson, pupils thoroughly enjoyed supporting each other in investigating the different ways that would help them to remember how to spell challenging suffixes in such words as ‘boisterous’ and ‘superstitious’.  Teaching is good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In one lesson, the teaching assistant was fully utilised in helping the children to have a good understanding of subtraction. This was achieved by using a variety of useful teaching resources, such as programs on the interactive whiteboard and singing ‘wheels on the bus’.  Both indoors and outdoors, the learning environments in the Early Years Foundation Stage stimulate children’s imaginations well. However, the children do not yet have free access the

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The quality of teaching is good

outdoor learning area throughout the day to further develop their imaginative play.  Teachers are good at devising their own resources to support pupils’ understanding. This was observed in a mixed Year 1 and Year 2 class, where the teacher had created a sentence-builder pack for the different groups of pupils to help them to understand how to create their own complex sentences.  Teachers use a good range of questions to challenge pupils’ thinking. In a mixed Year 3 and Year 4 lesson, the teacher actively encouraged pupils to create their own questions through drama, by giving them the chance to role play the character of ‘Baboushka,’ while others had to extract information quickly by thinking of different questions to ask her.  It is difficult to read some of the work in some of the pupils’ books because their handwriting is not always legible. Some of the work in the mathematics’ books is not always recorded clearly

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The quality of teaching is good

and accurately. This affects the quality of the presentation of pupils’ work but teachers do not always give pupils enough guidance on how to bring about improvement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is typically good. Pupils are very friendly, polite and courteous. They show respect to each other and to all adults. They play well together at break and lunchtimes. They are very proud of their school and say, ‘we would not change anything about it.’ Most parents, staff and pupils agree with this.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They are keen and eager to learn, and sustain their concentration well in most lessons but occasionally, when lessons do not hold their full interest their minds can wander.  Pupils say that they feel safe. They are confident that all of the adults in the school will support them if they need it.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and know how to keep themselves safe, particularly when using the internet. They say that bullying rarely happens but when it does it is mainly verbal bullying.  Pupils enjoy taking on different responsibilities around the school and are very committed to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

them. The school servers help to serve some of the food at lunch and give out certificates to those who show good manners. The school council has bought new equipment for pupils to use at lunchtimes.  Attendance has improved and is broadly average.  The breakfast club provides pupils with a healthy and settled start to the day.

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The leadership and management are good

 The strong leadership and sheer determination of the headteacher have successfully created an inclusive school, where pupils enjoy learning and achieve well. Positive changes to the learning environment have contributed towards this. Staff morale is good and they fully support the high aspirations set by the leadership team.  The headteacher regularly monitors the quality of teaching, which is continually improving despite the changes in staffing in Key Stage 1. Teachers have good opportunities to see good and better practice within and beyond the school. All teachers have challenging targets that are linked to pupils’ progress and the standards that are expected of them nationally. However, the middle leaders are new to their roles. This means that they are not yet fully involved in checking the quality of teaching and learning, or in holding others to account for pupils’ performance in their areas of responsibility.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum enables pupils to have a good understanding of their local area, such as the history of Quarry Bank Mill, and it extends their experiences beyond the school environment. For example, pupils have spent a night in Delamere Forest, building dens, which helped to develop their team-building skills. A wide range of clubs is offered, which includes baking and woodwork, that helps to widen pupils’ interests and hobbies.  The curriculum effectively promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through the assemblies and displays. Visits include going to different places of worship, such as the local church, a synagogue and a mosque. Pupils have good opportunities to learn about other cultures that are different to theirs. This was achieved by having an ‘Arts Day’.  Clear, focused plans are in place to spend the new sports funding, only a small proportion of which has been spent. This includes providing activities at lunchtimes for those that do not

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The leadership and management are good

normally access sport and exercise beyond the school day. Also, part of the funding will ensure the school will remain part of the Schools Sports Partnership so pupils continue to participate in a wide range of activities and festivals. Teachers will be supported to improve their skills so that the improved focus on sport is sustainable once the funding ceases.  The Parent Council, initiated by the governing body, has been instrumental in the school having a strong, positive working relationship with parents. The council has helped to make many changes in the school, such having a pantomime for the pupils and getting pupils to wear ties in Key Stage 2. Workshops provided for parents are well attended and help to build their confidence in supporting their children at home.  The local authority provides light-touch support for this good school. It has helped leaders to establish good working partnerships with the local cluster of schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding meets statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is made up of very dedicated and committed members who have had the necessary training to help them to carry out their roles effectively. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is because they regularly come in to monitor the school’s work. This is followed up by a detailed report and the school is given challenging questions to think about. They have undertaken relevant training about data on the school’s performance. As a result of this, they have devised their own tracking system and can use this to hold school leaders to account. They have a good overview on the spending and impact of the pupil premium and sports funding. They are fully informed as to how the school manages teachers’ progression of salary and how it is linked to their performance. Governors have completed a skills audit. This has helped them to match their strengths

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The leadership and management are good

effectively to particular roles and committees which work well in helping to drive the school forward.

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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 111009 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 430511

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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 105 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dave Jordan Headteacher Helen Smith Date of previous school inspection 20 June 2012 Telephone number 01625 383253 Fax number - Email address admin@styal.cheshire.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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