All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

All Saints Catholic Primary School Hazel Grove, Golborne, Warrington, WA3 3LU

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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.  The school’s work to ensure that all pupils stay safe and fully understand dangers and risks is outstanding. Pupils’ behaviour in school is good. They are passionate about learning and their attendance is well above average.  Standards are improving across the school and are the best that they have been for several years. By the time pupils leave school at the end of Year 6, their attainment in reading and mathematics is well above average.  All pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and those entitled to support through the pupil premium, make at least good progress in reading and mathematics.  The teaching of phonics (the link between letters and the sounds they make) is good. There is a consistent approach to developing pupils’ writing skills.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught exceptionally well and soon gain confidence in becoming independent learners.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Expectations of pupils are high and pupils enjoy highly memorable learning experiences.  The new headteacher, supported by her senior leadership team, all staff and governors are determined to make a difference and move the school from good to outstanding.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school, which they say is a place of safety and happiness for their children.  The hard work of the school’s pastoral worker, and all school staff, ensure that there is an exceptionally cohesive relationship between the school, families, the church and the community.  Governors are fully involved in school activities and have ensured that the quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Standards attained in writing across the school are average.  Too few opportunities are available for pupils to practice their writing skills across all subjects.  Pupils’ progress slows sometimes when marking does not help them to improve their work. When marking pupils’ work, some teachers do not always check that their advice is taken on board or that pupils improve their work as a result of it.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, including parts of lessons, as well as the teaching of small groups of pupils and sessions aimed at helping pupils to learn to read using phonics (the link between letters and the sounds they make).  Inspectors listened to pupils read from Years 2, 3, 5, and 6, and held discussions with pupils from across the school. Pupils’ work in books was scrutinised during lessons and separately.  Inspectors considered 33 responses to Parent View, as well as the school’s own surveys of parents’ views, and a meeting with seven parents. Inspectors also took account of 23 questionnaires completed by members of staff.  A telephone conversation took place with a representative from the local authority’s school improvement service  A meeting was held with five governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.  Various school documents were examined. These included external school evaluations, records

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Information about this inspection

of the school’s checks on the quality of teaching, the school’s development plan and review of its own performance , reports to the governing body, data on pupils’ progress, records of pupils’ attendance, behaviour records and safeguarding documentation.

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Inspection team

Lenford White, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Mary Liptrot Additional Inspector John Shutt Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school receives additional funding through the pupil premium for a below average proportion of its pupils. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school has a very small proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups, and very few speak English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Since the previous inspection, there have been a number of appointments to the school. These

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Information about this school

include the headteacher and deputy headteacher, Early Years Foundation Stage manager, pastoral care and inclusion managers and a number of teaching staff. Several governors have been appointed. The school has been completely renovated, and additional classrooms have been built.  The school runs a breakfast club and offers a wide range of clubs during lunchtime and after school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement to provide them with opportunities to make even faster progress by:  ensuring that the best practice in marking is shared across all subjects including science and history  making sure that when marking pupils’ work, teachers always check that their advice is taken on board and that pupils improve their work as a result of it.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise levels of attainment in writing across the school by:  helping pupils to improve the quality and presentation of their written work  allowing pupils as many opportunities as possible to practice their writing skills across all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter Nursery with skills and abilities which are well below those expected for their age. Many find speaking, listening and paying attention especially challenging. However, exceptionally good teaching ensures that children make outstanding progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the time they enter Year 1, the skills and abilities of the majority of children are at least similar to those expected for their age.  Pupils’ attainment in writing at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2013 was not quite as good as in reading or mathematics, nor was their progress. All teachers and teaching assistants have now been trained to take a consistent approach to the teaching of writing and many more opportunities are available for pupils to practise their writing skills. This has helped to ensure that pupils in Year 1 and Year 2, for example, are making at least good progress. Progress in Key Stage 2 is not quite as good. However, pupils are on target to attain at least average

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The achievement of pupils is good

standards by the end of the year.  Pupils start to develop their phonic skills from Nursery onwards and are adept at using these to help them to read new words. Those pupils who read for inspectors could name a variety of authors and identify a wide range of styles. In 2013, pupils made outstanding progress in reading, and continue to do so with attainment at the end of Year 6 being above average.  In 2013, pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium made outstanding progress in reading and mathematics, although their attainment was almost a year behind their classmates. However, this group contained a high number of pupils with special educational needs. The school’s current records show that exceptionally well-targeted small-group teaching has ensured that entitled pupils are on track to achieve at least as well as their classmates.  There are no differences between the performance of boys and girls in any subject. In 2013, any

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The achievement of pupils is good

gaps between boys and girls were minimal. The school’s success in this area lies in teachers’ planning, and in their ability to make the curriculum equally accessible and exciting to all.  Most pupils are making good progress in mathematics. The proportion on target to attain the higher levels in this subject by the end of both Key Stages 1 and 2 is above average.  Pupils with special educational needs and those who are disabled are well cared for and fully involved in classroom activities. The ‘nurture group’, specialist training for teachers and teaching assistants and effective ‘booster sessions’ help to ensure that they make good progress from their often very low starting points.  The school has very few pupils from minority ethnic groups, and few who speak English as an additional language. Of those identified at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2013, all achieved outstandingly well. Currently, these pupils are performing at least as well as their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Challenging activities in class ensure that the most able pupils are constantly stretched. The proportion attaining the higher levels in mathematics is much higher than average, and is improving in writing through, for example, allowing talented writers to manage school ‘blogs’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Senior leaders and governors ensure that teachers and teaching assistants are fully accountable for the performance of all pupils. As a result, teaching has improved since the last inspection. Pupils respond well to the high expectations of their teachers, work hard and enjoy their learning.  Lessons are planned that are interesting and challenging and encourage pupils to develop a love of learning, and a desire to achieve to the best of their ability. Exceptionally good teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants ensures that pupils of all abilities are always well- supported in class and actively engaged in their learning.  Most pupils, especially those in Key Stage 2, can say what they need to do to improve their learning, and most know their learning targets. This is helped by clear displays in all classrooms which provide opportunities for pupils to choose challenges and assess how well they are doing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 This was exemplified in Reception where a very able child chose his own writing task. After completing it, he discussed his work with his teacher and then carefully placed it in a challenge book after carrying out his own assessment of how well he had done.  However, while teachers are mostly vigilant in the marking of pupils’ work, they do not always thoroughly check that their advice is taken on board and that pupils improve their work as a result of it and so pupils are not always learning from their mistakes.  Mathematics is exceptionally well taught across the school. Pupils are encouraged to use the correct language to describe shapes and the characteristics of numbers and insist that they always explain their calculation methods.  Pupils who talked to inspectors about their projects and homework said that they especially enjoyed commenting on the school blog relating to their work on Inca, Mayan and Aztec

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The quality of teaching is good

civilisations. However, the quality of the presentation of their written work in their books does not always match their considerable verbal communication skills and abilities.  The school’s new approach to writing has created an exceptionally rich climate for learning in which pupils are encouraged to extend their language, and to avoid the overuse of commonplace words in favour of more ‘interesting adjectives’. While this is helping pupils to produce well-written and thoughtful pieces of writing in English, opportunities are missed to extend their skills across other subjects such as science and history.  Pupils understand why they need to learn what they study in lessons. Activities in lessons are planned to match the different skills and abilities of pupils. Older pupils are very mature and are encouraged to engage in ethical debates and to develop their arguments. This was the case in a Year 6 English lesson where pupils collectively gathered evidence from their ‘Pig Heart Boy’ class

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The quality of teaching is good

book for their well-delivered points of view about organ donation.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are curious and excited about their learning and enjoy working and playing with their friends. Pupils’ attendance is well above average. The school works exceptionally well with parents to ensure that all classes almost always have a ‘full house’, as was the case during the inspection.  The behaviour of pupils is good. Their behaviour is very well managed and is always at least good in class, around the school and during play. Pupils are calm and orderly during lunchtime and they wear their school uniform with pride.  The overwhelming majority of parents who completed Parent View are of the opinion that behaviour is good. This is confirmed by the school’s own surveys of parents’ views, and teachers’ views. Parents who spoke to inspectors were very complimentary about pupils’ behaviour which they said was always good.  The school’s pastoral worker has an exemplary reputation in the school and community for her

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

work to engage families in school life, and for her success in securing the school’s recent accreditation for the gold standard in Mental Health and Well-being.  Behaviour logs reveal that poor behaviour is rare and that those pupils who find it difficult to always follow the school’s rules are helped to manage their own behaviour.  The breakfast club is well attended and all groups of pupils benefit from a wide range of after- school clubs.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. All pupils are adamant that bullying rarely, if ever, happens. Older pupils have an exceptionally well-developed understanding of prejudice-based bullying. They say that people who are different are just part of the school and that anyone treating them wrongly would ‘end up in reflection for a long time’ and have to really think about what they had done.  Pupils also have an exceptionally good understanding of cyber-bullying. They know how to stay

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

safe while using the internet, their mobile phones and hand-held games. They know to never talk to strangers online and to always talk to parents or their teachers if they are not sure of a website or of what to ‘click on’.  Pupils benefit from a wide range of visitors who help them to have an excellent understanding of dangers and risks. They present assemblies during anti-bullying week and Year 6 take part in cycling proficiency activities.  Pupils talked very excitedly about recent visitors from Her Majesty’s Prison and Greater Manchester Police and said that this helped them to understand all of the reasons why acting lawfully is important.  Visitors help pupils to understand the dangers of playing on railway lines and near canals and of handling fireworks.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is new to post, and her senior leadership team is recently formed. However, swift action has been taken to improve areas of the curriculum which have presented long-term challenges, such as writing, and to ensure that all pupils, irrespective of background, realise their full potential.  The school’s evaluation of its own performance and what it needs to do to further improve is succinct. It identifies precisely what needs to be done in order to move the quality of teaching to outstanding and raise standards of achievement for all pupils.  The school has an exceptionally good relationship with parents, and keeps them fully informed about how well their children are doing. For example, childrens’ achievements in the Early Years Foundation Stage are recorded on computerised tablets and sent to parents who, in turn, record their activities and send them back to the school.  The middle management team is recently formed and a number of school leaders, including the

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The leadership and management are good

special educational needs coordinator, are new to post. However, all have clear responsibilities and are increasingly participating in monitoring the quality of teaching.  Teachers are very appreciative of the training from which they benefit and are eager to share with colleagues what they have learned from their middle leadership and outstanding teacher programmes. School expertise in, for example, assessing the quality of writing, is increasingly shared through various school partnerships.  All aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are strong. The school’s Catholic ethos helps to promote pupils’ spiritual development exceptionally well and contributes towards their kind and caring attitude and their exceptionally good relationships with each other. Pupils in the school choir recently took part in the ‘Young Voices’ singing competition where they performed in front of an audience of 8,000 in the Manchester Evening News Arena. They

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The leadership and management are good

regularly attend theatres and opportunities are available for pupils to play string instruments.  Reading and mathematics are promoted well across the curriculum; however, opportunities in writing are not yet as well planned out.  The school uses its physical education and sports fund well. With the support of governors, it has endorsed its use to fund a wide range of opportunities for pupils to participate in judo, gymnastics, dance and ‘fit kids’ activities, and for staff to develop their coaching skills through working with specialist teachers.  The school benefits from a range of consultancy services which are offered through its consortium of schools. These have recently included a review of teaching and learning. The school leaders appreciate advice from the local authority. For example, the headteacher has recently benefited from a new headteacher induction programme which is run through the local

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The leadership and management are good

authority.  Safeguarding procedures are followed closely and meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors know their school well and are very supportive of the headteacher, senior leaders and all members of staff in their endeavour to move the school from good to outstanding. Governors know that the quality of teaching is good, and that teachers have ‘great ideas’ because they talk to teachers and pupils as part of their class and subject responsibilities, receive regular reports on pupils’ progress and come into school to listen to pupils read.  Governors know that all groups of pupils make good progress through the school and that one-to-one and small-group teaching is helping to ensure that pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium are achieving as well as their classmates.  Governors are well trained and have been on a number of courses linked to school improvement, anti-bullying and health and safety. They support the headteacher in reaching

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The leadership and management are good

her performance management targets and only ever accept her recommendations for teacher and teaching assistant pay increases once sure that their performance is helping to raise standards.

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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 106505 Local authority Wigan Inspection number 439537

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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 253 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs C Atkinson Headteacher Mrs W Hughes Date of previous school inspection 21 June 2006 Telephone number 01942 747655 Fax number 01942 747654 Email address enquiries@admin.golborneallsaints.wigan.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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