Mottram CofE Primary School

Mottram CofE Primary School Warhill, Hyde, Mottram, Cheshire, SK14 6JL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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, parents and staff believe the school provides children with a good education. As one pupil commented, `We are like one big happy family.’  At the start of Reception, children’s development and skills are typical for four-and- five-year-olds. They make good progress across the school and attain above-average standards, particularly in English, by the time they move onto high school. Standards in other subjects such as art, music, physical education (PE) and history are also above average.  Teaching is mostly good. Teachers check on pupils’ learning throughout the lesson and ask questions or adapt their teaching to guide pupils to make progress. Pupils know what they need to do to improve their work.  As one pupil commented, `Most people behave well most of the time, there is just one or two that don’t.’ Staff and pupils agreed that pupils feel safe, are polite, friendly and a credit to the school.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders have taken effective action to improve attendance, the quality of marking and the teaching of mathematics.  Governors have a good understanding of teaching, the performance of the school and of pupils’ achievement. Their challenge has led to improvements in attendance and in teaching.  The curriculum is well-designed and is effective. It is a strength of the school as is the method of assessing pupils’ standards in each subject.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 When groups are taught by some teaching assistants, a few pupils make less progress. This is because teaching is not always engaging and pupils are not always asked questions that make them think or make progress.  In Reception, children do not make as much progress in activities when the teacher is not there.  By the end of Year 1 more pupils should attain the expected level of reading for their age.  Pupils identified there is occasionally name- calling and teasing; good behaviour and language is not always modelled by all adults.  Although teachers who lead subjects check on the quality of teaching and pupils’ work, this needs to be developed further so that they lead improvements in teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 I visited seven lessons to observe teaching with the headteacher. I observed a lesson taught by Tameside Music Service and a PE lesson taught by coaches from Stockport County Football Club. With the headteacher, I made three short visits to phonics lessons (the sounds that letters represent) and observed teaching in every class.  To discuss the impact of leadership and school improvement, I met with senior leaders and looked through a wide range of school documents.  I met with three groups of pupils during the inspection to gather their views about the school, teaching and about behaviour. I also spoke with some pupils as I visited lessons and observed break times. I looked through some pupils’ work.  I took into account the 34 responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire in Parent View. In addition, I looked at the responses to the school’s own surveys of parents’ views.  I met with two members of the governing body and scrutinised some minutes of governor

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Information about this inspection

meetings.  I met with a representative of the local authority who is recently linked with the school. During this inspection, I asked additional questions designed to find out the school’s view of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of those services.  I took into account the views of eight staff who returned an Ofsted questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Allan Torr, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is much smaller than the average-sized primary school and most pupils are White British. Very few pupils leave or arrive at school part way through their education.  Pupil premium is a grant of money from the government to support pupils who are from families who work in the armed forces; those who are in care and looked after by the local authority, and those who are known to be eligible to receive free school meals. The proportion of pupil premium pupils in the school is much lower than the national average.  Compared to the national average few pupils have special educational needs so the proportion determined by the school to be at ‘School Action’ is far fewer than the national average as is the proportion that receive outside teaching and support because they are ‘School Action Plus’. There are no pupils with a disability.  The school has in the last two years met the government’s floor standards (this is the minimum

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Information about this school

standards and progress expected of pupils).  A small number of pupils are educated off-site for an afternoon a week at Dyslexia Action in Wilmslow Manchester.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact that teaching assistants have on pupils’ learning by:  making sure they ask questions that develop pupils’ skills, make pupils think or help them to make progress  making sure their teaching is interesting and engages pupils fully in lessons  improving the way they teach phonics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour further by:  ensuring all adults model high expectations of good behaviour and professionalism  making sure all adults identify and respond effectively to any derogatory language or name- calling.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the checks that subject leaders make on the quality of teaching and pupils’ work by:  focusing on pupils’ learning and progress in lesson observations and when checking pupils’ work  making sure that activities in Reception are always challenging and purposeful and children make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The number of pupils in each year group is small, which means standards can fluctuate significantly from year to year; however, it is clear that from their starting points in Reception to when they leave after Year 6 most pupils make good progress. Children’s achievement in Reception requires improvement.  Pupils learn to read in daily phonics and group reading sessions. By the end of Year 1 in 2013 an average proportion attained the level of reading they should for their age. The teaching assistants leading phonic groups need to improve the impact of the quality of their teaching. By the end of Year 2, pupils’ reading is above average. Pupils make good progress and over half attain the higher Level 5 by the end of Year 6.  The quality of pupils’ writing is improving quickly. By the end of Year 2 they can construct and join sentences confidently in a range of contexts and apply some simple adjectives and adverbs

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The achievement of pupils is good

to make the writing more interesting and lively. They make good progress in the juniors so that by the end of Year 6 approximately half of the class attain the higher Level 5. In a lesson during the inspection for example, pupils selected and used causal connectives effectively to write explanations about why and how people become homeless.  Standards in mathematics have, in the past, not been good enough and this was identified at the previous inspection. Since then, senior leaders have trained staff in how to teach mathematics better and this is showing good impact. By the end of Year 2, for example in 2013, every pupil attained Level 2 which is the level they should be at for their age. Pupils said they liked the challenging work, they liked how mathematics was now taught and their work shows pupils’ progress is improving.  The most able pupils achieve well. In writing, for example, half of the pupils who attained Level

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The achievement of pupils is good

2 at the end of Year 2 went on to gain Level 5.  In the past, pupils who are supported by the pupil premium have not achieved as well as they could, with large gaps in attainment and progress between them and other pupils. The gaps are closing quickly because of targeted teaching and better use of the pupil premium money, so, for example, pupil premium pupils in the current Years 5 and 6 are making rapid progress.  There are not many pupils with special educational needs. This group of pupils achieve well mainly because of small group targeted teaching, particularly in Years 4 and 6 and when taught by teachers rather than the teaching assistants. The off-site provision has a positive impact on a few pupils’ ability to spell, read and their attitudes to learning. .  Pupils’ achievement in most subjects is good. In music, pupils learn to play three musical instruments with confidence and skill. In a brass lesson for example, pupils read musical notes

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The achievement of pupils is good

confidently to play a tune ‘Jungle rock’. In art and design technology over 80% of pupils attain the level expected of their age in each class. In information and communication technology and personal, social, health and economic education almost every pupil attains the expected level for their age and many exceed it.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents and carers and staff believe pupils are taught well and I agreed that across the school learning is good.  Teachers explain the content of the lesson well so that the different groups of pupils know what to do in the lesson and know how to improve on their work. They check on pupils’ learning well in different ways, such as asking searching questions or moving around the room to check pupils’ work. As a result they adapt their teaching: they slow down to go over some points which some pupils do not understand or speed up with another group who grasp the idea quickly.  Pupils’ books show that most make good progress. In writing in particular there are plenty of opportunities to write at length and in different subjects.  Some teaching assistants add value to the lesson and pupils’ learning by asking questions that extend pupils’ knowledge and their understanding. In a few lessons however teaching assistants

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The quality of teaching is good

ask leading or simple questions which do not allow pupils to think or to show their skills. They do not engage the whole group well, which means pupils became bored and do not concentrate on their work.  The impact of teaching on children’s learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception) is good when the teacher works with the children. In a mathematics lesson, pupils learnt to add two numbers together. They chose activities that were linked to the idea of adding: one group played with farm animals and added the number of animals together; another group counted the number of objects and recorded a simple addition using corrects signs. However, in the same lesson a group of children played outside aimlessly. Some rode scooters, some ran around boisterously and some balanced on equipment. None of the activities they chose were challenging; they could already do those skills and so they learnt very little.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In most lessons there is a good level of challenge and pupils are excited and engaged. In one mathematics lesson in Year 5 and 6 for example pupils were so engrossed in solving mathematical problems they did not look up or notice the headteacher and myself walk in.  Teachers’ feedback to pupils and marking have improved since the previous inspection. A new policy is in place and is working. It gives pupils chance to respond to the marking, for example, by correcting spelling or grammar mistakes. Pupils have responded positively to teachers’ feedback.  In most lessons, teachers have the knowledge of the subject they need to help pupils make good progress. Specialist or knowledgeable teachers in PE, music and French have expert knowledge of their subjects and this is used well in their teaching. A few teachers and assistants however use incorrect spoken English such as, ‘You are sat nicely’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Staff in the questionnaire believed behaviour to be good and poor behaviour to be dealt with well. Pupils who spoke to me said that most pupils behave most of the time  Staff, parents and carers and external visitors agree that pupils are friendly, polite, helpful and kind to each other. Lunchtime staff, for example, who spoke with me said, ‘They have good manners here.’ The overwhelming feeling, as you look at the pupils playing happily with a spectacular view behind them over the hills and valleys is that if your child came to this school they would make friends easily, play happily and would behave well.  In most lessons, pupils are engrossed in what they are learning about. They cooperate and work well together regardless of age, gender, or any other difference.  Pupils are respectful to adults. Those that spoke with me said that the behaviour system works and almost all pupils adhere to the school’s rules. Staff have a role to play in this by modelling a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

professional appearance.  The school’s work to make sure pupils feel safe is good. Staff, pupils and parents and carers all agreed that pupils are safe and well looked after.  School staff know pupils and their families well. They know why they are absent from school. They track carefully if anyone is absent, anyone is taking pupils away on holiday in term time, and if they leave the school which school have they moved onto. Pupils’ attendance was average in 2013 but persistent absence was high. As a result of the school’s work, nine out of the 10 pupils with high absence rates have improved their attendance.  The pupils that spoke with me had a very good understanding of how to stay safe on social media sites and when using the internet. They knew, for example, not to give out any details about themselves online and to be suspicious about who they are speaking with in case they are not who they say they are.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils heading over to the church lined up very sensibly and walked across the road sensibly. Those that spoke with me had a good understanding of road safety and talked warmly about classes that showed them how to be safe when riding a bicycle.  The pupils that spoke with me said that bullying did not happen often but there was occasionally some name-calling, mainly because of appearance, and some use of derogatory language such as ‘the gay touch or that’s so gay’. Pupils said this form of name-calling was rare but more common than for example racism.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, staff and governors are ambitious for the school and have high expectations. Every member of staff who completed the questionnaire confirmed the school is well led and managed, they knew what the school was trying to achieve, they felt involved and their training needs were being met. They also agreed that leaders were helping to improve their teaching.  Senior leaders check on the work of teachers and other adults frequently. Lesson observations by the headteacher are accurate, comprehensive and have a good focus on pupils’ progress and learning. Observations do not stand alone: they identify points for each teacher to work on and are followed up in subsequent observations. The performance management of staff is taken seriously by senior leaders and they have taken difficult decisions since the previous inspection to improve teaching.  Most staff and adults are professional and meet the standards for teachers and professionals.

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The leadership and management are good

The checking of pupils’ work, particularly by subject leaders is effective. The checks identify peripheral aspects of teaching such as displays, lesson observations and details in planning but there is not enough focus on pupils’ progress and learning.  The school receives a grant from the government called the sports premium, which is helping to increase pupils’ participation in sport, increase their skills and to improve their health and well- being.  Senior leaders and governors do know the impact the pupil premium grant is having on closing the gap between pupil premium pupils and others in each class.  The headteacher and governors take equality of opportunity very seriously. The policies and procedures ensure there is no discrimination linked to a child’s or adults’ age, gender, disability, sexuality, race, faith and belief or gender identity. One pupil said to me, ’I am a Christian. My friend isn’t but we get on really well and he doesn’t tease me for my beliefs.’ Another pupil

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The leadership and management are good

echoed this, 'I am a Muslim and Islam and Christianity are very similar, both are based on peace, love and respect and we all get on like one big family.’  The curriculum is a strength of the school. It is unusual to find in schools such a clear, simple and effective way of measuring pupils’ attainment in subjects such as art, design and technology, geography, history and music as there is in this school. Pupils receive French lessons, they have two years’ worth of swimming lessons and more if any pupil is not able to swim for at least 25 metres unaided. Specialist music teachers teach lessons that enable pupils to reach above-average standards and appreciate the cultural aspects of music.  All lessons are well-designed to contribute to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In one session, for example, groups of pupils walked across to the church and were led through the Easter story, learning first-hand what it may have been like 2,000 years

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The leadership and management are good

ago in Jerusalem. In another lesson, pupils reflected on the causes and solutions to homelessness.  The local authority, prior to the previous inspection, had significant involvement in the school. As a result it knew the school well, its staff, the achievement of pupils and it put measures into place to improve the quality of the school quickly. After the inspection until the last few weeks the authority had very little involvement with the school. It had little impact on improving provision and did not know in enough detail about the quality of what the school does. In recent weeks the authority has become more involved.  The governance of the school is good:  The governors I spoke with are highly ambitious for the school and have a detailed and thorough overview of the school’s performance, the quality of teaching and the level of pupils’ achievement. This is informed by: the governing body commissioning outside external

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The leadership and management are good

reviews; improved analysis of data about pupils’ achievement; and greater involvement in the school, for example, being paired with classes and to subjects. Governors have acted on an external review of governance conducted by a former-Ofsted divisional manager, and have acted on a skills audit to fill any gaps in governing body knowledge and skills. Governors have become autonomous and less reliant on the headteacher’s reports as the sole provider of information. Although they knew about most aspects of their statutory duties the governors I spoke with did not know the impact of the sports premium.

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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 106237 Local authority Tameside Inspection number 430996

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 138 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair James Halstead Headteacher Tracy Higgins Date of previous school inspection 22 May 2012 Telephone number 01457 763368 Fax number 01457 765237 Email address admin@mottram.tameside.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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