St Andrew's CofE Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Primary School Mardale Avenue, Orford, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 9HF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Pupils do not achieve consistently well in reading, writing and mathematics, regardless of their different abilities or starting points.  Teaching requires improvement because staffing disruptions have created gaps in the standards pupils and, particularly boys, reach when compared to all pupils nationally.  The most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged and the work presented to them is often too easy or repetitive.  Gaps in pupils’ learning of letters and sounds and in using these to help improve their reading and writing skills are evident.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop and extend their writing skills in all the subjects of the curriculum.  Marking of pupils’ work does not always show them how to improve and teachers do not consistently provide them with enough time to act upon the advice given.  Because so many middle leaders are new to their role in school, their skills in monitoring the quality

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

of teaching and pupils’ learning are not fully developed.

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The school has the following strengths

 Swift action from the acting headteacher and governors in settling staffing issues, improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress means the schools’ capacity to improve further is good.  The school is very welcoming and especially so to those pupils who join during the school year.  Children make a good start to their learning in the Early Years.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They say, and their parents agree, that they feel safe in school.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress from their individual starting points.  The curriculum provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 lessons or parts of lessons. They also observed two lessons jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff, members of the governing body, a group of parents, a representative of the local authority as well as with groups of pupils.  The inspectors listened to pupils in Years 1, 4 and 6 read and spoke informally to pupils during playtimes and lunchtimes.  They took account of the 14 parent responses received at the time of the inspection from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) as well as the views of the parents that inspectors spoke to and those expressed through the school’s own parental survey.  Inspectors took account of the 16 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Clare Henderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average- sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils disadvantaged and, therefore, eligible for the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium funding is additional funding for those pupils eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils or those with special educational needs 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 proportion of pupils joining the school during the school year is above average.  The school is receiving the support of a deputy headteacher from Bewsey Lodge Primary School Warrington from this term onwards.  The acting headteacher took up the post in April 2014.  The school met the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’

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Information about this school

attainment and progress in 2013. However, they did not meet them in 2014.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement and accelerate their progress by ensuring that:  they are provided with more opportunities to develop and apply their phonic skills (understanding of letters and sounds) within their reading and writing activities  the most able pupils are sufficiently challenged and that the work presented to them is not too easy or repetitive  all pupils and, particularly boys, are provided with more opportunities to apply and extend their writing skills in other subjects of the curriculum  the marking of pupils’ work consistently shows them how to improve and teachers provide them with enough time to act upon the advice given.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve the quality of leadership by providing further training for the new middle leaders in checking the quality of teaching and how well pupils learn in all subjects of the curriculum.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership is not good because so many middle leaders are new to their role in school and their skills in checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning are not fully developed.  The acting headteacher and governors have, however, undertaken a comprehensive review of the school’s effectiveness. In a very short time, they have restored staff morale and drawn the staff together as a team committed to improvement.  The seconded deputy headteacher and the special educational needs leader, together with the acting headteacher, are key to the improvements in the quality of pupils’ learning. They have ensured that the information relating to pupils’ progress is now accurate and that those pupils needing extra help are given the right level of support to make up gaps in their learning as quickly as possible.  Clear actions for improving the quality of teaching to make sure that pupils’ achievement becomes

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The leadership and management requires improvement

consistently good across the school are the first priority of the school improvement plan. The local authority and diocese have provided significant levels of support in this work.  Targets set for teachers concentrate on raising pupils’ achievement, and are linked to training and to teachers’ salary progression.  Improvements in the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and the good progress made by the disabled and those with special educational needs, demonstrate the school can improve further.  The curriculum covers all the necessary subjects effectively. It promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well because good opportunities for pupils to extend their artistic, musical and sporting skills are built into learning within the curriculum. However, it does not provide them with enough opportunities to develop and extend their writing skills in all the subjects they study.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school uses the primary school physical education and sport premium well to improve the quality and breadth of physical education and sports. Pupils’ participation in physical education and sport has increased. Participation in the several clubs and activities offering sport is high and pupils were eager to get back to improving their skills after the summer break.  Arrangements for safeguarding pupils and child protection procedures meet statutory requirements.  Parents who spoke with inspectors or completed the on-line parent view survey say they are well - informed and feel that communication, particularly from the pastoral welfare team and headteacher, are outstanding.  The governance of the school:  Governors have worked tirelessly and successfully with senior leaders, the local authority and diocese, since the last inspection to see the school improve further. This has included improving the quality of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

teaching. Through their regular visits to school, they get first-hand experience of how well the pupils are learning. They understand how teachers’ performance is managed, and how any underperformance is tackled. They contribute well to identifying priorities for improvement and to making sure that plans to improve the school are effective. As a result of the training they have received and an increase in the expertise of the governing body through strong appointments, they are proficient in understanding what information on pupils’ performance tells them about how well the school is doing compared to others nationally. This means they are able to hold school leaders to account to improve the school further.  Governors oversee the school’s budget well and understand how extra funding, for example for disadvantaged pupils and school sports funding, is spent, and to what effect. Safeguarding procedures

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The leadership and management requires improvement

meet statutory requirements and members of the governing body carry out regular checks to make sure that pupils are kept safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are caring, respectful, and polite and behave well, whether on the playground, in the corridors or in the dining hall. Those groups of pupils inspectors spoke to in formal meetings, or informally, say that they feel safe and happy in school.  Behaviour observed by the inspectors in lessons was good. This has a strong influence on pupils’ improving achievement. School records show that behaviour is typically good in classes, around the school and over time.  Pupils are proud of their school and welcome the chances they have to take responsibility. Some are members of the eco council who organise the growing of vegetables, which, when ready, are cooked and served to the pupils at lunchtime.  Other pupils are school councillors and welcome the opportunities provided for them to express their views and those of their classmates such as when considering improvements to the playground facilities.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

These roles help them to learn to act responsibly and develop leadership skills and prepare them well for their future lives.  The school has clear expectations of behaviour which most pupils willingly follow. Pupils say that occasionally a few pupils do not listen to adults straight away but, overall, they say behaviour is good. Parents’ views indicate that they are overwhelmingly positive about behaviour and the safety of pupils in the school.  Pupils say bullying and racism are rare in their school and that they feel confident that staff will sort out any concerns that may arise. The school’s records also confirm this. Pupils have a good understanding of different forms of bullying, including internet bullying and that based on prejudice.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say, and their parents agree, that they feel safe and well-supported at school. They know how to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

keep themselves safe from everyday hazards, including e-safety and safety on the roads.  Pupils enjoy school as reflected in their currently above -average attendance and punctuality. They benefit from an exciting range of before and after school clubs including sports and music. These contribute well to their physical development and personal well-being.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because, over time, it has not consistently helped pupils to make good or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  All the teachers display high expectations and commitment to improving the quality of pupils’ learning.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and ensure pupils have a wide range of experiences to strengthen their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For instance, through a pen-pal link with a school in South Africa, they learn about differences in culture and tradition well.  Questioning by the teachers is used well to test and extend pupils’ knowledge and skills. Teachers generally use information about how well pupils have learned to plan future work at the right level for them. This has improved well since the last inspection because checks made on how well pupils are learning are now more rigorous and accurate. However, over time the work provided for the most able

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils has been too easy or repetitive.  Literacy is now taught well. However, because of underachievement in the past, some pupils are still making up lost ground but they now have good targets in place which help them to move on rapidly.  The skilled teaching assistants give good support to pupils who are disabled, have special educational needs or who are disadvantaged. This targeted and nurturing support through small group and individual work enables these pupils to do well in their learning.  Marking systems are of a good quality overall and are often used effectively by teachers. However, this is not fully consistent in all year groups and work in pupils’ books is not always marked in a way that provides them with helpful advice to extend their learning further. Furthermore, pupils and, particularly boys, are not provided with enough opportunities to apply and extend their writing skills in other subjects

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

of the curriculum.  Parents overwhelmingly believe that their children are taught well. 

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because pupils’ progress, from their individual starting points, is not consistently good in reading, writing and mathematics.  Significant staffing turbulence, beyond the control of the current leaders and governors, particularly in 2014, with high levels of staff changes and absences, has slowed the pace of pupils’ learning and consequently not enough pupils have achieved as well as they could. Because of this, the school is not fully promoting equality of opportunity but leaders are working hard to address this.  In 2013 and in this school year, in the Year 2 national tests, standards were below average for all pupils, including the disadvantaged pupils, in reading, writing and mathematics. High levels of staff changes disrupted the pace of pupils’ learning and not enough pupils achieved as well as they could, particularly boys and the most able.  At the end of Year 6, standards began to rise in 2013 and were broadly average in reading and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

mathematics though below average in writing in the national tests. As a result of the disruptions experienced in 2014, standards dipped in the Year 6 tests to below average and below floor standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Too few pupils, particularly boys, gained the higher Level 5.  Currently, all pupils, including the most able in Years 1 to 6, make at least expected progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics and some achieve better than expected. However, there are some missed opportunities for all pupils to consistently make good progress because marking is not used consistently well to provide pupils with the next steps they need to help them achieve the best they can.  Those pupils who arrive during the school year make similar progress to their classmates.  The most able pupils throughout the school do not achieve as well as they could because they are not

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

sufficiently challenged and work is too easy or repetitive particularly in mathematics. Furthermore, pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply and extend their writing skills in other subjects of the curriculum.  In 2013 and 2014, a large majority of pupils did not reach the expected standard in the Year 1 check on their knowledge of phonics (letters and the sounds they make). This is because, with the constant staff changes, there was an inconsistent approach to the teaching of phonics and pupils did not have enough opportunities to use them to help improve their reading and writing skills.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make at least good progress in their learning. This is because of the effective additional support and guidance they are given by teachers and teaching assistants.  The gap in average point scores between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally at the end of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

Key Stage 2 in 2013 was half a term in mathematics and reading and two terms in writing. The gaps between these pupils and others in the school in 2013 was a term in all three subjects. Currently the gaps are closing and for a large proportion there is no gap or indeed the disadvantaged pupils achieve better than other pupils in the school.

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The early years provision is good

 The overall quality of the early years provision is good. Children begin school with skills that are significantly below those typical for their age. They make a good start in the Reception class because of the strong emphasis adults give to developing children’s personal and social skills through exciting play opportunities.  Children are safe and cared for well. They rapidly learn to share and to get along with each other. During the inspection, which was their first week in school, they were observed playing happily with each other using holiday experiences, for example, to act out a trip to Blackpool in the bus they constructed from boxes and wood.  Children’s behaviour and respect for staff and each other is good. They rapidly learn to listen to one another, to share toys and play well together. This extends their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  Children’s number recognition and counting skills are developed well through rhymes and other activities.

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The early years provision is good

They are learning to recognise numbers to five and beyond. However, at times, activities are not sufficiently challenging for the most able children.  Children show good progress in developing confidence and concentration skills as they begin to explore letters and sounds and develop their reading and writing skills. Some children work with sustained concentration for example to make models from junk materials.  Children’s physical skills and their health and well-being are developed well through a broad range of activities. Learning to ride bicycles, share the prams, to follow instructions or develop skills using arm and hand movements, to paint or to play musical instruments contribute well to this development.  Although some children begin Year 1 having achieved a good level of development a significant proportion still need support in Year 1 to reach this level. However, from their low starting points this represents

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The early years provision is good

good progress.  The early years provision is led and managed well. Although new to role, the leader is focussed well on improvements. She uses an accurate understanding of current strengths within the provision and areas for development to drive forward improvements well.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 111301 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 431662

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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 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rachel Brougham Headteacher Wendy McKinnon Date of previous school inspection 25 September 2012 Telephone number 01925 630497 Email address StAndrews_Primary@warrington.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and 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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