Oasis Academy Harpur Mount

Oasis Academy Harpur Mount Alfred Street, Harpurhey, Manchester, M9 5XR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a good school

 Staff have responded positively to the inspirational and principled leadership by the headteacher to bring about rapid, sustainable improvement since the academy opened in January 2013.  Pupils make good progress from starting points which are below those typically found. Progress is improving rapidly as a result of the good teaching pupils receive and the high quality of pastoral support offered.  Teaching is good because the supportive teamwork of staff is excellent. Staff have high expectations and plan learning activities which offer good levels of interest and challenge for pupils to develop their understanding and skills.  Children in the early years get off to a good start due to a high focus on developing strong links with parents.  Opportunities to develop the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are good. The school’s values are high profile and promoted by all staff. School is a very diverse and harmonious

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This is a good school

community.  The school is a caring and nurturing place in which pupils feel safe. They behave well both inside and outside the classroom. Pupils and adults care for and respect each other. Manners are excellent.  Leaders at all levels, including governors, are very ambitious for the school. There is a clear vision for further improvement and a tireless determination to bring this about, especially now the impact of improvements so far can be seen.  Oasis is the perfect name for this extremely hard- working and safe haven in which all pupils are thriving.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some teachers and support staff make spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors in their written feedback to pupils and do not always give the pupils sufficient opportunity to respond to this feedback on how to improve their work.  Occasionally, work for some pupils, especially the more able, does not challenge them to their full potential.  Standards in writing are not as high as those in reading or mathematics.  The quality of the outdoor learning environment for the early years is poor.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 23 lessons or parts of lessons. They also carried out learning walks in the Early Years and in Year 5.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders, other staff, members of the governing body, a group of parents, the regional director of the academy trust as well as with groups of pupils.  The inspectors listened to pupils read in Years 1, 2, 3 and 6 and spoke informally to pupils during break- times.  They took account of the 10 parent responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as the views of the parents that inspectors spoke to during the inspection.  Inspectors took into consideration the responses on the 11 staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Barbara Flitcroft, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Oasis Academy Harpur Mount converted to become an academy on 1 January 2013. It is part of a larger academy trust. When its predecessor school, Harpur Mount Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be satisfactory overall.  The headteacher has recently become an executive head at another local academy in the same chain.  This academy is much larger than the average-sized primary school. Over 140 pupils have joined the school in all year groups since it became an academy. Ninety per cent of the new pupils have English as an additional language. Overall, the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average. A large proportion of the pupils are from Eastern Europe.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is broadly average. The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or who have a

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Information about this school

statement of special educational need is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for support through pupil premium funding is above average. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase opportunities for children in the early years, particularly the Nursery children, to develop their creative and imaginative skills in a high quality, outdoor learning environment.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more pupils make exceptional progress and secure the highest levels of attainment, particularly in writing, by: - carefully matching work to pupils’ needs and abilities, ensuring all are fully challenged - ensuring marking in all subjects is of a consistently high quality across the school and that teachers’ writing demonstrates correct use of grammar, punctuation and spelling - further developing pupils’ knowledge of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and spelling.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has instigated a huge improvement in the ethos of this school. His rigorous drive for improved conditions for learning and pastoral support has brought about outstanding impact in the school, particularly on pupils’ achievement, by creating a culture in which teaching and good behaviour are flourishing.  He has created a team of senior and middle leaders who share his view and effectively support the ambitious drive to rapidly accelerate pupils’ progress, from their low starting points, in preparation for the next stage of their education.  Senior leaders provide carefully planned training for all staff to bring about improvements in teaching, learning and pastoral care. As a result, all aspects of the school have made measurable improvements. Staff appreciate the training opportunities and have enthusiastically joined the quest for improvement.  Middle leaders are clear about their duties and responsibilities. They provide strong support for their

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The leadership and management are good

colleagues and contribute well to the school’s success so far. There is an excellent sense of teamwork.  Effective procedures are in place to check how well the school is doing and to identify areas for improvement. Leaders’ judgements about the school’s performance are fully accurate.  Good leadership ensures that vulnerable pupils in all year groups, such as those with disabilities or special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, are well-supported so they can achieve at least good progress.  Twenty-eight languages are spoken in this school community. Some staff are able to speak some of these languages. This helps the school’s communication with pupils and their families.  Performance management is well executed through effective appraisal. Pay awards are dependent upon teachers’ performance in relation to pupils’ progress.  Staff have worked hard to create a new curriculum which engages and enthuses the pupils with

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The leadership and management are good

interesting topics, some of which build on the global links with a school in Mozambique. British values are promoted well. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good and evident in many lessons, assemblies and also in the positive and respectful way pupils treat each other and the staff at lunchtime and playtime. The curriculum is enhanced by opportunities such as after school clubs, visitors and school trips.  The primary school sports fund provides more sporting opportunities for pupils through better trained staff and sporting expertise such as that delivered by an ex-employee of Manchester City Football Club. Consequently, pupils are more active and more aware of how to live a healthier lifestyle.  The pupil premium funding is being used successfully to provide additional support and intervention to enable pupils to access all areas of the curriculum and to make accelerated progress in order to catch up

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The leadership and management are good

to or exceed where they should be at this stage of their education.  The academy trust has provided effective support and a high level of challenge. It has confidence in the leaders’ ability to continue the improvements.  The building is due to undergo a substantial refurbishment programme, funded by a successful bid to the Department for Education. The whole school community is very excited about the forthcoming building improvements and the benefits for the pupils that they foresee this bringing. The current Edwardian building is in a poor state of repair yet staff have done their utmost to make the best of the facilities they have.  The governance of the school:  Governors share the ambitions of senior leaders to see the school improve further. They work tirelessly and successfully with the staff to achieve this. They visit the school frequently so they get first-hand experience of its life, including experience of the good quality of teaching that the pupils receive.

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The leadership and management are good

Governors understand how teachers’ performance is managed, how exceptional teaching is rewarded and how any underperformance has been effectively tackled. They contribute well to identifying priorities for improvement and to making sure that improvement plans are effective. They know the analysis of the school’s performance data and play an appropriate part in checking that funding is used to the best effect. The academy chain oversees some aspects of governance as part of their structure.  Legal requirements for safeguarding are met.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are polite, respectful and rightly proud of their school. They are keen to apply their new learning and to explore the interesting topics in their newly designed curriculum. Learning behaviour in lessons is good and sometimes excellent. However, occasionally, there is some off-task behaviour by a small minority of pupils during lessons in some classes.  Praise and encouragement successfully motivates pupils. The majority work hard and want to do well; they enthusiastically participate in discussions or offer responses to questions. They are delighted to be awarded ‘championship points’ for excellent behaviour or effort.  The school’s values are regularly shared in assemblies and class activities. They are prominently displayed around the school and also made high profile in teachers’ comments. During the inspection ‘perseverance’ was the focus value. Staff could be heard telling pupils that they were impressed with their perseverance

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

at a particular task.  The vast majority of pupils have very positive attitudes and greatly enjoy school life. They are delightful to talk to. Attendance has increased to 98% which is high.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel safe at school and all of the parents spoken to during the inspection agree, even though a small proportion of the few who contributed to Parent View, disagreed. The community police are regular visitors to school to help pupils understand how to keep themselves safe.  Pupils act responsibly on the playground. Supervision during break-times is good.  There are a few instances of poor behaviour and the majority of these are managed well by staff. The pupils see themselves as part of an improving school. They are aware what to do if they have a concern and confident that staff will listen and assist them. ‘Not everyone does their best,’ they openly told

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

inspectors, ‘but most do.’  The pupils are aware of the different forms of bullying, including derogatory homophobic words. They are also aware that families tend to have one or two parents, with some children having two mummies or two daddies.  Pupils experiencing difficulties sustaining good behaviour throughout the lunchtime are invited to the ‘rainbow room’ where nurturing teaching assistants spend time with them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of good teaching, pupils learn quickly and make rapid progress. This is because lessons are varied and interesting, with activities presented in imaginative ways, for example in Year 6, pupils were using e-tablets to scan QR codes which linked to a website where they could research details about Nelson Mandela. This was in preparation for writing a biography.  A wealth of committed support staff skilfully assist those who need additional help with their learning. Those staff who are new to school can rely on their colleagues to assist and support them in developing their subject knowledge. High quality training enables support staff to assist learning. Some deliver specific programmes of work such as an intensive English language course for those pupils who do not speak English when they join the school. Teamwork is a strength of the school.  Reading skills are particularly well taught because staff have received specific training on best practice.

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The quality of teaching is good

Workshops are hosted for parents and carers so they can assist with learning at home. If parents and carers do not encourage home reading to be done, the school staff quickly identify and try to rectify this.  Staff take every opportunity to reinforce learning; they have good questioning skills. Teachers plan together and common threads in learning can be seen across the two classes in each year group. This allows pupils to collaborate outside lessons and maintains high expectations. Teachers amend their planning in response to pupils’ interests.  Despite the poor conditions of the building, classrooms are stimulating and attractive. Many displays are rich in print, promoting literacy. The teaching of reading is particularly effective and this has brought about the most rapid progress of all.  Work in the majority of pupils’ books is marked regularly. Those teachers demonstrating best practice give

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The quality of teaching is good

their pupils opportunity to address the green comments at the start of the next lesson but this is not always the case. Some books are marked better than others. Some teachers have a better knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation than others. Errors are visible in a minority of teachers’ marking in pupils’ books. There is some missing punctuation in signs around the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children begin school in the early years with skills that are below those typical for their age.  They make good progress across the nursery and reception years, however many new children join the early years at irregular intervals throughout the two years; the majority of these children do not speak English at home. Consequently, an above average proportion of the children are not at typical expectations by the start of Year 1 and the proportion meeting the required standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 is below average.  By the end of Year 2, standards are slightly below average in reading and writing but in line in mathematics. A high proportion of non-English-speaking pupils have joined Key Stage 1 and this has naturally affected attainment.  The rate of progress accelerates in Key Stage 2. A sizeable group of new pupils has recently joined the school across the year groups. In 2014, pupils made outstanding progress in Year 6 to achieve average

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The achievement of pupils is good

standards in mathematics, above average in reading and slightly below average in writing.  Across the school, pupils’ knowledge of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and spelling is weaker than the creative content of their writing.  The more able pupils make good progress and some reach the higher levels of attainment. In lessons, the work set for the more able pupils does not always challenge them to achieve their full potential.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make at least good progress in their learning. This is aided by the effective additional support and guidance given by teachers, teaching assistants and pastoral support assistants.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. In summer 2014, disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 were about three terms behind other pupils in the school in the standards they reached, and behind other pupils nationally in writing and mathematics; their attainment was two terms behind in reading. However, the

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The achievement of pupils is good

gap between the achievements of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school is closing quickly. In some cases, these pupils now achieve better than their classmates, such as in mathematics in the current Year 5.  The increasing numbers of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those learning to speak English as an additional language make progress at a similar pace and sometimes more rapidly than their classmates. This is due to excellent support provided to meet their learning needs.  Overall, there is little difference in the progress made between groups of pupils currently in the school. This clearly demonstrates the school’s commitment to and success in tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities.

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The early years provision is good

 Good progress is made by all groups of children, including those with disabilities or special educational needs and the more able, in the early years. This is because of the strong emphasis adults place on developing the children’s reading, writing and mathematical skills in partnership with parents and carers. Each morning, parents and carers are welcomed into school at the start of the day to help their children with some writing.  Teamwork is a strength across the school and particularly so in the early years, where outdoor provision has to be shared at present between the two nursery and two reception classes in a shabby but safe area. Staff provide the best possible learning opportunities in the current conditions which mainly meet the needs of the children in their care but restrict the development of creative and imaginative skills.  Indoor provision is good and relationships are strong. This contributes well to the children’s physical and

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The early years provision is good

emotional health, safety and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The early years provision has good leadership and is well-managed.

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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 139056 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 447843

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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 Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 424 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr M McGurk Headteacher Mr P Beaumont Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 0161 205 4993 Fax number 0161 205 5221 Email address info@oasisharpurmount.org 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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