St Paul's Church of England Primary School Brinnington

St Paul's Church of England Primary School Brinnington Brinnington Rise, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 8AA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Consistently good leadership has brought about improvements to key areas of the school’s work since the previous inspection. The school makes a significant difference to the quality of pupils’ lives.  Teaching and learning have been managed well resulting in improvements over time.  Governance of the school is good. This has had a positive impact on the quality of the school’s work, particularly in the early years.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They enjoy school and are keen to learn. Pupils’ behaviour around the school is very good and they feel very safe and well cared for.  Children’s skills are nurtured well in the early years and they make good progress from their starting points.  Teaching quality is consistently good and, at times, is outstanding. Well-planned lessons keep pupils busy and ensure that they learn at a good rate.  Pupils achieve well. Over time, attainment at the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

end of Year 6 has been broadly average. This represents good progress from pupils’ starting points.  Care and support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is strong and these pupils achieve well  The school has worked effectively with the local authority to sustain the quality of leadership during recent changes.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The most able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in mathematics and writing. In these subjects, some of these pupils do not reach the high standards that they could.  Disadvantaged pupils do not attain as well as other pupils in the school or nationally.  Some pupils miss important learning at the beginning of the day because they do not arrive in school on time. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons and part lessons, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher.  Meetings took place with members of staff, groups of pupils and parents, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Also taken into account were the views of 10 parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as questionnaires completed by staff members.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and examined a wide range of documentation that included: national assessment data and the school’s assessments of pupils’ progress; curriculum information; the school’s own view of its work; local authority reports; minutes from governors’ meetings, safeguarding documents and samples of pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Kevin Johnson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Anthony Buckley Additional Inspector Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged of pupils, supported by pupil premium funding, is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  An above-average proportion of pupils are supported by school action.  The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations set for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  A breakfast club is provided by the school during term time.  There is pre-school care available on site. This is not managed by the governing body and receives a separate report.  The headteacher took up her post in September 2014 after working for a year as co-headteacher with her

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in mathematics and writing in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 by:  making sure the most able pupils are sufficiently challenged to reach higher standards, particularly when writing and mathematics are being taught  consistently closing the gap in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils, particularly in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all pupils arrive on time at the start of the school day. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 4 of 10

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a very strong sense of community in the school. Staff members and parents are fully supportive of the school’s leadership and governors make a strong contribution to the life of the school. Together they have created an ethos where pupils can achieve well and good behaviour and good teaching can flourish.  Effective advice and training from the local authority has played an important part in the school’s seamless transfer of leadership. This has helped to ensure that the momentum of improvement has been sustained in important areas of the school’s work. The local authority has no concerns about the ability of current leaders to continue to manage the school well.  Most crucially, good management of teaching and learning has been continuous. Less-effective teaching has been challenged and dealt with. New staff have responded quickly to the school’s expectations. There is a rigorous schedule for checking the effectiveness of teaching and its impact on learning involving

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The leadership and management are good

senior staff and subject leaders. Professional training and support are planned well to link with the school’s development aims and to maintain standards in the classroom. All staff know how they are accountable for pupils’ achievement and their sense of ambition for all pupils is unquestionable.  Middle leaders, in charge of subjects, make a good contribution to pupils’ achievement. They have adapted the new primary school curriculum well and plan interesting learning activities that are enjoyable. A noteworthy example is the science investigation for Year 2 pupils into how they can keep Humpty Dumpty safe. Leaders check pupils’ learning to gain their views about the curriculum and contribute well to leaders’ accurate picture of how well the school provides for its pupils.  Pupils’ personal and academic development is underpinned by the school’s strong Christian ethos that helps to provide them well with the skills and values they need for their lives in modern Britain. Additional

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The leadership and management are good

learning opportunities for pupils via after-school clubs, visits and residential trips allow pupils to nurture their skills and their personal development well, and add to their enjoyment and sense of achievement.  The pupil premium is used to provide additional teaching and resources. Although gaps are beginning to close there is some fluctuation from year to year and leaders recognise that there is still work to be done to make sure disadvantaged pupils reach the same standards as other pupils in the school.  Sports funding is used well to enrich and improve the quality of physical education and well-being. There is a marked improvement in sports participation resulting in an award from a school sports partnership. The quality of lessons benefits from the input of specialist coaches, and teachers from a local high school, who share their skills and expertise with school staff.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance of the school has strengthened since the previous inspection. There is a good range of professional expertise among governors that enables them to challenge and support the school well. Their thoughtful management of school leadership has allowed the headteacher to work alongside her predecessor as co-headteacher prior to her full appointment. This has ensured smooth transition between leaders and has made certain that previous improvements were built upon. Visible improvement in the early years has resulted from their challenge. Relevant training has equipped governors with the skills they need to check and compare the school’s achievements with those of other schools nationally. They have an accurate view of teaching quality in the school and understand how teachers’ performance is linked to salary increases. Governors are acutely aware of the school’s role

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The leadership and management are good

within the community and the need to overcome some significant barriers to learning. Consequently, equality of opportunity for all pupils is a high priority and the use of pupil premium funding is scrutinised closely. Financial management, including the monitoring of the impact of spending the primary sports funding, is efficient.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They behave well in lessons and around the school and on some occasions, such as in assembly, behaviour is exemplary. Pupils enjoy ‘golden time’ on Friday afternoons. They try determinedly not to lose any of it through any faltering behaviour.  Pupils are very polite and well mannered. They treat adults and each other courteously and are mindful of others in the playground. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 5 of 10

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Behaviour

 In lessons, pupils are keen to learn and show positive attitudes by listening well to their teachers and working hard. They enjoy helping each other, and say that they like all of their lessons.  Pupils contribute well to the life of the school. They keep the school tidy and most dress smartly in school uniform. There is an active school council whose members have recently organised improvements to the school library and its selection of books. They take on additional responsibilities willingly, including caring roles as playground friends and raising funds for charities.  Attendance during the previous year was broadly average and has improved in the current school year. Nevertheless, a significant number of pupils do not always arrive in school on time. This means that they miss out on important learning at the beginning of the day.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils are very clear about what may be a risky situation in, or outside of, school and know how to deal with it. Even the youngest pupils know, for example, that they must report anything unusual that they might see on the internet whether in school or at home.  They know the different forms that bullying can take, but are adamant that there is no bullying in school. Pupils respect other’s differences whatever their particular cultural lifestyles or circumstances.  Pupils know that they can rely on adults to help them and confirm that they are very well cared for. Parents are in agreement with their children’s positive views about the care and safety that the school provides, and are very appreciative of the additional care offered through the breakfast club.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching over time is good. Teachers have developed their skills and subject knowledge well. As a result teaching has strengthened since the previous inspection. New appointments have embraced the school’s higher expectations so that teaching is consistently effective in driving pupils’ progress forward.  Plans for pupils’ learning take account of their varying needs and suitable resources are provided to help them learn well. This means that pupils are active and stay interested in their work.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are particularly well provided for. There is lots of small group work for them, and skilful teaching combined with the use of materials that enhance their understanding boosts their progress well.  Over time, however, the most able pupils have not been sufficiently catered for in mathematics and writing in both key stages. Although their potential is currently recognised in most teaching, they have not

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The quality of teaching is good

done as well as they might have in those subjects in the past, and some opportunities to stretch their thinking are still missed.  An exciting ‘firework’ introduction, for example, provided the motivation for pupils to think of new ‘sound words’ to use in poems. They all wrote their words down in the lesson but there was no expectation beyond that for the most able pupils. However, there is an increased focus on basic spelling, punctuation and grammar, and good opportunities for pupils to use these in different forms of writing.  Pupils develop their reading skills effectively. There is a lot of adult support in reading sessions that ensures that books are discussed and pupils are questioned to improve their understanding. Pupils clearly enjoy reading and one pupil expressed her love of reading with the comment, ‘It washes over me like music.’  Pupils learn effectively about number systems and how they work. Teaching gives them the understanding

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The quality of teaching is good

they need in order to learn more and manage problem-solving tasks. This was demonstrated well when Year 4 pupils worked well in groups to construct fraction walls using strips of paper. This led them to a clear understanding of fractions and the lesson provided the guidance they needed to complete their calculations.  Teaching assistants provide valuable support in lessons. They work in harmony with teachers und understand pupils’ particular needs well. They share the checking of pupils’ progress with teachers during lessons and help to keep pupils on track to achieve what they are expected to learn.  Pupils are managed well and the contributions that they make to lessons are valued. This creates a positive atmosphere in lessons and increases pupils’ confidence so they are always willing to ‘have a go’.  There are good systems in school for checking and recording pupils’ progress. These are used to good

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The quality of teaching is good

effect when teachers plan for their pupils. Feedback to pupils through marking and discussion is helpful. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 6 of 10

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress and achieve well. When they enter the Nursery their skills are below those that are typical for children of that age but by the time pupils leave the school they are attaining broadly average standards in reading and writing and just below average in mathematics.  In Year 1 they build well on the good progress they have made in the early years. The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) in the National Phonics Screening Check was much higher in 2014 than in 2013 and equalled the national picture.  Although pupils make good gains from when they start school, the standards that they reach in reading, writing and mathematics are still lower than the national averages at the end of Year 2.  Over time, standards at the end of Year 6, when compared with the national picture, have been broadly average in reading and writing, but below average in mathematics. In terms of points scored, pupils are

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The achievement of pupils is good

just over a term behind the national average in mathematics. Nevertheless, progress measures across Key Stage 2 are much better than average with the school being in the top 20% of schools for Key Stage 2 progress in all three subjects for the past three years. Unvalidated national data for 2014 shows that almost all pupils made at least expected progress, in all subjects, including disadvantaged pupils. A good proportion made more than expected progress in reading and writing but fewer made more than expected progress in mathematics.  School assessments, supported by samples of pupils’ work, show that in Years 3 to 6 pupils are meeting the more challenging targets that have been set for them and that their progress is good.  The school currently makes better provision for the most able pupils than it has done in the past. Staff expectations have been raised as well as targets for pupils and there is a range of additional provision for

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The achievement of pupils is good

the most able groups. Although these pupils generally make good progress from their relative starting points, leaders recognise that the standards reached by the most able pupils in mathematics and writing should be higher.  Pupils achieve well in reading. In Year 2, pupils are very keen to read aloud and talk about their favourite stories and characters. They use their knowledge of phonics confidently to work out unfamiliar words and know the different features of fiction and non-fiction books. By the end of Year 6, pupils read confidently and with good understanding. They are clear about their preferred authors and choose from a wide range. They understand how important it is to read well.  Although disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their relative starting points, they do not reach the same standards in reading, writing and mathematics tests as all pupils nationally, or other pupils in the

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The achievement of pupils is good

school. Unvalidated data indicates that disadvantaged pupils who left the school in 2014 were approximately two terms behind others in the school in mathematics, and about three terms being non- disadvantaged pupils nationally. However, the attainment gap was narrower in reading and writing and they were about a term and half behind non-disadvantaged pupils in the school and were a similar distance behind other pupils nationally.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well. Their good and sometimes rapid progress is the result of skilled support and carefully planned and well-led provision that is tailored to the pupils’ personal needs.

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The early years provision is good

 Generally, when children enter Nursery, very few of them are at a typical stage of development in the key areas of communication, mathematical, social, or physical skills.  Their development is nurtured well in the Nursery class. Children become more confident and curious and learn to share and play with others, but still rely a great deal on adult help.  Children are still below typical levels when they move into Reception. They continue to make good progress and the number of children who reach a good level of development, although below the national proportion, has doubled in the past year. Consequently, children are becoming increasingly well prepared to join Year 1.  Assessments and samples of children’s records show that a higher proportion is on track to reach a good level of development by the end of the current school year.  Leadership and management of early years provision are good. The leader is well supported by skilful and

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The early years provision is good

knowledgeable staff who plan well and assess children’s progress accurately.  Teaching is good. It has improved and has a good impact on the quality of children’s learning. A good range of activities, some led by adults, and some for children to choose themselves, provide good Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 7 of 10

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The early years provision is good

challenges and meets children’s developmental needs well.  Children are well cared for. They are kept safe and they develop good behaviour and relationships with others. There are positive links with parents who contribute regularly to their children’s assessments.  The generous outside area provides good opportunities for children to develop their physical skills alongside other learning. Staff are planning to develop the area to further enhance learning opportunities for the children. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 8 of 10

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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. Inspection report: St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Brinnington, 4–5 November 2014 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 106108 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 448896

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 254 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tropez Martin Headteacher Joanne Harrington Date of previous school inspection 21 April 2010 Telephone number 0161 480 5403 Fax number 0161 480 3426 Email address headteacher@st-pauls.stockport.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 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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