St John Bosco RC Primary School

School report St John Bosco RC Primary School

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Hall Moss Road, Blackley, Manchester, M9 7AT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 Standards in school are rapidly improving because of the meticulous way in which leaders check the progress pupils make and provide extra support.  The headteacher provides excellent leadership and direction. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and middle leaders. Collectively, they are having a significant impact on standards and teaching and the school has the capacity to continue to flourish.  Achievement across the school is good and much improved since the previous inspection.  Attainment at the end of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is higher than it has been in recent years and is now in line with the national average.  Progress in reading is outstanding. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels and making better-than-expected progress is well above the national average.  The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good.  The progress of disadvantaged pupils is good. The

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

gap between the attainment of these pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils nationally is narrowing.  Teaching over time is consistently good. Marking clearly informs pupils how well they have done and how they can improve.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is consistently good and the youngest children benefit from phonics sessions as soon as they are ready.  The early years provision is good. Activities are well matched to the needs of the children and they achieve well.  The behaviour of pupils is good. They are polite and proud of their school. Pupils feel safe and incidents of bullying are rare.  Governors are very effective. They are well informed and provide appropriate challenge and support.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The curriculum does not always comprise sufficiently inspiring topics to capture pupils’ imagination in writing and broaden their vocabulary.  During English lessons it is not always made clear to pupils how they can reach higher standards in writing.  The most able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 19 lessons or parts of lessons taught by nine teachers. A joint observation was undertaken with the headteacher.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and looked extensively at pupils’ exercise books.  Discussions were held with representatives of the governing body, a representative of the local authority, senior leaders, middle leaders, other staff and pupils.  The inspectors looked at the school’s documentation to help it gain an accurate view of its performance, safeguarding policies, the school development plan, minutes of governing body meetings, records of behaviour and also displays in classrooms and around the school.  The inspectors looked at a wide range of information on how the school checks the progress of the different pupil groups.  They took into account the 13 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the 113 responses

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Information about this inspection

to the recent parent questionnaire sent out by the school.  The inspectors also considered the 18 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Desmond Stubbs, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those pupils who are looked after by the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  The school has received the Royal Horticultural Society Five Star Award for gardening.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attainment in writing by:  ensuring that pupils fully understand what they must do to improve their work  continuing to develop the use of activities to stimulate more interest in writing and to extend pupils’ vocabulary.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the achievement of the most able in mathematics by ensuring that the most able pupils are provided with appropriately-challenging activities.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders know their school extremely well and use this knowledge to great effect.  Leaders at all levels use the wealth of achievement data held by the school effectively to identify where teaching and learning must improve and which pupils need extra support. The school works effectively with other local schools to check that their judgements of how well pupils are doing are accurate.  When checking the quality of teaching, leaders are rigorous in ensuring that marking is of a high quality and that pupils are being given work at an appropriate level. However, not enough consideration is given to how well the different pupil groups are achieving.  Middle leaders are more effective since the previous inspection. They are checking teaching regularly, analysing the school’s data and benefiting from sharing the best practice of outstanding local schools. Feedback on mathematics teaching however does not always make it clear to teachers how they can

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The leadership and management are good

further improve their practice or recognise that the more able could be further challenged.  Training of teachers is carefully planned to combine both the needs of the school and the individual. Teachers at different stages of their career are given opportunities to extend their leadership roles.  The performance management of staff is linked to raising standards in writing, developing curriculum areas and providing opportunities to develop professionally. The school recognises that it could be further strengthened by teachers having targets for how well their class is expected to achieve in each subject alongside this process.  The curriculum is well planned to the specific needs of the children. This is evident from Nursery where there is a strong emphasis on ensuring the youngest children have the necessary skills to become effective learners. This continues throughout school, where pupils are provided with relevant first-hand

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The leadership and management are good

experiences.  Pupils are effectively prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils have opportunities to take on roles in the school council and older pupils look after younger pupils at lunchtime and make sure others behave appropriately. Families of varying heritages come into school and talk to pupils. This is a school that truly celebrates diversity. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is strong.  Increasingly, activities in English lessons are stimulating and inspiring pupils to write, especially the boys. Although the use of such activities is still in its early stages, where it was observed during the inspection pupils responded positively. Pupils enjoyed the activity and used more elaborate vocabulary, for example, in Year 5, where pupils were using similes, metaphors and personification to describe different settings.  The needs of those who have particular talents are very well catered for. A senior leader has specific

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The leadership and management are good

responsibility for these pupils. Talented pupils have worked with an artist creating pop-up cards; these skills they then taught to their classmates. Many pupils play instruments and are now joining local bands and orchestras.  All pupils have the opportunity during the year to work in the garden and this provides pupils with many first-hand experiences in other subjects, such as when using the ‘bug hotel’ in science. The vegetables grown are even used by the school cook and cookery club! The school is rightly proud of this special area they have within their grounds.  The effectiveness of the additional support provided for pupils is carefully checked and adjusted as required. This meticulous approach enables the school to provide equality of opportunity for all pupil groups to achieve well.  The primary school sport and physical education funding is used effectively. Pupils are receiving high-

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The leadership and management are good

quality teaching from specialist coaches, which the teachers observe and learn from. As a result, they are now becoming more confident in their own teaching of physical education. Pupils have lots of opportunities to take part in sporting activities at lunchtime and after school and compete against other schools. The more talented also receive targeted provision.  A very small number of parents used the online questionnaire to express their concern about the progress their children make. This is not a widely held view and generally parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Indeed, inspection evidence confirms that pupils are achieving well.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding and child protection meet statutory requirements.  Following the previous inspection the local authority provided intensive support. This has now stopped; the school just receives a termly visit to offer leadership and management a quality assurance check to

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The leadership and management are good

show that their judgements of how well the school is doing are accurate.  The governance of the school:  Governors know their school extremely well. They understand precisely where the school needs to improve in terms of both the quality of teaching and how well pupils are doing. Their vision is to become an outstanding school and they are determined in that pursuit.  They have recently undertaken an audit of their own skills and, as a result, have strengthened the governing body further with the appointment of a member of staff from their feeder school. This strengthens transition between the schools in many different ways.  They are well informed not only from the wealth of information provided by the headteacher but also by subject leaders addressing the curriculum committee. Governors are very well trained.  The minutes of meetings show that governors challenge senior leaders to do their very best and they

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The leadership and management are good

also offer support by attending parents’ evenings, talking to parents and gauging their views.  Governors understand the systems in place for managing the performance of teachers and that progression up the pay scale is not automatic.  The finance committee is very effective in its duties, by, for example, comparing with similar schools how they spend their budget.  The governing body ensures that all safeguarding requirements are met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils enter school in a calm and orderly manner and this movement around school is maintained throughout the day. Pupils are polite, they open doors for adults and confidently share their thoughts and ideas about the school.  Pupils enjoy their lessons but their attitudes to learning do vary. When the teacher is addressing the whole class, for example when the younger children are all on the carpet, attitudes are exemplary but when pupils are working on their own or in small groups attitudes are less positive and pupils very occasionally lose concentration and misbehave.  Presentation in books is generally good across the school although the work of some of the oldest pupils is not always neat enough.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils have very good relationships with all adults and with each other. Pupils know what is expected of them in terms of behaviour and they say that adults treat them fairly and with respect.  There is a well-planned curriculum in place throughout the school to ensure that pupils are taught how to keep safe. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the recent visit of the fire brigade and in particular the fire engine and, as a result of these experiences, pupils know how to stay safe at potentially dangerous times.  Incidents of bullying are rare and pupils are confident that staff promptly sort out these incidents. Pupils learn about the different types of bullying and one pupil has been successful in a local poster competition reminding everybody how wrong it is to bully the disabled. This poster is proudly displayed in school.  Attendance is improving and is now above the national average. The school is rigorous in following up

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has much improved since the previous inspection. It is now consistently good with some examples of outstanding practice. This has enabled pupils to make more rapid progress and achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics.  Work is generally set at the right level for the different abilities within each class. This was evident in the pupils’ work books and also in Year 3, where the more able pupils considered a traditional Venezuelan tale from different viewpoints and others wrote a suitable ending to the same story.  When writing, pupils made more rapid progress and wrote to a higher standard when it was made clear how they could improve their writing during the lesson. Pupils were able to see their writing targets and check their writing against set criteria. This practice is not, however, consistent across the school.  In mathematics, teachers generally plan activities which are at the right level for the different abilities

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The quality of teaching is good

within the class. A small number of the most talented mathematicians, however, talk about being set work that is too easy and the evidence in books confirms that for these pupils the work is not always challenging enough.  The work of teaching assistants is very effective. They support pupils with challenging behaviour well, helping them to concentrate and, when working in small groups, enabling pupils to make good progress.  Marking is good throughout the school in all subjects and this is much improved since the previous inspection. Teachers celebrate the achievements of pupils with positive comments but also make it clear what needs to be done to improve. Pupils also receive the appropriate time to reflect upon the teacher’s comments or respond by improving a part of their work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement throughout the school is good and much improved since the previous inspection.  Attainment is now higher at the end of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 than it has been in recent years. Progress in reading is outstanding and in writing and mathematics it is improving and is now good.  Pupils’ attainment in the Year 1 screening check to assess understanding and use of phonics is above the national average. This is a result of consistently good teaching and the opportunity for the youngest pupils to be included in these lessons when they are ready.  In Key Stage 1, standards have improved. These pupils are now working at levels expected for their age and are making better progress.  In 2014 at the end of Key Stage 2 nearly all pupils made expected progress in all subjects. In reading and mathematics the proportions making better-than-expected progress is high compared to other schools.

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The achievement of pupils is good

This is not, however, the case in writing where the proportion of pupils reaching higher levels is below average.  The attainment of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is two terms behind non- disadvantaged pupils nationally in English and mathematics. The proportions of these pupils making expected progress is above the national average and better than other pupils nationally.  Disadvantaged pupils are about a year behind other non-disadvantaged pupils in the school in English and six months behind in mathematics. However, the gap between the performance of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in school is closing.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good. Information about how well these pupils are doing is used effectively to provide timely additional support. The curriculum meets their needs very well and school-based data shows that these pupils are making rapid progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

Provision for these pupils is managed effectively.  The most able pupils achieve well in reading and writing. Their performance in mathematics is improving but, on occasions, they are not sufficiently challenged. However, the data provided by the school, supported by inspection evidence, shows that the majority of the most able pupils in the current Year 6 are expected to exceed their expected progress and some should reach the highest levels in reading and mathematics.

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The early years provision is good

 Many children enter the Nursery class with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age, not having previously attended other provisions. The language and social skills of many children are particularly weak.  The school rightly places a strong emphasis on teaching appropriate behaviour and also speaking and listening during the child’s first term so they can learn effectively throughout the early years. As a result children make good progress, but they still have a way to go to be fully prepared for Year 1.  Leadership and management are effective. Adults are deployed well and the judgements they make about how well the children are doing are accurate. This information is used effectively to plan the next steps in learning.  Teaching is good and is well matched to the needs of the children. Support is quickly put in place for the vulnerable and those with special educational needs, allowing these children to progress well. The most

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The early years provision is good

able are challenged well, particularly in reading, where the organisation of groups allows these children to work at a higher level with older children.  There is a rich variety of activities and good opportunities for children to work on their own or with an adult. Outside, the ice cream parlour is especially imaginative and popular with the children as the children made the resources themselves and then learned how to exchange money for goods. This use of number can be seen in a wide range of activities.  Opportunities to write are frequent and children enjoy sharing books with their friends or an adult at snack time.  There is a lovely nurturing atmosphere and this helps the children to feel safe. Adults provide good support and this helps the children to extend their social skills and learn to control their actions.

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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 105530 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 452011

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 239 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lorraine McCauley Headteacher Cathy Quinn Date of previous school inspection 20 March 2013 Telephone number 0161 740 7094 Fax number 0161 795 6843 Email address contact@st-johnbosco.manchester.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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