Worthington Primary School

Worthington Primary School Worthington Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 2JJ

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher provides strong leadership. He is ambitious for the school and has high expectations of himself, staff and pupils. His determination to provide the best for pupils is shared by all members of the school community.  School leaders, including governors, work together successfully to raise pupils’ achievement and improve the quality of teaching at the school.  The curriculum is well planned and promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely well.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes toward learning are excellent. Pupils are friendly and respectful. In class, they work hard and help each other when they can.  Relationships in school between pupils and staff are excellent. Pupils do well because the school takes excellent care of them and they feel very safe in school.  The quality of teaching is good overall and some is excellent. Teachers provide exciting activities for

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils that motivate them to learn well.  Achievement across school is at least good in reading, writing and mathematics and for some pupils it is outstanding.  Overall, children in the early years make good progress because of good teaching and activities that are generallywell planned and mostly keep children focussed on their tasks.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Targets set in the school’s development plan are not measurable enough to enable school leaders to quickly assess the impact of their actions to improve standards.  The quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement is uneven across the school and teaching assistants are not always fully involved in supporting pupils’ learning during the whole lesson.  Teachers do not consistently check that pupils follow their good advice in marking and complete their corrections.  On occasion, activities planned for children in the early years are not purposeful enough nor linked to learning, more especially those that occur outdoors.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes taught by teachers and in sessions taken by teaching assistants.  Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and observed and spoke with pupils during lessons, play times and at lunchtime. They also listened to pupils reading.  Meetings were held with staff, senior leaders and managers, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  A range of documents were considered by inspectors, including the school’s own analysis of how well it is doing, the school development plan, information about pupils’ progress, checks on the quality of teaching, minutes of governing body meetings, and records relating to attendance and safeguarding. Inspectors also examined work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors took account of 45 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) and of a summary of the responses to parental and pupil questionnaires recently distributed by the school.

p.2

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors also considered responses from 14 staff to the inspection questionnaire.

p.2

Inspection team

Louise Murphy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 This school is larger than most primary schools and the number of pupils on roll continues to increase.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported through the pupil premium, (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is approximately half of the national average.  Although most pupils are from a White British heritage, there is an increasing number of pupils at the very early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The new school building opened in September 2013.  The school provides part-time places for three-and-four-year-old children in the nursery.  Three new teachers have joined the staff since September 2013.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

p.3

Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning so more pupils make outstanding progress and secure the highest levels of attainment by making sure that all teachers:  deploy teaching assistants effectively throughout the whole lesson to support pupils’ learning  check that pupils complete their corrections so that they can learn as much as possible from their mistakes  plan activities for children in the early years that are always purposeful and linked to their learning especially those conducted outdoors.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by making sure the school has clear ways of measuring its success in meeting the targets set in the development plan, so that school leaders can check on and evaluate the impact of their actions even more quickly.

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher aims high for every pupil in the school. He has the personal determination and expertise to achieve his ambition and the full support and confidence of staff and governors who share his goal. He and the deputy headteacher bring different skills to the school and together they make a strong and effective team.  During a period of substantial change including, the move into a new school building, accommodating an increase to the number of pupils on roll and the introduction of new teaching staff, leaders have at the very least maintained standards of teaching and pupils’ progress and much has improved since the previous inspection. This demonstrates the school’s capacity to continue to improve.  The headteacher’s view of how well the school is doing is accurate because school leaders check standards within the school very carefully. The school development plan includes a manageable number of

p.4

The leadership and management are good

priorities to support continued school improvement. However, leaders have not made the targets set in the plan as useful as they could be. This is because targets are not measurable enough to help leaders to quickly establish whether their actions are helping to improve standards.  Teachers’ performance is well managed. Senior leaders regularly check on the quality of teaching and learning across the school and are well placed to provide training, peer support and coaching if required.  Middle leaders, although relatively new to their leadership roles, are highly involved in producing action plans to develop their areas of responsibility. They support other members of staff to improve their practice and feel very well supported by senior leaders in continuing to develop their own expertise. They recognised that the next step for them was to become more skilled in checking upon the quality of teaching in their area and they now feel fully prepared for this responsibility.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is used effectively to employ more staff so that there are opportunities for focused group work and individual teaching. It is also used to ensure that pupils eligible for this funding benefit from after-school activities and trips out of school to enrich their learning experience. This confirms the school’s commitment to making sure that all pupils have the same opportunities to succeed.  The primary school sport funding has been used to employ specialist sports coaches to work with pupils after and during school time and also to train staff so that they are able to teach higher quality lessons. The subject leader recognised there were more boys than girls participating in after- school activities. She, therefore, introduced some girl-friendly activities and participation of boys and girls has now increased.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is given excellent attention and the curriculum

p.4

The leadership and management are good

prepares pupils very well for life in modern Britain. The British values of self-discipline, courage and kindness underpin all activities at Worthington Primary and support pupils to learn and behave very well. Pupils learn about diversity through the subjects on offer and celebrating festivals important to other cultures represented at the school. This helps leaders to tackle discrimination and foster good relations.  The local authority provides very light touch support for this good school.  The schools arrangements for safeguarding pupils are exemplary.  The governance of the school:  The governors are supportive of the school. They know the school well, including the quality of teaching, because they receive regular, comprehensive reports from the headteacher and visit the school regularly. Members of the governing body attend training to help them to develop their skills and are able to analyse national data and use this information to challenge school leaders about the school’s

p.4

The leadership and management are good

performance if they feel this is necessary. Governors understand how teachers’ performance is managed, and how any underperformance is tackled; they are confident that salary increases are linked to how effective teachers are. Governors track finances well and take a full part in deciding how to spend additional money, such as that provided to support disadvantaged pupils.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils have an exceptional attitude toward learning and say that they really enjoy their work because teachers make it fun. They agree that it would be highly unusual for learning to be interrupted by poor behaviour and school records confirm this. Pupils at this school know that their mission is to ‘reach for the highest’.  Pupils are incredibly respectful and highly considerate toward each other and the adults around them both in the classroom and around the school. This is because the school is highly successful at nurturing positive relationships and pupils fully understand and practise the values that underpin the ‘Worthington Way’, for example, resilience, and honesty.  Pupils appreciate being asked for their ideas on how to make their school even better. For example, they have been highly involved in planning the zoned areas and the wide range of activities that take place in

p.4

Behaviour

the playground. Pupils are now busy developing allotment areas in which the eco-councillors plan to grow vegetables.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents that responded to the on-line questionnaire unanimously agreed that their children are safe and cared for well.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of different types of bullying. Pupils who spoke with inspectors reported that ‘we sometimes fall out’ but were adamant that there is no bullying and if there were adults would sort it out quickly and effectively.  The school is determined to keep every pupil safe and take care of their well-being, and as a result, the support available for pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable is exemplary. School staff work closely with parents and other agencies to address any barriers to learning pupils and their families sometimes have to overcome.  Since the previous inspection, the rate of attendance has improved still further and remains consistently

p.5

Safety

above average. This reflects how much pupils enjoy being at school and the excellent way in which the school works together with parents.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is consistently good and there is some outstanding practice. Teachers plan activities that build on what pupils already know and can do. Work in pupils’ books is presented very well because pupils know their teachers always expect them to do their best.  Teachers’ questioning is skilful, which enables pupils to deepen their thinking, reflect on learning and articulate their responses clearly. This enables teachers to gain the information they require to effectively plan for pupils’ next steps in learning.  Writing is taught effectively. For example, pupils enthusiastically planned an advertisement designed to persuade the headteacher to buy a chocolate bar. They found this very exciting and did their very best to challenge themselves to include catchy slogans to entice the headteacher into buying. What was even more exciting was that the pupils knew that they were going to make their chocolate bars in the excellent

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

kitchen classroom.  Reading is taught well; pupils are confident in matching letters and sounds from an early age. As their skills develop, pupils are encouraged to carefully think about the passage that they are reading so that they are able to understand the text well. Older pupils regularly read to younger pupils so that they can practise keeping their audience interested. This skill is well developed by the time they reach Year 6 and was evident when pupils read to an inspector. Staff are determined to encourage pupils to enjoy reading and the well stocked library provides a range of books that pupils appreciate and enjoy borrowing.  There has been a successful focus on improving the quality of learning and teaching in mathematics. Teachers attending training sessions to improve their subject knowledge share their learning with other staff. There is an emphasis placed on including mathematics in other subjects. For example, ‘maths dance’

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

activities challenge pupils to analyse dance moves in terms of number and shape. An excellent lending library has also been developed so that pupils and parents can borrow mathematical resources.  Technology is also well used in many activities. When pupils are a little unsure about new learning, teachers upload activities onto a secure site so that pupils can practise skills at home and in school.  In settings other than whole-class teaching, skilful teaching assistants effectively promote the good achievement of pupils with additional needs. However, the skills of teaching assistants are not used as effectively when teachers introduce lessons and consequently, some of these pupils do not learn as effectively as they could because teaching assistants are underused.  Teachers have improved the quality of their marking so that mistakes are identified and good advice is given regarding how pupils can improve their work. However, teachers do not always check that pupils

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

complete their corrections and follow the guidance given, which can limit the amount of improvement pupils make as a result of marking

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children get off to a good start in the early years and by the end of Year 2, pupils usually reach standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are slightly above average. Since 2012, attainment in the Year 6 national tests has mostly been above average and in 2014, was significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  By the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014, all pupils made the progress expected of them in reading and mathematics and the overwhelming majority made the progress expected of them in writing. Compared to national figures a higher proportion of pupils made better than expected progress in all three subjects. This confirms good progress overall and outstanding progress for some pupils. However, this level of achievement is not yet fully consistent across the school and that is why overall achievement is good rather than outstanding.  In the Year 1 national phonics screening check (how well pupils match letters and the sounds they make)

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

pupils continue to do well year on year. Older pupils are encouraged to read regularly and enthusiastically discuss their favourite authors and why certain types of books appeal to them.  The most able pupils in all classes are regularly provided with additional challenges to make them think deeply and as a result, they make good progress. For example, talented mathematicians from Year 6 had to convince their teacher whether or not doubling the coordinates of a triangle would double its size. Pupils really had to concentrate hard and help each other to succeed in their task.  Pupils at the early stages of learning English, lower ability pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make at least good and often excellent progress. This is because their additional learning needs are identified early and overall appropriate support is put in place.  At the end of Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils did not do as well as non-disadvantaged pupils in

p.6

The achievement of pupils is good

terms of their attainment. They were five terms behind in mathematics, almost one year behind in writing and approximately two terms behind in reading. However, the gap between their attainment and the attainment of pupils nationally was much narrower in mathematics and writing, and their attainment in reading was higher than non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. All disadvantaged pupils made the progress expected of them and the proportion making better than expected progress was very close to average in in mathematics and writing and above average in reading. Disadvantaged pupils make good progress and any remaining gaps between their attainment and that of non-disadvantaged pupils in school and nationally are closing quickly.

p.6

The early years provision is good

 Overall, children flourish in the early years; they settle quickly and are soon happy and able to get on with their learning. Individual starting points vary year on year, although communication, personal and social skills are typically below other aspects of development. However, this is quickly addressed and children are supported to make good progress. For example, nursery children were observed enthusiastically discussing weddings. They talked about the ceremonies and clothes from different cultures. Children were desperate to dress up in the special outfits, but were careful to take turns.  The indoor and outdoor learning areas are well resourced; this contributes toward supporting children to make good progress especially with their reading and writing skills. There are books, letters, numbers and opportunities to practise early writing skills all around. As a result, by the end of the Reception Year most

p.6

The early years provision is good

children reach a good level of development.  Good teaching, together with well-planned, imaginative activities, encourage children to really stick at their tasks and see them through to completion. For example, Reception children were very eager to be fully involved in teaching their toy snowman how to add numbers together. This successfully helped children to build their knowledge and understanding of different ways in which two numbers can add together to make ten. There are times, however, when activities do not have such a clear learning purpose, more especially but not exclusively, when children are learning outdoors.  Good leadership makes sure that assessment is accurate and regular and this helps the staff team to plan to meet the needs and interests of individual children. Consequently, children, including the most and least able, those children for whom the school receives additional funding and the increasing numbers of

p.6

The early years provision is good

children at the very early stages of learning to speak English, make a successful start to their learning and are well prepared for the work they meet in Year 1.  Parents are valued and receive regular reports because staff are available to meet them daily, there is e- mail contact between home and school and information evenings are very well attended.  Children’s well-being and safety are given the highest priority, children are very well cared for and excellent behaviour is encouraged at all times. Simple routines and high quality relationships help children to become increasingly considerate of others and they clearly enjoy their learning.

p.6

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 106300 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 448898

p.9

School details

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

p.9

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 328 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ian Robbins Headteacher Clive Searle Date of previous school inspection 13 October 2009 Telephone number 0161 9733504 Fax number 0161 9763210 Email address worthington.admin@trafford.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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10