St Margaret's Church of England Primary School

St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2BW

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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

 The headteacher is ambitious for the school. She is supported ably by the governing body who know the school very well. Together they have maintained the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement since the previous inspection.  Recently the headteacher has boosted the effectiveness of the school’s leadership by restructuring the leadership team.  The curriculum provides experiences that motivate pupils to want to learn and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  Pupils behave well in and around school. They are respectful and polite towards each other and the adults around them.  Attendance is consistently above national levels.  Pupils feel safe in school and are kept safe by adults who care for them well.  The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is good.  There is a wide range of resources available to support pupils’ learning.  From their individual starting points pupils make good progress across the school in reading, writing

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and mathematics.  Teaching and learning in the early years is good. Children settle quickly into school. Good communication with parents helps the staff team get to know each child and so plan for their needs effectively. Children are well prepared for the learning that they will meet in Year 1.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The skills of some senior and middle leaders are not developed well enough to enable them to have a positive impact on standards at the school.  There are too few opportunities for school leaders to observe excellent practice in other schools.  Work provided for pupils is not always at the correct level of challenge to help them build on what they already know and can do.  Teaching assistants are not deployed as effectively as they could be when teachers are introducing learning to the whole class.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and activities taken by teaching assistants. Lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher and two learning walks around the school also took place.  Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and observed and spoke to pupils during lessons, playtimes and at lunchtime. They also listened to pupils reading.  Meetings were held with staff, senior leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors met informally with parents as they dropped off and collected their children from the Christmas production.  A range of documents was considered by inspectors, including the school’s 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

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Information about this inspection

also examined work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors took account of 26 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and of a summary of the responses to a parental questionnaire recently distributed by the school.  Inspectors also considered responses from seven members of staff to the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Louise Murphy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is similar in size to most primary schools.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is well below average.  Most pupils are from a White British heritage and there are very few pupils at the early stages of learning English as an additional language, although numbers are increasing.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is similar to that usually found.  The early years is a Reception class and children attend full time.  The school leadership team has recently been restructured.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the time they leave Key Stage 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate any unevenness in the quality of teaching and learning so that more pupils make outstanding progress and achieve the highest levels of attainment by making sure that teachers always:  carefully match work to pupils’ needs and abilities so that they are all fully challenged  deploy teaching assistants so that their skills are used effectively throughout the lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including in the early years, by ensuring that:  senior and middle leaders know exactly what their responsibilities are and have the skills to drive standards forward in their areas of responsibility  increased opportunities are provided for school leaders to observe excellent practice in other schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has an accurate view of what the school does well and what needs to be improved. She is supported well by the governing body and together they have addressed the areas for improvement highlighted at the previous inspection and maintained good standards at the school. They demonstrate a clear capacity to continue with school improvement.  Staff support the headteacher’s aims for the school and demonstrate their dedication to contributing towards school improvement by implementing new practice very quickly and consistently. A good example is that, after training, they are all using the new marking policy and rapidly introducing more practical mathematics activities. The headteacher regularly checks up on the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make. Monitoring procedures hold teachers to account effectively and identify training needs.  The structure of the leadership team has recently changed and middle leaders have been promoted to

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The leadership and management are good

senior leadership positions and other staff have been given additional responsibilities, for example, the Reception teacher is now the early years lead. This has benefitted aspects of leadership, but as a result, these leaders’ roles are still at the developmental stage and some are not absolutely clear about what is expected of them or fully accountable for driving improvement in their areas of responsibility. They have too few opportunities to observe excellent practice in other schools to help them to build the skills that they need.  The primary sport funding is used to good effect to improve the quality of teaching physical activities across the school and to provide additional sporting activities for pupils.  The school is committed to ensuring that there is no discrimination and all pupils have equality of opportunity to succeed. Consequently, pupil premium funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged

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The leadership and management are good

pupils. For example, the school has recently appointed a teacher to work with disadvantaged pupils, and this provides additional small-group teaching which is now helping to narrow any gaps between disadvantaged and other pupils in school quickly.  The curriculum meets pupils’ needs well and prepares them for life in modern Britain. Through the school council pupils are encouraged to share their opinions and develop their understanding of democracy. The outdoor area is used to good effect to widen pupils’ experiences, and opportunities to practise reading, writing and mathematical skills are provided across a range of subjects.  There is a strong commitment to developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils know how important it is to behave well and they work and play together very well. Pupils enjoy taking part in school performances. For example, pupils have performed for the local community in the parish church.

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The leadership and management are good

During the inspection, Key Stage 1 pupils made their parents and teachers extremely proud as they performed the school nativity.  Safeguarding procedures are robust and meet statutory requirements.  The school receives a light level of support from the local authority.  The governance of the school:  The governors are highly committed to and supportive of the school. They know the school well because they visit as often as possible and receive detailed information from the headteacher. Governors’ meetings take place in different classrooms across the school so that governors are able to check on the quality of the learning environment. Members of the governing body have undertaken training in analysing data and regularly check up on pupils’ attainment and progress. They will challenge school leaders effectively if there is anything that concerns them. Governors have a clear understanding of the

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The leadership and management are good

quality of teaching and how good performance is rewarded and any underperformance is tackled.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  In lessons and around the school, pupils are courteous towards each other and the adults around them. They look smart in their uniforms, take pride in the presentation of their work and enjoy learning and playing together.  Pupils can report very precisely what will happen if they do not make the right choices. They know that they will fall behind on the ‘steps to success’ and if they fall too far behind they forgo the opportunity to use the extensive range of playground equipment. They report that they really enjoy the outdoor activities and do not want to miss out and this helps them to behave well.  Pupils happily take on responsibilities around the school. The ‘Green Team’ makes sure that the school contributes towards sustaining the environment by promoting recycling and ‘grow your own’ vegetables. They have encouraged pupils and staff to use one paper towel following hand washing and are taking this

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Behaviour

campaign one step further. The team is organising the trial use of an electric hand dryer, it will then calculate whether ‘one towel drying’ or electric hand drying is the most cost effective. They are aware that they need to be both environmentally friendly and thrifty on behalf of the school.  Most parents who responded to Parent View believe that behaviour is managed well and behaviour logs support this view.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils feel safe in school because they know that the adults in school care for them well and they also care for each other. For example, pupils have displayed internet safety rules in the computer suite to remind each other of how to stay safe when using technology.  There is a good understanding of different forms of bullying amongst pupils and they are confident that bullying is rare in school. One parent who spoke to an inspector was full of praise for how well the school had supported her child following a minor bullying incident.  Pupils arrive at school on time and the rate of attendance is maintained at above average. What is more, there are no pupils who stay away from school regularly. This reflects how much pupils enjoy attending St Margaret’s.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good and pupils are supported well to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Most pupils are clear about what they have to do because teachers explain what they expect pupils to achieve and carefully question pupils to check their level of understanding. A good range of resources is provided to support learning, including a variety of helpful prompts displayed around the classroom that pupils can refer to when they need to.  Reading is taught well, pupils continue to develop their reading skills as they progress through the school. The ‘extreme reading’ display shows photographs of pupils reading in the forest area and others while bouncing on a trampoline, thus supporting the message that the school wants to share: ‘You can enjoy reading anywhere and everywhere.’  Year 2 pupils produced excellent plans to adapt a traditional tale and confidently shared their work with

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The quality of teaching is good

their friends at the end of the writing lesson. There has been a successful focus on developing writing skills across the curriculum. For example, during a topic on ‘Fairgrounds’ Year 6 pupils produced some high quality reporting and instructional writing. The writing in other subjects is of the same good standard as writing completed during English lessons.  Teachers have had training in providing practical lessons in mathematics, to make lessons more enjoyable and active for pupils. Pupils are now provided with more practical equipment to help them to develop their mathematical understanding. Each group of pupils has a mathematical ‘tool kit’ which includes practical resources to support the learning during lessons. There is also a Key Stage 1 mathematics lending library so that pupils can continue to develop their skills at home.  Pupils are not always challenged accurately. There are times when the work provided is too easy for some

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils and too difficult for others. As a result, progress is hampered and prevented from getting any better than good.  Teachers mark pupils’ work in a timely manner and provide good advice on how work can be improved. Teachers and pupils use the same marking key and pupils often assess their work before handing it in to the teacher. Pupils understand what is expected of them, and having the opportunity to reflect on the quality of their work contributes toward the high standard of presentation that was seen in pupils’ books across the school.  Effective teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants guarantees a good level of support for pupils when they are working in small groups or individually with the teaching assistants. However, teaching assistants are not as effective when teachers are introducing the learning to the whole class. Opportunities to explain in greater detail to the least-able pupils or to start the most-able pupils off with their tasks more

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Building on the good progress made during the Reception Year, pupils continue to develop their reading, writing and mathematical skills. Consequently, by the time they leave Year 2 most pupils make good progress from their individual starting points.  Results of the 2014 national tests for Year 6 pupils show that attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above the national average. The proportions of pupils making more than expected progress in mathematics and writing was equal to and above national levels. The proportion of pupils making better than expected progress in reading was below national levels. However, this is because a very high proportion of the pupils attained Level 3 at the end of Key Stage 1 and they were expected to attain Level 5, which they all did. This means that they achieved as well as they were able to.  In the Year 1 national screening check for phonics (how well pupils are able to match letters and the sounds

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The achievement of pupils is good

they make), almost all pupils reach the expected level. Older pupils read widely and are able to talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors and the range of books and opportunities for reading made available to them at school.  The relatively small but increasing numbers of pupils learning to speak English as an additional language make progress at a similar rate to that of their classmates. This is because of the good level of support provided to meet their learning needs.   The most-able pupils make good progress and in the 2014 end of Key Stage 2 national tests a higher proportion of pupils reached the higher Level 5 in English and mathematics when compared to the national average. Opportunities are provided for the most-able pupils to work at a challenging level at the local high school. Moreover, some of the talented mathematicians have reached the regional levels of an interschool

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The achievement of pupils is good

competition. Nevertheless, progress for some of the most-able pupils could be even better, because tasks set for them to complete in class are not always challenging enough. Sometimes, as well, the tasks are too difficult for less-able pupils and so their progress slows.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well. This is because their progress is checked on closely and they benefit from good quality support from well-trained teachers and teaching assistants.  At the end of Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding attained a level almost one year behind their classmates in writing and approximately two terms behind in reading and mathematics. When compared to pupils nationally the disadvantaged pupils at school attained a level one term behind in writing and two terms behind in reading and mathematics. The school has taken decisive

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The achievement of pupils is good

action to narrow any gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in school. The progress of the small numbers of disadvantaged pupils currently attending the school is similar to that of their classmates and gaps are rapidly narrowing in most classes.

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The early years provision is good

 Children join school from a wide range of settings. They settle well into school life as a result of strong links between families and school staff, built during home visits or visits to the local pre-school facility before the children start school. Parents who spoke with an inspector said that they appreciated the good communication between school and home.  Children start school with skills and knowledge that vary year on year. The quality of teaching in early years is good and there is a good range of activities both indoors and out which help to support children to make good progress. Most children reach good levels of development and are well prepared for moving into Key Stage 1.  No time is wasted in the Reception class. As soon as they come into class children get on with a starter activity, for example, practising their letter and number formation. Children were seen developing their counting skills. They had to pick up small skittles with pincers and count as many as they could into a tub in

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The early years provision is good

exactly one minute. This was made more challenging because the skittles were smooth and difficult to grab. However, the children were determined to succeed and enjoyed the competitive aspect of working against the clock. The teacher asked a good range of questions to help children to learn even more and to help her to assess their level of understanding.  The Reception class team works successfully together and provides good quality care. Children know how to keep themselves safe. For example, they were very careful when using scissors to cut out the pictures of clothes that they liked from a catalogue. Children behave well and demonstrate good levels of self-control and respect for others when learning together with or without adult support.  The early years leader is very new to her role and is effective in her own class. However, she does not work closely enough with the other Reception teacher to plan activities or check on standards of teaching and

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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 105323 Local authority Bury Inspection number 448894

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 249 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gail Prosser Headteacher Kathryn Perry Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2010 Telephone number 0161 773 1432 Fax number 0161 773 9251 Email address stmargarets@bury.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

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

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School details

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

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

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

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