Healey Foundation Primary School

Healey Foundation Primary School Earnshaw Avenue, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL12 0ST

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, senior and middle leaders provide a strong steer and clear direction for further development, and ensure that the school continues to improve.  The governing body has a good grasp of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. The governors also ensure that safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements.  Leadership in the early years is focused and purposeful. This, together with good quality teaching and high expectations, enables all children from their typically below age-related starting points to make good progress in all areas of learning.  Reception children are well prepared for learning in Year 1.  Teaching over time and in all subjects is consistently good. Pupils, therefore, make good progress in literacy and mathematics and in other subjects of the curriculum.  Achievement is good because pupils make good progress in the development of their literacy and numeracy skills.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make consistently good progress across the school.  The school is supported well by the local authority.  Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. Attendance is above average and pupils say they feel very safe and enjoy school life.  The exciting curriculum engages pupils well and promotes their understanding of traditional British values successfully, preparing them well for life in modern Britain.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Marking is not consistently good across the school. It does not give effective guidance to pupils telling them how to improve their work. Pupils are not given time to respond to any comments made by staff.  There is insufficient challenge for a minority of pupils, especially the most able, in some lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited all classes and carried out a joint observation with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, governors, senior and middle leaders, a representative from the local authority and a group of parents.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised a range of documentation, including information on pupils’ progress, and looked at work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to these children about their learning.  They took account of the feedback from staff questionnaires and of the 40 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors spoke to members of the school council and listened to the views of pupils during formal and informal discussions with them about their experiences at school. They also visited two assemblies.

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Inspection team

Maureen Coleman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Healey Foundation Primary School serves pupils between the ages of four and 11.  It is an averaged-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who receive support through the pupil premium is broadly average. (The pupil premium is additional funding provided by the government to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.)  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is in line with the national average.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The school has Healthy School status and has also received the Eco School award and the Forest School Level 3 Practitioner award.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Children in the Reception class attend full time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding, by:  ensuring that teachers’ written feedback to pupils is thorough and consistent across all classes and shows pupils clearly how to improve their work  providing pupils with time to respond to teachers’ comments about their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the attainment and progress of pupils further by providing greater levels of challenge in the classroom so that all pupils, especially the most able, do as well as they can.

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The leadership and management are good

 Under the steadfast leadership of the headteacher, this good school continues to improve.  Senior and middle leaders are a strong team and together they share the vision of the headteacher, creating an ethos and culture where pupils are eager to learn, behave exceptionally well, are happy and thrive. Good relations are promoted and any discrimination tackled fully.  Middle leaders have worked hard to strengthen links with parents, other settings and outside agencies. These contribute significantly to the strong learning partnership that exists between home and school.  A good understanding of all aspects of how to keep pupils safe exists because of rigorous and well- established safeguarding arrangements.  The engaging and creative curriculum is matched well to most pupils’ needs and interests. Leaders at all levels monitor progress and attainment and check that pupils have equal opportunity to do well in

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The leadership and management are good

everything they do.  Pupil premium funding is carefully allocated to provide good support for disadvantaged pupils to help them catch up with other pupils in their class. Individual programmes of study, together with good quality, targeted support from teaching assistants in lessons, have a positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to learning and on the development of their literacy and numeracy skills. As a result, there are now no gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others in school.  The primary sport funding is used effectively to provide many opportunities for all pupils to engage in a range of interesting activities, including karate, which has now developed successfully into a whole-school initiative.  The quality of teaching and learning is monitored thoroughly by senior staff and information used as part of procedures to manage the performance of staff. Teachers are fully aware of their accountability for

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ progress and achievement.  All staff are good role models for pupils, displaying positive attitudes and trusting relationships with one another and with the pupils in their care. This enables pupils’ personal qualities to develop well.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is promoted well as they learn about, and respect, other faiths and cultures. This helps the school to foster good relations with everyone and tackle discrimination in all its forms. Furthermore, this, together with the experiences pupils gain when they take part in the democratic election process to form their school council, prepares them well for life in modern Britain. Their understanding of traditional British values is also complemented by their studies, such as the impact of the Suffragette movement on the development of British society.  The local authority works closely with the school and provides the leadership team with good support. It

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The leadership and management are good

uses the expertise available in the school to support other settings.  Parents hold the school in high esteem and say their children are safe and happy and enjoy school.  Attendance continues to be above the national average. Pupils attend well because they are excited about school and display excellent attitudes to learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance of the school is good. Governors show commitment and determination to ensure that Healey Foundation Primary School continues to improve.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, based on their secure understanding and knowledge of the school’s performance data.  The governing body manages the school finances well and ensures that safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures are effective and fully meet statutory requirements.  Governors monitor the performance of staff and are clear about the link between teachers’ classroom performance, pupils’ achievement and salary increases. They are fully aware of the systems in place to address any underperformance.  Regular meetings and visits to school enable governors to gain first-hand information. They oversee improvements to pupil progress and attainment. They also monitor the school’s work to foster good

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The leadership and management are good

relations with everyone, tackle any discrimination and ensure equality of opportunity for all.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary. They work exceptionally well on their own, in small groups or as a whole class. This has a very positive impact on their progress in lessons.  Parents, staff and pupils share an understanding of the importance of good manners and punctuality. The pupils’ pride in their school is demonstrated by the way they conduct themselves and look after one another in and around school.  Highly effective strategies are in place to manage and maintain a high level of behaviour, which has a strong impact on the very positive ethos and culture, which permeates every aspect of school life. Furthermore, this contributes significantly to pupils’ understanding of how good attitudes and behaviour contribute to a harmonious school and the positive relationships outside in the wider community.  Pupils are well aware of the different forms of bullying and are active in their actions to prevent it

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Behaviour

occurring. As a result, instances of bullying, including homophobic, racist and other forms of bullying based on prejudice, are very rare.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Older pupils are excellent role models for younger children and encourage outstanding behaviour at all times. For example, they hold doors open for one another and for staff and ensure that everyone is unreservedly polite at all times.  All groups of pupils are safe and feel safe. They have an impressive understanding of what constitutes unsafe situations and are keenly aware of how to keep themselves secure, including when using the Internet.  Pupils are confident to approach any member of staff if they have concerns or worries and say there are always staff available to listen to them and help them.  Detailed and comprehensive policies and procedures are fully in place and support the safety of staff and pupils exceptionally well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good, because teachers and teaching assistants have a secure understanding and knowledge of pupils’ progress and attainment. Learning activities are planned to meet the needs and interests of most pupils. However, challenge for some pupils, particularly the most able, is not always sufficient to enable them to reach the levels of which they are capable.  The standard and presentation of work in pupils’ books demonstrate that teaching in literacy and mathematics is typically good and sometimes outstanding.  In literacy, pupils enjoy a good range of opportunities across the school to extend and practise their writing. For example, in one lesson, younger pupils were asked to think of a catch-phrase title for an extended piece of writing. A contribution from one pupil, ‘The fish who could only swim upside down’, captured the imagination and intrigued her classmates, motivating and inspiring them to work on their

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The quality of teaching is good

own titles and writing.  Reading and phonics (the sounds that letters and combinations of letters make) are taught well throughout the school and the development of higher-order reading skills is a priority across all classes. Furthermore, the recent purchase of additional reading resources and plans to develop the library have been instrumental in promoting a love of books and a keen interest in developing reading skills in school and at home.  Mathematics is taught well across all year groups. Pupils are given creative and imaginative problem- solving activities to encourage them to use their mathematical skills and knowledge. This prepares them well for life in modern Britain and for the next stage in their education.  Comprehensive and accurate monitoring of pupils’ achievements and progress provides thorough information for staff to plan individual activities based on prior learning, although these activities

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The quality of teaching is good

sometimes lack appropriate challenge for some pupils.  Classrooms are stimulating places in which to learn. The excellent relationships between pupils and staff foster good attitudes to learning, making lessons enjoyable and productive.  Support staff are highly skilled and work closely with teachers to ensure that all pupils, including those who sometimes find learning difficult, make good progress in literacy, reading and mathematics.  Not all staff consistently apply the whole-school policy on marking across all year groups. In some classes, it does not always tell pupils how to improve their work or guide them to the next steps in their learning. Written comments are often too general or repetitive and have little impact on supporting pupils to improve their work further. Additionally, pupils are not always given the opportunity to respond to teachers’ comments and correct their work. This slows the pace of their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is good because pupils make good progress in writing, mathematics and reading.  In 2014, attainment in all subjects by the end of Key Stage 2, and for all groups of pupils, was broadly in line with national standards.  The current Year 6 class is working at levels above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Some pupils enter school with low reading, mathematical and writing skills. Timely and effective programmes of support provided by the school enable these pupils to catch up with their classmates.  The most able pupils do not, however, always make the progress of which they are capable. This is because they are not given sufficient opportunities to tackle work of increased challenge and complexity. This limits their progress and the pace of their learning.  In reading, writing and mathematics, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in 2014 was in line with other

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils in school and with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. The school’s data, confirmed by inspection evidence, indicate that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress in all areas. Their attainment continues to be in line with that of their classmates and with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.  Systematic and accurate early identification of pupil needs, together with skilful teaching and support in small groups when needed, enables disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to make consistently good progress.

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The early years provision is good

 Children generally enter school with skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age, particularly in language and communication.  Children settle quickly into school and begin to learn straight away. As a result, from their below-expected starting points, they make good progress, which enables them to reach a good level of development by the time they leave the Reception year. This prepares them well for learning in Year 1.  Leadership in the early years is good and regarded well by the local authority and by local settings.  The quality of teaching is good. Staff work closely as a team, ensuring that the provision for each child is unique, so that any gaps between the progress of different groups, or for those who are supported by additional funding, close quickly.  Most children thrive as a result of the stimulating environment. They are well motivated and demonstrate good levels of concentration and curiosity. Children are responsive to adults and sensitive to the needs of

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The early years provision is good

one another. The imaginative play that children displayed, because of ‘the friendly giant’ visiting on the day of the inspection, was effective in promoting early writing skills and opportunities for speaking and listening.  A variety of communication strategies is used well to ensure consistent and clear modelling of behaviour. Children readily take part in a rich variety of ‘free’ and formal learning activities.  Children’s behaviour is outstanding. The children learn rapidly to take turns and to interact socially. They eat and drink snacks sensibly and demonstrate good manners and consideration towards others as a result of high expectations from adults.  The children are kept safe and secure and there are clear policies and procedures in place to guarantee their well-being.  Good communication and relationships with parents support children’s learning well.

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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 105850 Local authority Rochdale Inspection number 461910

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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 Foundation Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 217 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Stephen Giverin Headteacher Helen Johnson Date of previous school inspection 22 November 2011 Telephone number 01706 522770 Fax number 01706 710281 Email address head@healey.rochdale.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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