St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School

St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School Hallfold, Hall Street, Whitworth, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL12 8TL

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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

 Since the previous inspection the headteacher has successfully led and managed the school, eradicating weak teaching and ensuring that pupils achieve well.  Pupils’ attainment has improved and most pupils are now working in line with or above national expectations by the end of Year 6.  Pupils make good progress especially in reading and mathematics.  Children in the early years are taught well and, as a result, make good progress.  Teaching is now consistently good. Teachers and support staff work well together in supporting pupils’ learning.  Pupils benefit greatly from the school’s good quality spiritual, moral, social and cultural provision.  Pupils behave well, say they feel safe and are polite and friendly.  Governors carry out their duties very well. They not only support the school but also rigorously hold the school to account.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Over time, teaching is not yet strong enough to ensure that pupils are achieving the highest level of which they are capable.  Some pupils are not making fast enough progress in writing as they are in reading and mathematics.  Opportunities are missed for pupils, and children in the Reception class, to develop their speaking skills during lessons.  Middle leaders are not fully effective in improving the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in all years, as well as group work and listened to pupils reading. He observed pupils as they arrived for school and at break and lunchtimes.  The inspector carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, staff and members of the governing body, and with a representative from the local authority.  A wide range of documentation was considered, including systems for tracking pupils’ progress, safeguarding arrangements, policies, a record of the leaders’ and managers’ lesson observations, and pupils’ work in their books.  Pupils’ views of the school were gathered through informal discussions with individual pupils in lessons and at break and lunchtimes. Discussions were also held with representative groups of pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 and with parents.  Responses from staff questionnaires were considered.  The inspector considered 18 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and also considered

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Information about this inspection

responses from the school’s own questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Yates, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller in size when compared to most primary schools nationally.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well-below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported through the pupil premium, is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The Reception class provides full-time early years education.  There have been significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the steps already taken to improve the quality of middle leadership in order for them to be even more effective in their areas of responsibility.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the already good quality of teaching in order to further accelerate pupils’ progress by: – sustaining and developing further the good improvements made since the previous inspection – ensuring all groups of pupils, especially the most able, continue to develop their writing skills further – providing more opportunities for pupils to write in subjects across the curriculum – ensuring that, in lessons, pupils and children in the Reception are given good opportunities to use and develop their speaking skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 In a relatively short period the headteacher, with the strong support of governors, has transformed the quality of teaching and improved pupils’ outcomes. She has managed very well changes in staffing and now has a good team who work well together. The responses to the staff questionnaires clearly demonstrate that staff totally support all she has done and continues to do.  The school has an accurate picture of itself. This is firmly grounded on regular and effective monitoring of pupils’ work and regular monitoring of teaching and learning in classrooms.  Robust performance management arrangements underpin all the school’s work. The headteacher has the right procedures in place to make accurate decisions about staff and any movement on the salary scale. Governors are fully involved in this work.  Following the previous inspection there have been major changes of staff. Good improvements have been

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The leadership and management are good

made in the effectiveness of middle leaders. However, some of the work done by them is at an early stage of development so middle leadership is not totally effective.  Leaders see as paramount the promotion of good relations. They successfully ensure that discrimination is not tolerated and that there is a strong commitment to equality of opportunity.  Leaders ensure all safeguarding requirements are met and that the building and school grounds provide a safe environment. Arrangements are effective in ensuring that pupils are safe and looked after well. Child protection and safeguarding have a high priority.  Since the previous inspection good support has been provided by the local authority. It sees the school as a good school now so provides ‘light touch’ support.  Pupils learn through a curriculum that is well matched to their needs. A key priority has been the promotion of basic skills but not to the detriment of other subjects. Attractive displays show that pupils in

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The leadership and management are good

all classes have studied numerous interesting topics such as using the internet safely and ancient Egypt. Although there are an increasing number of opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills when working in other subjects, their writing shows that this is not planned as well as it could be.  The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good because these aspects are built into all parts of pupils’ day-to-day experiences in school. For example, children attend classical music concerts. The school has established links with a school whose pupils’ backgrounds are different from its own pupils and this broadens their view of life.  The use of additional pupil premium funding provided to support disadvantaged pupils is effective. This money is used well to support these pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in particular. This results in this group of pupils making good progress and gaps between their level of achievement and

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The leadership and management are good

that of others, both within the school and nationally, are closing.  Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. For example, a focus on what happens on voting day in a general election enabled pupils to gain a good understanding of the democratic process. This included pupils actually voting in the school’s ‘mock’ election.  The provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good and increasingly well managed. This enables these pupils to make similarly good rates of progress as their classmates.  The primary school funding is used extremely effectively to widen the opportunities for sport and physical activity for all pupils. For example, pupils are far more involved in competitive sport with other schools, and the uptake in after school sports has trebled.  The governance of the school:  Governance is now of a good quality. The actions taken to address weaknesses in governance,

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The leadership and management are good

identified in the previous inspection, have been successful. Governors have attended training and are now skilled and knowledgeable in their roles. As such they have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They are not frightened to ask questions and to hold leaders to account. They are now helping to bring about improvements. Governors place a high importance on safeguarding and on pupils’ well-being as well as on the school improving pupils’ achievements. They have a good understanding of the data relevant to pupils’ performance and of making sure that the systems to check the performance of teachers are effective. Governors make sure pupil premium funding is used well and make sure it has a good impact on the achievement of eligible pupils. They also have a good knowledge of how the additional primary school sports funding is used for the benefit of pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils behave well not just in classrooms but also around school.  A scrutiny of records and observations during the inspection, show that behaviour over time is good. Isolated incidents of unacceptable behaviour are dealt with very well.  Pupils have worked with the headteacher to produce guidelines that promote good behaviour.  The good level of respect pupils have for each other and their enthusiasm for school are key strengths. For example, during the week of the national general election, Year 6 pupils were highly enthusiastic about the part they played in the school’s mock election. They were keen to put forward their ideas from their ‘manifestos’, and did so exceedingly well.  Lunchtimes are sociable occasions and pupils’ behaviour is good. In the playground, pupils play very well together and are keen to use equipment such as Chinese yo-yos (diablos) which are larger versions of the

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Behaviour

toy.  Staff have a good awareness of pupils’ personal needs. They treat pupils with respect and are always available to listen if pupils have any worries.  Parents are very positive about pupils’ behaviour. They make sure children are on time for school and pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average. Parents told the inspector how much their children loved coming to school and how much the school had improved.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and are very confident that any issues they raise will be dealt with promptly. They recognise potential dangers when using the internet.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying for their age.  Pupils respond well to the many opportunities provided to take on responsibilities. These include membership of the school council, being sports ambassadors or being a house captain. School council members take their responsibilities seriously, for example they are proud to help raise money for those less fortunate than themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Since her appointment just before the previous inspection, the headteacher has worked relentlessly to improve the quality of teaching. The result is a considerable improvement in the quality of learning, leading to pupils’ improved progress and higher achievement.  Teachers get on well with their pupils and foster an enjoyment of learning. For example, pupils are keen to tell visitors what they are learning including proudly sharing a computer presentation with the inspector.  Reading skills are taught well including the teaching of letters and the sounds they make. The recently re- organised school library provides a valuable resource in enthusing pupils to read widely.  Pupils learn well in mathematics because the teaching is good and activities are planned effectively. For example, pupils are keen to work out the price of items on a baker’s shop menu and how much change they might receive from a given amount. Occasionally, opportunities are missed for pupils to apply their

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The quality of teaching is good

number skills well but this is the exception to usual practice.  The teaching of writing has improved and there are examples of excellent practice. For example, Year 5 pupils are challenged to use information from their topic about Egypt to write a diary entry in the first person. The writing they produce is of a good quality. However, this is not yet consistent across the school. The school has focussed on improving pupils’ understanding of correct punctuation, accurate spelling and good sentence structure. This is beginning to have a strong impact on pupils’ progress.  Pupils are keen to talk about the work they are doing but opportunities are sometimes missed for pupils to develop their speaking skills further. Although teachers sometimes use questioning well to develop pupils’ skills in speaking, opportunities to extend these skills are sometimes missed. For example, one word answers are sometimes accepted rather than supporting a more involved response leading to a greater

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The quality of teaching is good

use of vocabulary. School leaders are very aware that this is an issue and have started to take action to address it.  Teachers now make good use of marking to help pupils improve their own work. They make sure pupils take notice of the comments they make.  Teaching assistants are mostly deployed well across the school and make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The improvements in teaching, including the use made of assessment information about pupils’ progress, have led to pupils making good progress from their starting points, especially in reading and mathematics with clear signs of improvement in writing.  Younger pupils’ learning about letters and sounds is now secure so that by the end of Year 1 a broadly average number of pupils reached the standard expected for their age in the national screening check for phonics (the sounds that letters make).  In 2014, Year 6 pupils achieved results in reading and mathematics that were in line with national averages but below in writing. Current Year 6 pupils’ attainment shows some further improvement but attainment in writing remains an issue, especially at the higher levels.  Pupils have good reading skills and enjoy reading. They say that reading helps them to understand new words and provides them with plenty of ideas.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has a clear focus on improving pupils’ writing skills and this is proving to be successful in promoting improvements. However, leaders are right to continue to focus on this subject. Lesson plans to develop writing skills in other subjects are not yet providing enough opportunities to promote good progress.  Pupils are developing good number skills. Staff make sure that they are presented with a good number of occasions when they have to use their skills to solve challenging mathematical problems.  The most able pupils make good progress in reading and mathematics. However, the number who make good progress in writing is less. Although they mainly express their ideas competently, they are not yet writing with the fluency and creativity needed to match higher levels.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making the same good progress as other pupils. They are well supported.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The results gained by disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics in the 2014 national tests indicate that they were a term below other pupils in the school in all three subjects. They made expected progress when compared to others nationally in reading and mathematics but less than expected progress in writing. These results also show that disadvantaged pupils’ attainment was below by about a year compared with other pupils nationally in mathematics and reading and by a year and a half in writing. Records of the achievement of disadvantaged pupils currently in the school show that they are catching up rapidly with their classmates because they are making better progress with gaps narrowing between them and other pupils in the school.  The additional primary school sport funding is used very well. Pupils now enjoy a wider range of sporting opportunities and uptake is high with over two thirds of pupils now taking part in out-of-school sporting

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Early years provision is good

 Provision in the early years is good, and led and managed well. Staff work well together as a team.  Children start school with skills that are below those typical for their age. They settle happily in the friendly atmosphere created by the staff. They make good progress so that by the start of Year 1 an increasing number of children have reached good levels of development for their age and, as a result, are well placed to start work in Year 1.  Children’s behaviour is good. The extremely caring atmosphere helps to foster positive attitudes to learning. Relationships are good. Children’s safety and ensuring that their welfare needs are met are both paramount.  Children enjoy their learning. For example, the outside ‘mud kitchen’ provides children with good opportunities to develop their creative skills in making up their own recipes.  Early reading and numeracy skills are taught well. Highly focussed teaching of reading skills ensures that

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Early years provision is good

children make good progress from their starting points. However, at times, opportunities to develop children’s speaking skills are missed with, for example, children being allowed to just nod their heads rather than speak.  Teaching is good. Staff accurately assess children’s starting points. This ensures that activities, whether those inside or outside, can be carefully matched to individual children’s needs. For example, clear signs of good improvements in children’s writing skills are evident with mark-making moving on to children writing simple sentences this term.

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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 119374 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 462323

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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 134 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gerald Varley Headteacher Nerys Ditchburn-Hughes Date of previous school inspection 8 May 2013 Telephone number 01706 344631 Fax number 01706 868568 Email address bursar@st-bartholomews.lancs.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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