St Augustine's CofE Primary School

St Augustine's CofE Primary School St Augustine Street, Monsall, Manchester, M40 8PL

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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

 Leaders at all levels set high expectations for staff and pupils. Their vision is fully endorsed by a highly committed teaching team.  Leaders’ determination to provide the best possible education for pupils means that all areas of the school’s work are at least good, and improving strongly.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They exemplify the school’s ethos of ‘love, hope and forgiveness’. They support and care for each other and have very positive attitudes to learning.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Leaders work proactively to ensure staff are very well trained to identify any child who may be at risk of harm. Attendance remains consistently above the national average.  The school works exceptionally well with parents and the local community. Parents fully endorse the view that this is a good school, where their children are safe and receive a good education.  Teaching is good. Teachers work hard to improve

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their practice and ensure they can meet the many complex needs of their pupils. As a result, pupils make good progress over time, given their starting points.  Achievement is good. Children start school with skills and levels of understanding that are often much lower than average. The school ensures they reach broadly average levels of attainment by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. The progress of current pupils is also good.  Children in the early years make good progress because leaders ensure they constantly review the provision to meet their needs.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough pupils make more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, some pupils do not catch up with their peers and some of the most able pupils do not reach the higher levels of attainment.  Not all subject leaders monitor their areas with sufficient rigour.  Teachers do not have sufficient expertise to know when to carefully adjust learning in lessons. As a result, pupils do not always have the chance to tackle more demanding work.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply their literacy and mathematical skills in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 lessons, three of these jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors also conducted two learning walks within the early years setting. They observed two assemblies and a number of shorter sessions with individual pupils who receive extra help in reading or mathematics. Inspectors scrutinised a range of pupils’ work from across the school in order to reach a judgment about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress over time. Inspectors also listened to some pupils read.  Inspectors met with a range of school staff to evaluate the quality of leadership and management in the school. They met with the headteacher, with representatives of the governing body, with the leaders for the early years and for special educational needs (SENCo). Inspectors also met with three subject leaders and discussed the quality of training and support teachers receive with staff informally during the school

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Information about this inspection

day. The lead inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority, by telephone.  Inspectors met formally with two groups of pupils and spoke to many more in lessons and at break and lunchtime. They visited the breakfast club on both days. They also considered the views of pupils that the school had gathered by questionnaire in the spring term.  Inspectors met with many parents at the start and end of school. The lead inspector met with the parents of Year 1 pupils during a picnic celebration. There were too few responses to Parent View for this to be considered during the inspection. However, inspectors considered the views of parents as gathered by the school using the same questions.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentary evidence. This included the school’s evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses and the school improvement plan. Inspectors analysed information relating to the safety and wellbeing of pupils. This included attendance, behaviour and exclusion information as well

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Information about this inspection

as health and safety, fire safety, risk assessments and staff recruitment files, among others.

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Inspection team

Philippa Darley, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Augustine’s Church of England Primary School is a smaller than average-sized primary school serving an area of very high social deprivation in Manchester.  A new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed since the last inspection. The headteacher has been in post for two years. There is also a new Chair of the Governing Body.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than the national average. Most of these are from a Black African background. Similarly, the proportion of pupils for whom English is not their first language is almost double the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is higher than the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the pupil premium provides support (this is additional government funding for pupils who are or have been eligible for free school meals, and for pupils in the

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Information about this school

care of the local authority) is more than double the national average.  All the children in the early years provision attend full-time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards for primary schools. This is the minimum expected level of achievement that pupils should reach by the end of Key Stage 2.  St Augustine’s holds UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School Award. This recognises schools that place the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of its ethos and policies.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership further by: - developing the skills of all subject leaders so that they have a greater impact on improving teaching across the school - carefully evaluating the impact of additional school funding to ensure that it has the maximum positive impact.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement, by enabling more pupils to make better than expected progress, and so reach higher levels of attainment by: - continuing to develop the expertise of teaching staff so that they fine-tune learning in lessons, enabling pupils to move on to more demanding work or to develop their understanding in more depth - extending the current opportunities pupils have to apply their literacy and mathematical skills in other curriculum subjects or activities - continuing to develop the curriculum in line with new national requirements, so that pupils develop their academic potential across a range of subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are determined to provide the pupils and their families with the best quality education, care and support that they can. All staff have very high expectations of themselves. As a result, all aspects of the school’s provision are at least good, and are improving strongly.  The headteacher drives improvement with tenacity. She is highly aspirational and understands the needs of the pupils well. She upholds a culture where respect for others and the safety of the child is paramount. Staff and parents all agree that her leadership is a significant strength of the school.  Since his appointment, the deputy headteacher has concentrated on improving the quality of day-to-day teaching in the classroom. He has worked with teaching staff to improve the quality of their assessment and how they plan to meet the ranges of ability in their lessons. Staff receive detailed feedback on their performance and they, including the few newly qualified teachers at the school, all say they feel well

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The leadership and management are good

supported.  Subject leaders are all involved in monitoring how well their subjects are taught in the school. They do so through short visits to lessons and by looking at work in pupils’ books. However, apart from the leaders of English and mathematics, subject leaders do not have enough opportunities to go back and check on the impact of their advice to teachers. Consequently, improvements in these subjects, such as in geography, history and science, have been slower.  Leaders accurately evaluate the effectiveness of the school and their plans for further improvement are sound. However, they do not always check on the impact of their work in sufficient detail. For example, the primary school sports and physical education funding has been used to develop the role of the sports leader, and to introduce a wider range of sports, including boxing and street dancing. However, leaders are unable to show if pupil participation is growing to include those who would usually be reluctant to

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The leadership and management are good

engage in physical activity.  The quality of wider-curriculum opportunities is excellent. Pupils have many opportunities to visit places of interest and to meet people from different voluntary and faith groups. Leaders use these opportunities to promote reading for pleasure. Year 4 pupils spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about their visit to the city library to meet a famous author. The school promotes pupils’ engagement with music and the arts extremely well, with pupils singing at national events. These opportunities support pupils’ development academically, socially and emotionally.  The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Parliament week provides them with a good overview of the electoral process. Pupils also learn about other world faiths in religious education (RE) and through assemblies. As a Rights Respecting School, fundamental values of tolerance and respect lie at the

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The leadership and management are good

heart of the school’s policies on behaviour, teaching and learning.  Leaders promote equal opportunities well. All pupils are entitled to a free breakfast and over a hundred usually share this meal together at the start of the school day. Leaders check on the progress of individual pupils closely. A range of tried and tested programmes of support are in place to ensure any pupil who falls behind has the best chance to catch up. Leaders have established a school-wide ethos in which good relations exist between pupils from all backgrounds and ethnicities. The culture of the school ensures that discrimination, in all its forms, will not be tolerated.  The school’s work with parents is outstanding. Parents have many opportunities to come into school, during the day and also in the evening for special events and exercise classes. They have recently attended workshops on internet safety and helping their child to read. A large number of parents spoke to

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The leadership and management are good

inspectors and they all described the positive impact the school has had on them and their children.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements and they are highly effective.  The local authority provides a minimal level of challenge and support to the school as it recognises that leaders have the capacity to drive improvement independently. The headteacher works with an external school improvement professional, who visits regularly and provides governors with an independent view of the school. These reports are accurate and give sound advice.  The governance of the school: - Governors know the school well and are highly committed to ensuring all pupils have an enriched education and make good progress. They ask timely and challenging questions, for instance about how leaders are effectively improving reading, following the 2014 results. They have a good understanding

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The leadership and management are good

of how the school’s performance compares to the local and national picture. - Governors ensure that teachers only receive pay progression if there is sufficient evidence to show they have met their performance management targets. They ensure that underperforming teachers are challenged to improve. Consequently, teaching has remained consistently good since the last inspection - Governors know that a large proportion of the pupils are entitled to pupil premium funding and can describe how it is spent. However, they have less awareness of the impact of this and whether every child that is entitled to additional support is receiving it. - Governors ensure that the school is financially solvent. They target resources effectively, prioritising spending on areas identified in the school improvement plan. Recent investments in promoting reading have had a beneficial impact on pupils’ progress in this area.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils exemplify the school’s ethos of ‘love, hope and forgiveness’. Their behaviour is impeccable at all times of the school day. They work very hard in lessons and during breaks and lunchtime play happily together, with minimal supervision.  The school day starts with ‘Wake Up, Shake Up!’ where the whole-school community gathers to sing and dance their way into school. An assembly follows this where pupils become a chorus of voices, celebrating together the values of their school. This creates a joyful start to the day. Pupils join in enthusiastically and then take these positive attitudes into their lessons.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are excellent. This was evident during the inspection and also through the work in their books. They are punctual to class and complete their work with very high standards of presentation. There was no evidence of any low-level disruption in classes, and pupils confirmed that this

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Behaviour

is usually the case.  Pupils take responsibility for their behaviour and are quick to praise each other for being helpful and kind. Playground ‘buddies’ give ‘compliments’ slips to the headteacher when they spot someone demonstrating the ‘Rights Respecting’ attributes that the school promotes. They reward each other for their good behaviour.  Pupils are articulate and warmly welcome visitors to their school. They are proud of their achievements and have learnt beautiful manners. They open doors for adults and help whenever they can. They speak politely because they recognise that the language they use can either hurt someone or make them feel good about themselves.  Pupils, teachers and parents all confirm that behaviour is a significant strength of the school. One parent reflected on how the standard of behaviour learnt by pupils in the school, was having a positive impact back in the community.

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Behaviour

 There have been no exclusions in the last two years. This confirms the fact that there are very few serious incidents of misbehaviour in the school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Teachers, pupils and parents all agree that the school is an extremely safe and nurturing environment.  Pupils speak eloquently about the ‘Rights Respecting’ school to which they belong. They are highly conscious of their responsibilities towards protecting each other. As one Year 6 pupil wrote in his leaving prayer, ‘I want to be a good member of the community and protect people from harm.’  Pupils have a very good awareness of different types of bullying, including homophobic and racist bullying. All of the pupils who spoke with inspectors stated that there was very little bullying in school, and there have been no recorded incidents in the last year.  School leaders have created an outstanding ethos of care and support. They work closely with outside agencies to understand the changing needs of the community and the potential risks to which pupils may

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Safety

be exposed. From this, they prioritise training for staff to ensure that all adults in the school are vigilant in recognising the signs that a child may be at risk of harm.  The curriculum also enables pupils to be well informed about personal safety. All pupils receive a personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum in which they discuss issues relating to sexual health, drugs, alcohol and online gaming, among others. Pupils understand their rights well and this gives them the ability to question how others treat them.  Leaders have rightly prioritised attendance within their safeguarding policy. Attendance is above the national average for primary schools and has been for the last two years. Systems for recording absences and following up unexplained absences are robust.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of consistently good teaching, all groups of pupils make good progress over time.  Teachers have high expectations, of both themselves and their pupils. They plan lessons carefully, considering what pupils already know, understand and can do. However, some of the less experienced teachers find it difficult to know when to adapt their planning in response to pupils’ learning in lessons. This means that, in some classes, pupils do not always have enough opportunity to move on to more demanding work, or to develop their understanding in depth  Teachers all engage positively in professional development and are keen to seek support to improve. They are highly professional, organise their classrooms well and ensure no time is lost in lessons.  Teaching assistants support pupils well in lessons. They are well prepared and understand the needs of the pupils they are supporting. Inspectors observed these staff question pupils effectively, for example

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The quality of teaching is good

demonstrating how to solve a problem using practical equipment in mathematics. As a result, less able pupils make good progress over time.  Teachers and other adults create a positive climate for learning in their lessons. Classrooms are richly resourced with beautiful displays and visual aids to support learning. All classrooms and areas around the school promote a love for reading very effectively. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their lessons and very rarely go off-task. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect prevalent in every classroom.  Teachers regularly assess pupils’ work and do so with an increasing focus on providing helpful advice and guidance. They sometimes miss opportunities for pupils to act on this advice. This is most often seen where feedback is given after a pupil has completed an extended piece of writing, where the work that follows does not allow them to practise the skill the teacher has shown them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills in other subjects. However, they are still developing the content of the curriculum in these subjects in line with new national requirements. Pupils do not yet have enough opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in literacy and mathematics by applying these skills across their subjects.  Teaching staff and other adults provide individualised programmes of support for pupils who are falling behind in their reading or mathematical skills. These are enabling more pupils to catch up by the end of Key Stage 1 so that they are ready to tackle the more demanding work in Key Stage 2.  Parents and pupils agree that teaching is good. Many parents spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about the considerable individual support their child had received in order to overcome their difficulties.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The standards pupils reached in the end of Key Stage 2 national tests in writing and mathematics in 2014 were in line with the national average. This represented good progress for these pupils from their starting points. Although the standards pupils reached in reading fell and were below the national average, the large majority of pupils made at least the expected rate of progress.  The large majority of pupils reached the expected level of attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 in 2014. This also represented good progress for these pupils from the start of Year 1.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve well. In Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils achieved a standard in mathematics that was just over a year behind their peers and two terms behind other pupils nationally. In reading, they were about two terms behind their classmates and a year behind other pupils nationally. In writing, they were about a term and a half behind their classmates and other pupils nationally. However,

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The achievement of pupils is good

very few pupils did not qualify as disadvantaged in this year group. Current data shows that these gaps are now closing by the end of Key Stage 2 where, in writing for example, disadvantaged pupils are consistently out-performing their peers.  The evidence gathered from pupils’ books and from the school’s own data on achievement, shows that pupils are making good progress across the school in reading, writing and mathematics and progress accelerates as pupils get older. However, not enough pupils make better than expected progress or reach the highest levels of attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 and 2. This is partly owing to their lower-than- average prior ability on joining the school, and partly due to some lack of teaching expertise in adapting learning opportunities within lessons.  Many pupils join the school at times other than at the start of Reception, and some join during the school year. Most of these are in the early stages of speaking English. This includes some of the children in the

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The achievement of pupils is good

early years. The school caters for these pupils well. They learn to speak English quickly and by the end of Key Stage 2 achieve in line with their peers in the school.  Pupils of Black African heritage also achieve in line with their peers in school, although they are about a term behind similar pupils nationally. In 2014, there were few gaps in the achievement for White British pupils by the end of Key Stage 2, but current data shows that there are some gaps within the school. Leaders are aware of this and are tackling it rigorously.  All the most able pupils who achieved a Level 3 at the end of Year 2 made expected progress and achieved a Level 5 by the end of Key Stage 2. They achieved this standard in reading, writing and mathematics. This was also true for the most-able disadvantaged pupils. Leaders acknowledge that more pupils should make better than expected progress to reach this standard.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs receive very good support. Their progress is tracked regularly and they are provided with good support both in the classroom and through additional one–to–one or small group sessions. As a result of this, they make good progress.

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The early years provision is good

 The vast majority of children join the early years with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. This is particularly the case in literacy, mathematics and personal development. While outcomes in 2014 were below the national average, this represented good progress from their starting points. School data for this Reception Year paints a similar picture.  The quality of teaching is good. New staff and teaching assistants are well trained by the early years leader and their work is checked regularly. Teachers assess the progress children make across all the areas of learning accurately and often. They use this information to adapt the inside and outdoors provision. Teachers monitor how the children use these resources and change them accordingly. For example, they observed that boys were reluctant to engage with certain activities, so they introduced weekly ‘challenge cards’ for teaching assistants to use to target individual children. This has ensured that

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The early years provision is good

these children now engage in a wider range of learning opportunities.  The leadership of the early years is good. The leader ensures that teachers and other adults access appropriate professional development opportunities and attends local cluster meetings so she is up-to- date with local and national developments. She evaluates the quality of the provision carefully, and has improved children’s access to reading and writing resources outside as well as enhanced role-play and number games. These are helping to secure better progress in literacy and mathematics.  Behaviour is good. Children engage quickly in teacher-led activities, they take turns and speak politely to each other and adults. Well-established routines mean that children move seamlessly from one part of the day to another. For example, at lunchtime they go into the dining hall quietly and sit together to eat their lunch without making any fuss.

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The early years provision is good

 Teachers and other adults ensure that children are safe and secure at all times. Clear protocols for bringing children into school and at home times are followed by all staff. Children are encouraged to use outdoor play equipment safely and are well supervised doing so.  Children are well prepared for Year 1. Some have not reached a good level of development by the end of Reception, nevertheless they have established good learning habits and are keen to work hard and show their teacher what they can do. The positive start they make in the early years, especially in developing their personal and social skills, prepares them very well for learning.

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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 105490 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 461716

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Reverend Christopher Fallone Headteacher Ms Razia Shah Date of previous school inspection 3 March 2011 Telephone number 0161 205 2812 Fax number 0161 205 0793 Email address admin@st-augustines.manchester.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

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

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School details

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

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School details

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

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School details

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

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School details

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

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