Adswood Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

Mrs Kathleen Conwell Adswood Primary School Garners Lane Adswood Stockport Cheshire SK3 8PQ

p.1

No formal designation monitoring inspection of Adswood Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 24 May 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

p.1

No formal designation monitoring inspection of Adswood Primary School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements, aspects of the effectiveness of leadership and management (including governance) and welfare of pupils at the school.

p.1

Evidence

I met with you and senior leaders, a representative of the local authority, two members of the governing body, three groups of pupils and a range of teaching and non-teaching staff.

p.1

Evidence

I scrutinised the single central record (recording the checks on adults’ clearance to work with children) and other documents relating to child protection and keeping pupils safe. I looked through the latest attendance and absence information, a range of policies relating to safeguarding and some case studies about individual pupils. I observed the school at the start and at the end of the day, and toured the site with you to look at security procedures. I observed lunchtime for the older pupils.

p.1

Evidence

Having considered the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

p.1

Context

Adswood is larger than the average-sized primary school with 316 pupils on roll. The overwhelming majority of pupils are White British. The majority of pupils, over 60%, are known to be entitled to free school meals, which is far more than the national average. The proportion of pupils included in the register of special educational needs and or disability is over twice as large as the national average, and the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is also above average. A much higher proportion of pupils than nationally arrive at, or leave school, part-way through their education. The school is growing.

p.2

Leadership and management of safeguarding

The single central record meets requirements. You, senior leaders and governors make sure that the systems to check on adults’ identity, qualifications and right to work in the United Kingdom are thorough. You make sure that the good procedures for identifying any previous or spent convictions are followed up to make sure that any cautions in the past do not relate to children or cause any risk to children. Staff must declare annually whether there have been any changes to their details and if their personal living arrangements or associations mean that they are barred from working with children. Governors and staff have been trained in safer recruitment, and there are appropriate systems in place to check references and if staff have been dismissed from previous employment. Gaps in employment history are checked.

p.2

Leadership and management of safeguarding

Pupils I met with said they feel safe and secure, particularly after changes have been made to site security. A fob system now complements the fingerprint system to make sure that only staff can get into the school, but importantly it means that pupils cannot leave the site. You and I tested this out in a tour of the school and found ourselves outside and unable to get back into school for a few minutes. The fencing is comprehensive, solid, sturdy and high. The overwhelming majority of parents and visitors respect the school site by closing very large exterior gates. The governing body has taken action to release funds for improvements to site security and is looking at other measures to further improve visitors’ access to the school.

p.2

Leadership and management of safeguarding

Safeguarding has a high profile in the school. It is talked about at weekly staff briefings and in weekly meetings of lunchtime staff. It is talked about at each governing body meeting and in discussions between you, the nominated governor for safeguarding and the chair of the governing body. It is covered frequently in assemblies and through the curriculum, and is on display in classrooms and in corridors. Pupils are well versed in the code of conduct and in how to keep themselves safe. The pupils I met were particularly good at articulating how to stay safe when using the internet and in and around school. The school’s work to promote safety and safeguarding is effective. Pupils said that bullying is rare, particularly relating to someone’s racial background, religion or belief, perceived sexuality or special educational needs or disability. Too many pupils have high absence, particularly those who have a minority ethnic

p.2

Leadership and management of safeguarding

heritage, those with special educational needs or disability and those who are disadvantaged. This could negatively affect any future inspection judgement. Some of the data is skewed because of a few pupils’ particular medical or emotional needs which understandably affect their attendance.

p.3

Leadership and management of safeguarding

The governing body holds senior leaders to account for aspects of safeguarding and adopts the local authority’s policies and procedures for safeguarding. Governors frequently discuss aspects of safeguarding including pupils’ attendance, health and safety. There have been no complaints through the complaints process in the last two years and no referrals have been necessary to the Stockport safeguarding team. The governors do know about individual cases of a safeguarding nature and of procedures for working with families.

p.3

Leadership and management of safeguarding

There are however some important weaknesses, which if not tackled, could affect the judgement for leadership and management in a future inspection. The governing body does not receive the annual report compiled by the designated teacher for pupils who are looked after. It has not made sure that the website publishes the required information. It does not, for example, tell parents about pupils’ progress in the previous academic year or about attainment at the end of Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 at each level. The curriculum information does not make clear, subject by subject and year by year, what is being taught. The special educational needs school offer does not meet information requirements. The child protection policy omits some important welfare requirements in the early years and does not make clear the procedures staff should follow.

p.3

Leadership and management of safeguarding

The deficiencies in the policies, however, do not reflect the good safeguarding practice of the school. Safeguarding has a high profile, and pupils are safe and well looked after. The headteacher makes sure that the documentation regarding concerns about pupils is recorded thoroughly. Information is shared well across the school to make sure that all adults are aware of things to look out for. Staff know that safeguarding incidents can happen anywhere and at any time. Recent training, for example, has given staff a good understanding about what to do if there is possible extremist behaviour, any indication of female genital mutilation or any criminality.

p.3

External support

The school works very well with the local authority, social care and other external agencies. Each pupil who is looked after has a named social worker and the school makes good use of contact with the virtual headteacher to track the progress of pupils who are looked after. Information about child protection cases is shared with appropriate agencies and with other professionals to make sure that pupils are safe.

p.3

Priorities for further improvement

 Devise a system to make sure that all governors’ statutory duties are met and reflect the school’s practice, particularly in relation to: – pupils who are looked after and the annual report to governors by the designated teacher – information published on the website – key policies such as child protection and the special educational needs school offer.  Increase pupils’ attendance and decrease the number of pupils who are persistently absent, particularly: – those who have special educational needs  – those who are not White British  – those who are disadvantaged. 

p.4

Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Stockport. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4