St Edmund's RC Primary School

St Edmund’s RC Primary School Queen Street, Little Hulton, Worsley, Manchester M38 0WH

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 St Edmund’s is a friendly welcoming school in which pupils thrive. Leaders have established a culture in which everyone is respected.  Leaders have successfully tackled all of the areas for improvement identified in the 2014 inspection and the school continues to improve.  Governors have a better knowledge of how well pupils are achieving and of the quality of teaching. This knowledge has helped them to challenge leaders more effectively.  Provision for the most able pupils has improved, so this group, which had been floundering for a number of years, is now making good progress across a wide range of subjects. Leaders have also been successful in increasing disadvantaged pupils’ progress.  Teaching in English, mathematics, science, history, music and physical education is particularly effective. Teachers use assessment well to plan lessons to build on pupils’ skills.  The early years is good. Teaching is challenging

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This is a good school

and enables pupils, particularly the most able, to make good progress. Children’s levels of development have improved in the last three years and they are well prepared for starting Year 1.  The school’s work to promote pupils’ safety and welfare is outstanding. It means that pupils have a very good understanding of how to stay safe in a wide range of situations, including when online.  Bullying, racism and derogatory language are very rare. Pupils work and socialise regardless of age, gender or ethnic heritage. It is a harmonious school in which pupils feel safe and welcomed. Pupils behave well in class and around school. Attendance is above average for most groups of pupils.  Parents are very positive about the education their children receive.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching in art, modern foreign languages and computing does not enable pupils to develop their skills and understanding to the same level as other subjects.  Pupils’ understanding and knowledge of democratic and government structures in the United Kingdom and abroad is underdeveloped.  Governors have not ensured that the website meets the government’s information requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, and pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding, in modern foreign languages, art and computing.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the school complies with national expectations about the information that should be published on its website and in the contents of its policies.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding of democratic institutions in the United Kingdom and the world by: – knowing more about the roles and responsibilities of local and national government and different leaders in the United Kingdom – knowing more about international institutions and leaders.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Governors, the headteacher, and staff at all levels, have established and shaped a positive school culture in which all pupils are welcomed, valued and respected. It has been a long and sometimes difficult route for the school from twice being judged as requiring improvement. The headteacher has provided transformational leadership. Ably supported by senior leaders, she has made significant improvements to teaching, which has led to increases in pupils’ achievement. They have successfully tackled the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection but also areas for improvement which have been bubbling around since 2010, such the quality of governance and provision for most-able pupils. The track record of improvement, plus leaders’ accurate judgements about strengths and weaknesses in the school, indicate they have good capacity for further improvement.  Leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching have been effective. Leaders frequently identify the impact of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

lessons through formal and informal observations, scrutinising work and consulting pupils’ views. They check on whether staff comply with school policies and whether teaching has an impact on pupils’ learning. They follow up any development points that they identify and provide useful staff training for individual or groups of staff. This serves as a constant cycle of review and improvement.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and has a positive impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are many opportunities across subjects to consider aspects of spirituality and morality. For example, pupils in Year 5 consider some modern dilemmas such as ‘Can you be friends with someone you don’t like?’ and ‘Is it possible to have no gifts?’ The sensible and thoughtful responses indicated that pupils are being asked to think deeply about moral issues.  The curriculum develops pupils’ understanding of different countries and civilisations. Year 4 pupils, for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

example, successfully increased their knowledge and understanding about the terrain occupied by the Mayan people. They conjectured about how they would establish their own civilisations by taking account of forests, mountains and the landscape to build the settlements they would need.  Pupils, through the curriculum, make gains in their knowledge and understanding about the rule of law and liberty. They learn to respect people who have different faiths and different ethnic heritages. Similarly, they learn to respect people in wider British society, such as those with different sexualities, those who are homeless and people who live with a disability. They have celebrated recently the Queen’s birthday but have a lack of understanding of her role. Pupils were sure that anyone would be welcome at St Edmund’s. Pupils’ understanding of democratic institutions such as local and national government, different types of leader and government institutions is underdeveloped.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Since the previous inspection there are more activities and clubs at lunchtime and a greater range and balance of clubs after school, such as sport and music. The pupils said to inspectors that they felt they still would benefit from more activities at breaktimes.  The sports premium, despite there being no clear impact measures on the website, is used effectively. Staff have greater skills and knowledge of how to teach sport and physical education (PE). Pupils are more involved in a greater range of competitive sport in and after school, including athletics, wrestling and lacrosse. Most-able pupils have been directed to specialist sports clubs to cater for their emerging talents, for example Bolton Wanderers.  The pupil premium grant is used effectively by school leaders. The external review in 2014 was high- quality and enabled the leaders to make effective improvements. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

has increased, and their progress has improved in the last three years, as has their attainment. The funding has been used to train staff on accredited specialist courses in speech and language. Pupils’ language and communication is improving well because they are receiving the teaching they need.  In the past there has been extensive external support from supporting schools, the local authority, the diocese and leading professionals, such as national leaders in governance and national leaders of education. This support has been removed because of the progress the school has made, but importantly because the school is now improving itself without external help. The guidance from the local authority has been highly effective in helping leaders with staffing and personnel issues, and with helping to raise the quality of teaching and governance.  The governance of the school – Governance has been an area for improvement in the last three inspections. Recent appointments

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

have provided the governing body with the skills, knowledge and expertise it needed to ask relevant and challenging questions and to better support leaders and hold them to account. There is an improved level of scrutiny of the school’s work. The external review of governance was completed and governors have successfully taken action to implement most of its recommendations, for example to restructure its committees. – Governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and of how well different groups of pupils are achieving. They have less information, and are less secure, about how well pupils are achieving in subjects other than English and mathematics. Governors use a wider range of information, such as from sources external to the school, to help them make decisions. Senior and middle leaders provide governors with information prior to meetings, which enables governors to formulate any questions they have before they meet.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

– Governors are reflective and evaluative about their own performance. At the start of the inspection there was no system for checking whether all of their statutory duties are being met, such as in providing the required information on the website. Similarly, they did not realise that some protected characteristics identified in the 2010 Equality Act are included in the equality policy. Governors acted quickly and by the end of the inspection had devised a system to check compliance with statutory duties. – The website does not reflect the quality of practice in the school. Governors have not ensured that all the information required by the government is published. For example, the curriculum provides an overview in most subjects of the skills being taught but it is unclear year by year and subject by subject what is being taught. Transgender, marriage and maternity/paternity are missing from the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

equality policy. Requirements regarding the use of mobile telephones and digital equipment in the early years are missing from the child protection policy. – Governors know how the external funding for pupil premium and for sports premium are spent, but are less confident in identifying the impact of the spending. They have a good understanding of how to manage teacher performance and how this links to pay increases.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Procedures in place to check on the background of staff and their eligibility to work with children meet national requirements. There is a very thorough and detailed log of incidents and concerns that relate to the protection of pupils. School staff are tenacious and relentless in the pursuit of issues to make sure children are safe. They have made sure all staff have been trained in first aid and in how to identify signs of different types of extremism. The school has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pursued cases when leaders feel pupils are in danger, such as going missing in education, or potentially being exploited and forced into female genital mutilation. Leaders share information with other agencies and when other agencies are very slow or reluctant to share information with the school, leaders will not let go, and insist they have the information to protect the child.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The teaching of mathematics is good. Teachers carefully model how to complete calculations using a range of useful equipment and resources to build pupils’ understanding. Teachers are successful in developing pupils’ fluency, particularly with numbers and developing pupils’ skills and approach to solving problems. There is a good focus on deepening pupils’ learning and understanding by asking them to explain, think, and to reason their ideas mathematically. Most-able pupils in particular are constantly challenged to think hard about their calculations and to think more deeply.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make in words when reading and spelling) has improved significantly and is now good. Pupils respond enthusiastically to quick-fire revision of previously learned sounds and then successfully learn and practise new sounds. There is a systematic and progressive system for teaching early reading and comprehension skills which builds on pupils’ word

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

recognition and ability to split words up into sounds when they read. Pupils read accurately to inspectors and said they read frequently and widely across a range of different books. The most able pupils accelerate through the phonics sounds at a brisk pace and quickly move onto to more complex words with multi-syllables or with complex phonics patterns.  Writing has been an area for improvement in previous inspections. It is clear from pupils’ work that they write well across a range of subjects and in a range of styles. Their fiction writing builds well on the work they have done on grammar and the structure of sentences. Teachers consistently use the same terminology across the school for parts of sentences such as conjunctions, adverbial phrases and clauses, which means that pupils increasingly know and understand the technical language. The most able pupils are challenged continually to improve their use of language features, such as frontal adverbial phrases,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

subjunctive clauses and modal verbs. Their writing over the year increases significantly in levels of sophistication.  Assessment is effective. Teachers plan lessons based on their assessments from previous lessons but also amend their teaching during the lesson dependent on how well pupils pick up on what is taught. Teachers circulate the room well to check on pupils’ understanding and adapt their questions before moving on. They ask probing questions, particularly to the most able, to make pupils think more deeply. The feedback pupils receive enables them to know what to do to improve their work. This is evident in pupils’ work, where the impact of feedback has helped them to improve their sentence structure in their writing.  Teachers use their good knowledge of their subject to explain the content of the lesson. This subject knowledge enables teachers to challenge the most able pupils. Most teaching assistants play a helpful

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

role in developing pupils’ skills. In one class, typical of other classes, the assistant sat back and allowed pupils to think for themselves and very occasionally asked questions to redirect and improve their thinking.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are taught well. Leaders work with teachers and assistants to identify the right teaching programme for pupils’ needs. Speaking and listening has been a significant issue, so staff have received extensive and specialised training to improve their teaching. This has worked and pupils make good progress in a range of communication skills.  Teaching in history, science, PE and music is particularly good. Pupils demonstrate very positive outcomes in these subjects. In history, pupils develop and improve their skills of using evidence from historical sources to draw conclusions and use their growing historical knowledge to explain how people lived in the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

past. In PE and music, pupils receive expert tuition from specialists. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and high expectations of what should and can be achieved in these subjects. In a Year 3 music lesson, for example, the teacher enabled pupils to keep a rhythm going, sing with correct pitch and develop their understanding of musical technical vocabulary.  Pupils learn French. Teaching, however, requires improvement because it is not frequent or systematic enough to develop pupils’ linguistic skills. Some pupils told us it is a long time since they have been taught French and there is no established systematic scheme of work for learning the language. The most able linguists do not attain the level of which they are capable.  In art, pupils learn about artists such as Georgia O’Keefe, LS Lowry and Pablo Picasso. The teaching of art, however, does not enable pupils to systematically build their drawing, painting or sculptural skills.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

There are no sketchbooks for pupils to try out and improve different techniques and styles.  Pupils learn research techniques but computing requires improvement. There is not enough teaching of computing linked to technology, science or mathematics and there is a lack of systematic teaching of the full range of computing skills. The most able pupils are not challenged to write their own programmes or to use computers to move real or screen-based toys.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  The pupils that the inspectors spoke with had a very good knowledge and understanding of how to stay safe in a range of situations. They told us about how to stay safe around railway lines, water, roads and when using bicycles. They had an excellent awareness of personal safety and how and when to say no if they are unhappy with a situation. They told inspectors about how the school had trained them in ‘the underwear rule’ and how to report any worries and concerns to school staff through a secure web tool.  Pupils have a detailed and very useful knowledge of how to stay safe when using online services. They know about the dangers of ‘spam’ telephone calls, ‘phishing’ messages and emails and the precautions that should be taken when using the internet and social media. They know how to protect passwords and

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Personal development and welfare

how to stay safe from downloading virus-laden software.  Pupils that inspectors spoke with said there was no racism and that children from other countries or ethnic heritages would feel safe at St Edmund’s. Similarly, they were adamant that derogatory language such as ‘that’s so gay’ is very rare and it would be safe if two boys or two girls started to like each other. They indicated that there was also very little, if any, swearing, or name-calling such as teasing because of how someone looks. Parents also agreed there was little bullying. Pupils overwhelmingly said they feel safe and this is backed up by very few logged incidents in the last few years of any type of bullying.  Pupils readily take up roles and responsibilities. Since the previous inspection there has been a significant improvement in consulting pupils about changes to the school. They can take part in the pupil, curriculum or ‘ECO’ councils and help to improve the school environment and the subjects they learn. Pupils also

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Personal development and welfare

spoke very positively about the chaplaincy group, which helps younger pupils and contributes significantly to school life.  Pupils like school and are interested in their lessons. They have good self-confidence and have demonstrated during the inspection a thirst for learning and a keen interest in the subjects they are studying. This is one of the reasons why pupils’ progress in a wide range of subjects is now good.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Parents that inspectors spoke with or who returned a questionnaire also confirmed the judgement that pupils are well behaved.  Attendance is above average for almost every group of pupils. Only the pupils with an education, health and care plan have lower attendance than all pupils nationally and those who attend alternative provision.  Pupils behave sensibly in lessons. Pupils told inspectors that they can usually concentrate in their work but some of the younger pupils said their work was occasionally hampered by other children calling out or chatting. In most classes, pupils were responsive to adults, listened intently and worked well with others regardless of gender, ethnicity or background. As a result of the good relationships with adults and pupils’ good behaviour, very little time is wasted by teachers in controlling their classes.  At lunchtime there are two serving hatches, which prevents long queues and misbehaviour in the

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Behaviour

canteen. Canteen staff said pupils were well behaved and use good manners when they are collecting their meals. Pupils behave well at lunchtime and become engrossed in games and activities.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress from their starting points. In 2015 almost every pupil made expected progress and a high proportion made more than expected progress, particularly in mathematics and writing. The published assessment information in the national performance tables paints a picture of standards that are less than good. In particular the most able and disadvantaged pupils have not attained the highest levels at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. The wealth of evidence from pupils’ work and recent information about pupils’ progress indicates that the published data is no longer valid. Current assessments indicate this pattern is replicated in every year group in a wide range of subjects.  The most able pupils are making good progress, over a quarter are exceeding the expected level for their age. Senior leaders meet frequently to discuss this group of pupils and have developed a system across all subjects of deeper thinking. This approach has been successful and pupils are challenged and think

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Outcomes for pupils are good

more deeply about their learning in a wide range of subjects.  Pupils who are disadvantaged made good progress in 2015, but their attainment lagged around half a year behind other pupils. Pupils’ work and assessments show that the gap in attainment this year is closing. The teachers spend time each term reviewing this group of pupils’ progress with senior leaders and evaluate the teaching that has either worked or not worked before amending teaching to accelerate their progress.  Current pupils’ work, particularly that of the most able, indicates that pupils write with increasing complexity across most subjects. The quality of pupils’ writing has been an issue for improvement for some time and past published data indicate that few most-able pupils write to the standards of which they are capable.  In science, because of high-quality teaching, pupils make good progress. Pupils’ work, for example,

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Outcomes for pupils are good

indicates that at the start of Year 5 pupils were able to write basic hypotheses to predict what will happen in an experiment and identify some variables to be tested. By the end of the year of extensive science work and high-quality experiments, pupils showed much greater precision in their testing of variables. In one example a high-ability pupil, typical of many, wrote, ‘I will change the diameter of each cone, but I will make sure they drop from the same height.’ Pupils also improved their precision in drawing conclusions from patterns in their results.  Outcomes in history and geography are good. Pupils develop their historical and geographical knowledge and apply their skills in well-crafted activities. They examine and draw conclusions from a range of sources and have chance to think about consequences of past events. Pupils in Year 5, for example, used evidence well to draw information about the past regarding King Offa and his significance in history. In

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Outcomes for pupils are good

Year 2, pupils conjectured about the importance and impact of events in the past.  Pupils’ outcomes in French require improvement. Although a few pupils could count to ten and knew a few words such as colours, they struggled answering some simple questions in French and had only a limited vocabulary. Pupils’ outcomes in art require improvement. Although they have some chances to draw and paint, there is no systematic improvement in their drawing, painting or composition skills.  Pupils who access the alternative provision do not make as much progress as other pupils in the school. However, they grow in self-confidence and improve their behaviour. Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make good progress, particularly in their writing and mathematics. One of the reasons for this is adults’ high expectations, targeted teaching and well-judged interventions which help them catch up to other pupils.

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Early years provision is good

 There has been a two-year increase in standards by the end of Reception and it is highly likely it will increase again in 2016. In the past, children have not been as well prepared as they could have been for the start of Year 1. For the last two years, pupils have started Year 1 with levels of development that have been below the national average. This is one of the reasons why it has been a struggle to catch up ground to reach expected standards by the end of Year 2. This published information is no longer valid.  Children’s skills and knowledge when they enter Nursery are below those typical for three- and four-year- olds, particularly in their mathematical skills. By the time the children transfer into Reception, two thirds of them have made good progress. The most able children, for example, could write number sentences to 20 and correctly identify the total on a number line. They could accurately match the written numeral to

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Early years provision is good

the correct number of objects. Children gain in understanding by using well-chosen equipment and resources.  Children in Nursery and Reception learn how to read by following a clear and progressive reading scheme. Teachers develop activities that enable children to successfully use their phonics to write and spell increasingly difficult words. They also make good progress in their writing, moving from basic marks through to words with discernible letters and simple phrases and sentences. The most able children are successful in writing a basic retelling of a story. There are some missed chances for adults to correct and improve on children’s reversal of letters.  Children’s outcomes across the different subjects are good. In a small number of aspects such as using imagination and the quality of expressive art, children do not attain as highly as other children nationally. Children do, however, have the chance to develop baking skills, use the outdoor performance area and

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Early years provision is good

join arts week with the rest of the school.  The leadership of the early years has been effective in improving children’s outcomes. The leader has a good oversight over the quality of teaching and has improved some key areas such as the teaching of phonics. She has ensured that the curriculum meets children’s needs and is broad. Parents are engaged in their children’s learning and contribute to children’s work and join in at home with creative homework.  Children’s attendance in Nursery and in Reception is high. They are well behaved and treat resources and each other with respect. They behave well and have a good understanding of how to stay safe. The school’s work to promote children’s welfare and personal development is good. Adults show children how to protect themselves from the sun, fire and dangers on the roads. They are also successful in developing children’s understanding of hygiene procedures.

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School details

Unique reference number 135307 Local authority Salford Inspection number 1001 2203

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 370 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Grahame Walker Headteacher Mrs Claire Harrison Telephone number 0161 790 2328 Website www.st-edmunds.salford.sch.uk Email address Claire.harrison@salford.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 17–18 June 2014

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Information about this school

 St Edmund’s is larger than the average-sized primary school and most pupils are white British.  The proportion of pupils identified, because of their circumstances, as disadvantaged is well above the national average (these are pupils who are looked after or who are known to be eligible for free school meals).  The proportion of pupils who receive support from the school because they have been identified as having special educational needs or disability is similar to the national average. Similarly, the proportion of pupils who have an education health plan is in line with the national average.  The school meets the national floor targets (the minimum pupil attainment and progress expected by the government).  Although some aspects were put right between the start and the end of the inspection, the school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the curriculum or the school’s offer for

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Information about this school

pupils who have special educational needs or disability. The child protection policy does not make reference to the welfare requirements in the early years foundation stage or in enough detail about different forms of extremism.  The school makes use of part-time provision at Alderbrook School, which provides specialist teaching and support for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this inspection

 The school has been judged to require improvement in the previous two inspections.  Inspectors observed teaching in each class present at the time of the inspection, in a range of subjects, including music, physical education, history, science, English and mathematics. At the time of the inspection most Year 5 pupils were on a residential visit to Wales.  They met with a range of staff, including the senior leaders, a newly qualified teacher and the family support worker. They discussed the school’s progress with a representative of the local authority and with five of the nine non-teaching members of the governing body.  Inspectors met parents at the start of the school day and took into account the 21 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s parent questionnaire.  No pupils completed Ofsted’s questionnaire. Inspectors instead spoke with five groups of pupils, including the school and curriculum councils, consulted the school’s own survey into bullying and talked

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Information about this inspection

with pupils at break and lunchtimes.  No members of staff returned Ofsted’s online staff survey.  Inspectors followed up a parental complaint to Ofsted regarding security in the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection team

Allan Torr, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Doreen Davenport Ofsted Inspector Sheila O’Keeffe Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

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

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