St Chrysostom's CofE Primary School

St Chrysostom’s CofE Primary School Lincoln Grove, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester M13 0DX

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leadership has stabilised after a period of turbulence. The executive headteacher provides highly effective leadership and has set a clear direction to improve the school.  The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. The school is a welcoming and harmonious community.  Behaviour overall is good. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and the majority are well behaved in lessons. Pupils’ behaviour around the school is exemplary.  Assistant headteachers make a strong contribution to improvement and provide excellent support for less experienced staff.  The governing body provides good support and challenge to leaders. They are managing the move towards full federation with St John’s Primary School in Longsight effectively.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. After a period of instability, permanent staff are in place who bring energy and innovative ideas to the school. Staff morale is high.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching assistants make a significant and valuable contribution to pupils’ learning.  Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Staff are vigilant and pupils feel and are safe.  The decline in achievement at key stage 2 has been halted. Pupils are now making good progress. The high standards attained at key stage 1 have been sustained.  The early years provision is good. Children are happy and safe and make good progress. They make rapid gains in their language skills. Their progress in other areas, particularly mathematics, is not as rapid because their abilities are not assessed as thoroughly.  Subject leaders’ skills are not yet sufficiently developed to enable them to check pupils’ progress and lead improvements in teaching.  Although there have been recent improvements to the teaching of reading comprehension skills, these are not yet consolidated across the school.  Pupils, particularly the most able, have not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

acquired sufficient reasoning skills to confidently solve problems in mathematics.  Pupils have limited opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills on extended pieces of writing.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by: – teaching reading comprehension skills explicitly and evaluating the impact of strategies that have been recently introduced – ensuring that pupils, particularly the most able, are supported to develop reasoning skills, apply their knowledge to solve problems and deepen their learning in mathematics – giving pupils opportunities to write at length – further developing pupils’ vocabulary and spelling skills.  Develop subject leaders’ skills to enable them to lead improvements to teaching and check that pupils’ knowledge and skills are developing systematically.  Ensure that children in the early years, particularly able children who do not yet speak English, make the best possible progress in all areas of learning by: – ensuring that assessments accurately reflect children’s ability in mathematical understanding, knowledge of the world and their personal and social skills

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that activities in mathematics are sufficiently challenging to enable children to extend their learning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The recently appointed executive headteacher provides clear direction. His knowledgeable, highly effective leadership is motivating staff and ensuring that improvements continue apace. He has quickly established where further improvement is needed, based on thorough and accurate evaluation of the school’s performance.  The assistant headteachers make a strong contribution to school improvement. They are excellent role models and support less-experienced staff very effectively. They are leading improvements in the teaching of reading and literacy across the school successfully and their work is already having an impact on pupils’ progress.  Leadership of other subjects is not yet developed fully. Middle leaders are committed and enthusiastic but many are relatively new to the role and they have not received the training or time to develop their role fully. Action planning for foundation subjects and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

mathematics is not focused sufficiently on improving teaching and ensuring pupils’ continued good progress.  Staff morale is high. The large number of new teachers, appointed since the last inspection, bring energy, enthusiasm and innovative ideas. They share senior leaders’ ambition and high expectations for pupils’ achievement and personal development.  Teachers’ performance is managed effectively. Teachers have appropriate targets linked to their role, pupils’ outcomes and whole-school priorities. Leaders and governors make sure teachers only progress through the salary scale when their performance warrants it.  Good-quality induction supports newly qualified teachers to develop their skills and become familiar with school policies and priorities for improvement. All staff are supported to develop their skills further through well-planned professional development and work with other local schools. The links with St John’s School in Longsight provide

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

good opportunities for staff to learn from best practice and enrich pupils’ experiences by sharing staff’s expertise across both schools.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a key strength. Pupils’ rich cultural heritage is celebrated by all. Pupils show great respect for each other and interest in the diverse backgrounds and faiths represented in the school community. Pupils gain a good understanding of values such as democracy and the rule of law because such values are exemplified in the work of the school and in lessons.  The promotion of equal opportunities is integral to the work of the school. Staff do all they can to remove barriers to learning and make sure all pupils achieve as well as possible. Pupils who join the school part way through the year in all year groups are supported successfully to access the curriculum. Disadvantaged pupils are funded to access enrichment activities. Pupils’ personal development and welfare are paramount

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and the most vulnerable pupils are supported extremely well.  The curriculum is broad and enriched with a range of before- and after-school activities. Pupils enjoy drama, gardening, choir and a range of sports, for example. The use of additional sports funding is planned with care to broaden pupils’ experience and participation in school and in after-school clubs. As well as the more traditional sports, pupils enjoy skateboarding and street dancing. Sports coaches provide training for staff to improve their teaching skills to ensure that quality provision is sustained.  Parents who spoke with inspectors and responded to Parent View are overwhelmingly positive about the school. All would recommend it and the vast majority feel their children are taught and looked after well. There are good opportunities for parents to learn how to support their child’s learning at home in various workshops. A small

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

minority of parents feel they do not receive enough information about their child’s progress and feel that past leaders have not responded well to their concerns.  The local authority has provided good support for the school through a time of instability in staffing and leadership. Interim posts have kept the school moving forward, but such turbulence has had an impact on pupils’ progress. The decline that was evident has now been halted.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body provides good support for school leaders and checks the performance of the school closely. Governors are managing the move from two governing bodies to one federated governing body effectively.  The chair of the school governing body has an in-depth understanding of the school’s performance based on a good understanding of data and comprehensive reports from the local authority.  Governors ensure that pupil premium funding is used effectively. Disadvantaged pupils of all abilities make good progress because they benefit from additional support, good- quality resources and access to a range of enrichment activities.  Governors oversee leaders’ performance and teachers’ performance management effectively.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  There are thorough procedures to ensure the safe recruitment of staff and ensure that governors and all who work with pupils in school have the relevant checks.  Records relating to safeguarding are detailed and well organised. Pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable are supported very effectively, with support from outside agencies where appropriate.  All staff have completed training in safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty appropriate to their roles and responsibilities. They receive frequent updates and all have read the most recent government guidelines. Staff are aware of the signs of abuse and risks associated with extremism; they know the routes to follow if they have any concerns.  There are appropriate filters in place to ensure the safety of pupils when they are online.  All parents who responded to Parent View said their child feels happy and safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers and teaching assistants are encouraging and provide motivating activities that engage the interest of all pupils. Positive relationships help pupils to grow in confidence; pupils are keen to contribute in lessons because they feel their views are respected and valued.  Teachers explain new learning well and are skilled in questioning; they probe and deepen pupils’ understanding effectively. Teachers use good-quality resources, including information and communication technology, to aid teaching and support learning.  Activities are usually planned well for different groups of pupils in lessons. Pupils who speak English as an additional language are supported extremely well, with support from staff or pupils speaking their first language where possible and intelligent use of visual aids. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who need to catch up are supported effectively in classes and in small groups.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching assistants make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning, both in class and in small groups, with pupils of all ability. They have received good-quality training in the teaching of phonics and many have specialist skills in teaching pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, language difficulties or social and emotional needs.  The most able pupils are not always taught as effectively as they could be. While teachers’ questioning is effective in discussion, the activities set for the most able are not sufficiently challenging to enable pupils to achieve greater depth in mathematics. For example, pupils repeat calculations that they are already fluent in.  The teaching of phonics has improved significantly with the introduction of a new approach that engages pupils’ interest. Pupils are grouped effectively so they build on their knowledge and skills systematically from the early years to Year 3.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The teaching of reading comprehension skills is a whole-school focus. Good-quality training has already improved teachers’ skills but it is too soon to evaluate the impact of new approaches on pupils’ ability to read for deeper meaning.  Senior leaders are leading the way in promoting the joy of reading and deeper understanding of texts. Pupils in key stage 2 were captivated in the assembly by the executive headteacher focusing on the book, ‘The New Jumper’. The assembly fired pupils’ imagination and provided teachers with a wealth of material to follow up in class.  Teachers are imaginative in making links between subjects and helping pupils to transfer learning from one context to another. This effectively supports pupils, especially those speaking English as an additional language, to develop their language and literacy skills.  Teaching is particularly successful in supporting pupils to develop their understanding

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

of different types of writing and punctuation. It is not quite as effective in helping pupils to identify spelling mistakes and use more exciting vocabulary in their writing.  Mathematical knowledge is taught consistently well so that pupils have a good grasp of number facts and calculation methods. Pupils attain expected standards in mathematics but they are not taught effectively how to apply reasoning skills, investigate and solve problems. This means that some pupils, particularly the most able pupils, do not develop the depth in learning of which they are capable.  Teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils is consistent and follows school policy.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare is at the heart of everything the school does. Pupils grow in confidence and are extremely well prepared for life in modern society.  The school is a welcoming and harmonious community where everyone gets on well. Staff are excellent role models in promoting positive and caring relationships. Pupils show great respect for each other and celebrate the diversity within their school enthusiastically.  Pupils and staff ensure that pupils who join the school during the school year are helped to settle in quickly. Older pupils who have limited experience of English or the national curriculum are provided with excellent support to help them catch up and learn English.  Pupils are encouraged to contribute to decision-making and the running of their school at every opportunity. For example, they talked about the qualities they would like in

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Personal development and welfare

their new executive headteacher and a representative group interviewed candidates, asking very challenging questions.  Pupils’ leadership skills are developed exceptionally well. The school council and pupil leadership groups, such as the Champions of Worship, rightly take great pride in their work. The school councillors ensure that they represent the views of their classmates. The school grounds have been developed as a result of their most recent project and the garden is enjoyed by all.  Pupils feel and are safe in school. They have an in-depth understanding of risks and hazards that could compromise their safety in school and beyond, including when they are online. Pupils know who to talk to and what to do if they ever feel at risk or concerned.  Pupils who spoke with inspectors were positive that bullying does not happen in their school. They have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including that

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Personal development and welfare

associated with racism, extremism and homophobia. They know that such bullying will not be tolerated in school.  All parents who made their views known feel their children are happy and safe. The vast majority feel bullying is dealt with effectively.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ attendance is above average and they are punctual to school.  Fixed-term exclusions have been reduced significantly from above average in 2014 to nil in 2015. This is because behaviour is being managed more effectively by all staff and pupils who initially struggle to manage their own behaviour are provided with excellent support to ensure that they remain engaged in school. No pupils have been permanently excluded during the last three years.  Behaviour around the school and in shared areas is exemplary. Pupils are polite, considerate and sensible.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and the vast majority concentrate in lessons and produce good-quality work. Occasionally a few pupils wander off task and may temporarily disrupt the learning of others in lessons. Teachers and teaching assistants are quick to recognise where this happens and provide appropriate support. A few

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Behaviour

pupils do not look after their books well.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils’ progress across the whole school is now good. The decline in pupils’ achievement at key stage 2, that has been evident for the last two years, has been halted. The disruption to leadership and staffing, including several interim appointments and temporary teaching staff, contributed to this decline. Staffing and leadership are now stabilised and new teachers and leaders are raising pupils’ achievement.  Pupils have made consistently make good progress from their starting points and attained above-average standards at the end Year 2 over a number of years. This strong performance is continuing and current pupils are achieving at least expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics in each class at key stage 1. Attainment in the phonics screening check also remains above average.  The low attainment at the end of key stage 2 in reading in 2016 was due partly to the high number of pupils in that cohort who joined the school in key stage 2. Leaders

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Outcomes for pupils Good

recognise that past pupils have not received explicit enough teaching in comprehension skills to help them understand deeper meaning in texts. For some, limited English and lack of understanding of vocabulary was a barrier. Teaching is now securing better progress in reading.  The most able pupils read with fluency and understanding and have a good range of strategies to work out unknown words. The least able pupils are more reliant on phonic strategies and work out the pronunciation of words accurately. However, they do not have the fluency to infer meaning from the text.  In mathematics, pupils typically attain at expected standards at the end of key stage 2 and lower- and middle-ability pupils have made good progress in the past. The most able pupils have not made such good progress however, considering their prior attainment at key stage 1.  Disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively and make at least as good and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

sometimes better progress than other pupils in school with the same starting points. In 2016 disadvantaged pupils made similar or better progress than other pupils nationally in writing and mathematics. Progress in reading was not as positive and reflected that of other pupils in school.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress over time. They benefit from targeted support in class and additional help from specialist support staff in small groups. The support in early years and at key stage 1 is particularly effective. Pupils who need to catch up are also supported well so they make accelerated progress.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language are supported well across key stage 1 and key stage 2. Those who are at early stages of English-language acquisition are given effective support to develop their language skills in subjects across the curriculum.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress in writing across the school and in all subjects at key stage 1. They do not make such good progress in mathematics at key stage 2 because activities are at times too repetitive and do not provide them with sufficient opportunities to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills. Pupils of all abilities, including the most able, have not made expected progress in reading in the last two years.

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Early years provision Good

 Children enter the early years with a wide range of pre-school experiences. Many children do not speak English so their communication, language and literacy skills in English are often below that which is typical for their age. Their knowledge and skills in other areas of learning are more varied and cohorts vary from year to year.  Children make good progress from their starting points and the proportion reaching a good level of development is typically in line with the national average. Children make rapid gains in their communication, language and literacy skills. They are prepared well for further learning in Year 1.  The early years provision is well led by an assistant headteacher. New staff are inducted well and all receive appropriate training to develop their skills and ensure that they are up to date with school policies and safeguarding procedures.  The learning environment is stimulating and well organised to promote imaginative play

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Early years provision Good

and provide children with purposeful activities across all areas of learning. The outdoor area is well resourced and provides an exciting outdoor classroom. Children enjoy exploring natural materials and developing their skills across all areas.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and teaching is consistently good. Children are motivated and delight in exploring the range of activities. In the Nursery, for example, children developed their manual dexterity by managing utensils to create models, using tweezers to pick up buttons and using writing and painting materials to make marks.  The teaching of phonics is a strength. Children in the Reception classes are grouped appropriately and build on their skills systematically. The multi-sensory approach ensures that they develop effective early reading and writing skills.  There is excellent provision for children who have special educational needs and/or

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Early years provision Good

disabilities in the early years. Children make great strides in their learning in structured sessions with a speech and language specialist. Adults work together consistently to support children’s learning and personal development in a range of contexts.  Staff make good use of additional funding and make sure that disadvantaged children make just as good progress as others.  Teaching assistants make a good contribution to children’s learning and are consistent in all their dealings with children. They are particularly skilled in supporting children’s language and literacy development.  Children are very well behaved and develop good attitudes to learning at an early stage. They work and play together happily. Children feel safe, develop independence in learning and grow in confidence because adults are encouraging and provide an excellent level of care for children.  Staff are vigilant in ensuring children’s safety and well-being and make sure all welfare

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Early years provision Good

requirements are met. All staff know the routes to follow if they have any safeguarding concerns.  Engagement with parents is very good. Parents are welcomed and involved at the start of the day and provided with good advice to support their children’s learning at home. They told inspectors that they are impressed with the ‘calm and welcoming atmosphere’ and the ‘purposeful activities that capture children’s interest’.  Adults assess children’s communication and language needs very thoroughly and adapt teaching and activities well to meet their needs. However, children’s mathematical skills, their knowledge and understanding of the world and their social needs are not assessed as effectively. Sometimes, children’s lack of English masks their ability in other areas. Consequently, some of the activities provided, particularly those designed to promote mathematical skills, are not sufficiently challenging for the most able children.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-chrysostoms.manchester.sch.uk

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School details

Email address admin@st-chrysostoms.manchester.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3–4 November 2011

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The number on roll has increased significantly since the last inspection.  A much larger than average proportion of pupils join or leave the school at times other than the start of the Reception Year. Some pupils stay only a short time while their families find a more permanent address.  The vast majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. A much larger than average proportion speak English as an additional language and many pupils join the school at early stages of English-language acquisition. Over 20 languages are spoken.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium is well- above average.  The proportion of pupils who receive support for special educational needs and/or disabilities is well-above average. The proportion with a statement of special

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Information about this school

educational needs or education, health and care plan is average.  The school meets the 2015 floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school has experienced instability in leadership, with a number of interim appointments, and has an almost entirely different teaching staff since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in each class. They talked to pupils about their learning and listened to pupils read.  Inspectors scrutinised a sample of pupils’ work from each class from Year 1 to Year 6. They evaluated pupils’ progress and standards in writing, mathematics, science and foundation subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils around the school and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They spoke to a number of pupils informally and had meetings with three groups of pupils.  A wide range of documentation was considered, including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement planning, policies, safeguarding procedures and monitoring by the local authority.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, middle leaders and teachers, two governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 28 responses to Parent View and spoke with many more parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Jean Olsson-Law, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sheryl Farnworth 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

Parent View 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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