All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.1

Mrs Wendy Hughes Headteacher All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan Hazel Grove Golborne Warrington Cheshire WA3 3LU

p.1

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Following my visit to the school on 17 January 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2014.

p.1

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

p.1

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Leadership is strong and effective. School leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and the priorities for further improvement. Staff are fully committed to the school. All members of staff who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire said they are proud to work at the school, and they believe the school has improved since the previous inspection. They also said the school is well led and managed, and leaders do all they can to ensure that the school has a motivated, respected and effective staff team.

p.1

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Together with the staff team, you have created a harmonious learning community at All Saints Catholic Primary School, underpinned by strong relationships between pupils, teachers, and parents and carers. Under your leadership, the school has gone from strength to strength. Changes to the curriculum have been embraced by staff and the quality of teaching, as indicated in the school’s records, by my observation of teaching and learning, and the work in pupils’ books, is of high quality. As a result, pupils make strong progress at the school and achieve very well.

p.1

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

At the previous inspection, you were asked to ensure that more opportunities were provided for pupils to practise their writing skills across all subjects. You have successfully addressed this issue. Pupils now have regular opportunities to write in geography, history and science lessons. This has contributed to the steady improvements that have been achieved in writing over the past two years. At the previous inspection, you were also asked to improve the quality of pupils’ presentation. You have had success in addressing this issue. Pupils typically take great care in the way in which they present their work and their handwriting in the vast majority of the books that I saw was of good quality.

p.2

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Despite the impressive progress made since the previous inspection, you are constantly seeking to strengthen further the school and capitalise on its successes. You have very effective plans in place to build on the strong improvements that have already been made.

p.2

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Parents are highly supportive of the school and your leadership. This was captured in the view of one parent who wrote: ‘All Saints provides a supportive and nurturing environment for my children. The school provides a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities and my children really enjoy school, which is very important to me.’

p.2

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

Pupils thrive at All Saints Catholic Primary School, due to the high-quality care, guidance and support that staff provide for them. School leaders work closely with parents and external agencies, where necessary to ensure that pupils are safe and that their welfare is assured. All members of staff are vigilant in their approach to safeguarding pupils and report any concerns immediately.

p.2

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

You are meticulous in your record-keeping. Along with other senior staff, you ensure that you make all appropriate checks on adults before they start to work at the school. You make detailed records of safeguarding meetings and the outcomes of any action taken to support pupils who might be at risk. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

p.2

Short inspection of All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan

The pupils I spoke with during the inspection told me that they feel safe in school. They said behaviour is good and instances of bullying are extremely rare. Parents agree with this view. All of those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the school’s own surveys said that their children feel safe and secure while in school.

p.2

Inspection findings

 There is a consistent approach to mathematics teaching across the school and pupils achieve well in this subject. From the time that they start in the early years, children have regular opportunities to practise and develop their ability to work with number. As they move through the school, pupils are regularly challenged to apply their knowledge and skills to solve problems in a range of contexts. Pupils in key stage 2 develop the ability to recall and apply their mathematical knowledge rapidly when solving problems. They make strong progress in their learning. In 2017, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in mathematics, at the end of key stage 2, was well above the national average, and almost one-third of the cohort was judged to be working at greater depth.  Pupils benefit from a very well-planned curriculum that enables them to develop their learning across the full range of subjects. For example, pupils have the

p.2

Inspection findings

opportunity to play a wide variety of sports during physical education lessons, and some high-quality art work is displayed around the school. Pupils develop their knowledge and understanding about the world through a well-planned topic approach. This provides excellent opportunities for learning in geography and history. Regular science lessons also provide good opportunities for pupils to investigate and develop their scientific knowledge. However, you recognise that some of the work set for pupils in science does not regularly challenge the most able pupils, who are capable of achieving even higher standards in this subject.  Pupils’ progress in writing is continually improving and the proportion achieving the expected level at the end of key stage 2 has been above the national average for the past two years. The work in pupils’ books shows that current pupils are making strong progress in their writing. However, too few are making

p.3

Inspection findings

rapid progress and developing the skills and abilities which indicate that they are writing at greater depth, for example by demonstrating an understanding of different sentence types and word choices. This was particularly evident in pupils’ writing in subjects such as science and history, where opportunities were missed to encourage pupils to be more adventurous with their vocabulary. You are fully aware of this relative weakness. You already have plans in place to improve teachers’ subject knowledge and raise expectations about what pupils can achieve.  Reading is a particular strength of the school. Phonics teaching is highly effective and helps younger pupils to develop quickly the skills they need to become fluent and independent readers. High-quality, engaging texts underpin learning across the whole curriculum. As a result, older pupils read widely and often. In 2017, the proportion of pupils who met or exceeded the expected standard in

p.3

Inspection findings

reading at the end of key stage 2 was above the national average.  Governors know the school well. They have a wealth of experience, fully understand their responsibilities and fulfil their duties efficiently. Governors are linked to specific classes and subject areas. They play an active role in school life, and are regularly involved in visits to the school and discussions with teachers and subject leaders about the school’s work. They keep a good oversight of the school’s appraisal systems and ensure that robust procedures are in place for safeguarding pupils.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 further improvements are made to the quality of pupils’ writing, in English and subjects across the curriculum, so that more pupils achieve the higher standard at the end of key stage 2  the most able pupils are regularly provided with greater levels of challenge in science.

p.4

Next steps for the school

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

p.4

Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. I met with seven members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body and the school’s adviser. I visited all classrooms, with the headteacher, to observe teaching and learning. I spent time looking at the quality of work in pupils’ books and listened to some pupils read. I met with the school council and also spoke with a group of Year 6 pupils about various aspects of school life. I observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and dinner time. I reviewed a range of documentation, including the single central record, safeguarding documentation, the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, and records relating to the checks that are made on the quality of teaching. I also took account of the staff questionnaires and the 35 responses to Parent View.

p.4