All Saints C of E Primary School

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

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Mrs Lorraine Tennant Headteacher All Saints Church of England Primary School Culcheth Lane Newton Heath Manchester M40 1LS

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 March 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 January 2014.

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Current pupils learn successfully. They make good progress across classes and subjects. They enjoy lessons and told me that mathematics is a particularly popular subject. Teachers provide well-planned extra activities to inspire pupils. For example, pupils learn about recycling, and they visit the beach and pinewoods at Formby Point. Pupils participate in many fund-raising activities. For example, they act to support people affected by recent terrorist atrocities. This helps pupils to understand the relevance of British values to their lives.

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

Leaders and governors make sure that the school’s Christian character influences the work of the school. For example, you provide a breakfast club free of charge to families. This means that the many pupils who attend eat a healthy breakfast and arrive at lessons promptly and ready to learn. Staff make sure that displays in classrooms and corridors promote school values clearly. For example, a display about courage links to the bravery of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Staff celebrate pupils’ achievements and efforts in many different ways to highlight the importance of commitment and hard work.

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

Throughout the school, teachers and teaching assistants give much attention to developing pupils’ language. Pupils gain much from the frequent and varied ways in which staff prioritise opportunities for talk. Often pupils listen to or read a wide range of traditional and modern stories to further develop their vocabulary. Staff give pupils lots of opportunities to practise their growing language skills. Older pupils whom I met were very confident and eager to speak with me about their learning. When inspectors last visited the school, they asked leaders to improve the quality of teaching. You have achieved this at the same time as appointing new staff to replace those who moved elsewhere in their careers. School information shows that teaching is good. Leaders’ support for newly and recently qualified teachers is successful. Throughout the school, activities often involve staff and pupils making good use of technology to

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

enhance learning. Leaders are taking action to make sure that more pupils achieve and exceed the standards for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

Following the previous inspection, staff and leaders improved pupils’ writing skills successfully. However, in 2016, improvement faltered when national expectations were raised and assessment arrangements revised. In 2017, pupils’ attainment and progress in writing in the school slipped further. Leaders, staff and governors are acting with skill and determination to address this issue. Throughout the school, pupils now make strong progress in their writing.

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

Parents and carers said that their children feel safe at school. Most pupils know who they can go to, in order to share any concerns. Pupils have regular opportunities to learn about staying safe, including recent activities linked to ‘safer internet day’. Leaders give staff regular training about national and local child protection issues. This helps staff to understand the main risks to the safety of pupils and their families. Staff and leaders keep a close check on pupils’ feelings about their lives. They act promptly when concerns arise, make detailed records of issues and link appropriately to other agencies. Leaders review school information carefully, including that about pupils’ behaviour. Leaders and governors work together well to make sure that the attendance of pupils is rising. Governors attend training about safeguarding and are seeking to access even more, to strengthen their ability to challenge leaders. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding

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Short inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School

arrangements are fit for purpose. However, the school safeguarding policy does not include some of the information required by the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016’. The success of the school’s arrangements to protect pupils means that this weakness does not indicate wider issues.

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Inspection findings

 The quality of teaching is good. Leaders keep a close eye on the quality of staff’s work to support pupils’ activities. They review what they observe jointly with other leaders. They check their insights regularly with an external adviser who works to support the school. Senior leaders complete some observations of teaching with the adviser to strengthen the accuracy of their work. Leaders review examples of pupils’ work frequently and in detail. They liaise closely with staff to evaluate pupils’ progress. Staff, including those new to teaching, feel well supported in their work.  Leaders’ reviews of the work of the school are honest, perceptive and challenging. You set the right priorities to move the school further forward. Your recent work has led to strong improvement in leadership and teaching. You are taking thoughtful action to make sure that more pupils achieve and exceed the standards for their age in reading,

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Inspection findings

writing and mathematics. I checked the impact of your work by looking at improvements in pupils’ writing. After improvement in 2014 and 2015, the standard of pupils’ writing in the school did not keep pace with heightened national expectations in 2016 and 2017. However, leaders, staff and governors are taking determined steps to improve pupils’ writing. Throughout the school, many more current pupils now write with skill and confidence. They make strong progress in their writing abilities. Pupils want to write because teaching is more inspiring. For example, boys in Year 4 told me how much they enjoyed writing and editing a non-fiction book about the Tudors.  The new subject leader for English has excellent knowledge of the subject. He holds a clear understanding of research about how pupils learn to speak, read and write. He understands what good teaching, learning and assessment look like. The quality of his

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Inspection findings

analysis of key issues in the work of the school to develop pupils’ writing is exemplary. He and other leaders use this information well to make sure that necessary changes are taking place.  Leaders and staff plan activities that boost pupils’ confidence, skills and attitudes about writing. Together with pupils and parents, they make frequent use of a public website to display, view and review examples of pupils’ writing from All Saints and other schools. Staff and leaders promote and celebrate examples of pupils’ writing extensively and very positively on wall displays and on the school’s website. Leaders consult pupils regularly for their views. For example, they ask, ‘How have you got better at your writing?’ and ‘What is your favourite type of writing to do?’ Leaders use what pupils say to help improve teaching further.  From starting points below what is typical, children in the early years make good

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Inspection findings

progress because of knowledgeable teaching. In particular, staff’s teaching of subtraction is skilful and helps children to complete simple number problems in their heads, as well as with their fingers and objects. In the Nursery, children told me with enthusiasm of their re-enactment of the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ earlier that day. Through such activities, staff give a valuable boost to children’s language skills. Although leaders make sure that the Nursery has a wide range of storybooks, staff do not always present these well for children to select. In Reception, children develop their writing skills through a wide range of meaningful opportunities, for example in their role-play. Such provision is less evident in the Nursery class.  The coordinator for the early years gives strong leadership to the work of staff. She reviews information about children’s attainment and progress carefully to set clear

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Inspection findings

priorities for the improvement of teaching. This means that provision in the early years is improving strongly.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 recent improvements to leadership, teaching and learning result in even more pupils achieving and exceeding the standards for their age in reading, writing and mathematics  staff give children in the Nursery more opportunities to write and to access the many storybooks available  the safeguarding policy is updated to contain all required information. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Manchester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Manchester. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and other school leaders. We discussed evidence of how well the school is improving and your plans for the future. We reviewed examples of current pupils’ work and information about their attainment and progress. With the deputy headteacher, I observed a sample of pupils’ learning. I spoke with pupils in the breakfast club, in classrooms and around the school. I met with some parents as they dropped their children at school. I met with the school adviser. I spoke by telephone to the chair of the governing body. I considered your summary of a recent school survey of parents’ views. There were too few responses to Ofsted’s Parent View website to analyse. I considered responses from eight staff to an Ofsted questionnaire. I reviewed your arrangements to protect pupils, which included speaking to some staff and checking a sample of school records and policies.

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