Stanley Road Primary School

Stanley Road Primary School Inspection report

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105686 Unique Reference Number Oldham Local Authority 287296 Inspection number 20 °21 March 2007 Inspection dates Peter Jones Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 282 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Rick Varey Chair Mr Nye Goodwin Headteacher 18 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection Derby Street School address Chadderton Oldham Lancashire OL9 7HX

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0161 7708383 Telephone number 0161 6249382 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 20 °21 March 2007 Inspection dates 287296 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a broadly average sized primary school with 92% ethnic minority pupils. It serves a residential area facing challenging social and economic circumstances. Pupil mobility is very high and a growing number of the school's population are asylum seekers and refugees. Many pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are above average. The school has specialist provision for hearing-impaired pupils and has recently added a children's centre. Staff mobility was exceptionally high between the last inspection and 2004 with 106 teachers and teaching assistants employed over that period. The school holds the Basic Skills Agency and Investors in People awards and has Healthy Schools and Tooth Friendly status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school that provides sound value for money. It has emerged from a turbulent period since the last inspection. The nature of the school's population has changed, pupil mobility has increased and staff turnover has been exceptionally high. As a consequence of this instability, behaviour deteriorated and there was considerable underachievement throughout the school. From 2004 the school has benefited from stable leadership and staffing, and it is now moving in the right direction, despite the difficulties it has faced. The appointment of the present headteacher has been key to the upturn in the school's fortunes. His calmness, energy and vision has galvanised experienced and new staff into a united team, and together they have created the impressive climate for learning that underpins the school's improving performance. Reform of the curriculum to provide a learning framework that better

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Grade: 3

meets the needs of pupils is being undertaken. The increasingly effective governing body provides support, and more of its members are involved in monitoring the school's work. The leadership and management have made a generally accurate self-evaluation. It has laid sound foundations in school. Capacity for improvement is satisfactory. The school has the capacity to build on this secure framework and tackle the challenges ahead. The school judges its standards and achievement to be inadequate. This is not correct, as it is based on an evaluation of the school's previous performance rather than current achievement in school. The school holds convincing data to show that achievement and standards across the school are improving. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are now good. The school has vastly improved the accommodation for its youngest pupils, and good teaching sees them progress well. In Years 1 to 6, achievement is now satisfactory and standards overall

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Grade: 3

are improving, although they remain low. The school knows that standards in English, mathematics and science need to be improved further, but does not always use information it gathers well enough to set and monitor pupils' targets to achieve this aim. Pupils from the hearing-impaired unit make good progress because of the specialist support and help they receive. They are well integrated into the life and work of the school. The enthusiasm and commitment of teachers and teaching assistants and their willingness to adopt new and effective approaches to improving learning have been significant in raising performance. Their work to raise standards in English has been particularly effective. The drive to improve oracy is producing pupils with greater skills and confidence in their speaking and listening abilities. Classes are organised to cover two year groups and embrace a very wide range of age, ability and specialist need. Staff respond well to the challenging demands of

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Grade: 3

meeting pupils' needs. However, work set is not always matched well enough to the ages and abilities of individuals, particularly the most able, and as a result their progress slows. Pupils' good personal development and well-being is a major factor in the school's improvement. An orderly, respectful and caring learning environment has been successfully created thanks to strenuous efforts by the school. Pupils feel safe, enjoy their experiences and have a growing sense of pride and self-esteem. Attendance is improving in spite of high mobility. Parents appreciate the approachability of the staff and speak highly of the school's work. Pupils like the school's emphasis on healthy living, being given extra responsibilities and their involvement in the wider community. Pupils' care, guidance and support is satisfactory. The school goes to great lengths to provide a safe, stimulating and welcoming community. However, academic

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Grade: 3

4 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007 guidance is only satisfactory as marking does not always give pupils enough advice about the next steps in their learning or provide challenging enough targets.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in English, mathematics and science. • Ensure that work is well matched to the age and ability of all pupils, particularly the most able, so that all can make better progress. • Ensure that all staff set their pupils focused and challenging targets based on accurate analysis and evaluation of standards and achievement.

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Grade: 3

The school's records and pupils' work show that current achievement is good in the Foundation Stage and satisfactory in the rest of the school. Children enter the school with skills and abilities that are well below those expected nationally. They make good progress although their skills remain below the levels expected of them by the end of the Reception year. Elsewhere in the school, effective action is resulting in improving achievement and standards. All pupils, including those with English as an additional language, now make satisfactory progress. However, those pupils who are more able are at present insufficiently challenged in their work so that they do not do as well as they should. Most noticeable progress has been made in English, with the school's present focus on mathematics also having an impact. Although the school has raised its targets, standards still remain low by the end of Year 6. More remains to be done to raise

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Grade: 3

standards in English and mathematics and especially in science. The skilled and focused work of the team of highly trained and dedicated support staff means that pupils from the hearing-impaired unit and those pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The quality of personal development and well-being is good. This is an inclusive community where bullying is rare, and pupils say the few occurrences are dealt with quickly and effectively. Pupils and staff treat each other with affection and respect, and as a result there is a safe and calm atmosphere around the school. Pupils know how to have fun, play happily together and enjoy the opportunities the school provides in sport and music. The school and eco councils give pupils good opportunities to be involved in school life and their views are taken seriously. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. Pupils benefit from a range of visits and enjoy performances from African drummers and the Halle Orchestra. Attendance is satisfactory. It is steadily improving and the school does as much as possible to discourage extended visits abroad and to minimise the impact of the numbers of pupils joining and leaving

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Grade: 2

the school partway through their schooling. School meals are of exceptional quality and the school's successful efforts to promote heath and exercise have been recognised with its Healthy Schools and Tooth Friendly awards. The school works well with parents and carers, and they appreciate the availability of the school's multilingual staff. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and improving, with some good teaching observed during the inspection. Staff have benefited from increased training, most notably in English and mathematics, and pupils are learning more effectively. The school realises that language acquisition remains the biggest barrier to success for many pupils and is beginning to make headway in tackling the issue. The school's youngest pupils are well taught and make good progress. Staff and other agencies have been successful in involving parents and carers in a learning partnership. The best teaching has good pace and uses resources such as interactive whiteboards to make lessons enjoyable and stimulating. There are clear learning objectives and a range of learning strategies are used to help pupils achieve them. In some lessons, the work given to pupils is not always suitable to their age and ability. As a result, some pupils, particularly

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Grade: 3

the more able, do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is currently under review to better focus teachers' planning so that all pupils are stretched in their learning and make the best possible progress in their basic skills. This is a current school priority. At the same time the curriculum review is designed to provide pupils with the opportunities they need to improve their basic skills rapidly. The school is also seeking to introduce a more relevant curriculum that adopts a thematic approach to subjects and fosters a wider range of key skills. Learners are becoming more engaged in their learning and are making better progress as a result. The school's introduction of Philosophy for Children into its teaching has significantly improved pupils' thinking skills, and has contributed to their good personal development and well-being. The school works hard to increase opportunities for educational visits in the local community and beyond. Older pupils

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Grade: 3

enjoyed a residential visit in the Pennines, and there is a good range of extra-curricular activities to extend the pupils' interests.

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Grade: 3

Pupils are well cared for and supported, but the satisfactory quality of their academic guidance makes this aspect satisfactory overall. The school environment is safe and welcoming. A great deal has been invested in improving the fabric of the building to a high standard, and pupils take great pride in their new facilities, carpeted classrooms and corridors. The recently opened children's centre offers a new dimension to the community in pastoral and medical care. The school's arrangements for child protection and health and safety are extremely rigorous and meet current government requirements. Pupils' work is usually marked conscientiously, and provides next steps to learning in most classes, but this standard is not consistent across the school. Pupils are increasingly given opportunities to be involved in the assessment of their work. However, their targets are not always challenging enough for them to make sure that

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Grade: 3

they make the best possible progress. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory and are beginning to make a measurable impact on improving the school's performance. In the shorter term, the thoughtful and resolute headteacher and his skilled and hardworking leadership team succeeded in quickly bringing behaviour and relationships to a level where effective learning could take place. Parents and governors speak of a 'transformation' in the atmosphere and ethos of the school. Morale improved rapidly and the school now enjoys the benefits of stable staffing. Staff have become more confident and there is a strong sense of teamwork and purpose. Improvements to the monitoring of teaching and learning and the increasing effectiveness of subject leaders have raised the consistency of achievement across the school. The school's strategic planning takes a long-term, detailed view and is firmly focused on raising standards and achievement and providing a high quality learning experience to produce confident and skilled young people.

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Grade: 3

The school's self-evaluation is broadly accurate, although it has underestimated the quality of its achievement and standards. The governing body is improving its skills and involvement, and is monitoring the school's performance more closely than before. The energetic and capable chairperson helps ensure that the school is challenged to do better. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us feel very welcome when we visited your school, which we found to be satisfactory. I am writing to you on behalf of all the inspectors. We enjoyed our time with you, especially talking to you and finding out about all the interesting things that are happening in your school. Here is what we liked most about your school. • You enjoy coming to school and get along well together. Your attendance is improving. • Your school and eco councils and monitors do a great deal for you and the school. We think your idea to bring a book to school instead of sweets to celebrate a birthday is great! • Teachers and classroom assistants work hard to help you to learn. • You behave well and you work hard. Your progress is getting better. • We know that you enjoy the extra-curricular and sports and music activities. Your cheerleaders are brilliant! What we have asked the school to do now. • Make sure that you do better in English, mathematics and science.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Make sure that the work you are asked to do in lessons always matches your age and ability so that you can progress even more quickly. • Make sure that your teachers always give you challenging targets so that you can improve even more. We appreciated talking to you and watching you learn. Well done. You should be proud of your school. We wish you well for the future. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Stanley Road Primary School, 20 °21 March 2007

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