Westleigh St Paul's CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Westleigh St Paul’s CofE Primary School School Street, Leigh, Lancashire WN7 5JN

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Outcome

Westleigh St Paul’s CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud members of this nurturing, friendly and welcoming school. Pupils and their families are greeted warmly by staff each morning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that pupils get the support that they need to help them achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide a wide range of activities to help pupils improve their mental health, well-being and behaviour. For example, in meditation sessions, pupils learn useful strategies to relax and stay calm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Reading lies at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about their favourite books and authors. Pupils said how much they enjoy story times in class. Reading champions review new books for their classmates. Through the library wish list, pupils can request new books that they would like the school to purchase. Pupils learn to read for pleasure. As one pupil said, ‘Reading is important and it takes you to another world.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave with kindness and consideration for others. Staff teach them how to follow the school’s values, including friendship, love and respect. Pupils said that staff deal effectively with any bullying. Pupils feel safe. They enjoy coming to school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have planned a broad and interesting curriculum. Pupils are enthusiastic about school. Staff make sure that pupils use the correct vocabulary when talking about their learning. This starts in Reception, where staff pronounce and repeat words that children find difficult to use. The curriculum prepares pupils for the next stage of their education. Pupils achieve well. The majority reach the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Across subjects including geography, leaders have improved the curriculum plans. This is 4–5 December 2019

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to help pupils, including those with SEND, to remember more about each topic. For example, in geography, the revised plans enable pupils to embed learning about continents, countries and capital cities. Leaders are developing ways to check that these changes are helping pupils to remember even more about what they have learned.

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Leaders are determined that every pupil will read well, including pupils with SEND. From the start of Reception, children learn sounds and letters. Adults listen to pupils read regularly in school, using books that match the sounds that pupils are learning. Last year, the proportion of pupils who met the phonics screening check fell from previously above to below the national average. Leaders have taken effective steps to address this fall. Through training and support, staff are skilled in teaching phonics. Through regular checks of phonics lessons, leaders make sure that all staff use a consistent and effective approach when teaching phonics. Staff check pupils’ progress regularly. They provide additional support to help pupils who are falling behind. This support is effective. Pupils start key stage 2 reading fluently. This includes those who did not meet the phonics screening check in Year 1.

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Pupils achieve well in mathematics. Teachers ensure that pupils revisit their learning very regularly. This helps them to learn key facts, such as multiplication tables, which they will need for future learning. In Reception, children explore numbers in lots of different ways using a range of practical equipment. The class teacher shows children how to count objects accurately. Across the school, pupils become confident and accurate in written calculations. Teachers make detailed checks on how well pupils are learning. They use this information to provide additional useful support, including for pupils with SEND. However, the activities that staff give pupils in lessons do not always build on previous learning. Staff have not considered what prior learning pupils need to succeed in a task. Leaders have recently developed plans to support teachers with planning lessons which precisely match pupils’ needs.

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Pupils behave well. The youngest children in school follow instructions and move calmly and safely around the classroom. In lessons, pupils are keen to do their best. They have a clear understanding of the school’s behaviour policy and think that it is fair. Staff make sure that pupils know the different forms that bullying may take, including racism. Pupils are confident that staff will address any of their concerns.

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Pupils enjoy a wide range of experiences which develop their understanding of the wider world. This includes trips to museums and places of worship, such as a Year 6 visit to a Sikh temple. The local vicar is a regular visitor to school. She helps pupils learn about Christianity. Pupils learn about other religions, including Hinduism and Judaism. Pupils take part in a wide range of after-school clubs including choir, art and basketball.

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Older pupils take on a wide range of leadership roles, including prefects and playground leaders. Pupils lead assemblies and organise charitable fundraising. They develop as thoughtful citizens with a good understanding of equality.

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Staff enjoy working at the school and feel valued by leaders. They enjoy the regular opportunities to develop their skills.

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The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Leaders and staff have regular training. Staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders work closely with other agencies and professionals to ensure that pupils and their families get support when needed. Leaders check the staff recruited to work in school to ensure that they pose no threat to pupils.

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Staff and visitors teach pupils about the risks they might face in their everyday lives. Pupils learn how to stay safe in their everyday lives and when using technology. Pupils know that they should speak to an adult in school if they are concerned about anything.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In mathematics, some activities that teachers give to pupils are too difficult. This is because teachers have not considered what previous learning pupils need to enable them to be successful. Leaders have taken steps to improve teachers’ knowledge of the steps in mathematical learning that pupils need to make. Leaders need to ensure that staff use this information to plan activities and lessons which build on pupils’ previous learning.  Leaders have developed the school’s curriculum plans to improve pupils’ learning. Leaders need to check that curriculum plans across different subjects, including geography, are having the intended impact in strengthening pupils’ knowledge and understanding over time.  In some subjects, the school’s current checks on pupils’ learning are not effective. Leaders are taking steps to improve assessment activities to check teaching and learning across the curriculum. Leaders need to ensure that these checks are effective

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

and are used by teachers to improve teaching and learning.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Westleigh St Paul’s CofE Primary School to be good on 24–25 March 2015.

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find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 4–5 December 2019

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Gillian Clarkson

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 March 2015

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Information about this school

 The school had a section 48 inspection on 3 April 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher.  I held meetings with four governors and the pastoral team.  I checked the safeguarding policies and procedures and the single central record. I met with leaders, staff and pupils to check how effective safeguarding is in school.  I met with parents at the school gate to seek their views. I also considered 21 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, including free-text responses.  I spoke to staff to seek their views of the school. I considered 19 responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff.  During the inspection, I spoke with pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 and observed lunchtime.  I examined a range of documents. These included minutes of the governing body 4–5 December 2019

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meetings and safeguarding documentation.  Geography, mathematics and reading were considered as part of this inspection. For each of these subjects, inspection activities included discussions with leaders, visits to lessons, discussions with teachers, scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils about their learning. In reading, I also observed members of staff listening to pupils read.

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Inspection team

Elizabeth Stevens, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 4–5 December 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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