St Wilfrid's Cof E Primary School

Inspection of St Wilfrid’s C of E Primary School Pennystone Road, Halton, Lancaster, Lancashire LA2 6QE

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

The previous ‘outstanding’ judgement reflected the school’s overall effectiveness in April 2009 under the relevant inspection framework at that time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

The new judgement of ‘good’ reflects the current inspection framework, as well as any changes at the school since the last inspection.

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Overall effectiveness Good

The school has not been inspected for 11 years, which is longer than the five-year maximum interval between inspections. Changes in school effectiveness may have happened at any point in that period. The long time between inspections is because the law changed in 2011; it made outstanding schools exempt from routine inspection. 15–16 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are positive about school because pupils are friendly towards each other. Leaders have high expectations of the pupils. Pupils understand that they must try to live out the school values. They know that they should treat everyone with respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They are knowledgeable about the dangers of online gaming and social media. Pupils know why it is important to stay fit and healthy. They enjoy the outdoor spaces that they have to play in. They enjoy using the climbing wall and running track.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They said that name-calling and bullying were very rare. They said that teachers deal with poor behaviour so that it is not repeated. Pupils enjoy earning certificates for good behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils engage in the wide range of extra-curricular activities. Clubs are planned to meet pupils’ interests and needs. They include a range of sports and arts-based activities, for example sewing, knitting, choir and football.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are supportive of the school. Many are positive in their views. Some expressed concerns about different aspects of life in school. They want to know more about what is being taught in school.

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better?

Leaders have planned an exciting and ambitious curriculum. Pupils enjoy their learning and try their best. Most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve as well as other pupils nationally in English and mathematics. By the end of Year 6, pupils typically achieve better in English than they do in mathematics.

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better?

Leaders have strengthened the mathematics curriculum. Recent training has strengthened teachers’ subject knowledge. This is helping them to deliver the mathematics curriculum with greater consistency. Leaders check this work closely. Pupils enjoy their lessons and enjoy wide-ranging and challenging activities. Pupils learn in a logical order. Teachers build upon what pupils already know. Older pupils know how to apply their knowledge of division to help them with fractions.

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better?

Governors know the school well. Leaders provide them with information about the achievement of pupils. Governors do not use this information to hold leaders to account for the achievement of pupils across the full range of curriculum subjects.

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better?

Leaders promote reading well across the curriculum so that pupils are enthusiastic readers. Pupils speak confidently about their favourite authors and books. The teaching of phonics is effective. Most pupils reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Staff have received training to ensure that they are 15–16 January 2020

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experts in teaching phonics. They deliver phonics lessons that build well on what pupils already know. Those who fall behind receive support to help them catch up. Many games and activities strengthen this work. However, some children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 are not developing their reading fluency. The books they take home to practise do not build on the sounds that they know.

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The subject leaders for science and design and technology have planned the curriculums well. New learning builds well upon what pupils know. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about making peg dolls in design and technology. They explained how this was linked to their history work about the Victorians. In science, leaders have fostered links with local scientists. This has helped pupils better understand some of the jobs that scientists do. Pupils said that they love science. Pupils take pride in their work. Many high-quality displays around school showcase the pupils’ excellent science and design work.

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Leaders have planned an exciting early years curriculum. Stimulating activities develop children’s curiosity so that they enjoy the fun activities which help them to learn across the curriculum. Staff read exciting stories to the children to develop their listening skills. Children talk to one another and develop their vocabulary as they engage in art and design activities. They develop their fine motor skills while learning how to sort and classify objects in mathematics. Children learn how to take turns as they use crates to build a wall to ‘keep the big, bad wolf out’.

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The promotion of pupils’ personal development is a strength of the school. Pupils visit places of worship to learn about other religions. Leaders have set up an exciting exchange programme with an inner-city school. Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to contribute to the community. For example, pupils who attend the sewing club make resources for the local hospice. An enterprise day developed pupils’ business skills. They designed and sold products and used the profits to help raise funds for the repair of the church roof. Pupils enjoy looking after the school allotment. They participate in a range of leadership opportunities. These include global ambassadors, the online safety team and young leaders.

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Staff are very proud to work at St Wilfrid’s. They work closely as a team and share their skills and knowledge. All staff have benefited from recent training in design and technology.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that all staff have a detailed understanding of how to safeguard pupils. Training is regular and relevant. Staff know how to spot signs of abuse and neglect. Staff are aware of their responsibilities and know how to respond to, and record, concerns. The senior leaders work in close partnership with the learning mentor and the family support worker. They engage with hard-to-reach and vulnerable families. They work with a range of partner agencies to ensure that support is in place for pupils and their families. 15–16 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The systems in school for the teaching of phonics ensure that children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 recognise phonics. Staff do not always match the books pupils are reading to the sounds that they are learning. This means that some children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 lack the fluency to develop their reading further. Leaders should ensure that books better match the sounds that pupils are learning so that they can become confident, fluent readers.  The mathematics scheme of work has been adapted to ensure that pupils do as well in mathematics as they do in English. Leaders must ensure that there is a consistent implementation of the approach across the school so that pupils build their knowledge in mathematics and are better prepared for the demands of the key stage 3 curriculum.  Leaders provide governors with information about the achievement of pupils. Governors must use this information to hold leaders to account for the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

achievement of pupils across the full range of curriculum subjects.  Many parents are happy with the school. However, there are a number of parents who are not happy with the school. Some parents would like to know more about what is being taught. Governors and school leaders must address the concerns of parents and develop appropriate methods of communicating with parents and of sharing information.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 15–16 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122169 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 April 2009

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Information about this school

 The school had a section 48 inspection on 31 January 2019.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

The previous ‘outstanding’ judgement reflected the school’s overall effectiveness in April 2009 under the relevant inspection framework at that time.

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Information about this inspection

The new judgement of ‘good’ reflects the current inspection framework, as well as any changes at the school since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The school has not been inspected for 11 years, which is longer than the five-year maximum interval between inspections under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Changes in school effectiveness may have happened at any point in that period. The long time between inspections is because the law changed in 2011; it made most outstanding schools exempt from routine inspection. 15–16 January 2020

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 We met with the headteacher, senior leadership team and subject leaders throughout the inspection.  We met with three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  We met with the leaders for the provision of pupils with SEND.  We met with a representative of the local authority.  We spoke with pupils from across the school about behaviour and safeguarding.  We looked at documentation in relation to safeguarding. We spoke to staff about their safeguarding knowledge to check how effective safeguarding is in school.  We examined a range of school documentation. This included information from minutes of governing body meetings, headteacher reports and school development plans.  We spoke to parents at the start of the school day to seek their views. We considered the 144 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. We considered the two letters and the one email we received from parents.

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 We considered reading, mathematics, design and technology, and science as part of the inspection. We met with the subject leaders, visited lessons and spoke to pupils about their work. We met with teachers and scrutinised pupils’ work with the subject leaders. We listened to pupils read and explored how well they apply their knowledge of phonics to their reading.

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Inspection team

John Donald, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tim Sherriff Ofsted Inspector 15–16 January 2020

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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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