Rolls Crescent Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Rolls Crescent Primary School Rolls Crescent, Hulme, Manchester M15 5FT

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 January 2022

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Outcome

Rolls Crescent Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to belong to this friendly and supportive school community. The warm greeting that pupils and their families receive from staff each morning helps pupils to make a positive start to the day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from strong relationships with each other and with staff. Pupils appreciate that staff care about them and take the time to get to know them well. This helps them to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that leaders and teachers want them to do their best. Pupils behave well and work hard to meet their teacher’s high expectations. They understand the importance of respect for all. They embrace their differences and get on well with each other. Pupils said that incidents of name-calling and other types of bullying are rare. They are confident that if they reported any concerns, staff would act swiftly and do their best to help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities. They are proud to take on roles such as rights ambassadors. Pupils enjoy the visits and special events that leaders plan for them. They are enthusiastic about the activities that they can attend after school, such as dodgeball and steel pans clubs.

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

Leaders have planned a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, leaders have decided on the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. They have ordered content carefully so that new learning builds on what pupils have learned previously. This helps pupils, including children in the early years, to progress well through the curriculum, knowing and remembering more over time. For example, in mathematics, older pupils explained how their knowledge of multiplication and addition facts helps them when solving more-complex calculations. 12 and 13 January 2022

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Most subject leaders are well-trained and have strong curriculum expertise. They provide valuable information for teachers to develop their subject knowledge. Leaders support staff to deliver curriculums effectively. However, in a few subjects leaders are not as far along with their curriculum thinking. They have not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn or considered fully how this knowledge builds over time. Consequently, in these subjects, some pupils struggle to make links and remember what they have been taught previously.

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Leaders have recently reviewed the early reading curriculum. They have set out clearly what they want pupils to learn and by when. Staff have been trained effectively in how to deliver the phonics programme. Children begin to learn sounds and letters from the start of the Reception class. Pupils practise their reading regularly with books that are well- matched to the sounds they know. Teachers check closely on how well pupils, including children in the early years, are doing with their reading. Staff provide additional support so that those pupils who fall behind can catch up quickly. Almost all pupils gain fluency and confidence in reading by the end of Year 2. Older pupils enjoy the books that adults read to them in class and develop their comprehension skills well.

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Children in the early years get off to a positive start. Staff encourage them to behave well and listen attentively. Staff organise learning carefully to help children to develop their vocabulary.

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Leaders have made sure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified early. This group of pupils receive appropriate support to access the curriculum and achieve well. Parents and carers value the help that their children receive.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Leaders’ high expectations are communicated clearly by teachers and staff are trained to deal with behaviour consistently well. Pupils who sometimes struggle to regulate their own conduct benefit from tailored support. Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.

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Leaders help pupils to learn about equality through all aspects of school life. Pupils develop a strong understanding of their rights and responsibilities and the importance of respect for all. They gain an understanding of the wider world. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate the approachability and support of leaders who are considerate of their workload.

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Governors are committed to the continued success of the school and offer both support and challenge to school leaders. Governors have benefited from recent training to help them to become better informed about the quality of education for pupils and the development of the wider curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 12 and 13 January 2022

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Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training, including on issues related to peer-on-peer abuse. This ensures that staff can spot the signs that might indicate that a pupil could be at risk or suffering from harm.

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The safeguarding team is aware of the difficulties that pupils and their families may face. The team works well with other services to respond appropriately to any concerns and to provide the help that pupils and their families need.

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Pupils are helped to keep themselves safe in the wider community, for example through ‘bikeability’ training and a project to raise their awareness of the danger of gangs.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not finalised their curriculum thinking in some subjects. In these subjects, leaders have not considered fully the important knowledge that pupils need to learn or how new ideas build on previous learning. This prevents pupils from making links and building on what they already know to develop their understanding. Leaders should ensure that teachers are clear about the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and when. This will enable pupils to know more and remember more of the curriculum and deepen their understanding of these subjects over time.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Rolls Crescent Primary, to be good in April 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 12 and 13 January 2022

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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. 12 and 13 January 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10212106 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteachers Jeff Reynolds and Helen Turner

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School details

Website www.rolls-crescent.manchester.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Rolls Crescent Primary School converted to become an academy school in September 2017. When its predecessor school, Rolls Crescent Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of the Changing Lives in Collaboration multi-academy trust.  There have been considerable changes to the governing body since the predecessor school’s previous inspection. This includes the recent appointment of a new chair of governors.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held discussions with the executive headteacher, headteachers, subject leaders and members of staff. She spoke with six members of the governing body 12 and 13 January 2022

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including the chair of governors and three trustees, including the chair of trustees. The inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, around the school and during lunchtime. The inspector spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views of their school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. The inspector also considered aspects of a number of other subjects on the school’s curriculum.  The inspector considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View,

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Ofsted’s online questionnaire. This included the comments received via the free-text facility. The inspector also spoke to parents at the start of the school day. The inspector also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil questionnaire.  The inspector considered a range of documentation shared by school leaders, including the school development plan, the minutes taken at governors’ meetings and leaders’ self-evaluation document.  The inspector checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. She reviewed safeguarding documentation and spoke to leaders, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Janette Walker, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 12 and 13 January 2022

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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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