St Andrews Church of England Primary School, Maghull

Inspection of a good school: St Andrews Church of England Primary School Maghull Deyes Lane, Maghull, Liverpool, Merseyside L31 6DE

p.1

Inspection dates: 11 and 12 October 2022

p.1

Outcome

St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, Maghull continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils in St Andrew’s School are kind and compassionate. Pupils said that teachers and their friends make them feel happy and safe. They also said that people are never singled out because they are different. Pupils know that if bullying should ever happen, it will be dealt with immediately by staff.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils care about their community. For example, they visit the elderly and sing at a local care home. Pupils also give presentations in the parish church. Pupils respect cultural and religious diversity. They have visited different places of worship, including the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and a synagogue.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are responsible and active citizens. They raise funds for a wide range of different causes, including children’s charities, and charities in African countries.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy visiting local places of interest, such as art galleries and museums. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 look forward to their annual residential learning, where they develop their orienteering skills and participate in different water sports, including canoeing.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect pupils to behave well and achieve highly. Pupils respond positively to these high expectations. They behave sensibly and learn well in a range of subjects .

p.1

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

Leaders and governors have recently introduced a logically ordered curriculum, which is implemented well by teachers and teaching assistants. The new headteacher, and the leadership team, know precisely what they want pupils to learn and when they should learn this content. This means that pupils, and children in the early years, can build successfully on their learning over time. 11 and 12 October 2022

p.1

2

Teachers make sure that they introduce new subject content clearly. They typically check that pupils have learned what has been taught. In most subjects, teachers go over learning that pupils have not understood or have forgotten. However, this does not happen as effectively in a few subjects. This means that pupils are not as secure as they should be in their learning before they move on to new ideas. This leads to gaps in their knowledge which hinders their later learning.

p.2

2

Learning to read is central to the school’s curriculum. Leaders have ensured that staff are appropriately trained to deliver the new phonics programme. Staff ensure that from the start of the Reception Year, children learn the sounds that letters represent. Pupils in key stage 1 become fluent readers as they practise what they have learned with books that match the sounds that they know.

p.2

2

Older pupils love reading for pleasure. They are familiar with the work of a range of different authors. Most pupils read confidently. Those who find reading difficult benefit from effective support, which is helping them to catch up to their peers.

p.2

2

Leaders and staff quickly identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As well as using their own expertise to assess pupils’ needs, they also work with parents, carers and a range of specialist partners. They ensure that additional help is available should pupils need it. They make certain that these pupils have the support that they need to access the same curriculum as their peers. Parents were especially complimentary about leaders’ work to help pupils with SEND.

p.2

2

Pupils behave responsibly when playing with their friends at breaktimes. They also listen carefully during assemblies and they follow the rules in class. Pupils’ conscientiousness helps to ensure that the school is orderly. Due to this, lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Children in the Reception class play sensibly and like to tidy up and help staff.

p.2

2

Leaders have established a rich personal development curriculum, which provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils to develop their talents . Leaders encourage pupils to pursue their interests in sports, such as cross-country. Pupils hone their musical skills playing different percussion and string instruments. Pupils perform their leadership roles diligently. They demonstrate this through their dedication to their roles as well-being ambassadors, playtime pals, office assistants and sports captains. Pupils love attending clubs, such as knitting, football and multi-skills clubs.

p.2

2

The local governing board and trust leaders know the school well. Staff told the inspector that the training available to them through the trust is helping to improve their teaching and leadership skills. Staff said that leaders are mindful of their well-being and workload. 11 and 12 October 2022

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

Safeguarding leaders ensure that all staff are familiar with the government’s latest guidance on keeping pupils safe in education. This means that staff know how to identify potential signs of neglect and abuse. They adhere to the school’s policies and procedures and promptly inform leaders if they are concerned about a pupil. Leaders collaborate closely with external agencies and partners to make sure that pupils quickly get the support that they need.

p.3

Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet, through different areas of the curriculum.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, teachers’ checks on pupils’ learning are not as effective as they are in other curriculum areas. Teachers are less able to spot when pupils have not understood what has been taught. This leads to gaps in their knowledge. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills and knowledge to check that pupils are learning the curriculum effectively.

p.3

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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

p.3

Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Andrew’s Maghull Church of England Primary School to be good in July 2013.

p.3

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. 11 and 12 October 2022

p.3

4

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

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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. 11 and 12 October 2022

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10241425 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 26 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.  The school is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school. The last section 48 inspection was carried out on 22 February 2017.  The school is part of the Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust (LDST).

p.5

Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act

p.5

Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. He also held meetings with other leaders, including those responsible for SEND, pupils’ attendance and behaviour, pupils’ welfare and pupils’ personal development. 11 and 12 October 2022

p.5

6

 The inspector met with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector held a meeting with the chief executive officer and the education director from the LDST. He held a telephone conversation with a representative of the Liverpool Diocese.  The inspector met with pupils to discuss their learning in some other subjects. He spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector met with parents and reviewed responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments from parents. He reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey to consider.

p.6

6

 The inspector examined a range of policies and documents. He also scrutinised safeguarding information, including the school’s safeguarding policy. The inspector spoke to safeguarding leaders about the reporting and recording of any safeguarding incidents. He also talked with pupils about their safety and welfare.

p.6

Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 October 2022

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7