Wigan Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wigan Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School Clifton Street, Worsley Mesnes, Wigan, Lancashire WN3 5HN

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Outcome

Wigan Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy at this nurturing school. Adopting the Olympic and Paralympic values as the school’s own, leaders expect all pupils to ‘learn like champions’ and ‘achieve more than they ever thought possible’. Pupils respond positively to these high expectations. They thoroughly enjoy learning and working hard and most, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Pupils also rise to staff’s high expectations of behaviour. They treat adults and peers with courtesy and respect. Leaders do not tolerate bullying. They deal with incidents of unkind behaviour immediately and help pupils to understand how their actions affect others. Pupils said that staff make sure that they are safe in the school. They know whom they should talk to in school if they are worried about themselves or any of their classmates.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide well for pupils’ wider development. Staff make sure that pupils take part in cultural and artistic activities beyond the classroom. Pupils benefit from learning to play a range of musical instruments and from taking part in rarer sports such as orienteering and dodgeball. They understand the importance of helping others and protecting the planet. They learn to take on responsibility, for example by being eco-councillors, library monitors and reading buddies.

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

Leaders have developed and sustained a well-devised and ambitious curriculum which takes into account the characteristics of the local area. Teachers know exactly what they should teach, when to teach it and what pupils should know at set points throughout the year.

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

Teachers use strong subject knowledge to select appropriate activities, give clear explanations and ask questions which extend pupils’ understanding and clarify misconceptions. In all subjects, staff frequently check pupils’ learning. They use this 25 and 26 April 2023

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information well to plan future teaching which addresses gaps in knowledge. In most subjects, particularly mathematics, teachers use agreed, whole-school strategies to enable pupils to retain essential knowledge and build on it. However, in a small number of subjects, teaching does not build long-term memory and pupils cannot recall past learning. As a result, teachers have to spend too much time teaching again what pupils have already learned in previous years. For some pupils, this limits achievement in some subjects.

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Teachers and teaching assistants are experts in teaching early reading. Pupils, including children in the early years, benefit from a high level of consistency in how staff teach letters and sounds. They enjoy well-established routines. Their achievement in reading is enhanced by reading books which are well matched to their phonic knowledge. Phonics sessions are full of fun and laughter. Staff make sure that they quickly give help to those who are struggling to keep up. Most pupils learn to read with accuracy, fluency and confidence.

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Staff foster a love of reading. In the early years, children listen with rapt attention to staff reading stories and rhymes. Teachers make sure that pupils regularly read for pleasure, choosing from the wide range of books and genres in the well-stocked and inviting school and class libraries. Pupils talked excitedly about speaking to authors and about choosing books from the local library to add to the school’s stock.

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Leaders identify the needs of pupils with SEND so that they have the help that they need to follow the same curriculum as their peers and achieve well. They make sure that they put in place strategies to enable pupils with SEND to learn alongside their classmates and participate in everything that the school offers.

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Staff generate very positive relationships, based on praise and humour. They take every opportunity to reward good behaviour. Classrooms are calm and orderly. Occasionally, some pupils who find it difficult to regulate their own behaviour and emotions disturb teaching and social times. Staff know them very well and skilfully and quickly return them to learning or socialising so that disruption is minimised. Sometimes, leaders use specialist help, including appropriate alternative provision, to meet the needs of these pupils.

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Pupils benefit from a range of experiences which develop them socially and culturally. At local festivals, they play musical instruments and sing. They display artwork at a local leisure centre. Residential visits enable them to develop independence and resilience. Nevertheless, despite the school’s well-devised spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) policy, and personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme, some pupils lack knowledge of the wide range of faiths and cultures represented in modern Britain.

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Staff know that leaders value their hard work. They appreciate how leaders take their workload and well-being into account when making decisions. They said that leaders are very approachable and considerate of personal circumstances. The work of well-qualified and experienced governors has contributed significantly to school improvement. 25 and 26 April 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, have developed a very vigilant community with a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders and all staff undertake regular training to ensure that they know how to identify pupils who are at risk of physical or emotional harm. Leaders act swiftly to work with pupils and their families to help them to stay safe. They use specialist services very well when necessary.

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Safeguarding

Staff teach pupils how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Pupils understand risks such as that of swimming in lakes and canals. Parents and carers have a high degree of confidence in the school’s safeguarding procedures.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, pupils struggle to remember what they have learned previously. As a result, sometimes, teachers cannot build on prior learning without teaching essential content again. Leaders should ensure that, in all subjects, teachers develop effective strategies to help pupils to retain essential knowledge over time so that they can use it to enhance new learning and achieve well.  Some pupils lack knowledge of the wide range of faiths and cultures represented in modern Britain. Leaders should make sure that teachers in all year groups consistently implement these aspects of the SMSC policy and PSHE programme so that all pupils gain a greater awareness of the lives of people who are different from themselves.

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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 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.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2013. 25 and 26 April 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents 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.

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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. 25 and 26 April 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Alison Halliwell

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses alternative provision for two pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection 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 her evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, she had a discussion with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils and reviewed samples of pupils’ work.  Year 2 pupils were not in school on day 1 when the inspector carried out the deep dive in early reading. The inspector scrutinised the reading records of some pupils from Year 2.  The inspector spoke to pupils about their learning in other subjects and observed pupils from Year 1 and Year 3 reading to familiar adults.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher, other leaders and staff. 25 and 26 April 2023

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 The inspector had a discussion with governors, including the chair of the governing body, and two representatives of the local authority, one via videoconferencing. She had a telephone conversation with staff from both of the alternative providers.  The inspector spoke with several groups of pupils to gather their views of the school, including about behaviour and learning. She also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at social times.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. She also considered the responses to the Ofsted online surveys for staff and pupils. She considered a confidential letter which a parent had sent to her.  The inspector had discussions with those responsible for safeguarding at the school. She scrutinised a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding. She had discussions with governors, staff and pupils about safeguarding.

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 The inspector considered a range of documentation provided by school leaders and staff. This included the school development plan and self-evaluation document.

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Inspection team

Liz Kelly, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 April 2023

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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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