Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery

Inspection of a good school: Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery Whelley, Wigan, Lancashire WN2 1BP

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Outcome

Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School enjoy coming to school. They appreciate the support that staff provide for them. This includes the ‘Thrive Hive’, where pupils can go to discuss their worries or concerns with a trusted adult. Relationships between pupils and adults are strong. As a result, pupils feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils’ learning and behaviour. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils work hard to meet staff’s high expectations. For example, children in the Nursery and Reception classes learn how to listen attentively, and they play well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 also follow the school rules diligently, including at playtime and at lunchtime. Pupils value learning in a calm and orderly environment. Low-level disruption is rare. Typically, current pupils, including children in the early years, learn well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from using the calm corners which teachers have created for them in school. They use these areas to relax and to chat with their friends. Pupils also understand that there are different types of bullying. Leaders deal with bullying effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the many enrichment opportunities on offer. These include visits to a snow park or taking part in a trust-wide dance festival.

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

Leaders have successfully redesigned the curriculum since the previous inspection. They have ensured that pupils receive a broad and balanced curriculum. In most subjects, 18 and 19 July 2023

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leaders have carefully identified the knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn. Typically, they have made sure that pupils learn new information in a logical order from Nursery through to Year 6.

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Overall, teachers are well trained to deliver the curriculum. They know what pupils must learn in different subjects. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They carefully match learning activities to the content of the curriculum. Teachers use leaders’ assessment systems with accuracy to check on pupils’ learning. They successfully address pupils’ misconceptions.

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In previous years, some pupils have not achieved as well as they should have. However, the achievement of current pupils is much more secure. Current pupils are developing a deeper knowledge and understanding of the different subjects that they are learning. Most pupils are progressing well through the curriculum. However, a few pupils still have some gaps in their learning from previous years which remain unresolved. These gaps sometimes prevent these pupils from achieving all that they could.

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Leaders take care to identify and assess pupils who may have SEND. They provide staff with effective training to ensure that they can meet the needs of these pupils. This enables pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. In the main, current pupils with SEND achieve well from their different starting points.

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Reading is carefully woven throughout the curriculum. Adults successfully encourage pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils read a wide range of books, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. This exposure to high-quality literature is pivotal in extending pupils’ vocabulary.

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In the Nursery class, children enjoy listening to different rhymes, songs and poems. Pupils begin to learn sounds through the structured phonics programme in the Reception Year. Staff are well trained to teach the phonics scheme. As a result, adults model the phonics sounds that pupils learn in lessons consistently well. Pupils read books that match the sounds that they know. Consequently, many pupils read with increasing fluency and accuracy by the end of Year 2.

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Pupils behave well in school. Lessons carry on without interruption. Pupils, and children in the early years, concentrate hard on their learning. In the Nursery and Reception classes, children remain focused on the activities in which they are taking part. Throughout the school, pupils take pride in their learning. Typically, they model the school’s values of fellowship, friendship, respect, peace, trust and love in all that they do.

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While most pupils attend school regularly, a few pupils do not come to school as often as they should. This means that these pupils do not benefit from the improvements that have been made to the curriculum, nor do they have access to the full range of extra- curricular opportunities that the school provides.

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Leaders provide a wide range of opportunities to promote pupils’ personal development. The school’s personal, social and health education curriculum successfully prepares pupils to understand more about life in modern day Britain. For example, pupils learn in depth 18 and 19 July 2023

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about adopting a healthy lifestyle. Pupils also spoke enthusiastically about visiting a local university. This helped them to think about their future aspirations.

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There is a wide range of well-designed leadership opportunities for pupils. For example, pupils can apply for leadership roles as art ambassadors, as thrive ambassadors or as worship warriors.

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Trustees, governors and leaders understand what the school does well. They have successfully identified the next steps that they must take to improve the quality of education further for pupils.

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Teachers and support staff are proud to work in the school. They value the support that they receive from leaders to manage their workload and their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff know their school community well. Staff receive targeted, up-to-date safeguarding training. This training ensures that they have the knowledge and skills to spot any pupil who might be at risk of coming to harm.

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Safeguarding

Staff are vigilant and pass on any concerns to leaders swiftly. Leaders are diligent in securing the correct support for pupils by working effectively with many external agencies.

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Safeguarding

Pupils successfully learn about how to keep themselves safe in their everyday lives. This includes how to protect themselves, and each other, when online and when in the local area.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils have gaps in their learning. This prevents these pupils from achieving all that they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers address the gaps in pupils’ learning so that all pupils achieve equally well.  Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. This means that these pupils miss out on some key learning and enrichment opportunities. Leaders should continue to work closely with parents and carers to ensure that these pupils attend school more regularly.

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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 18 and 19 July 2023

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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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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in 6 and 7 June 2018.

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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.

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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. 18 and 19 July 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10291437 Type of school Primary

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders make use of one registered alternative provider for three pupils.  This Church of England school is part of the Diocese of Liverpool. The last section 48 inspection took place in November 2016.

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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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and art and design. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, visited lessons, talked with pupils and staff, and looked at examples of pupils’ work. The inspector also met with other curriculum subject leaders.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other senior leaders to discuss the personal development programme, as well as pupils’ rates of attendance and pupils’ behaviour. 18 and 19 July 2023

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 The inspector met with a group of governors and directors including the chair of the local governing board and the chair of the board of trustees. He also met with a representative of the local authority. He spoke with a representative of the Diocese of Liverpool.  The inspector observed some pupils in Year 1 to Year 3 reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes and during their snack time. He scrutinised leaders’ records of behaviour.  The inspector reviewed a wide range of documentation, including that relating to the school’s safeguarding procedures. The inspector also reviewed the school development plan and leaders’ self-evaluation document.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at the school. He spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and for

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pupils.  The inspector observed pupils’ arrival at the school in the morning. He also spoke with parents during this time.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses.

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Inspection team

Stuart Perkins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 July 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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