Newall Green Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Newall Green Primary School Firbank Road, Newall Green, Wythenshawe, Manchester M23 2YH

p.1

Inspection dates: 11 and 12 October 2023

p.1

Outcome

Newall Green Primary School continues to be a good school.

p.1

Outcome

The executive headteacher of this school is Sarah Rudd. This school is part of the Cherry Tree Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Sarah Rudd, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andrew Wild. Newall Green is the only school in this single-academy trust.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Newall Green is a place where everyone feels welcome and included. Most pupils enjoy coming to school and they are happy to attend. They described the school as inspirational. Pupils show kindness and understanding to each other. Relationships between pupils and staff are polite and respectful.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are aware of how they are expected to behave. They move calmly and sensibly around school. They understand that actions have consequences. Pupils enjoy the recognition that they receive for good behaviour such as golden time and ‘star of the week’.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and children in the early years enjoy a rich and ambitious curriculum. They benefit from a wide range of experiences to enhance their understanding of the world around them. Pupils enjoy the many clubs and activities that they can take part in, such as yoga, choir and basketball. Older pupils learn to be responsible and active citizens through their work as charity champions. They value opportunities to have a say in important school decisions such as how behaviour is managed.

p.1

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

The school, governors and trustees have a shared vision that all pupils, including those in 11 and 12 October 2023

p.1

2

the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), will achieve their very best. To this end, they have designed an aspirational curriculum that enables children in the early years and pupils across Years 1 to 6 to build their knowledge step by step over time. The curriculum is delivered well. Staff have strong subject knowledge. This helps them to explain learning clearly. Staff make regular checks to identify what pupils know and remember. Staff use this information effectively to determine what learning should come next.

p.2

2

The school is quick to identify pupils who may have additional needs. Staff work diligently with external agencies, parents and carers to ensure that they understand pupils’ needs well. Staff are suitably trained to adapt their delivery of the curriculum to successfully meet these needs. Most pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils in the specially resourced provision benefit from learning that is carefully broken down into small, achievable steps. This helps many of these pupils to join their peers in the mainstream classrooms for part of the curriculum. Pupils with SEND are included in all aspects of school life.

p.2

2

Children in the early years are attuned to listening to the sounds around them. They enjoy joining in with stories and rhymes. This prepares them well to learn to read. The phonics programme starts early in the Reception Year. Staff are trained well to deliver this programme. They carry out rigorous checks to identify those pupils who are not keeping up with their peers. Staff intervene swiftly to support these pupils to catch up.

p.2

2

Reading is promoted across the curriculum. Pupils said that they enjoy reading and their daily dedicated reading time. They become confident and fluent readers. However, there is a lack of ambition in the types of books that some pupils can choose to read. Some pupils in key stage 2 do not encounter a wide range of texts. They have insufficient opportunity to broaden their knowledge of different types of books and language structures as a result.

p.2

2

There is a well-structured programme to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils are proud of the positions of responsibility that they can hold in school, for example acting as members of the school council and prefects. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Their learning is enriched by the many new international pupils that the school has welcomed in recent times. This prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

p.2

2

Pupils engage fully with their learning. They respond quickly and purposefully to staff’s instructions. While most pupils attend school regularly, there are some who do not attend as often as they should. This means that they miss out on important learning. Although the school is taking steps to reduce absence, it does not carefully check which strategies are most successful at improving pupils’ attendance.

p.2

2

The school, governors and trustees seek to involve parents in the education of their children. For example, parents are invited into school for weekly coffee mornings to meet with staff. They are also supported to help their children to read at home.

p.2

2

Staff are proud to work at this school. They value the curriculum resources put in place by the school. These have a positive impact on their workload. 11 and 12 October 2023

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not ensured that staff are suitably ambitious in the reading materials that they share with pupils. This prevents pupils from experiencing a wide range of texts, vocabulary and language conventions. The school should ensure that staff encourage pupils to read and listen to a variety of genres and authors.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that successful strategies to reduce absence are identified and sustained so that pupils attend school more regularly.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Newall Green Primary School, to be good in May 2012.

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.3

Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs 11 and 12 October 2023

p.3

4

and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 11 and 12 October 2023

p.4

School details

Website www.newallgreen.manchester.sch.uk

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 9 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school is part of the Cherry Tree Trust.  The school has specially resourced provision with places for up to six pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. There are currently nine pupils from the Reception class to Year 6 who attend this provision.  The school does not make use of any other alternative provision for pupils.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector met with the headteacher, who is also the CEO. The lead inspector also met with a member of the trust board and members of the governing body, 11 and 12 October 2023

p.5

6

including the chair of governors. The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the chair of the trust board and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, art and design and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector also discussed the quality of the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed documents relating to behaviour and attendance, minutes of

p.6

6

governor meetings, the school’s self-evaluation and the school development plan.  The lead inspector observed pupils in key stages 1 and 2 reading to a familiar adult.  The inspectors spoke to pupils about their views of the school, behaviour and bullying.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. She also considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.

p.6

Inspection team

Niamh Howlett, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Keith Pullen Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 October 2023

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