Aughton St Michael's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Aughton St Michael’s Church of England Primary School Delph Park Avenue, Aughton, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 5DG

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Inspection dates: 30 and 31 January 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 15 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 30 and 31 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this school. Children in the early years quickly settle and make new friends. Pupils described the school as a fun place where they learn lots of new and interesting things. They said that the many trips and other activities that the school provides help to strengthen their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy helping others. They described their many roles of responsibility with enthusiasm. These include being a school councillor, playleader or acting as a lunchtime ‘buddy’ to children in the early years. Pupils are proud of the awards that they earn to recognise the positive contribution that they make to their school and wider community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils’ achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, and their parents and carers, value the support that they receive from staff. Pupils trust staff to help them overcome any problems that they may have. This includes if pupils find learning more difficult than their peers or if, from time to time, they fall out with their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are kind and respectful. This makes the school a calm and happy place where everyone can focus on learning.

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better?

In recent years, the school has redesigned its curriculum to make sure that pupils’ learning captures their interests and motivates them to deepen their knowledge. The curriculum is ambitious and well organised. The school ensures that teachers are fully equipped to deliver the curriculum in a logical order. As a result, pupils are well supported to build on what they have learned before.

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better?

The school ensures that teachers and other staff know how best to help pupils to learn and remember important information. Teachers use assessment strategies well to identify pupils’ strengths and any gaps in their learning. In the main, teachers check that pupils have understood one piece of learning before moving on to the next. Pupils become increasingly confident in applying their learning independently as they progress through the school. By the end of key stage 2, pupils have built a useful and secure body of knowledge. This prepares them well for secondary school.

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better?

Reading is at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Pupils benefit from the high- quality texts that their teachers share with them. This helps pupils to expand their vocabulary and wider knowledge across the curriculum. The varied diet of literature that the school provides encourages pupils to read new texts by authors who they may not have considered previously. 30 and 31 January 2024

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Children enjoy learning how to use phonics to read words in the Reception Year. The stories, songs and rhymes that children learn support them well in this endeavour. For the most part, staff across the school deliver the school’s phonics programme successfully. They support pupils to build up secure reading knowledge over time. Most pupils develop into accomplished readers. They enjoy reading and being read to. However, some pupils find reading more difficult. Some staff are not as confident as they could be in helping these pupils to catch up as quickly with their reading knowledge. This sometimes hinders these pupils’ learning in other subjects.

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The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND well. Teachers make sure that these pupils benefit from the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates. Pupils with SEND build their knowledge firmly while developing their interests. They achieve well across the curriculum as a result.

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Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They focus well during lessons. Pupils move around the school safely and sensibly, including at social times. Their rates of attendance are impressive. The school makes effective use of a wide range of strategies to make sure that pupils attend well. This enables pupils to benefit from the wide range of opportunities on offer at the school.

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The school places a high focus on pupils’ wider development. This begins in the early years. Children in the Reception Year are encouraged to be inquisitive and resilient. Older pupils told inspectors that they also benefit from the support of staff to broaden their horizons. Pupils feel well equipped to embrace new challenges with confidence. They demonstrate high aspirations for themselves.

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Pupils learn to recognise and value the richness and diversity found in modern-day Britain. They know that these aspects of their learning should help them to achieve the ambitious occupations and leadership roles that they visualise for themselves when they are older.

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Governance is strong. Governors have a secure oversight of the work of the school. They provide challenge and support in equal measure to ensure that pupils achieve as well as they can. This includes ensuring that staff workload remains manageable when further development of the curriculum occurs.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some staff lack the confidence to support those pupils who find reading more difficult to catch up swiftly. This means that on occasion, these pupils find it difficult to access the rest of the curriculum. The school should make sure that 30 and 31 January 2024

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staff are fully equipped to provide effective support to pupils who need to catch up with their reading.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs 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). 30 and 31 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 December 2008, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a new headteacher and a new deputy headteacher appointed at the school since the previous inspection. There is also a new chair of governors in post.  The school is part of the Diocese of Liverpool. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in November 2018. Its next section 48 inspection is due by the end of 2025.  The school does not make use of alternative provision for pupils.  The school operates a before- and after-school club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 30 and 31 January 2024

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pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school. An inspector also spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  An inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority. She also spoke with consultants who the school commissions to support school improvement.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.  An inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. They

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spoke with the leaders of these areas of the curriculum. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils.  Inspectors also spoke with pupils about their learning in other subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school. An inspector scrutinised leaders’ records of pupils’ behaviour.  An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors spoke with parents as they brought their children to school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cath Cooke Ofsted Inspector 30 and 31 January 2024

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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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