Chapel Street Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Chapel Street Community Primary School Chapel Street, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 3GH

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 December 2024

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Outcome

Chapel Street Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a nurturing environment in which pupils are happy and feel safe. Pupils know and understand the school’s core values of ‘growth, respect and inclusion’. Their positive behaviour shows that they strive to uphold these values. Pupils are respectful of their peers and adults. They know that there are trusted adults to talk to if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school forms strong relationships with families. Parents and carers are welcomed and encouraged to join in with school life. Pupils enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes towards learning. They learn in a calm, safe environment. Pupils try hard to live up to the school’s high expectations and many achieve well. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the support that they need.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in various activities within and beyond the school. This includes a range of clubs and community projects. The personal development of pupils is well supported by the school. Pupils learn about the importance of contributing to their school and their local area. They take particular pride in their leadership roles, such as peer mentors, asthma champions and student councillors.

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

Recently, the school has been successful in bringing about improvements to many aspects of its provision. It has accurately identified the most important priorities to further improve pupils’ outcomes. This work is already having an impact across the school. 10 and 11 December 2024

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The curriculum is well designed and enriches pupils’ learning across subjects. The key knowledge and skills that pupils should learn are set out in a logical order, so that teachers know what to deliver and when this should happen. Nevertheless, from time to time, the curriculum is not delivered as well as the school intends. Sometimes, teachers do not select activities that match pupils’ needs or help them to learn curriculum content. This means that some pupils’ experiences are uneven across the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not achieve all that they could in some subjects, including writing.

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The nationally published data does not reflect the strengths of the educational offer at this school. In 2024, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who attained the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics was significantly below the national average. This was mostly because of pupils’ lower-than-average attainment in writing. This was partly due to a considerable proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language joining the school midway through key stage 2. Although these pupils made great strides in learning to communicate in English, they did not have enough time to make the same progress through the writing curriculum. Most pupils currently at the school are learning successfully and achieving well across many subjects.

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The use of assessment strategies to check what pupils know and remember over time is more established in some subject areas than in others. In these subjects, gaps in pupils’ learning are swiftly identified and routinely addressed. This is not the case elsewhere. This means that gaps in pupils’ learning sometimes persist. This makes it difficult for pupils to build on what they know when new learning is introduced.

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The school fosters a love of reading. In the Nursery class, children learn songs and rhymes that prepare them well for learning how to read words in the Reception class. Older pupils are eager to read and are enthusiastic about visiting the school library. Pupils at the early stages of learning to read receive effective phonics teaching. The school checks pupils’ knowledge of phonics to successfully spot any gaps in learning. Pupils receive extra help with reading if they need it. Over time, the proportion of pupils who become confident and competent readers has increased.

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The school ensures that the additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified quickly. Staff use information to adapt the delivery of the curriculum and provide appropriate support. This helps pupils with SEND to progress well through the curriculum.

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The school’s work to ensure pupils are safe and in school regularly is thorough. Its records are detailed and it looks closely for patterns. When the school identifies barriers to pupils being safe or not in school they act swiftly. As a result, pupils’ well-being is paramount and they are in school as often as possible.

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Pupils are proud of the school’s diverse community. They welcome new friends from all over the world. Staff support new pupils well to settle quickly and learn English. This enables them to progress through the curriculum with greater success. They settle quickly. Families benefit from the vast support on offer. Through attending the school’s toddler group and ‘chai and chat’ they can access support and services that they need. 10 and 11 December 2024

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The school’s motto, ‘making a difference and achieving excellence for every child,’ is at the heart of everyone’s work. Staff feel that their well-being is effectively considered by the school. They particularly appreciate the supervision that they receive through their ‘huddle’ groups, as well as the benefit of working in year group teams. Governors know the school well and ensure that the quality of education remains central in their decision making.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the checks on what pupils remember over time are not effective enough. This means that gaps in learning persist. This makes it difficult for pupils to build new knowledge when they encounter new learning. The school should ensure that staff have the necessary expertise to check pupils’ learning over time and address misconceptions so that pupils learn the curriculum with greater success.  At times, the curriculum is not delivered as well as the school intends. This means that, at times, some of the learning activities that teachers design do not best match the needs of pupils. This sometimes hinders pupils’ progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that the curriculum is being delivered consistently well so that pupils can learn equally successfully across all subjects, including writing.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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. 10 and 11 December 2024

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019.

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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’ 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). 10 and 11 December 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a new headteacher and deputy headteacher appointed since the last inspection.  A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  This school does not use alternative provision for its pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector observed pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a familiar adult. 10 and 11 December 2024

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body. They also spoke with representatives of the local authority.  The lead inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The lead inspector met with leaders who are responsible for attendance, behaviour and pupils’ personal development.  The lead inspector looked at a range of policies and documentation relating to pupils’ welfare and education. They observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school.  The lead inspector met with parents at the start of the school day. They took account

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of the responses to the online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.  The lead inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. They took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Helen Friend, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Morris Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 December 2024

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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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