All Saints Catholic College

Inspection of All Saints Catholic College Birch Lane, Dukinfield, Cheshire SK16 5AP

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Natalie Gilligan. This school is part of the Corpus Christi Catholic Academy 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), Sacha Humphries, and overseen by a board of directors, chaired by Nick Johnson. 23 and 24 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and supportive. This fosters a sense of community in school. As a result, most pupils feel safe and happy. Pupils’ voices are valued. For instance, the school uses pupils’ views to help make improvements to their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils typically behave well. The new behaviour management policy has helped to improve their behaviour around school and in lessons. Pupils are keen to do well and display positive attitudes to learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In recent times, the school has raised its expectations of pupils’ achievement. It has worked with the trust to ensure that staff benefit from shared expertise and resources. Nonetheless, the impact of recent improvement work to the quality of education is variable. As a result, continued weaknesses in the design and delivery of the curriculum limit how well pupils sometimes achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are beginning to benefit from a wide range of opportunities to enhance their personal development. For instance, some pupils enjoy taking part in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and a variety of trips. They also relish their leadership roles and volunteering opportunities. These experiences help pupils to develop resilience and nurture a sense of responsibility.

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

The school has worked in partnership with the trust to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. This has involved making substantial changes to staffing, leadership and the curriculum. Pupils follow a broad and mostly appropriate curriculum. In most subjects, the key stage 3 curriculum identifies what the key knowledge is that pupils should learn and build on over time. However, the curriculum is not as well designed in key stage 4. This means that older pupils do not progress through the curriculum well enough. In many subjects, they do not gain sufficient depth in their knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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

In some subjects, the curriculum is not delivered consistently well. This is because the school has not ensured that staff have the skills and confidence to choose the most appropriate activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum in depth. At times, the checks on whether pupils retain key knowledge are not effective. This limits how well teachers identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning.

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

The school has strengthened its systems to identify the additional needs for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, there are inconsistencies in how well these needs are met. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not access the curriculum as well as they should. This limits how well they learn and achieve.

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

Reading is successfully promoted. For example, the school uses initiatives such as ‘book buzz’ and form reading to foster a love of reading. Pupils who struggle to read are 23 and 24 April 2025

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identified and supported well. This helps them to read with increasing confidence and fluency.

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Pupils behave well. They respond well to the new routines and increasingly high expectations that the school sets of their conduct. This generally creates a calm and purposeful classroom environment. The school identifies and removes barriers to attendance well. Mostly, pupils attend school frequently.

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The school promotes pupils’ personal development well. They develop a strong appreciation of the differences between people and the importance of respecting others. Pupils take part in charitable work with the local hospice and food bank. This develops their appreciation of their roles as active citizens in their community. Pupils enjoy a range of extra-curricular opportunities that help to develop their interests and talents. This is beginning to help some pupils to expand their knowledge beyond the taught curriculum. Effective careers guidance helps pupils to prepare well for life beyond school.

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Trustees work closely with the local governing body to ensure that the school is held to account well. Areas of priority are overseen effectively. Even so, some of the improvement work to strengthen the quality of education has not been fully realised. Staff morale is typically high, and there is a shared aspiration to improve pupils’ achievement across school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, particularly in key stage 4, the curriculum is not designed effectively. The essential knowledge that pupils should be taught has not been identified. This prevents pupils from building on their knowledge securely over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum across all subjects and stages is ambitious and successfully designed so that pupils can move successfully to their next stage in education, training or employment.  At times, the choice of learning activities does not help pupils to learn the subject content in sufficient depth. This limits how well some pupils achieve. The school should ensure that teachers are supported well to design learning that helps pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum.  Some staff do not check that pupils have learned and understood the intended curriculum. This hampers how well staff identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies to

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

rectify pupils’ misconceptions effectively and quickly. 23 and 24 April 2025

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 At times, the needs of some pupils with SEND are not met well enough. This limits how well these pupils access the curriculum and achieve. The school should ensure that teachers are equipped with the skills and knowledge that is needed to adapt the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can achieve as well as they should.

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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). 23 and 24 April 2025

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School details

Website www.allsaintscatholiccollege.com

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 20 and 21 September 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Corpus Christi Catholic Academy multi-academy trust.  This Roman Catholic school is in the Diocese of Shrewsbury. The most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in October 2021. The next section 48 inspection is due to take place by 2026.  There have been some substantial changes to the staffing and leadership of the school since the last inspection. This includes the appointment of four new assistant headteachers and leaders and staff in various subject departments.  The school uses one registered alternative provision and three unregistered provisions for a small number of pupils.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 23 and 24 April 2025

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  The inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with trustees and members of the local governing body. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the diocese and representatives from the alternative provision that is used by the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the CEO of the trust, the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. Inspectors met with a range of other staff and trust leaders during the inspection.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during social times and during movement around the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: English, science, mathematics, art and design, geography and modern foreign languages. For each deep

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Information about this inspection

dive, they held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to staff, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met with subject leaders and looked at pupils’ work in some other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with the leaders responsible for personal development, pupil premium, behaviour and attendance, alternative provision, early careers teachers, careers, SEND and reading.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, attendance and behaviour records.  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.  The inspectors considered the responses of parents to the online survey, Ofsted Parent

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Information about this inspection

View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Amina Modan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Eleanor Overland Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 April 2025

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Scott Maclean Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 April 2025

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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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