St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel

Inspection Report St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel

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106128 Unique Reference Number Stockport LEA 277495 Inspection number 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 Inspection dates Mr Jim Alexander CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Wellington Road North School address Primary Type of school Heaton Chapel Voluntary aided School category Stockport, Cheshire SK4 4QG 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0161 4326809 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 4326809 Fax number 242 Number on roll Mrs H Nance Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs J Garner Headteacher 2 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277495 26 June 2006 - 4 to 11 27 June 2006 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school, which is slightly larger than average, serves the parish of St Thomas and the surrounding district of Heaton Chapel. Pupils also travel from other areas of Stockport to this popular school. In 2005 a number of pupils transferred from another local school that closed. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is slightly higher than average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is lower than the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides good value for money; a judgement that matches the school's own view. Children enter school with standards of attainment that are broadly as expected for their age. They make good progress throughout the school and reach standards that are above average by the end of Year 6. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Pupils enjoy coming to school; their attendance and punctuality are good. Pupils have good attitudes to their learning and behave very well. The school cares well for them and keeps them safe. Parents have a particularly high regard for the school and its work. One parent wrote, 'I would have no hesitation recommending St Thomas' to other parents'. Teaching and learning are good. The recent action taken to ensure work challenges pupils of all abilities, particularly the middle and higher attaining mathematicians, is proving successful.

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Grade: 2

However, pupils' work is not marked consistently across the school and does not yet always give clear advice to pupils so they understand how they can improve. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have their needs met well and consequently make good progress. The rich curriculum offers a range of exciting activities for pupils to explore and add to their learning experiences. Pupils develop good skills that prepare them well to live in a diverse community. Leadership, management and governance are good. Monitoring and evaluation procedures are satisfactory, although improving, which is resulting in managers having a better understanding of what needs to be done to raise pupils' achievement further. The school rightly identified the need to track pupils' progress and set individual targets for them to achieve. However, the new system has yet to be implemented and used to set targets for the whole-school,

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Grade: 2

groups of pupils and individuals. The positive steps that have been taken since the last inspection and more recently to raise standards demonstrate that the school has the capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Implement a system to assess and track pupils' achievements and use the information to support the setting of targets at various levels, and check closely pupils' progress in meeting them. • Ensure marking is of consistently good quality so that pupils have a better idea of how to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The school rightly judges achievement and standards to be good. Children enter the school with standards that are broadly typical for their age and progress through the Foundation Stage is good. By the end of Year 2 pupils reach good standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This demonstrates a significant improvement in the past 12 months. The proportion of pupils attaining higher levels is significantly above average in writing and broadly average in reading and mathematics. By the end of Year 6 pupils 2 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 usually leave school with above average standards, but these fell to broadly average in 2005 when a number of pupils transferred from another local school that had closed. Effective action taken by the school has led to standards in the current Year 6 returning to the usual high standards in English and mathematics, with science remaining broadly

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Grade: 2

average. The proportion of pupils achieving higher levels is also good, which again demonstrates the impact of actions taken by the school in the past year. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because of the good support they receive, and due to the careful tracking that is made of their achievements. Pupils who speak English as an additional language receive effective support and achieve as well as other pupils.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being, including provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. Pupils really enjoy coming to school, which is reflected in their good behaviour and above average attendance. Pupils' ability to relate to others and work together is strong. Pupils show positive attitudes in lessons, while around school they are considerate and respectful, one pupil said, 'we know the school wants us to work hard and be helpful and polite, and that encourages everyone'. Overall, they have a good awareness of how to take care of themselves and others. They feel safe and well cared for in the school. Pupils are active in raising funds for national and international charities. Older pupils help the younger ones settle into new routines. The school council gives pupils a voice in what happens in their school. As a result of efforts made by the school, pupils have a good understanding of the

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Grade: 2

main features of living a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy the opportunities they have for swimming and show plenty of energy at playtimes. At the end of Year 6, pupils say they feel equipped with the basic skills and positive attitudes that will help them in the next stage of their lives, one pupil adding, 'St Thomas' sets us in the right direction'.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall with some outstanding features. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is good and children make good progress. The best lessons are practical, stimulating, challenging and make effective use of information and communication technology (ICT). As a result, learners thrive and make exceptionally good progress. In other lessons, the good teaching is tightly structured to match the pupils' understanding and ability; teachers and their assistants work well together and make good use of ICT to demonstrate teaching points. This is a significant factor in the good progress made by pupils especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who speak English as an additional language. Strong relationships, backed up by the teachers' frequent use of praise, motivate pupils to try their best. Expectations are high, especially with regard to opportunities for extended work, which

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Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 leads to good progress in writing. Good use of questions that require precise explanations effectively improve the pupils' thinking and speaking skills. Even so, methods of questioning require more variation, particularly with regard to allowing more thinking time and in the use of more open-ended questions. Not all marking is detailed enough to ensure pupils know how to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The school offers a good range of well planned experiences that meet the needs of all pupils. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is good, although the facilities for outdoor play do not provide the children with a very stimulating learning environment. Recent developments are leading to better provision in mathematics and writing, and this is having a positive impact on the progress pupils are making. There is a good programme for the teaching of personal, social and health education. Circle time provides good opportunities for pupils to reflect on personal development. The pupils' experiences are enhanced by the regular enrichment weeks. Pupils enjoy their drama lessons and football training at a nearby college. There is a good range of popular clubs that include sporting and musical activities. Residential visits provide pupils with an intensive opportunity to develop their ICT skills. The school develops basic skills

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Grade: 2

well and is seeking to develop further opportunities for pupils to apply these skills.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support for pupils are good. Adults nurture pupils well and help them to feel safe. A strong ethos of care permeates all aspects of school life and pupils become confident learners. Parents are highly supportive of the school and are of the opinion that extremely good care is taken of their children; one parent wrote, 'we couldn't hope for a better school for our children'. Arrangements for health and safety and child protection are in place and known by staff. The recent work to raise standards has caused the school to consider the quality of academic guidance they offer the pupils when marking their work. Although there has been improvement, the school is seeking to address inconsistencies when comments are not always clear enough to guide the pupils to improve. Induction arrangements into the Reception class are good and pupils are well supported as they move on to secondary school.

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Grade: 2

The quality of leadership and management is good. The headteacher's vision to promote good academic standards and an enriched, enjoyable curriculum within a Christian ethos is shared by the staff. The headteacher and staff have created a happy learning environment where pupils' self-esteem flourishes. The deputy headteacher and subject leaders carry out their responsibilities well and receive good professional development. The special needs coordinator is effective in her role, ensuring that pupils with learning 4 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported and their achievements carefully monitored; consequently, these pupils make good progress. The governing body makes a good contribution to the school's success. Governors are knowledgeable of the school's strengths and weaknesses and use their expertise well to help the school move

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Grade: 2

forward. There are satisfactory systems in place to check on how well the school is doing and to identify where further improvements can be made. The effectiveness of these procedures is improving which is resulting in a better understanding of what needs to be done to further raise pupils' attainment. The school has rightly identified, for example, the need to track pupils' progress more closely and to set more tightly focused targets for them to achieve. A new system for doing this has been developed, but not yet implemented. This must now be a priority for the school. The school has addressed issues raised at its last inspection. The school offers good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Heaton Chapel, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for being so welcoming when we recently visited, and talking to us in such a friendly way about St Thomas' School. We would like to let you know the things we thought were good about the school and those things we feel it could do better. Your teachers and other staff have worked together well recently to keep improving your work. They plan a lot of interesting things for you to do and make sure that you are safe and well cared for. You told us that you really enjoy your lessons and all the other activities in school. To help you to do even better, we have asked teachers to set you challenging targets and, when marking your work, to let you know how to achieve them. We have also asked your school to keep a careful check on how well you are doing to ensure St Thomas' becomes an even better school. Thank you for helping us with the inspection of your school. We hope that you continue to

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