St Michael's Church of England Aided Primary School

Age group 4-11 Inspection date(s) 22-23 May 2007 Inspection number 286926 Unique Reference Number 104384 Local Authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 286926 Inspection dates 22-23 May 2007 Reporting inspector Anne Pitt HMI

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

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll School 162

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Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Mark Brennand Headteacher Mrs Marilyn Jones Date of previous school inspection 10 June 2002 School address Lower Street Tettenhall Wolverhampton WV6 9AF Telephone number 01902 558845 Fax number 01902 558847 St Michael’s Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School Inspection report Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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. Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 3 of 8

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Document reference number: HMI 2507 01 April 2007

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. The following issues were investigated: the pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching and learning, and how well the school’s leadership promotes high standards. Evidence was gathered from observation of lessons, the pupils’ work, discussion with them, the staff, some parents and two governors, and a scrutiny of school documents and parent questionnaires. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation form, were not justified. These have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

St Michael’s is smaller than most primary schools. It is a multi-cultural school. The main minority ethnic groups are White, Black Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning English and more pupils than usual are entitled to free school meals. The proportion identified by the school as having learning difficulties is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 4 of 8

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Key for inspection grades

Document reference number: HMI 2507 01 April 2007

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

This is a school that provides a high level of personal care and support to its pupils, one of the reasons why parents choose to send their children there. Parents spoken to during the inspection sang its praises because of its family atmosphere, the approachability of staff and its Christian ethos. Parents returned 58 questionnaires. Most were highly positive, with comments such as, “I find the school absolutely fantastic; whenever there is a problem they are willing to help”. Only four respondents raised concerns but these were not borne out by inspection evidence because:

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

 observations of pupils in lessons and around the school show that they behave well  pupils and parents report that there is little bullying and any is dealt with quickly. One child remarked, “The headteacher always sorts it out”  discussion with parents shows there is an effective open-door policy and the staff seek parents’ views annually through questionnaires.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

Current academic performance across the school is satisfactory and improving. Children get off to a well-rounded start in the Reception class. They settle quickly. The practical, hands-on approach means that by the time they move into Year 1 they have achieved the goals expected of them. Pupils in the rest of the school do especially well in English but progress in science and mathematics does not quite match this and is satisfactory. Test results also show this pattern over recent years. So, the school has sensibly adapted the way it helps pupils tackle calculation and problem solving in pursuit of improvement. Lessons seen during the inspection showed a strong focus on these elements but there has not yet been enough time to see an improvement in pupils’ standards in these subjects.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

The school’s safe and supportive environment enables vulnerable groups such as looked after children, those learning English as an additional language and those with learning difficulties to build self-esteem and progress well. Key factors in this success are the school’s dedication and success in working in close partnership with parents, carers and outside agencies, and providing sensitive and targeted support when it is needed.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

Competent and encouraging teaching underpins the school’s warm and caring atmosphere. The few lessons seen were judged good and satisfactory. Overall, taking account of lesson observations, the pupils’ work and results, and discussion with them, teaching and learning are satisfactory. The staff have high expectations that children will behave well, and they do. Typically lessons are well planned and structured, with a good balance between direct teaching, individual and interactive group work. Emphasis is placed on making sure that the work set is at the right level for children of high, low and middle abilities. In the main, this is successful but now and again the work in the lessons seen was too easy. Interestingly, a few older pupils also said that this was sometimes the case in mathematics lessons. Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 5 of 8

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

Document reference number: HMI 2507 01 April 2007 Relationships throughout the school are excellent, with real respect shown for one and all. The rich diversity of the school is valued and celebrated in assemblies. Racial harmony is clearly evident and one parent noted how inclusive the school is. Teachers talk enthusiastically about individual pupils and know them well. Pupils’ progress is noted and checked regularly using relatively new assessment and tracking systems. But this information is not yet used sufficiently well to track groups of pupils or to set realistic and challenging targets.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

A key strength of the school is its curriculum. The move to a more flexible and creative approach has added to pupils’ enthusiasm for school, justifying one parent’s comment that “the school gives my child an enjoyable, fun way of learning”. Pupils have benefited from attending the ballet, taking part in the Carnival and visiting the Mayor’s Parlour. Indeed, during the inspection the pupils’ enjoyment when singing and dancing the Boogie Woogie was a delight to behold. Initiatives encouraged by the school council have also made a big difference to pupils’ enjoyment of school. Without exception pupils reported that the Huff and Puff activities and the Friendship Stop in the playground have made break times more pleasurable.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The capable and experienced leadership of the headteacher enables the school to run smoothly. She is always available to pupils and parents on the playground at the beginning of the day. All learners can write notes and post them in a worry box, which she follows up daily. This typifies her thoughtful style. School self-evaluation is well embedded into the school culture. There is a team approach and senior staff and governors are all involved. This means that the school has an accurate and rounded view of its strengths and weaknesses. The school improvement plan identifies the right areas for development but the success criteria are not always sharp and measurable. The school’s lesson observation notes show that there is rigour in checking teaching but not enough attention is paid to looking at pupils’ learning and progress.

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Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 3

In summary, the school is strong at: promoting pupils’ personal development, providing care and support and a good curriculum, and teaching English. The staff are fully committed to changes for the better, as seen in the introduction of good initiatives to improve mathematics. This demonstrates the school’s good capacity to improve. The school should go from strength to strength if it addresses more widely pupils’ academic performance.

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What the school should do to improve further

 Ensure work is well matched to pupils’ abilities in lessons.  Improve the way that data is used to measure the progress made by different groups of pupils and to set realistic but challenging targets.  Ensure that lesson observations focus rigorously on how pupils learn and make progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection. Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 6 of 8

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What the school should do to improve further

procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 7 of 8

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements 2

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Achievement and standards

How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners 3

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Personal development and well-being

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

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The quality of provision

How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of learners’ needs? How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? How well are learners cared for, guided and supported? 2

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Leadership and management

How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? Yes Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? No

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Leadership and management

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average, with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. Inspection report: St Michael's Church of England Aided Junior and Infant School, 22-23 May 2007 8 of 8

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School, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AF

Thank you for welcoming me to your school and being so friendly and helpful. I particularly want to thank the pupils who gave up their lunch time to talk to me.

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School, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AF

 You enjoy school, and do well in English.  You get on well with each other and your behaviour is good.  Adults take good care of you so that you feel happy and safe in school.  You do creative work in dance, art, music and design and technology.  The headteacher, staff and governors are keen to help your school get even better.

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School, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AF

What I have asked your school to do now.

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School, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AF

 Make sure that the work you are given is not too easy.  Look at your test results in more detail to see if anything needs to change to help you do even better.  Check that you are learning as much as you can in lessons.

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School, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AF

You are very lucky that you go to a caring school where everyone gets on so well. I hope that you will do your best to make it even better.

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