East Crompton St James CofE Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 12 Nov 2007

East Crompton St James CofE Primary School Inspection report

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105710 Unique Reference Number Oldham Local Authority 308928 Inspection number 12 November 2007 Inspection date Stephen Wall Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Voluntary controlled School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 214 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Leslie Lomas Chair Mrs Maureen Barnett Headteacher 10 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection St James Street School address Shaw Oldham Lancashire OL2 7TD 01706 847360 Telephone number 01706 299601 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 12 November 2007 Inspection date 308928 Inspection number .

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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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: standards and achievement, personal development and well-being, and care, guidance and support. Evidence was gathered from the school's self-evaluation, national published assessment data and the school's own assessment records, policies and minutes, observation of the school at work, interviews with senior members of staff and pupils, and the parents' 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 the self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

This average-sized primary school serves an area of broadly average social and economic circumstances. Nearly all pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with a statement of special educational need, is average. The school does not have a Nursery facility so children join the Foundation Stage in Reception from a variety of pre-school settings.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school in which pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding; so, too, is the quality of the care, guidance and support it offers. The school is highly regarded in the community it serves and is oversubscribed. Parents value the education the school provides. 'My children love coming to school. I know they are safe and that they are making good progress in their learning. Importantly, they are also learning good manners and how to behave,' was a typical comment. Pupils enjoy coming to school, as seen in their well above average attendance levels. They feel valued as individuals and are treated with warmth and respect. 'It's a bit like a big family where everyone gets along together. We know what's expected of us, so that's why we behave ourselves,' reflected the view of many. Care and support are at the heart of all the school does. Child protection procedures and policies are in place. Health and safety are given meticulous

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Grade: 2

attention. The building is beautifully kept, giving the pupils a safe and welcoming environment in which to work and play. Pupils trust adults to deal with any problems effectively and swiftly. They know how important it is to lead healthy lifestyles and what foods are good for them. Their manners are very good; 'please', 'thank you' and opening doors for others are the norm, for example. Strong Christian values underpin the pupils' development. These ensure that pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. Pupils show they understand the importance of respect and tolerance for others. The school council is particularly active in organising charity fund-raising events for the local community and further afield. This gives the pupils a sense of social responsibility. As they move up through the school, pupils grow into confident and inquisitive youngsters who have good numeracy and literacy skills. As a result, they are very

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Grade: 2

well prepared to take full advantage of the next stage in their education. From broadly average starting points, pupils make good progress and achieve well to attain standards which are consistently above average by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. Demanding targets are set; they are invariably met or exceeded, particularly in mathematics where the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels in national tests is consistently very high. However, the proportion of pupils gaining the higher levels in English at the end of Key Stage 2 is not as high, and the school recognises that this is an area for development. Generous staffing levels allow lower attaining pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to be taught literacy and numeracy in small groups. This enables them to make good progress. Good achievement is brought about by rigorous teaching. Teachers adopt formal and traditional

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Grade: 2

teaching methods, particularly in Key Stage 2. Although they accept that this leads to good progress, pupils comment, rightly, that they spend too long listening rather than being more actively involved in their own learning. The headteacher is highly focused on maintaining high standards. She has a clear understanding of the overall effectiveness of the school and knows what areas need to be tackled to bring about further improvement. She promotes good levels of teamwork and loyalty. The quality of teaching and learning is monitored by the headteacher but opportunities to develop the expertise of subject coordinators to influence and extend the range of teaching and learning styles are not exploited. Governors are highly committed to the school. Their level of support is outstanding. They take their responsibilities exceptionally seriously and have a highly visible presence in the school. The school has made good progress in tackling the issues identified at

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Grade: 2

the last inspection. Its concentration on maintaining high standards and improving where possible is giving the school good capacity to improve further. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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Grade: 2

Children enter Reception with skills broadly in line with those expected of their age. A rich variety of activities and purposeful teaching enable them to make good progress overall, so that standards by the end of Reception are generally above age-related expectations. Good management and leadership make sure that children's progress is tracked accurately. The school is in the early stages of developing curricular links between Reception and Year 1 to ease transition into more formal learning in Key Stage 1. Children with potential learning difficulties are identified early so that appropriate programmes to support them are developed to match their specific needs.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels in English by the end of Key Stage 2. ■ Involve subject coordinators more effectively in developing teaching in their areas to engage pupils more actively in their own learning. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of East Crompton St James Church of England Primary School, Oldham OL2 7TD Thank you for making me so welcome when I spent a day in your school recently. I enjoyed talking to you. Your views helped me to reach my judgements about how well your school is doing. You will be pleased to hear that I think you go to a good school. I was very impressed with how well you behave and how well you all get on together. The adults in school work very hard to make sure that you are safe and well cared for. You make good progress in your learning as you move up through the school so that the standards you attain are consistently high, especially in mathematics. However, I think that more of you should gain the higher levels in English at the end of Key Stage 2 and your school agrees. Your teachers work very hard to make sure you achieve well in lessons. However, some of you told me that they do not always involve you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

enough in your learning and I agree. Therefore, I am asking the school to look carefully at how the teachers in charge of all the different subjects can help teachers involve you more actively in lessons so that you make even better progress. I am confident that you will help your teachers bring about these improvements and make your school even more successful. I wish you well for the future. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: East Crompton St James CofE Primary School, 12 November 2007

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