St Andrew's CofE Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Primary School Inspection report

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105934 Unique Reference Number Salford Local Authority 308987 Inspection number 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates Frank Carruthers 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 162 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Les Robinson Chair Mrs B Schouten Headteacher 7 July 2003 Date of previous school inspection Barton Lane School address Eccles Manchester Lancashire M30 0FL 0161 7894853 Telephone number 0161 9211397 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates 308987 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Two thirds of the pupils who attend this smaller than average school are of minority ethnic heritage. The majority of these pupils are Arabic Yemeni and most of the remaining are Asian or British Asian (Bangladeshi or Pakistani). A large number of these pupils start at the school during Key Stage 2. Some have had no previous experience of schooling in their country of origin and almost all are at the early stages of learning English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion eligible for free school meals is about twice the national average. The school has been part of the local authority's Intensive Support Programme (ISP) since September 2005 and has the Healthy Schools Award and the Silver Award for Dental Health.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good education for all pupils and caters extremely well for their cultural diversity. The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are outstanding and meet their needs exceptionally well. Pupils achieve well, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. From levels of attainment that are well below those expected of children when they start in the Foundation Stage, pupils who attend the school for all their primary years make good progress. Those who start later, with only a little English, make rapid gains in acquiring the language and also achieve well. In the most recent national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2007, results were broadly average in English, mathematics and science. This has been the result of good teaching and some excellent programmes of language teaching. However, the performance of boys lags behind that of girls, partly because the majority of those who start

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Grade: 2

late at school are boys. In the most recent tests, results in science were not as strong as in English and mathematics. This is because the school has made a priority of improving performance in the core skills of literacy and numeracy in recent years and has put less of a focus on science. Pupils' personal development is good. They enjoy school and behave well. They develop a good awareness of personal safety and how to lead a healthy and fit lifestyle. Levels of attendance have improved since the last inspection and were average in the last school year. The work of the school's learning mentor and behaviour mentor has been highly effective in promoting the self-esteem of pupils, especially the more vulnerable. With many pupils joining the school at different times of the year, the mentors work in collaboration on the principle that 'they notice the children who do not get noticed'. This is a key strength of the outstanding pastoral care

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Grade: 2

the school provides. Parents who responded to the inspectors' questionnaire or who spoke with them report that partnerships between school and home have improved since the last inspection. They agreed with the view that 'the caring nature of the school and encouragement given to the children are amazing.' Under the clear direction of the headteacher, the drive to improve pupils' achievement has been very effective. Several important initiatives to improve the expertise of staff in their teaching have been introduced. For example, teaching assistants have become fully trained in teaching intensive programmes for pupils acquiring English, a new curriculum has been introduced that weaves subjects together effectively, and staff have developed their expertise in using information and communication technology (ICT) in lessons. As a result, pupils' learning and quality of the curriculum are good and lead to good achievement.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is ably supported by the recently appointed deputy headteacher and a strong senior leadership team. There has been high quality advice and consultation from the local authority and the governing body has improved its role in overseeing the school's provision and financial position. The school has made good improvement since the last inspection and has good capacity to develop further. The cost of educating a pupil at the school is in line with the average for primary schools nationally and, given the achievement of pupils and the quality of provision, the school provides good value for money. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Grade: 2

Most children spend two years in the Foundation Stage class. They are very well cared for and relationships between staff and the children are excellent. Children become confident, younger ones learning much from older children in the shared Foundation Stage areas. They make good progress so that by the start of Year 1 their personal, social and emotional development is broadly in line with expected levels. In communication, language and literacy, and mathematical development, most are still working towards the standards expected of children this age. Nevertheless, they have made good progress and those at the early stages of acquiring English make rapid gains in speaking and listening. Staff plan the activities together well and effective teamwork is a key strength. All areas of learning are covered well in the spacious classrooms and outdoor areas. A new enclosed outdoor space is adding many extra opportunities for the

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Grade: 2

children's physical and creative development. The Foundation Stage is well led and managed. Resources are plentiful and have been increased, for example, for reading and large wheeled toys. The transition to Year 1 is well planned and children continue to develop their language skills through imaginative play activities.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the performance of boys so that it matches more closely that of girls.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1, although standards are below and often well below average in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 2. This is because approximately half the pupils in most year groups are at an early stage of learning English. With good teaching and the success of intensive language support from teaching assistants, they achieve well and, during Key Stage 2, read and write confidently in English. In Year 6, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected Level 4 in English and mathematics has been low but improved last year and measures are in place to continue this good improvement. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make similarly good progress and many achieve well in relation to targets in their individual education plans. The learning mentor and the behaviour mentor, who is also the coordinator for provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make an

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Grade: 2

effective contribution to this good progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school places a strong emphasis on the richness of the cultural diversity in school and helps pupils to gain a very good awareness of other countries and cultures. Pupils eagerly accept the many opportunities they are given to take responsibility. Not only do pupils act as buddies, monitors and pupil councillors, they also develop a good understanding of their own actions and feelings through the school's success in implementing its effective behaviour policy. For instance, they are encouraged to reflect on how they have behaved and write about it. They develop a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Pupils enjoy lessons and this is evident in the good levels of attendance of the great majority of pupils. The overall attendance rate, however, is adversely 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Grade: 2

affected by religious festivals falling in term time and families taking extended leave to return to their country of origin. Pupils' involvement in the local community is good, for example, decision making in relation to the park adjacent to school. They learn how to work independently and as a team, which are important skills to take forward to high school and the work place.

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Grade: 2

Good teaching is evident across all classes and some outstanding teaching was observed in Years 5 and 6. Past disruption to pupils' learning has now been overcome so that pupils learn and achieve well. Strengths of the teaching include the quality of relationships between staff and pupils, good use of praise and rewards, and excellent deployment of well trained teaching assistants. Pupils are given good opportunities to give their views in class and techniques such as 'Talking Partners' are used effectively to promote language development. Occasionally, however, teachers allow boys to sit back in lessons and girls answer and contribute first, so opportunities to check boys' understanding are missed. Teachers' marking of pupils' work is very thorough and helps pupils to identify what they need to do to improve. The pace of learning is generally very good because teachers make effective use of time limits for particular activities.

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Grade: 2

On a few occasions, however, there is an imbalance of time between the teacher introducing a lesson and pupils taking part in activities, so that concentration and learning are adversely affected.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well balanced and meets statutory requirements. The school places a strong emphasis upon the teaching of basic skills and early language acquisition for pupils who require it. This is an outstanding improvement in provision since the time of the last inspection, when inspectors found much of the early language teaching was carried out by outside specialists and too little of its impact was followed up by class teachers and their assistants. Further strengths include provision for ICT, which has been improved since the time of the last inspection and is being used well. The curriculum promotes pupils' understanding of a healthy and fit lifestyle well. A new initiative that is being established this year aims to stimulate pupils' enjoyment of school but its impact is yet to be measured. It provides an international dimension to the curriculum and makes good links between humanities and arts subjects with literacy.

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Grade: 2

French is also taught by a part-time member of staff. The good range of visits, visitors to school and extra-curricular activities is popular with pupils and enhances their enjoyment of school.

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Grade: 1

All aspects of health, safety, child protection, risk assessment and safe recruitment of staff are in place. An excellent feature of the school is the provision of two mentors, one of whom is a trained counsellor, to support looked after children and pupils who are experiencing distress or finding school difficult. A lunchtime nurture group gives pupils a quiet haven to reduce stress and recover their emotional well-being. The school's policy is not to exclude pupils whose behaviour becomes difficult but to use reward and sanctions, which include seclusion away from classmates. This is proving to be highly effective and staff monitor its success over time. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good and links with outside agencies are used very effectively to help pupils make progress. Procedures to track pupils'

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Grade: 1

progress have developed well in recent years. Regular assessments enable difficulties to be identified and prompt action to be taken to improve pupils' progress.

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Grade: 2

The good leadership of the headteacher puts the school in a strong position to consolidate the recent improvements in standards. The commitment to making sure the school does all it can to help pupils, whatever their need, is outstanding. It has led to the high quality of care, guidance and support the school provides. It is also illustrated in the drive to improve the expertise of staff through effective training programmes. For instance, teaching English as an additional language and supporting the emotional well-being of pupils have developed very well as a result. The teaching of French is well established and there is now a vibrant Foundation Stage class. The governing body is well led and has a good range of expertise among members. It has yet to evaluate the effectiveness of its governance and be involved in evaluating the implementation of new initiatives that the school undertakes. The school's self-evaluation is

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Grade: 2

thorough and has provided a clear analysis of its strengths and where improvements are needed. The views of the school match those of the inspectors in all but one aspect, pupils' personal development and well-being, which it overestimated. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 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? 3 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

On behalf of the inspection team I would like to thank you very much for your help when we inspected your school. We enjoyed our visit very much. Now I would like to share with you what we thought about your school. Yours is a good school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the staff take excellent care of you all and teach you well so that you make good progress

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ your attitude to work is good, you enjoy school and behave well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the staff are doing really well helping those of you who start school speaking a different language to learn English ■ the staff are developing exciting topics for you to study and enjoy and they provide you with good opportunities to enjoy activities outside lessons and go on visits. To make the school even better, there are a few important things to do and you can help. Boys are not doing as well as girls in English and mathematics and we would like to see them catch up. We also want to see you all doing better in science. So keep working hard and trying your very best! 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Andrew's CofE Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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