Setting

Mrs G Branch Headteacher All Saints C of E Primary School Rufford Drive Whitefield Manchester Lancashire M45 8PL

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Following my visit to your school on 24–25 May 2010, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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School

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in September 2009. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory .

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School

Progress since the previous monitoring inspection – good .

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School

Newly qualified teachers may be appointed .

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School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of Governors and the Director of Children’s Services for Bury.

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School

Steve Isherwood Her Majesty’s Inspector Suite 22 West Lancashire Investment Centre Maple View White Moss Business Park Skelmersdale, WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566939 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email glaw@cfbt.com Page 2

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Evidence

The inspector observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, senior leaders, a group of pupils, the Chair of Governors and a representative of the local authority.

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Context

The deputy headteacher will be leaving the school at the end of the summer term. The governing body has moved swiftly to appoint a new deputy headteacher who will commence duties at the beginning of the autumn term in September. The school continues to benefit from the support of the Greater Manchester Challenge initiative. This has enabled productive links to be established with a Local Leader of Education (LLE) from an outstanding local school. The LLE and teachers from his school are supporting and coaching staff at All Saints on a range of issues such as accelerating pupils’ progress, developing the quality of learning and planning for further improvement.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Following the previous visit senior leaders have continued to take a range of appropriate measures to raise standards and accelerate pupils’ achievement. As a result, pupils’ work in lessons and in their books shows that more of them are working at age-related expectations and making better progress than before. For example, there is clear evidence to suggest that pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 are catching up in mathematics and writing with increasing numbers of pupils making better than expected levels of progress over the last year. In addition, provisional data in teachers’ assessments and in national tests for this year point to an increase in the number of pupils reaching the higher Level 3 and Level 5. This is because the school has strengthened the way its tracks pupils’ achievements and staff have a greater understanding of the progress pupils should make. The regular reviews of how well pupils are achieving are more focused with a clearer agenda for staff to

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

follow. Teachers are held to account for the progress pupils are making. Pupils’ individual targets have been reviewed and there is better communication with pupils, and parents and carers, on the process. Staff are taking greater responsibility for their actions and are acting more decisively in their analysis of data. Although not yet consistent in all classes, there has been a steady improvement in the accuracy of how activities are matched to individual pupils’ needs in lessons. The combination of all these improvements mean that pupils’ enjoyment of learning has increased and Page 3 the school is in a much stronger position to identify the links between teaching, standards and the progress pupils make.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Nevertheless, the school has correctly identified that the progress of pupils is not uniformly good across Key Stage 2. There are still pockets of underachievement in the middle years where some pupils are currently behind where they should be, particularly in writing and to a lesser extent in mathematics. This is because the level of challenge in some lessons is too low, which results in some pupils not achieving as well or as rapidly as they should.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Progress since the last visit on the area for improvement:  Raise standards and achievement in all subjects, particularly in mathematics and writing in Key Stage 2 – satisfactory .

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Other relevant outcomes for pupils

Pupils are polite, diligent and behave well in all situations. Some first-rate personal qualities help them to enjoy learning and make progress. They can sense that things are improving. When asked to express their views on their learning there was clear agreement that their lessons are more interesting because they are more involved in making decisions about how they learn and can discuss and share their ideas with each other. ‘Work is more exciting than it used to be;’ ‘Our teachers help us in small steps;’ ‘We do less worksheets now,’ were typical comments.

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The effectiveness of provision

The quality of teaching and learning is improving. With greater confidence in their own ability, teachers have begun to plan more exciting activities that relate well to pupils’ interests and abilities. There are increasing situations where pupils are engaged in practical situations when using and applying their knowledge, particularly in mathematics. Spurred on by the good examples of learning that exist in the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers are far more aware of what constitutes effective practice and have been willing to change and adapt. This has resulted in pupils’ greater involvement in learning and the use of group and discussion activities in lessons has been extended. In addition, the partnership with the lead learning school has contributed significantly to new ideas and has helped staff to promote different and more effective methods of teaching.

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The effectiveness of provision

Senior leaders are correct in recognising that the next step is to share the good practice that exists within the school, find more time for staff to work collaboratively and agree some basic principles of good practice to share in improving pupils’ learning further.

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The effectiveness of provision

The best lessons are founded on an accurate assessment of pupils’ needs with an exciting range of practical and relevant activities that challenge and spur pupils to Page 4 achieve well. Relationships are highly productive and teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to proceedings. When all these features come together, as observed in a lesson on plotting coordinates in Year 5, pupils thrive on the excitement and challenge that the lesson provides and, as a result, make good progress in their learning. Other effective examples of practice were witnessed in Year 2. With excellent questioning by the class teacher and support staff pupils were encouraged to take responsibility by assessing and editing each other’s writing using success criteria which included the use of punctuation, the range of detail and the gathering of information.

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The effectiveness of provision

Where teaching is less successful sometimes too little is expected of pupils in thinking independently, work is over-directed and tasks are not challenging enough to sustain pupils’ interest.

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The effectiveness of provision

Marking and guidance to pupils has improved and is much more consistent across the school. There are some good examples in teachers’ comments where pupils are given clear advice about how to improve their work and reach the next level.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last visit on the area for improvement:  Improve the quality of teaching from satisfactory to good – good .

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

With the determination of the headteacher and under the watchful eye of the Chair of Governors, the school has turned the corner and the pace of change is accelerating. A strong emphasis on raising achievement and improving the quality of pupils’ learning has been established. Senior leaders are not complacent and recognise that the next challenge is to sustain this focus and keep the momentum going.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Staff are believing in themselves once more and are wholeheartedly committed to making things better for the pupils. They are highly motivated, have picked themselves up and can now see light at the end of the tunnel. They are beginning to realise that their efforts are paying greater dividends. They are unified and appear more optimistic than at any time in the recent past. The school is well placed to continue its improvement and while much remains to be done, everything is coming together well for standards to rise.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The school has responded well to all safeguarding concerns and all procedures meet current government requirements. No stone is left unturned to ensure that all pupils are safe and well cared for.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last visit on the area for improvement:  Ensure that the statutory requirements with regard to safeguarding are fully met – good . Page 5

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External support

The local authority has provided a good level of challenge and support for the school to date and has worked effectively with staff, governors and the headteacher. This work is orchestrated very well by the School Improvement Partner, who is sensitive to the school’s needs and is skilled in knowing when to intervene and support and when to take a back seat to enable the school to take the lead on steering improvements.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Sustain the focus on raising attainment and accelerate pupils’ progress by improving the quality of teaching and learning further, particularly at Key Stage 2.  Agree principles of good practice to share in improving pupils’ learning.  Establish more time for staff to work collaboratively and share good practice.

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