Chapel Street Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ progress so that a greater proportion are able to match the expectations for their age by the time they leave Year 6 by:
  • tackling the legacy of underachievement to ensure gaps in pupils’ skills and knowledge close quickly
  • helping the most able pupils to apply their learning and skills to deepen and extend their understanding
  • ensuring pupils are able to build their subject-specific skills and knowledge in subjects other than English and mathematics as they move through the school
  • supporting pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to make stronger progress from their starting points
  • targeting additional support more effectively to ensure disadvantaged pupils have the same chances as other pupils nationally to be successful learners
  • continuing to reduce the high absence rates.
• Build upon recent improvements in teaching, especially reading, to ensure that pupils are able to make the progress they should as they move through school by:
  • reviewing the systems for teaching reading so there are greater opportunities for pupils to read for pleasure and for purpose across a broad range of texts
  • ensuring that teaching assistants are appropriately deployed in classrooms and that these additional adults have the skills and knowledge to make a difference to pupils’ learning.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that governors have the skills and confidence to check the work of the school and to champion the achievement of all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged
  • developing the role of subject leaders so they are able to influence teaching and promote pupils’ achievement across different subjects
  • using the wide range of information on pupils’ progress more effectively to check the impact of leaders’ work, the difference extra teaching strategies are making and to spot any gaps in achievement
  • reviewing the use of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities so that the strategies in place enable these groups to become successful learners. An external review of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Chapel Street has faced a challenging journey since the previous inspection. Rapid expansion in 2014, which happened almost overnight, saw a marked increase in the number of pupils on roll. These pupils joined different year groups at the beginning of the 2014 summer term. Most of these pupils were new to the country and at the earliest stages of speaking and understanding English.
• These unusual circumstances go some way to explaining the decline in pupils’ outcomes. However, contextual changes are by no means the only reason Chapel Street is no longer good. A lack of leadership direction, weak guidance for teachers, and an insufficient focus on pupils’ achievement have also played their part.
• This picture of decline is being halted quickly due to the calm, authoritative and expert leadership of the new headteacher. This is lifting aspirations and expectations at all levels. More importantly, change is being managed sensitively, without riding roughshod over the heart and soul of the school. Chapel Street remains a special place to pupils and staff.
• The new headteacher has the full support and confidence of pupils and staff. Leaders at different levels are buoyant and teachers are doing their utmost to follow new ways of working. There is a sense of purpose and optimism in the school which is leading to high levels of morale. Chapel Street is turning a corner, but there is still a considerable distance to travel to ensure that pupils’ academic gains match their strong personal, social and emotional development.
• Teaching is improving rapidly. It is much stronger than in recent years. Shared ways of teaching, good-quality professional development and the close checks leaders keep on what is happening in the classroom are all making a positive difference. Pupils’ books speak volumes. The quality of work pupils now produce bears little resemblance to the unacceptable outputs in many classes at the start of the year.
• Although very willing, the contribution of other leaders in the school is varied. For some, leadership roles are still fairly new as a result of the recent staff restructure. For others, there is too little impact of their work over time. This is especially true for curriculum leaders, who have not stamped their mark on the quality of teaching in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• The pupil premium grant has not been used well to support the academic achievement of disadvantaged pupils. The impact of strategies funded by this money is too varied because the needs of these pupils have not been considered closely enough. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils continue to lag behind other pupils nationally.
• Similarly, the additional funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not monitored closely to ensure it is making a difference. While some strategies to support these pupils work well, others are not as secure. This accounts for the varied progress this group makes over time.
• In contrast, strong leadership of physical education means the primary sports funding is used very well to improve pupils’ participation in, and enjoyment of, physical activity. A wide range of clubs, such as dodgeball, dancing, gymnastics and keep-fit allow pupils to be involved in varied sporting activities. Not only do pupils enjoy these opportunities enormously but they are gaining a positive local reputation for their success in competitive tournaments. For example, they are very proud to be two-time winners of the Manchester mountain bike competition.
• Recent changes mean pupils have appropriate opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in a range of subjects. The curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to find out about the past, gain a sense of the world around them and develop key life skills such as cookery. However, an overemphasis on pupils’ writing skills sometimes overshadows the depth of subject-specific learning in subjects such as history, geography and science.
• A wide variety of additional activities broaden pupils’ experience and underpin their enjoyment of school. For example, pupils’ music skills are developed well through drumming and ukulele lessons. Gardening activities instil a sense of pride and care for the school grounds. Visits outside of classrooms bring topics alive while a range of visitors to school enhance pupils’ learning, personal development and safety. These activities, along with excellent relationships at all levels, promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.
• Pupils are cherished and nurtured through effective approaches to support their personal, emotional and social skills. A broad range of strategies are in place to help pupils overcome any barriers that may stop them from growing into valuable citizens of the future. The support for pupils who arrive at school at the earliest stages of speaking English is especially powerful.
• This is a happy school, where everyone receives a warm and genuine welcome. Pupils who arrive at different points of the year, often from different countries, settle extremely quickly. Pupils from different cultures and religions mix well together during work and play. Pupils’ limited grasp of English or any physical disabilities make little difference to how they are viewed or treated by others. Strong bonds of friendship are in place regardless of colour, belief or gender. Pupils are shining examples of respect and tolerance. Consequently, they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The tide is turning at Chapel Street. Recent improvements in teaching plus the stronger outcomes at the end of early years and key stage 1 all indicate the building blocks for future success are in place. As a result, the school has the capacity to improve further.

Governance of the school

• Reflective and honest governors want the best for the school. They readily admit they did not act on their concerns about the decline in pupils’ standards with enough vigour. They have learned their lesson, instigating a review of governance, to ensure that they are well equipped to offer greater insight, support and challenge in the future. The impact of this external review has already led to positive change in how governors complete their work and in the range of questions they now ask.
• Governors know the school well and have a good understanding of the priorities for improvement. Minutes from their meetings show they have well-developed antennae around safeguarding pupils. However, governors have not applied the same rigour when checking on how effectively additional funding is being used to promote the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Safeguarding

• Pupils’ safety enjoys priority status in the school. Well-trained staff, including non-teaching staff, ensure that any signs of pupils at risk of abuse are spotted early and reported swiftly. School records show concerns are followed through diligently. Good links with outside agencies and parents, along with the school’s own range of therapy strategies, mean pupils receive the support they need when facing challenging times.
• Leaders know the context of the school well. They are alert to potential issues around female genital mutilation, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation. Attendance information is scrutinised carefully to ensure that any long-term absence is not related to any safeguarding concerns.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• In recent years, teaching has not been good enough. Most teachers have pupils’ best interests at heart, but they had lost their way in recent years. Insufficient guidance on whole-school teaching strategies and ineffective feedback on their performance took its toll. Low expectations and inconsistent teaching strategies took hold. Pupils’ achievement, especially in key stage 2, suffered as a result.
• Teachers’ response to recent changes show their resilience, professionalism and a desire to provide a good standard of education to the pupils in their care. They are seizing the opportunity to improve and are putting new learning into practice in almost all classes. Consequently, expectations of what pupils can and should do for their age are rising quickly in most year groups.
• Most teachers plan carefully to tackle gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. They check pupils’ understanding effectively and reshape tasks when they realise pupils are muddled. This is not the case for all teaching assistants. Some provide very close support which helps pupils immensely. Others do not have enough influence on pupils’ learning. Their understanding of what pupils should achieve for their age is underdeveloped.
• Many teachers scaffold learning effectively to help pupils move forward. For the most part, this is working well, especially for pupils who find learning more difficult and for those who speak English as an additional language. However, there is a downside to this approach. Pupils are very reliant on the teachers’ guidance, which is limiting their ability to try out and consolidate new learning. This is especially true for the most able pupils. Too few are working at greater depth because they lack sufficient opportunities, or confidence, to extend their skills or deepen their thinking.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Well-structured sessions enable pupils to tackle familiar and new words well. However, the teaching of reading beyond phonics is not hitting the mark. It does not ensure that pupils read fluently for pleasure and with understanding. Too much time is wasted on tasks which do too little to move pupils’ reading prowess forward.
• In contrast, the teaching of writing has improved. Teachers ensure that pupils gain the tools to write for a range of purposes. Mathematics teaching is emerging as a relative strength due to teachers’ good subject knowledge and their understanding of what it takes to become masters of mathematics.
• Subjects other than English and mathematics are taught, but with varying degrees of success. Teachers’ desire to improve pupils’ writing skills means that some tend to use history, geography and science lessons as a further opportunity to practise writing. This is diluting the quality of the subject-specific knowledge and skills pupils gain.
• Without exception, teachers are highly skilled in forging positive relationships. Their warm and nurturing manner underpins the calm, friendly and harmonious atmosphere across the school.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils thrive emotionally, socially and personally. This is because they are valued as individuals and supported effectively to become well-rounded youngsters.
• Pupils’ joy in being part of the Chapel Street family is evident the minute they cross the door. Their broad and ready smiles do not falter throughout the entire day. They are happy and feel safe. They know adults care for them and are there to respond to any concerns that arise.
• Pupils say bullying is a rarity and that hurtful name-calling, especially around the colour of someone’s skin, is not tolerated. Pupils know why it is wrong to harass others. Pupils typically commented: ‘Everyone has emotions and you need to stop and think about how you might be hurting them.’ However, pupils’ understanding of the impact of homophobic bullying is underdeveloped.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, especially when using personal computers and mobile telephones. Older pupils gain an awareness of how to protect themselves from unwanted sexual attention through the support of well-trained teachers and external providers.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils enjoy being in school. They value their learning and they appreciate their teachers. Older pupils are keen to point out their teachers willingly give up their lunchtime to offer ‘drop-in’ sessions in readiness for the forthcoming national tests.
• Adults across the school respect pupils, treat them fairly and see them as individuals. Pupils repay this trust back in spades. They are calm, polite and willing to conform to school rules. Despite the size of the school and the complexities of moving large groups of pupils around, they very rarely play on opportunities to get up to mischief during unstructured time. Playtimes and lunchtimes are calm, safe and friendly.
• Pupils’ good behaviour around school is mirrored in classrooms. They get on with their work with little fuss or complaint, despite teachers demanding so much more than in the past. Adults support pupils who find managing their behaviour more of a challenge very well. Consequently, lessons are rarely disrupted by weak behaviour.
• Although pupils have positive attitudes to work, some of them, especially the most able, do not have the resilience to keep going when they face challenges. They are too quick to wait for adult support or reassurance from the teacher.
• Published attendance data for the school does not make for good reading. It is low. Furthermore, the proportion of pupils who miss large periods of time away from school is double the national average. School data shows few pupils miss school other than to go on long extended holidays, often to their home country. This is the root cause of weak attendance and a reason some pupils do not achieve well.
• The steely resolve of leaders is beginning to tackle absence issues, but attendance is not good enough for some pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 have followed a steady decline since the previous inspection. Poor progress has led to pupils leaving school with low standards, especially in reading and writing. In the past, pupils have not been served well. Too many were unable to make a successful start in their chosen secondary school.
• Too many pupils lost ground in Years 3, 4 and 5. They fell backwards instead of surging ahead, due to weaker teaching and low expectations. Despite the increased demand in Year 6, these pupils just had too many gaps in their learning to reach the expectations for their age.
• Recent changes are leading to an upturn in pupils’ achievement. Pupils’ books provide compelling evidence of accelerated progress since the start of this academic year. Nonetheless, for some pupils, especially those in key stage 2, this positive turnaround is doing no more than helping them to catch up to where they should have been in the first place. Consequently, pupils’ progress at this current time is no better than expected. While this is a marked improvement on published data, it is not good enough.
• Over time, disadvantaged pupils have not achieved as well as other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Those disadvantaged pupils currently at the school are beginning to catch up to others in some classes. However, there is still a way to go to ensure they do as well as they should for their age.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make varied progress as they move from year to year. Pupils who speak English as an additional language make the same progress as others in the school. Progress is swifter for those pupils who receive intensive support because they are at the earliest stages of communicating in English.
• There are no marked differences between different minority ethnic groups within the school. Pakistani pupils make similar progress and reach the same standards as others by the time they leave Year 6.
• Too few pupils were working at greater depth by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in the last round of published results. This looks set to continue for the most able pupils. An over-reliance on adults and gaps in previous learning are preventing this group from becoming sophisticated writers, enthusiastic readers and accomplished mathematicians.
• In 2016, boys did less well than girls in reading and writing. Current data shows this pattern is reversing quickly. Pupils’ books show boys share the same passion for writing as girls and they are making the same gains in their learning.
• Pupils are gaining a writer’s voice because they use vocabulary well and produce creative work to entice a reader. However, some older pupils continue to carry the scars from previous underachievement. Gaps in their basic skills stop some from making greater progress towards age-related expectations.
• Pupils’ mathematics books point to rich opportunities for pupils to solve problems which encourage them to think hard, use their knowledge of number and explain their answers. Pupils are thoroughly enjoying the demands of this new way of working. This is helping to lift their confidence and competence as young mathematicians.
• The proportion of pupils who gained success in the Year 1 phonic screening check broadly matched the national average. Younger pupils use their phonic skills well when they meet new words. Older pupils’ achievement in reading is not racing ahead as quickly as it is in writing and mathematics.
• There are signs of a stronger picture emerging for younger pupils. More children are starting Year 1 ready to learn. In turn, the proportion of pupils making the progress they should by the end of Year 2 matched the 2016 national average. These improvements are securing firm foundations on which to build.
• Pupils make the same good efforts with their work in subjects other than English and mathematics. Their work is well presented and shows an increasing pride in their success. In some classes, pupils gain an understanding of chronology and are able to pose and then investigate scientific questions. This is not true in other classes.
• Pupils’ understanding of different religions is particularly noteworthy. A genuine focus on celebrating key festivals from different faiths has led to their good understanding of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This underpins pupils’ good understand of, and respect for, differences between people, religions and customs.

Early years provision Good

• Weaknesses in leadership across the school did not permeate into the early years. Despite a decline happening elsewhere, this part of the school has gone from strength to strength due to determined and effective leadership.
• The early years leader has made good use of effective external support to improve the quality of provision and teaching. Good-quality teaching from a cohesive group of adults mean children flourish in different classes and teaching groups.
• A considerable number of children enter Nursery unable to access the activities typically associated with their age. For some, language is a barrier. They make good progress across the early years, which means the proportions reaching a good level of development has increased year on year. Although this figure remains below average, the gap is closing quickly.
• The early years leader has been particularly successful in ensuring that the early years pupil premium funding gives disadvantaged children a boost from the start. Money has been spent wisely on shoring up children’s speaking skills, a marked weakness for many, to help them access learning. This is working well. In 2016, disadvantaged children did as well as others in school and almost as well as other pupils nationally.
• A strong focus on early reading, writing and mathematics plus children’s good behaviour and personal development means they are ready for Year 1. Children are encouraged to read and write from the earliest age. They do so willingly and with confidence. For example, small groups of children re-enacted a common fairy tale, reading a text and taking on parts in the play.
• The well-equipped and well-organised indoor and outdoor environment provides a wealth of purposeful learning opportunities which meet children’s needs and interests. Consequently, different groups of children are active, involved and thoroughly enjoy their time in the setting. Children concentrate, listen to others, take turns and stay on task until it is complete. They gain the skills to become successful and bold learners.
• Children are kind to each other and follow routines well. Their behaviour matches that of older pupils within the school. They are kept safe and secure by caring staff who are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities.
• Adults work seamlessly to support children’s learning, asking good questions or posing problems to reignite children’s interest in a task. Checks on children’s learning are regular and information is used well to inform future tasks.
• Fruitful links with parents ensure smooth communication and enable parents to gain an insight into how their children learn.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105404 Manchester 10024179 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 710 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Rachel Skelton Sally Lowe 0161 224 1269 www.chapelstreetprimary.co.uk admin@chapelstreet.manchester.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11 September 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a much larger than average-sized primary school.
• Almost all pupils are from minority ethnic groups. Pupils of Pakistani heritage make up the largest group in the school. Over three quarters of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The number pupils who receive support through the pupil premium funding is above the national average.
• More pupils enter the school at different times of the year than is seen nationally. A number of these pupils are at the earliest stages of speaking English when they join the school.
• There have been a number of changes to the school’s context since the previous inspection. In 2014, the school expanded. The number of pupils on roll grew by one third, as did the proportion of staff.
• A new headteacher took up post in November 2016.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards. These are the minimum standards and rate of progress expected in reading, writing and mathematics of pupils in key stage 2.
• The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance results in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited most classrooms to observe teaching, pupils’ learning and behaviour.
• They observed and spoke to pupils during lessons and at play. Inspectors met formally with four groups of pupils and heard pupils read.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.
• The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including arrangements for safeguarding. They took account of school information about pupils’ outcomes and scrutinised pupils’ books.
• Inspectors chatted to parents at the start of the school day. They also took account of the 21 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including the 17 free-text responses.
• Inspectors considered the 78 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.
• Two Ofsted Inspectors visited the school on 21 March 2017 under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. This was followed up by a further visit on 26–27 April by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Ofsted Inspector as the inspection converted to a section 5 inspection under the same Act of Parliament.

Inspection team

Joanne Olsson, lead inspector Neil Dixon Leon Bernstein Doreen Davenport Maureen Hints Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector