CofE School of the Resurrection Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:
  • sharpening leaders’ evaluation and strategic planning, ensuring that action plans focus on areas where improvements are needed and are rigorously reviewed, evaluated and updated, especially for early years and reading, writing and mathematics
  • providing detailed and effective support for teachers, to ensure consistency of approach in terms of provision, expectations and challenge
  • ensuring that the teaching of phonics is consistently good across all classes.
• Raise standards in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes by:
  • ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations and use assessment information well to set work which deepens pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills
  • ensuring that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND, make the progress that they are capable of in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2
  • setting work that is appropriately challenging for the most able pupils, to ensure that their attainment rises to reflect more closely that seen nationally in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of each key stage
  • ensuring that the quality of pupils’ written work is of a consistently high standard across the wider curriculum.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Senior leaders and governors have not addressed effectively the decline in pupils’ outcomes since the last inspection. Leaders are dedicated and fully committed to improvement, but their actions have not had a strong enough impact on the progress that pupils make.
• Since the previous inspection, there have been many changes to staffing. Leaders continue to face the challenge of managing a high turnover of teaching staff. Leaders have provided a range of training to support the development of staff. However, changes to teachers, sometimes in the middle of the school year, have resulted in a lack of consistency in the quality of teaching that pupils receive.
• Action plans created by senior and subject leaders are not always rigorously reviewed, evaluated or updated to ensure rapid improvement in terms of teachers’ professional development and pupils’ outcomes. Additionally, evaluations of the school’s effectiveness are sometimes over generous.
• Historically, there has been a lack of accuracy in the assessment of pupils’ skills in writing. Current work with external partners now enables leaders to provide more effective support to teachers in this area. However, progress has been limited due to the many changes in staffing.
• The headteacher works closely with the board of governors and the clergy to ensure that the school’s Christian values weave through all aspects of school life. Pupils are proud to receive ethos awards for reflecting school values such as tolerance, friendship and charity.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. The headteacher, together with other leaders, ensures that pupils receive a broad range of high-quality enrichment opportunities to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in areas such as music, dance and drama. However, the teaching of literacy and mathematics is not refined enough to ensure that pupils make the progress of which they are capable.
• Pupils take part in a wide range of extra-curricular activities before and after the school day. This includes activities to support pupils’ skills in areas such as literacy, sport, homework and music. For example, the school gardens are used to grow fruit and vegetables, which are used by the pupils in cookery lessons.
• Additional funding to support the needs of disadvantaged pupils is used effectively. This provides pupils with a wide range of experiences to support their academic development. It also provides them with experiences that enrich their life experiences. For example, they visit museums and art galleries and take part in arts, music and drama activities. Disadvantaged pupils access a free breakfast club, where they receive focused and effective support in areas such as literacy.
• Leaders ensure that pupils receive a broad range of experiences to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. An inspector joined staff and pupils during an act of collective worship. Pupils were attentive and keen to participate. They took responsibility for aspects of the worship and made thoughtful and considered responses when asked to contemplate the value of forgiveness. Pupils who spoke with inspectors said that they greatly enjoy finding out about different faiths and celebrating difference.
• Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values is good. This is because leaders ensure that pupils receive regular opportunities to develop their understanding in areas such as the rule of law, democracy and respect. Work in books and on display throughout the school is of a high standard and evidences the focus that leaders place on this aspect. For example, pupils and staff are justifiably proud of the work undertaken by pupils to mark Remembrance Day. A cascade of poppies created by the children is displayed in the school grounds, surrounding the outline of a soldier. Such work highlights pupils’ understanding of responsibility and individual liberty.
• Leaders have benefited from support from the local authority and from a range of external consultants. This support, in areas such as writing and reading, has helped leaders to develop pupils’ understanding in these areas. However, this work is not fully embedded. This is because of the high proportion of staff who have moved in and out of year groups.
• Parents and carers who spoke with inspectors were complimentary about many aspects of their children’s education. However, they too raised concerns about the changes of staff.
• The sports leader is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Working together with other leaders, he makes effective use of the school’s additional funding for physical education and sport. Pupils take part in a broad range of sporting activities. The school has received an award identifying achievement in this area. Parents speak positively about the provision for sport in the school.

Governance of the school

• Governors are aware of their statutory duties and challenge leaders on a range of areas linked to school improvement. Minutes of meetings held by governors and reports provided to them by the headteacher show that they have a good overall understanding of the school’s strengths and areas where there has been a decline in standards of achievement. However, governors have not ensured that leaders’ evaluation and strategic planning to bring about improvements in teaching and learning have been effective enough.
• Governors make a positive contribution to aspects of school improvement. For example, one parent governor works closely with the literacy leader to promote reading across the school. Her work in running the school library is having a very positive impact on pupils’ growing love of literature.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders discharge their safeguarding duties well. Staff training, including that for the leader of safeguarding, is relevant and up to date. The school site is well secured, and entry to school is carefully managed to ensure that visitors pose no threat to pupils or staff.
• Policies and procedures are in line with the latest national guidance and are regularly reviewed by leaders. Systems in place to support the most vulnerable pupils are well maintained.
• Inspectors’ discussions with both staff and pupils highlighted that there is a shared sense of safety within the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching does not consistently promote good progress for pupils. This is because the quality of teaching is inconsistent throughout the school. Many teachers who are new to year groups do not receive enough support and guidance to ensure that learning is good for all groups of pupils. This is evident, for example, in the teaching of phonics, which is not always taught well.
• Teachers use the school’s assessment system to enable them to track pupils’ progress and attainment across all subjects in the curriculum. However, this information is not used to best effect to set work which leads to good progress.
• The most able pupils in school do not consistently receive the support and guidance that they require in lessons to make good progress. The tasks set for them do not routinely challenge their thinking.
• Many pupils do not routinely read at home. Teachers therefore work hard to ensure that pupils have regular access to high-quality literature in classrooms. Reading corners are highly engaging and contain high-quality fiction and non-fiction books to engage the interests and understanding of both boys and girls. Pupils’ skills in this area are further developed by the provision of reading activities before school, which promote a love of reading. The school recently received an award for developments in this area.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are developing the way in which they teach writing. As a result, pupils are beginning to approach this subject in a more detailed and thorough manner. However, progress has been limited, because of changes in staffing. Additionally, work in pupils’ books shows that teachers do not routinely insist on an equally high standard of writing across the wider curriculum.
• The new leader for mathematics is working with teachers to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding in this subject. In classes where teachers have been established for longer, this has been effective, with pupils developing strong problem-solving and reasoning skills.
• Teachers ensure that pupils experience a wide range of additional activities to enrich their learning in many subjects across the curriculum. Pupils visit many places of interest in their locality and have opportunities to compete in local youth organisations. Pupils have achieved at a high level in music, dance and drama competitions. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy learning. They highlighted ‘the interesting curriculum’ as one of the key things about the school that they like. During the inspection, pupils in Year 5 took part enthusiastically in a dance lesson, showing full engagement and interest in their learning. The creative and independent interpretation of the music by the pupils was excellent.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are being well supported by the literacy leader to address the decline in phonics. Training has been put in place for staff. Teaching has also been structured differently to ensure that pupils receive additional support.
• Teaching assistants are effective in supporting the learning needs of small groups of pupils who need additional teaching. They work effectively alongside teachers during lessons. They also support groups of pupils in the school’s well-designed teaching spaces.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are self-confident and polite. They wear their uniform with pride and show great respect for the views of others.
• Pupils say that bullying is rare. When it does happen, teachers are effective in dealing with it. Pupils understand how to stay safe, both in the real world and online.
• Leaders place great emphasis on the welfare needs of the pupils. Pupils are very well cared for. Uniform is purchased for those who cannot afford it and breakfasts are provided.
• During the inspection, pupils spoke with pride about their school, using words such as, ‘wonderful’, ‘welcoming’ and ‘accepting’ to describe it.
• Leaders ensure that pupils have varied opportunities to develop their physical fitness and emotional well-being. Most recently, a whole school ‘healthy mind, healthy body week’ was successful in promoting pupils’ awareness of healthy life styles.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite, respectful and friendly, often holding doors open for adults. Staff members who spoke with inspectors said that pupils’ behaviour is a strength of the school.
• Leaders are proactive in ensuring that pupils attend school regularly and on time. The provision of a breakfast club and engaging activities before school ensure that pupils are keen to come to the school. The most recent figures provided by the school show that pupils’ attendance is currently above that seen nationally.
• Pupils work together well in lessons, listening with interest to the views of others. They understand the expectations in terms of classroom behaviour and respond positively to them. Pupils who spoke with an inspector clearly understood and valued the school rules. They appreciate the rewards they receive for good behaviour.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Most pupils enter the school with skills that are below those expected for their age. The progress of current pupils across the school in reading, writing and mathematics is variable at the expected and higher levels. This is due to some weak teaching over time. However, the support that teachers are receiving from external partners in the teaching of subjects such as English is beginning to have a positive impact.
• The number of pupils attaining the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has declined since 2016, when it was above that seen nationally. Leaders have been effective in addressing the issues causing the decline; some improvement was evident in 2018.
• Pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 2 at the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was at least broadly in line with that seen nationally over the last three years. However, a smaller proportion of pupils achieved the higher standard in these subjects than was seen nationally.
• Pupils achieve well in science. Work in pupils’ books shows that a broad range of opportunities are provided for them to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in this subject. In 2018, published performance information shows that the achievement of pupils in Year 6, including those who are disadvantaged, was above that seen nationally in this subject.
• In 2018, the progress of pupils, including the most able, by the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was below that seen nationally. Disadvantaged pupils made progress that matched that of others in the school. However, it was below that of other pupils nationally.
• At the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment in reading and mathematics has fluctuated over time. In 2018, it was broadly in line with that seen nationally at the expected standard. However, the attainment of all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, at the higher standard has been below that seen nationally over the last three years.
• Pupils’ attainment in writing has fluctuated over time. In 2018, the school’s performance in Year 6 shows that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, attained below that seen nationally at the expected and the higher standard.
• In 2018, the progress of pupils with SEND was below that of other pupils nationally with the same starting points. The school’s use of assessment allows leaders to track the progress of pupils with SEND. The current information provided by the school shows that these pupils are making inconsistent progress between classes and subjects, with less progress being made in writing.
• Teachers ensure that appropriate support is put in place for pupils who speak English as an additional language. As a result, there is evidence of strong attainment for this group. The school’s 2018 published performance information for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 shows that, in reading and mathematics, these pupils performed in line with, or higher than, other pupils nationally at the expected standard.
• The quality of work in pupils’ exercise books across the wider curriculum shows a development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. However, there is inconsistent progress between classes and at different points in the year. This has sometimes happened when teachers have moved into classes after the beginning of the year. This means that pupils are not always fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• There has been a period of considerable change in early years staffing. Leaders are working to provide additional stability and support for teachers who are new to the position.
• Leaders have created action plans to improve aspects of the provision for children in early years. However, these plans for improvement are not regularly reviewed, evaluated and updated when new members of staff enter early years. As a result, teachers do not always receive the support that they need to develop their skills and improve provision quickly enough.
• Children join the school with abilities that are below those typical for their age. The number of children who achieve a good level of development has declined since the previous inspection. The proportion of children who achieved a good level of development has been broadly in line with the national average over the last three years. However, this declined to slightly below the national average in 2018. The current work undertaken by children in the Nursery and Reception Years shows that they are making expected progress from their starting points.
• Transition to and from early years is strong. Leaders ensure that home visits are undertaken. Additionally, new children visit the school, taking part in open afternoons. Structured transition at the end of the Reception Year ensures that children progress smoothly to Year 1.
• Leaders engage parents in their children’s learning. Parents value opportunities to visit the school to look at their children’s work and to talk with teachers. Parents who spoke with inspectors said that their children love coming to the school. They felt that they were happy, safe and well cared for. All parents felt that the children’s behaviour was good.
• Leaders have worked hard to improve the outdoor learning environment. They are justifiably proud of their achievement in this area. A broad range of structured and stimulating activities excite and engage the children’s thinking.
• The children are happy in their learning environment. They enjoy their lessons and behave well. Children show good levels of concentration and are very willing to share resources and take turns.
• Leaders use funding well to provide additional support for children who are disadvantaged and for those with SEND. As a result, these pupils make strong progress from their starting points during their time in early years.
• Teaching and learning are stronger where teachers are more established. Where this is the case, well-planned activities are matched effectively to the children’s needs and challenge their thinking.
• Staff in early years are working hard to develop their skills and to ensure that they create a learning environment that supports learning. Over time, however, some teachers in early years have not had the level of support and training that they have needed to become fully confident when undertaking aspects of their role, such as the teaching of phonics.
• Relationships between adults and children are strong in early years. This supports children’s good attitudes to learning. Children greatly enjoy attending the school. They concentrate well and are very willing to work together and share equipment.
• Statutory requirements in the early years are met, and safeguarding is effective. Leaders ensure that children and parents receive valuable support from external health agencies where required.
• By the time they leave early years, children are confident and self-assured learners. This prepares them well for the next stage in their learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105547 Manchester 10086860 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 Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 246 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mr Andrew Harland Mrs Lynnette Windslow Telephone number 0161 2233163 Website Email address www.resurrection.manchester.sch.uk head@resurrection.manchester.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 9-10 July 2013

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It is located in an area of high deprivation.
• The school receives additional funding through the pupil premium funding for a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average.
• The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who leave or join the school during the school year is lower than the national average.
• The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club. Leaders also offer a wide range of clubs which run after school.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups.
• Inspectors examined a range of documents including: information about pupils’ attendance, improvement plans, self-evaluation information, safeguarding records, curriculum planning information and staff training records.
• Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day and during the inspection.
• An inspector met with a representative of the local authority that is the school’s improvement partner.
• An inspector met with one governor and spoke with the vice-chair of governors on the phone.
• Inspectors talked with pupils informally at playtimes, visited the dining hall at lunchtime and observed pupils’ movement around the school. A formal meeting also took place with a group of pupils.
• Inspectors looked at behaviour at the start and end of the school day and during breaks and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors visited the breakfast club and spoke to pupils who were attending.
• Inspectors undertook a detailed scrutiny of pupils’ work and talked with them about their learning. They listened to pupils read and talked to them about the books that they enjoyed and those that they are currently reading.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy and assistant headteachers, middle leaders, the leader of the provision for pupils with SEND and with some teachers.
• Inspectors carried out a detailed scrutiny of current progress and attendance information for all groups of pupils.
• Inspectors analysed the school’s website.

Inspection team

Gill Pritchard, lead inspector Ian Young Doreen Davenport Joan Williamson

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector