Winstanley Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the website information relating to the pupil premium and sports funding, so that it provides an accurate reflection of the very effective use that the school is making of this additional funding.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher provides very strong leadership and has the highest aspirations for her pupils and her staff. With the support of a very able deputy and dedicated senior leadership team, she has succeeded in building on the strengths identified in the last inspection to create a school which is outstanding in every respect and which it is privilege to visit.
• The last inspection identified the need to share leadership responsibilities more widely across the school. This has been done very effectively. The senior leadership has been extended to include well qualified, experienced, assistant headteachers who take their responsibilities very seriously and have a passionate interest in their work. Every teacher now has responsibility for planning a specific curriculum area. The school has been very effective in developing teachers’ skills so that they lead their subjects very successfully. Although there is now widespread delegation of responsibilities, the senior leaders maintain a very clear overview of developments and have an impressive knowledge of each child’s progress and what is happening in each area of the curriculum.
• Other areas for improvement identified in the last inspection included the need to quicken progress in mathematics and to improve boys’ writing. Both of these improvements have been achieved. Under the direction of the mathematics leader, the school has made considerable changes to its approach, in terms of methodology, lesson timing and pupil groupings. This has resulted in improved outcomes in mathematics. The school has set very ambitious targets for next year which it is well on course to achieve.
• In discussions with pupils and through careful examination of work, the senior leaders identified that boys’ writing was hampered in the past because of difficulty in deciding what to write about. The teaching of English has been reorganised to tackle this problem. As a result, the progress made by boys, especially the most able boys, in writing has increased considerably, and in 2016 was significantly higher than average. The senior leaders are now focusing on ensuring that the most able girls are fully challenged and stimulated. Allied to this, the school is planning a project with a local independent school to encourage the most able girls to aspire to careers in science, mathematics and technology.
• The monitoring of teaching is rigorous and systematic. Each teacher’s performance objectives are very precisely defined and include a specific focus on improving the progress of the most able pupils. The headteacher has ensured that any minor weaknesses are tackled and that effective practice is shared. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning in the school is now outstanding.
• All staff at the school work as a closely-knit team and morale is very high. All the responses to the online staff questionnaire were very positive. Every member of staff is proud to be a member of the school. This is encapsulated in the comment: ‘This school is wonderful. We are well supported by the senior leadership team. The headteacher always has time to listen.’
• Since the last inspection there has been a considerable focus on involving parents more closely in the life of the school. This has been successful. All the parents who spoke or wrote to the lead inspector were highly complimentary about the school, including about the excellent support provided for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Responses to the online questionnaire for parents showed a very high level of satisfaction. Virtually every parent would recommend the school to others.
• The pupils who spoke to the inspectors, as well as those who responded to the online questionnaire, were also highly complimentary about the school. This is not surprising given the excellent teaching they receive, the extremely rich, broad and stimulating curriculum that is provided for them and the wide ranging opportunities they have to develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally.

Governance of the school

• The governors are knowledgeable and dedicated. The recent changes in membership have not affected the continuity of governance.
• The governors’ improvement plan has clear objectives and timescales for meeting them. Like the senior leaders, the governors reflect very carefully on their practice and change their approach where they think this is necessary. They are fully aware of developments across the school and have a firm understanding of the attainment and progress of all groups of pupils.
• The primary sports funding has been used very effectively to improve teachers’ skills and confidence in teaching physical education and to provide pupils with access to a very wide range of activities, including gymnastics, basketball, tag rugby, multi-sports, karate and jogging. Pupils take part in cross-country competitions and in the Greater Manchester swimming final. Since the beginning of this term, many of the pupils run a mile every day. Extra staff have also been employed to help pupils engage in active play at lunchtime.
• The effectiveness of the use of pupil premium funding is reflected in the very good progress made by disadvantaged pupils.
• The sports funding and pupil premium funding plans currently on the website are not up to date and lack specific targets for evaluating the impact of the funding. They do not do justice to the very good work that is actually being done in these areas.
• The governors provide stringent challenge to the headteacher and there are clear systems for managing her performance as well as that of all other members of staff.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The safeguarding policy is up to date and takes account of the most recent legislation and national guidelines, including what to do in the case of suspected female genital mutilation, forced marriage and sexual exploitation of a child by an adult or another young person. It also includes guidance on preventing children from becoming involved in terrorism.
• The school places considerable emphasis on e-safety. Class email accounts are managed carefully and strict guidelines for online safety are taught and reinforced by staff and by the pupils who act as e-safety leaders. The school also provides advice to parents and is very vigilant in warning them of online dangers to their children.
• The parents and staff who responded to the online questionnaires are confident that children are safe and feel safe in school. This was confirmed by the random sample of pupils who spoke to the lead inspector. They also said that they felt safe on the way to and from school. They knew whom to contact in the case of any problems, including feeling lonely in the playground, and were confident that they would be helped. They said that bullying rarely happened and, if it did, it would be dealt with promptly. Their views echoed the responses to the online pupil questionnaire.
• Health and safety checks and fire drills are held regularly and pupils know what to do and where to go in the case of a fire. They are also taught how to ride their bicycles safely on the roads and, in science, learn of the potential dangers of electricity.
• Access to the school and its grounds is very carefully controlled and all visitors are required to follow strict protocols when on-site.
• The school has robust systems for checking on the suitability of staff to work with children. Training in safeguarding is updated regularly, with additional training being provided for any staff new to the school. Staff know how to recognise possible indicators of safeguarding concerns and what to do in such circumstances.
• The school works closely and effectively with the appropriate agencies to support children and families who need additional help and senior leaders are unrelenting in ensuring that all the agreed actions are implemented.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Since the last inspection, the staff have worked very closely together to agree on a set of ‘non-negotiable’ principles that must underlie all their teaching. These include, for example, ensuring that all pupils use full sentences when asking or answering questions; ensuring that pupils are given frequent opportunities to conduct their own research; and encouraging pupils not to be afraid of making mistakes. These underlying principles, together with clear classroom routines, ensure that there is an impressive consistency in the standard of teaching across the school.
• The teachers have a very firm command of the subjects they teach. This is the result of individual and whole-staff training in school as well as work with colleagues from other schools. The teachers also make good use of the advice and help provided from other sources, such as the local authority’s music service, staff employed through the sports funding, visiting artists, historians and experts in a range of fields.
• Throughout the school, pupils are given a range of interesting activities to help them develop and consolidate their knowledge. Among the very imaginative approaches seen was the building of a tunnel by Year 2 pupils, to support their reading and writing work. During the inspection, pupils were also intrigued by the sudden appearance of the Gruffalo’s footprints. Past projects have involved staff in working throughout the weekend with parents and members of the community to transform the school hall into Narnia. Pupils still talk about the wonder of walking through the wardrobe door into the magical world of snow and Christmas trees.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work very closely together on planning. As a result, they collaborate very effectively in the classroom and provide the maximum support for the pupils. In the case of special projects, such as the Year 5 Viking day that took place during the inspection, the teachers and teaching assistants work very closely with visitors to ensure that the work is an integral and coherent part of the curriculum rather an isolated event.
• The quality of teachers’ questioning is very good. Pupils’ answers are measured and thoughtful. Supplementary questions are used very well to help the pupils identify and correct misconceptions or to extend their ideas.
• The school’s marking policy is applied consistently. Teachers’ feedback is highly effective and leads pupils to revise and improve their work, for example by finding different ways to express their ideas or by using more complex sentences.
• Across the school, teachers take great care to extend pupils’ vocabulary. They introduce new words by weaving them into their discussions and presentations, so that the pupils quickly absorb their meaning and begin to use them themselves. This approach is also used to ensure that pupils develop the technical language appropriate to individual subjects. As a result, the pupils are able to present their ideas in a clear, mature and sophisticated way.
• Teachers consistently gauge whether pupils are comfortable with the level of challenge they receive. The level of support and challenge is very carefully matched to pupils’ needs. As a result, the most able are stretched and the lower attaining pupils are not left behind.
• The teachers place a considerable emphasis on developing pupils’ resilience and building their independence. They provide clear direction within which the pupils can develop their own ideas. This, again, ensures that pupils of a range of abilities make good progress from their starting points.
• Within lessons, pupils behave extremely well, listening very carefully to each other and to the teachers. Pupils of all abilities take an active part in discussions and rarely stray away from the topic which they have been asked to consider. They are keen to answer questions and are happy to offer ideas but also to accept alternative views.
• The school has changed its assessment procedures since the last inspection. It now has a very clear system for checking on pupils’ progress at regular intervals. Additional challenge and support are provided for pupils to help those who are falling behind to catch up and also to provide additional challenge for pupils who are making particularly strong progress from their starting points.
• The recording system gives detailed information on each pupil’s progress in reading, writing, mathematics and science and has been extended to other subjects. Although it is detailed, it is easy to understand and is used very effectively by teachers and teaching assistants in their regular discussions about pupils. The information can also be accessed easily by senior leaders to allow for frequent overviews of the school’s performance.
• The new assessment system enables the school to provide parents with regular updates on their children’s performance, so that they know what the next steps in learning are and can provide appropriate additional help and support at home.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The pupils have highly positive attitudes to their work. They arrive promptly at school and at lessons and get down to their work quickly and without any fuss. They know what the school’s routines are and follow them consistently. They show considerable enthusiasm for all aspects of their school life and are prepared to play hard as well as to work hard.
• The pupils relate very well to each other, to their teachers and to any visitors to the school. They have the confidence to initiate conversations as well as respond to questions they are asked. An impressive aspect of the school is the way that pupils help and encourage each other. In a mathematics lesson, most-able pupils happily explain their reasoning to support their peers. In a sports lesson, pupils encourage their partners to perform increasingly demanding ball manoeuvres. The pupils do not become discouraged it they get something wrong but have the resilience to keep trying until they get the right answer.
• The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is one of the many strengths of the school. Pupils learn about a range of faiths including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Through the ‘philosophy for children’ lessons and involvement in debating competitions, they consider a range of moral issues. For example, one group of pupils recently interviewed fire officers and members of a professional football club. They then debated whether it was right that fire fighters are paid less than footballers. The pupils regularly raise money for charities and extend their understanding of the advantages to the environment of recycling. This focus is further extended through their work in developing the school’s garden. There are numerous opportunities for the pupils to contribute to the leadership of the school, for example through taking on the roles of prefect, head boy, head girl, and representing their peers on the eco council and the school council. They have to apply to be elected to the council posts and therefore learn about the principles of democracy. Their social awareness is further developed through involvement in activities such as workshops on dementia and first aid.
• A notable aspect of the school is the sophisticated approach it takes to challenging stereotypes. For example, staff recognise the need to encourage girls to aspire to careers in science and technology. At the same time, they recognise that there is also a need to give greater focus to women’s role in the arts. Therefore, the work in mathematics on creating curves using straight lines is linked to the work of Barbara Hepworth that pupils study in art.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is exemplary. From a very young age, pupils develop high levels of self-reliance and self-control and rarely have to be reminded of what is expected of them.
• The school and school grounds are litter-free. Pupils respect their environment. Their books are very neatly presented and kept in good condition, as are the displays and equipment in the classrooms and the corridors.
• Pupils are always very polite and even the youngest will hold the door open or stand back to let others through.
• In lessons, pupils listen attentively, do what is expected of them and work with high levels of enthusiasm and concentration.
• Pupils clearly enjoy coming to school. Attendance rates are high for all groups of pupils and many proudly display badges for 100% attendance for a whole year.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• From 2013 to 2015, results for 11-year-olds were significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The progress made by the disadvantaged pupils, the most able disadvantaged and those who had special educational needs and/or disabilities was at least in line with the national average. Boys and girls of all abilities made similar progress. However, the most able boys did significantly better than their group nationally from similar starting points in writing. Given that boys’ writing was an area for development in the last inspection, this shows how successful the school has been in maintaining and improving standards.
• Results for seven-year-olds have been consistently good. In 2014 and 2015, they were significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics for all pupils, including the most able. In 2016, they were close to, or above, average in all subjects for all ability ranges, including the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• The results in phonics at the end of Year 1 were above the national average in 2014 and 2015 but dipped below that average in 2016. However, the school has provided convincing evidence to show that this was a result of particular circumstances that year.
• The standards of reading in the school are high. The most able pupils who were heard reading independently did so with great fluency and considerable expression. The least able had clear strategies for deciphering any unfamiliar words and were able to make effective use of clues in the text to determine the meaning. Pupils talk confidently and enthusiastically about the wide range of books that they read at home as well as in school. Across the school, pupils are provided with high-quality texts which they analyse in detail, not only to understand the content but also to identify how authors use language to create specific effects, for example through using short sentences to create a sense of urgency and tension in a story.
• Writing in the school is of high quality and pupils of all abilities and all ages are provided with considerable challenge. For example, Year 1 pupils are able to construct well-formulated sentences which include the use of comparatives. Pupils in Year 2 are able to plan their writing and organise it into paragraphs. Pupils in Year 3 make effective use of dialogue in their narratives. Pupils in Year 4 are able to redraft their writing to make use of more appropriate or a more extensive range of adjectives. In Years 5 and 6, pupils are able to present coherent explanations of how and why the mood changes in the course of a poem. Throughout the school, the standard of presentation and writing is good and there is clear development in pupils’ use of spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• An impressive aspect of the school is the way pupils are provided with opportunities to apply their writing skills in a range of contexts. Topic books include extensive pieces of writing on history, science, religious education and food technology. It is clear from this work that the most able pupils are given additional challenge to extend their thinking and range of vocabulary and sentence construction. Displays around the school also include a wide variety of writing for a range of purposes.
• The work in books and in lessons shows that pupils are encouraged to explore a range of ways of solving particular mathematical problems and to give oral and written explanations of the processes they have used. There is clear evidence of mathematics being applied in science, history and technology. This reflects the whole-school focus on applying mathematics across the curriculum. This is most vividly illustrated in a remarkable display around all the walls of the school hall, where every year group has produced work to show the application of mathematics in everyday life. This includes work with parents and other visitors on designing a bluebell garden, constructing a model of the pergola in the school garden and working out how to measure and cost the turf covering for the garden. This, together with the very high quality of the children’s art work, in a range of media, displayed around the school is one of the features which makes a visit to this school an unforgettable experience. There can be no question that pupils of all ages, abilities and interests in this school are being provided with highly stimulating challenges which enable them to make good progress in many areas of the curriculum.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The leader of the early years has a very strong understanding of her subject. She is a moderator for the local authority and provides training for staff outside as well as within the school.
• The arrangements for preparing children to enter the setting are extremely good. The staff visit children’s homes beforehand, not only to get them ready for the new experience but also to identify any whose development is below expectation. The leader also works with staff in private providers to ensure that those children are assessed accurately and prepared appropriately. Where necessary, she arranges timely support for those children from relevant agencies, such as speech and language services and medical practitioners. The transfer to key stage 1 is equally carefully and sensitively managed.
• The staff provide a considerable amount of training for parents, through workshops on a range of topics. The information is then uploaded onto the website for easy reference.
• The school’s assessments show that the children’s ability on entry is broadly in line with the national average. During their time in the early years they make good progress. The proportions reaching a good level of development in 2014 and 2015 were well above national averages. There was a dip this year but, through its accurate and consistent assessment, the school had anticipated this. The leader was able to provide convincing evidence that it was because of the nature of that particular cohort and results next year are set to return to their former levels. The assessments across the early years are detailed and consistent and progress is checked at regular intervals during the year.
• Learning in the early years is very well organised. The resources indoors and outside are of high quality. The children develop a high level of concentration from an early age and stay on task in activities that they have chosen for themselves, as well as those organised by adults. The adults in the setting are very adept at giving children the right type of support at the right time. Adults listen very carefully to what children are saying and then intervene, to help them develop their ideas further, by posing questions or by introducing new words relevant to the situation.
• In one activity, children were given a magnet on a long stick and a range of objects made of different materials. These were set at different distances from the children. During the activity, not only did the children have to find out about the differences between magnetic and non-magnetic objects, they also had to discuss whether to extend or shorten the stick. A wealth of learning took place during this time.
• Safeguarding arrangements within the early years setting are effective. All the staff have had up-to-date paediatric first aid training and all have completed the online training relating to combating terrorism. They receive yearly safeguarding updates and all know the procedures to follow in the case of any safeguarding concerns. The Nursery staff conduct daily risk assessments of the outdoor area.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 106407 Wigan 10003101 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 468 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Dr Julie Hodgkinson Mrs Karen Thompson Telephone number 01942 749141 Website Email address www.winstanley.wigan.sch.uk enquiries@admin.winstanley.wigan.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13–14 September 2011

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the pupil premium and sports funding.
• The school meets the government’s floor standard for pupils’ progress and attainment by the end of Year 6.
• This school is considerably larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average.
• The great majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds with English as their first language.
• The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is well below average.
• The proportion of pupils entering or leaving the school at other than the usual times is very low.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment over time. They observed learning in classes. This included joint observations with the headteacher.
• The inspectors looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked to pupils about their work.
• The lead inspector talked to parents as they brought their children to school. He also examined the responses to the online questionnaire for parents and read an email received from a parent.
• The lead inspector met members of the governing body, including the chair and the vice-chair and spoke to the leader of the local consortium of schools.
• The lead inspector met with eight pupils chosen at random from Years 3 to 6.
• The inspectors also spoke to pupils in lessons, in the corridors and the playground.
• The inspectors examined the responses of staff and pupils to the online questionnaires.
• The inspectors examined a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s development plan, key policies, minutes of governors’ meetings and the governors’ improvement plan.
• The inspectors also scrutinised documents relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

Inspection team

Aelwyn Pugh, lead inspector Maureen Hints Sandie La Porta Paul Edmondson Doreen Davenport

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector