St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders and the governing body have turned the school around. It now provides a good quality of education. The headteacher has made effective, bold decisions.

She and her enthusiastic leadership team have brought about considerable improvements to the curriculum that have ensured that it is rich and interesting. The school's Christian values are at the heart of all it does. The governing body knows the school well and make a valuable contribution to school improvement.

Significant improvements in the quality of teaching throughout the school have resulted in the vast majority of pupils making good progress. The teaching of phonics has imp...roved. The large majority of pupils now meet the expected standards by the time they leave Year 1.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. This is evident from their improved attendance. Leaders are diligent in carrying out their responsibilities for safeguarding and pupils feel safe in school.

Pupils' behaviour has changed dramatically. They are now well behaved, and polite and friendly towards each other and to visitors. Personal development and welfare are good.

Pupils are proud of their school and themselves. They are emerging as confident, enthusiastic and caring individuals. Children in early years have a good start to school life and make good progress from their starting points.

However, there is a lack of consistency in early years environments. Although attainment is improving, some pupils, including the most able, are still not achieving the outcomes of which they are capable in English and mathematics. Some teachers are too cautious in their teaching, resulting in some lessons lacking energy and interest.

Opportunities to extend and challenge pupils, especially the most able, to think more deeply about their learning are sometimes missed. Teachers do not routinely ask sufficiently probing questions to encourage pupils to reason, and articulate their understanding.

Information about this school

The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Most pupils are of White British heritage.

The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is high and above the national average. The proportion of pupils who join and leave the school part-way through their education is high when compared with the national average. Since the previous inspection, the school has experienced significant changes in staffing.

This has resulted in several classes being taught by a succession of temporary teachers. However, a stable complement of teaching staff has now been in place for approximately a year. The school has been led by a number of interim full-time and part-time associate and executive headteachers since September 2013.

The substantive headteacher took up her post in September 2015. The leadership team has been further enhanced by the addition of two assistant headteachers. The school was served with a compulsory academy order in July 2016.

It is intended that the school become part of the John Henry Newman multi-academy trust. The date for this has not yet been confirmed. The school has benefited from a range of support brokered from the local authority and Salford Diocese.

St Mary's also has close partnerships with Rochdale Catholic Federation of schools, Rossendale Catholic schools and Whitworth Cluster. A section 48 inspection was conducted in June 2018 by the Diocese of Salford. The school was graded as good in all areas.