All Saints Church of England Primary School Stockport

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now.

The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop warm relationships with staff, which helps them to enjoy their learning. Staff have increasingly high expectations of pupils' achievement, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Nonetheless, in many subjects, improvements to the curriculum are in the early stag...es of being rolled out. This hinders the achievement of some pupils in these subjects.

Most pupils behave well and treat each other kindly.

They have strong respect for the diversity within the school community. Pupils know that staff will listen and help them with any concerns that they may have.

In the early years, knowledgeable staff help children to settle in well.

Children quickly adapt to school routines such as eating lunch in the canteen with older pupils.

The school has carefully considered how it supports pupils' well-being. For example, pupils benefit from regular opportunities to participate in physical games and activities.

Staff prioritise this because it helps pupils to understand the importance of being physically and mentally healthy. In turn, pupils return to the classroom ready to learn.

Pupils appreciate the many after-school clubs and activities open to them, including a book club and school newspaper, as well as sports and music clubs.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Governors have the necessary expertise to provide effective support and challenge to the school. They are fully cognisant of the strengths of the school and the priorities for further development. However, the school has recently been affected by a period of considerable staffing turbulence, which has hampered how quickly improvements to the curriculum have been implemented.

This is having a negative impact on some pupils' achievement.

The school has a strong understanding of the typical starting points of its pupils. It quickly identifies any pupils that may need additional support, such as those with SEND.

Teachers successfully adapt their delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can learn well alongside their classmates. This enables the school to ensure that the curriculum is ambitious and accessible for all pupils.

In some subjects, the school has designed curriculums that support pupils to develop a broad body of subject knowledge over time.

However, in other subjects, the knowledge that pupils should learn has not been well defined. This can sometimes make it difficult for teachers to design learning that builds on what pupils know already. This hinders how deeply some pupils learn in these subjects.

Teachers typically have strong subject knowledge. They value the support that the school has put in place to enhance their delivery of the curriculum and reduce their workload. Well-trained staff ensure that pupils with SEND receive the additional support that they need.

However, in some subjects, teachers' checks on pupils' learning are not as effective as they should be. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge that teachers have not identified. This makes it difficult for these pupils to secure the knowledge required for subsequent learning.

The school ensures that pupils in the early stages of reading are well supported. Staff throughout the school have received effective training which enables them to deliver the phonics programme consistently well. This helps pupils to quickly develop their knowledge of the sounds that letters can represent.

Pupils throughout the school benefit from regular opportunities to practise their reading using a variety of texts that match their reading knowledge. Expert staff support those pupils who find reading more difficult to keep up with their phonics knowledge. This helps most pupils to develop into confident and fluent readers by the end of key stage 2.

Teachers set clear expectations for pupils' behaviour and pupils adhere to these expectations well. This means that classroom areas are calm and any disruption to learning is rare. The school works closely with parents and carers to ensure that pupils with additional social and emotional needs receive effective support.

This enables these pupils to participate fully in all aspects of school life.

The school has taken steps to improve pupils' rates of attendance. These strategies include celebrating high levels of attendance and supporting pupils and their families to understand the importance of attending school daily.

Despite this, some pupils, including some who are disadvantaged, do not attend school as regularly as they should. These pupils miss out on important learning and all that the school has to offer.

The school maintains a sharp focus on pupils' wider development.

For example, it ensures that pupils understand how to stay healthy and safe. Pupils learn about different beliefs and values from a wide range of world religions. They know about the principles of democracy and they see this in action through their school council.

The school also prioritises opportunities for trips and visits such as ensuring that all pupils get to visit the seaside. This helps pupils to broaden their social and cultural experiences.

Staff encourage parents to be fully involved in the life of the school.

For example, parents are invited to attend reading workshops and celebration assemblies.

Staff are happy and proud to work at the school. They value the school's supportive culture.

Staff appreciate leaders' consideration of their workload and well-being when making decisions about the quality of education that pupils receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not identified the knowledge that pupils should learn and when this content should be taught.

This sometimes hinders teachers from designing learning that builds securely on pupils' prior knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers are clear about what pupils should already know and the knowledge that they require for subsequent learning. ? In some subjects, teachers do not use suitable assessment strategies to check that pupils have embedded the key concepts that they need for their future learning.

Some pupils develop misconceptions and gaps in their knowledge which go unnoticed. The school should ensure that teachers are well equipped to accurately identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. ? Some pupils, including some who are disadvantaged, do not attend school as regularly as they should.

This means that they miss out on important learning. The school should ensure that it takes effective action to improve the rates of attendance of these pupils.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2013.

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