Aughton St Michael’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this school. Children in the early years quickly settle and make new friends.

Pupils described the school as a fun place where they learn lots of new and interesting things. They said that the many trips and other activities that the school provides help to strengthen their learning.

Pupils enjoy helping others.

They described their many roles of responsibility with enthusiasm. These include being a school councillor, playleader or acting as a lunchtime 'buddy' to children in the early years. Pupils are proud of the awards that they earn to recognise the positive contribution that they make to their school and wider community.

The ...school has high expectations for all pupils' achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well.

Pupils, and their parents and carers, value the support that they receive from staff.

Pupils trust staff to help them overcome any problems that they may have. This includes if pupils find learning more difficult than their peers or if, from time to time, they fall out with their friends.

Pupils behave well.

They are kind and respectful. This makes the school a calm and happy place where everyone can focus on learning.

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

In recent years, the school has redesigned its curriculum to make sure that pupils' learning captures their interests and motivates them to deepen their knowledge.

The curriculum is ambitious and well organised. The school ensures that teachers are fully equipped to deliver the curriculum in a logical order. As a result, pupils are well supported to build on what they have learned before.

The school ensures that teachers and other staff know how best to help pupils to learn and remember important information. Teachers use assessment strategies well to identify pupils' strengths and any gaps in their learning. In the main, teachers check that pupils have understood one piece of learning before moving on to the next.

Pupils become increasingly confident in applying their learning independently as they progress through the school. By the end of key stage 2, pupils have built a useful and secure body of knowledge. This prepares them well for secondary school.

Reading is at the heart of the school's curriculum. Pupils benefit from the high-quality texts that their teachers share with them. This helps pupils to expand their vocabulary and wider knowledge across the curriculum.

The varied diet of literature that the school provides encourages pupils to read new texts by authors who they may not have considered previously.

Children enjoy learning how to use phonics to read words in the Reception Year. The stories, songs and rhymes that children learn support them well in this endeavour.

For the most part, staff across the school deliver the school's phonics programme successfully. They support pupils to build up secure reading knowledge over time. Most pupils develop into accomplished readers.

They enjoy reading and being read to. However, some pupils find reading more difficult. Some staff are not as confident as they could be in helping these pupils to catch up as quickly with their reading knowledge.

This sometimes hinders these pupils' learning in other subjects.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND well. Teachers make sure that these pupils benefit from the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates.

Pupils with SEND build their knowledge firmly while developing their interests. They achieve well across the curriculum as a result.

Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning.

They focus well during lessons. Pupils move around the school safely and sensibly, including at social times. Their rates of attendance are impressive.

The school makes effective use of a wide range of strategies to make sure that pupils attend well. This enables pupils to benefit from the wide range of opportunities on offer at the school.

The school places a high focus on pupils' wider development.

This begins in the early years. Children in the Reception Year are encouraged to be inquisitive and resilient. Older pupils told inspectors that they also benefit from the support of staff to broaden their horizons.

Pupils feel well equipped to embrace new challenges with confidence. They demonstrate high aspirations for themselves.

Pupils learn to recognise and value the richness and diversity found in modern-day Britain.

They know that these aspects of their learning should help them to achieve the ambitious occupations and leadership roles that they visualise for themselves when they are older.

Governance is strong. Governors have a secure oversight of the work of the school.

They provide challenge and support in equal measure to ensure that pupils achieve as well as they can. This includes ensuring that staff workload remains manageable when further development of the curriculum occurs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff lack the confidence to support those pupils who find reading more difficult to catch up swiftly. This means that on occasion, these pupils find it difficult to access the rest of the curriculum. The school should make sure that staff are fully equipped to provide effective support to pupils who need to catch up with their reading.

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