Leigh Stationers’ Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Leigh Stationers' Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The principal of this school is Rebecca England.

This school is part of Leigh Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Simon Beamish, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Frank Green.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Leigh Stationers' Primary Academy.

The school is determined to help them become thoughtful, well-rounded individuals. Pupils genuinely want to make a positive difference to their... school community and the wider world. All adults working at the school understand how to support pupils' well-being and make sure that they are kept safe.

One pupil, summing up the views of many, commented: 'I love coming to this school every single day.' Staff have high expectations and pupils are motivated to live up to them. Pupils excel in their learning, work hard and take pride in their achievements.

They are keen to share their learning and produce work to a high standard. Pupils speak with great enthusiasm about the variety of wider experiences the school provides for them, such as snowboarding, outdoor team building and seeing their favourite authors at the Royal Albert Hall.

Pupils show exemplary behaviour, both in and out of the classroom.

Bullying is very rare and adults deal with it effectively. Pupils treat each other with great care and consideration. They are committed to looking after each other and understand their shared responsibility for making the school a happy place for all.

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

Pupils achieve consistently high standards. Many exceed the expected standard for their age in national tests. They develop strong literacy and numeracy skills early on.

This sets them up to learn well in different subjects. They are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education.

The school has thought through the curriculum exceedingly well.

It has planned the precise knowledge that pupils should build up over time, from Nursery to Year 6. Pupils revisit this knowledge regularly. This helps pupils to remember and make connections between subject content in different topics.

For example, in history, younger pupils learn about the Great Fire of London. They remember important information confidently, such as where and how the fire started. They reflect on the reliability of Samuel Pepys' diary as a historical source.

Meanwhile, older pupils grapple with increasingly sophisticated ideas around historical bias. They critically evaluate the reliability of different perceptions of Boudica from the Romans and the Celts.

Teachers have excellent subject knowledge.

They give clear explanations. They break challenging tasks down to help all pupils to tackle them with success. The school gives effective support to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

For example, pupils with reading difficulties can use a computer to read out passages of text they find tricky. This helps them access the same challenging content as other pupils in the full range of subjects.

Staff in the early years are skilled at promoting children's communication and language.

They encourage children to talk confidently. They model how to use new words in sentences. For example, children in Nursery use words such as 'build' and 'brick' to describe making a wall.

From the time pupils start school, reading is prioritised. Pupils learn phonics quickly because adults teach it effectively. Where pupils are at risk of falling behind, they are identified quickly and supported to catch up.

Pupils apply their phonics knowledge to read and write unfamiliar words. The school makes sure that writing tasks help pupils to practise the phonics that they already know. Focused support helps them to become confident in important skills, such as handwriting.

Pupils attend school regularly. They love learning and value being with their friends. In the rare instances where this is not the case, the school offers strong personalised support for families to improve attendance.

Opportunities for personal development are well planned and are of consistently high quality. Pupils are taught to develop 'learner profile attributes', such as being inquiring, principled and open minded. Pupils are also taught to value those who are different from themselves, such as people from different faiths or different types of family.

Pupils take their responsibilities very seriously, such as being peer mentors and language ambassadors. Those on the school council made a substantial contribution, for example, to planning improvements to the key stage 1 playground. Pupils feel a real duty of care towards each other.

As one commented, 'If we show kindness to someone else, it will spread. That's how our school works.'

Leaders are committed to ensuring that pupils get the very best education.

Staff are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. They value the training and support they receive to improve their teaching skills.

Governors and trust leaders know the school well.

They provide effective support and resources. This helps school leaders to stay focused on providing an excellent education for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness on 19 and 20 March 2019.

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