Rawtenstall St Paul’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They are happy, polite, welcoming and respectful. Pupils live up to the school's motto.

They do their best to encourage one another and build each other up.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), know leaders and staff have high expectations of their work and their behaviour. Pupils work hard in lessons and take pride in their work.

They achieve well. Pupils also behave well in lessons and around school. They know that adults will listen to them if they have ...any concerns.

They feel safe in school. Any bullying or misbehaviour is dealt with quickly and effectively by leaders.

There are a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer to pupils.

There are opportunities to perform, in the choir for example, or to join an activity like chess club. There are many sports available, such as fencing, gymnastics or football. Older pupils are proud of their many leadership roles.

These include helping younger pupils with their reading or being members of the school council.

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

Leaders have established a calm, purposeful atmosphere in the school. This begins in the Reception Year, where children learn the importance of behaving well and doing their best.

Children, and pupils in Years 1 to 6, are rarely disturbed by any low-level disruption to learning.

Leaders and staff have designed an ambitious curriculum. It incorporates the school's values and the national curriculum.

It also considers the needs and interests of the pupils. The curriculum provides a rich range of experiences that go well beyond the academic. Leaders have ensured that teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects that they teach.

Teachers support each other. They work with teachers in other schools to develop their knowledge and skills. Teachers check what pupils are learning regularly.

This ensures that pupils learn all that leaders intend. This helps them to achieve well.

In most subjects, it is clear what pupils should learn and when this should be taught.

This helps teachers design learning that builds up pupils' knowledge and skills over time. However, in a few subjects, it is less clear what subject content should be taught. This hinders teachers from making sure that pupils' learning is secure.

Children in the Reception Year have a great start to early reading. Across different classes, well-trained staff use the same approach to deliver the phonics curriculum. This means that children in early years, and pupils in key stage 1, develop their phonics knowledge systematically.

Pupils who fall behind in reading catch up quickly because they get extra help and support. Pupils, including those with SEND, become fluent readers. This is because the books that they read closely match the sounds that they have learned.

Pupils enjoy talking about the books that they have read and their favourite authors. They know how important reading is and that staff expect them to read in and out of school.

Staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly.

These pupils learn the full curriculum. Leaders ensure that pupils get the help that they need to be successful and achieve well.

Staff appreciate the work that leaders do to help them manage their workload and to support their well-being.

They know that leaders would support them if they had any problems. Staff said that they are free from harassment and should any incident occur leaders would deal with it straight away.

Governors know the school well.

They know their duties as governors and carry them out well. They challenge and support leaders in equal measure.

Pupils develop tolerance and understanding for others to prepare them for life in modern Britain.

They know about many different faiths and cultures. They know about the importance of respectful and loving relationships.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have made sure there is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. They make sure that vulnerable pupils and their families get the support that they need as soon as possible. Leaders work well with a wide variety of external agencies to secure the necessary support.

Effective processes are in place to ensure that any concerns about a pupil are identified, recorded and reviewed. Governors have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff and governors complete regular safeguarding training.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe throughout the curriculum. They know how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, including when they are online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, it is unclear what pupils should learn and when this knowledge should be taught.

This means teachers are not able to design learning that helps pupils to build on what they already know. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the guidance that they need to help pupils know and remember more over time.

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 2012.

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