St Andrew’s Methodist Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Andrew's Methodist Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), respond exceptionally well to the high expectations that the school has of them.

Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum. Staff inspire and enthuse pupils about learning. Pupils gain much new knowledge.

They are bursting with eagerness to share what they have learned in lessons and at their after-school clubs. Pupils can explain how their new knowledge builds on what they already know.

Pupils demonstrate a deep respect for one another.

For example, pupils h...appily support others when they have made a mistake in their learning. Pupils respect other people's appearance, ideas and opinions. They learn from staff who teach them skilfully what respect means for their day to day lives.

Pupils behave exceptionally well. They are incredibly happy at the school and said that they feel safe. Some even wrote letters to the inspector to tell him how much the school means to them.

The school makes sure that pupils develop a deep knowledge about the wider world. For example, they learn of the joy and beauty of the British coastline through well considered educational visits, such as to the beaches of Morecambe and St Annes.

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

The school has established an ambitious vision of the high-quality education that it seeks for all pupils.

The governing body challenges and supports the work of the school very well. The school thinks very carefully about the knowledge that it wants pupils to learn and when subject content will be taught. This enables staff to know the key building blocks of information that pupils need to know and remember.

The school has deliberately and thoughtfully refined its curriculum. It seeks challenge from other schools and from external experts about how its work can be even further improved. The school has very successfully built a trustful culture, in which leaders at all levels and staff learn with and from one another.

Pupils benefit from a first-rate education.

The school identifies and understands the needs of its pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, exceptionally well. It works diligently and expertly to remove obstacles to pupils' learning while not expecting less of anyone.

Pupils, including those with SEND, told the inspector that they feel included and respected. As a result of the school's skilful work, pupils progress exceptionally well through its curriculum. Pupils are inspired by their learning, for example becoming passionate, knowledgeable mathematicians, historians, readers and writers.

Through well-honed coaching and training, the school makes certain that staff understand the subjects they teach. Staff seize every opportunity to explain and revisit key knowledge with pupils. They make pupils' learning memorable.

The school gives staff the time and resources that they need to prepare and review the curriculum capably. Staff morale is high. They enjoy teaching the pupils.

Teachers use assessment strategies carefully to check if pupils learn all that they should. Small variations in the quality of the school's curriculum thinking, delivery, or pupils' knowledge, are addressed quickly and effectively. Pupils are properly equipped for their future lives by the high-quality education that the school provides.

In each year group, the school teaches pupils the meaning of ambitious words in different subjects. The foundations for children's communication and language are laid very well, beginning in the Nursery class. Pupils learn to love language.

They develop a rich, wide vocabulary that they use to explain what they know. For example, pupils in upper key stage 2 can explain the meaning of words such as 'tributary' and 'estuary' in geography and 'states of matter' in science.

From the start of children's time in the early years classes, the school's curriculum for books, stories, rhymes and songs is rich and well considered.

Staff regularly read well-chosen stories to children. Pupils access high-quality fiction and non-fiction books through the school's impressive library areas. Pupils understand the joy and purpose of reading.

They become keen readers.

The school makes sure that staff deliver its chosen phonics programme accurately.Leaders ensure that staff give pupils enough time and support to practise their reading skills to improve their fluency.

Staff provide highly effective and timely support for pupils who struggle to read. Pupils master the basics of reading quickly and securely.

The school's work to support pupils' emotional and mental health has a considerable and positive impact on the feelings and behaviour of individual pupils.

Lessons are not interrupted because pupils behave calmly and thoughtfully. Pupils learn very well and staff can focus their attention on teaching.

The school is successful in developing pupils' cultural knowledge.

For example, it makes sure that the books that are used for teaching reflect important themes such as disability, faith, ethnicity and refugees. Pupils benefit from their wider learning. For instance, they learn about the work of the emergency services, courts and the House of Commons.

Pupils are very well prepared for their lives as citizens of modern Britain.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

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

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in October 2017.