St Michael’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

The headteacher's strong leadership has brought about good improvement over the past year. He is ably supported by the senior leadership team and governors. Systems for checking on the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement are regular and rigorous.

The information is used effectively to set improvement priorities that tackle weaker aspects. The school is well placed to improve further. Teaching is good.

Basic reading, writing and mathematics skills are effectively taught. Throughout the school, pupils make good progress. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 is broadly average and has improved... in the last two years.

Reception children successfully gain the important literacy and mathematics skills they need. They are well prepared for Year 1. Pupils who might be at risk of underachieving, such as disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make good progress.

By Year 6 many have caught up well with their peers. The school successfully supports pupils who speak English as an additional language. Their progress is good.

Once they learn to understand English well, their attainment quickly catches up with that of their classmates. Pupils' spiritual, moral and social development is promoted very effectively. Their behaviour is good and pupils are adamant that bullying does not happen.

Pupils feel very safe and secure in school. Governance is good. Governors hold leaders to account well.

Their monitoring of the effectiveness of steps to improve the school further is excellent. They have a very secure knowledge of teaching quality and pupils' progress. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching is not yet outstanding.

Opportunities are missed to help some pupils make faster progress. Pupils are not always expected to explain the methods they use or the reasons for their answers to deepen their understanding of their work. Sometimes staff give pupils too much advice on how to complete their group or individual activities.

This limits pupils' ability to apply their skills in new work, especially in writing and mathematics. Some middle leadership roles are still developing. Not all leaders are skilled in analysing the evidence on pupils' progress.

Information about this school

St Michael's is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. It has increased in size considerably since the previous inspection. There are now three classes in each of Reception and Years 1, 2 and 3, and two classes in other year groups.

The school will continue to admit at least three classes in Reception over the next three years. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. There have been several changes in leadership since the previous inspection.

In the past year the school has appointed two new assistant headteachers. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well above average. A much higher proportion of pupils than is seen nationally speaks English as an additional language.

A considerable range of languages is spoken. The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school between Reception and Year 6 is much larger than is seen nationally. The large majority of those pupils who join the school speak English as an additional language.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding is slightly below average. This additional funding is to provide extra support for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after by the local authority. The school provides before- and after-school care.

This was also inspected. St Michael's Pre-school shares the site. This is inspected separately.

The school is part of the Bournemouth Septenary Trust. This is an alliance of seven local schools which support each other's monitoring and improvement work, including in governance. The school meets the government's floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.