St Michael’s Church of England Primary School, Alkrington

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils settle in quickly and feel happy at this school. They told inspectors that they enjoy spending time with their friends and with their teachers each day. Pupils know that caring staff support them academically and socially, and that they are there to help if needed.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Typically, most pupils achieve well across a range of subjects. They speak confidently about what they have learned.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards their education. They behave well during lessons, which are calm and purposeful. This positive behaviour exten...ds across the school, including at social times.

Pupils try hard to meet staff's expectations and to follow the school's values, which include responsibility, thankfulness and respect.

Pupils benefit from a variety of trips, visits and experiences that enhance their learning of the school's curriculum. For example, they visit a local fire station and various museums.

Pupils benefit from residential trips where they can partake in outdoor and team-building activities. The school provides pupils with a range of clubs, including in art, culture, music, sports, gardening, baking and well-being.

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

The school has focused on developing a broad and balanced curriculum.

It has determined the important knowledge that pupils should learn and the order that teachers should introduce it. This enables pupils to learn well. Children in the early years are well prepared for their next steps in learning.

Overall, teachers choose suitable learning activities. They explain new curriculum content well. The school has provided appropriate training that has helped staff to further develop their subject knowledge.

However, from time to time, staff do not deliver the curriculum consistently well. For example, occasionally, they do not adapt learning activities sufficiently enough to support pupils to learn as well as they should.

Staff generally use a range of strategies effectively to check how pupils are progressing through the curriculum.

They use this information to adapt future learning and to give more time for pupils to practise where required. Nevertheless, staff do not consistently identify and address gaps in pupils' prior knowledge, particularly where subject curriculums have been recently improved. This makes it difficult for some pupils to connect new learning to concepts that they should already know.

The school identifies pupils with SEND quickly. Staff make suitable adaptations during lessons, which enable these pupils to follow the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND are included in all aspects of school life.

The school has prioritised reading, for example by choosing high-quality books for each year group. This begins in the early years, where a variety of stories ignite children's interest in learning. The school has links with the local library, and staff take children to visit so that they can become members.

Pupils read widely and often.

Children begin to learn phonics from the beginning of the Reception Year. Staff who teach early reading have had suitable training to help them to implement the phonics programme with fidelity.

Pupils read from books that contain the sounds that they already know. Staff generally provide effective support for pupils who find reading difficult.

Pupils are polite and well mannered.

Children in the early years learn to share and to take turns. Pupils have high levels of attendance. They understand why it is important to attend school.

For a small number of pupils, the school works with external agencies and families to support these pupils in attending school more regularly.

The school provides well for pupils' personal development. Visitors to the school help pupils to learn how to be safe and healthy, including how to protect their mental health.

Pupils learn about responsibility in their roles as 'playtime pals', house captains, worship leaders and members of the 'garden gang'. They raise money for charities, and they collect food for those who are less fortunate. School councillors explained to inspectors that their roles help to improve pupils' experiences at school.

Staff value being able to work as part of a team. They appreciate the school's consideration for their work-life balance, for example by providing additional time to help staff to fulfil their roles successfully.

The governing body brings the required knowledge and skills to its role of supporting and challenging the school.

While it is committed to continual improvement, the strategic oversight that governors have over some areas of the school's work is not thorough enough. The school also lacks detailed enough information in some aspects of its work, such as the impact of its strategies over time to support different groups of pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, where the school has recently refined subject curriculums, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge that have not been addressed. This means that pupils find it difficult to build and connect new concepts and ideas to their prior learning. The school should support staff in using assessment strategies in these subjects to identify and remedy gaps in pupils' subject knowledge, so that they know and remember more.

• At times, there is some variability in how well staff implement the curriculum. This hinders some pupils from learning as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff deliver the curriculum consistently well and adapt activities when needed, so that pupils learn as effectively as they should.

• The strategic oversight of some aspects of the school's work lacks precision. This means that the school does not provide the governing body with all the information that it needs to hold the school fully to account for its work. The school and the governing body should make sure that they maintain thorough oversight across all aspects of the provision, to aid continual improvement.

Also at this postcode