St Wilfrid’s CofE Aided Primary School Northenden

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Helena Miller.

This school is part of Thrive Church of England Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), John Barrett, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Good.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend this friendly and welcoming school.

They look forward to their time spent learning and playing. The school has a strong community spirit, fostered in part through the close bonds that older pupils d...evelop with their younger peers.

Pupils build warm and trusting relationships with staff.

They are confident that staff will help them to resolve any issues that may arise. Pupils typically behave well, treating one another with kindness and respect. At playtimes, pupils enjoy participating in a variety of games and activities.

Pupils are proud to take on leadership roles that make a positive contribution to the school's community. Pupil leaders act as role models for their peers. They uphold and embody the school's values, such as forgiveness, compassion, and generosity.

Pupils who are part of the school's 'courageous advocacy team' recently undertook a project to teach pupils about air pollution. They led a successful campaign to encourage more pupils to walk or cycle to school.

Pupils enjoy a variety of extra-curricular activities.

For example, they attend sports clubs, including dodgeball, basketball and cross-country, as well as music, yoga, and cheerleading clubs. These rich opportunities help pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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

The school and the trust are united in their vision for pupils' education.

This begins from the start of the early years, where the school has crafted a well-considered curriculum with a strong focus on developing children's communication and language. This prepares children in the Nursery class for learning how to read. From the beginning of the Reception class, expert teachers deliver a highly effective phonics programme.

Pupils practise reading regularly, using books that contain the sounds that they already know. Staff swiftly identify pupils who struggle with reading. The school ensures that these pupils get the additional help that they need.

In most subjects, the school has clearly defined what pupils should learn and the order in which this should be taught. It has thought carefully about how learning is organised over a two-year cycle, to enable pupils in mixed-aged classes to learn all that they should. Teachers benefit from regular opportunities to work collaboratively with their colleagues to design learning, which helps to alleviate workload demands.

Staff have completed suitable training that has helped to develop their expertise. For example, the school has recently supported teachers to sharpen their techniques to help pupils to remember their learning over time. This has paid dividends, as pupils are increasingly able to recall and build on what they have learned in the past.

Nonetheless, some teachers do not check carefully enough on pupils' developing learning. This means that, at times, staff do not identify and address pupils' errors. These misconceptions can persist over time, which hinders pupils' future learning.

The school quickly identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils, as well as those who speak English as an additional language, are supported well. In the early years, staff go to great lengths to get to know children before they join the school.

This allows staff to provide any additional help that children need to settle in. Teachers across the school are informed about the additional needs of pupils with SEND. They successfully adapt learning activities to allow these pupils to progress well through the curriculum.

The school has taken suitable steps to improve pupils' rates of attendance, particularly for those who are disadvantaged. It carefully scrutinises attendance information so that any trends or patterns are identified. The school works closely with parents and carers to ensure that pupils who are often absent are supported to increase their attendance levels.

The school sets clear expectations for pupils' behaviour, which pupils are keen to meet. Pupils feel that staff's use of rewards and consequences is fair. In the early years, children are taught social skills and positive behaviours.

For example, staff teach them to take turns and to share equipment, such as balance bikes. They encourage children to use 'kind hands and kind words' when playing with their friends.

The school has designed a comprehensive programme to support pupils' personal, social, health and economic education.

Pupils develop their knowledge across a range of topics, including how to keep healthy and safe. The school is committed to developing pupils' appreciation of the differences that exist between themselves and others. For example, pupils relish hearing about faiths and cultures of the wide range of speakers who visit from the local community.

Pupils also benefit from a variety of trips that enhance their learning, such as recent visits to a cathedral and to a synagogue.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teachers do not check carefully enough that pupils have developed the knowledge that they should.

As a result, some pupils have misconceptions that are not swiftly rectified, which hampers their subsequent learning. The school should train staff to accurately identify errors in pupils' understanding before moving their learning on.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2019.