School told it must do better

OFSTED inspectors have issued a Warrington primary school with a “notice to improve” and called for better leadership and management at all levels, including governance.
The inspectors visited St Albans RC Primary School in November and say it requires significant improvement because it is “performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform.” It is providing an acceptable standard of education largely because of widespread additional support it is receiving from the borough council, the Ofsted inspectors say.
Even pupils were critical of the school. They were issued with a questionnaire and nearly a third of those who returned them did not feel behaviour at the school was good.
However, staff and governors at the Bewsey Road school say they are committed to making swift changes to improve the school and are confident they can do so.
Headteacher Mrs Frances Curless said: “I would like to reassure parents that the school staff and governors remain positive about their capacity to address the issues outlined within the inspection report.
“With the support of our dedicated and motivated staff and with a clear improvement agenda, we are confident that the required improvements can be made – and, importantly, made to last.
“Central to anything we do now, or in the future, will be a focus upon securing the very best provision for our children here at St Albans.”
Father Richard Ebo, chairman of governors, said: “The governors remain committed to ensuring the best provision possible for our children.
“We are pleased that the report has highlighted a number of our strengths but we also recognise that we must act quickly and effectively if we are to make improvements.
“We will strive to address all identified issues in order to build upon the many positive aspects of school provision that already exist.”
The school is already working on making improvements in four main areas; leadership and management, standards in science, the quality of teaching and learning and feedback to pupils.
Ofsted inspectors do highlight positive aspects about the school including the fact that most pupils say they enjoy school and that the school provides a good level of care, guidance and support.
Inspectors note that pupils’ learning, progress, achievement are all satisfactory.
The quality of teaching is satisfactory and there are examples of outstanding practice. However, much teaching is less effective in fully engaging pupils and teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not always sufficiently high.
There are positive comments about the progress made in maths due to successful intervention programmes and revised approaches to teaching mathematics and staff
are praised for making good use of visual resources to bring learning alive.
Inspectors also say that the school provides good support for individuals and vulnerable groups which has led to noticeable improvements in their attendance and self esteem.