Latest Diocesan Inspection
National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools Report
St Paul’s Church of England Primary School
Hindle Drive
Royton
Oldham
OL2 5LU
Diocese: Manchester
Local authority: Oldham
Dates of inspection: 9th November 2010
Date of last inspection:
School’s unique reference number: 131848
Headteacher: Mrs Joanne Caine
Inspector’s name and number: Barbara Kinch 475
School context
St Paul’s is a voluntary aided primary school situated in the Royton suburb of Oldham. It is surrounded by a range of private and council owned properties. The area is well established and many families have lived there for several generations. Most pupils are of white British heritage. There is a tradition of strong links with St Paul’s Church where there is currently an interregnum.
The distinctiveness and effectiveness of St Paul’s as a Church of England school are outstanding
St Paul’s distinctively Anglican character is borne out by the unequivocal reference to its Christian foundation in its mission statement, aims, ethos, and values which are evident in all aspects of the daily life of the school. The school motto, ‘Love to Learn, Learn to Love’ and the vision are rooted in the faith that ‘ God’s loving eternal presence empowers us through the example of Jesus Christ and the power of His Divine Spirit’ The Christian values of love, respect and peace are consistent features of the very positive relationships and the wide range of experiences which enrich the ethos, curriculum and worship.
Established strengths
• The ethos is firmly rooted in the Christian faith, with clear values understood by all;
• Teaching in religious education is of a high standard with varied and innovative strategies which strengthen and enrich the curriculum, particularly in AT2;
• Relationships are very positive and affirming;
• All the children behave well;
• The senior leadership and governors are committed to the Christian foundation of the school
Focus for development
• To ensure the involvement of the governing body in the self evaluation process so that they may take an active role in the continuing development of the shared values and vision;
• To develop and enrich the work on other faiths in RE by looking at shared values and practices
The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is outstanding at meeting the needs of all learners
Relationships within the school are very positive and based on the Christian values of love and respect. Behaviour ‘is very good and focuses on developing pupils’ sense of responsibility, making the right choices and supporting them in the process. The pupils have very good moral awareness; they understand that there are consequences for negative behaviour. They value golden time but equally recognise that ‘Thinking Time’ is also ‘Lost Learning’ time. Rewards are an integral part of the behaviour policy and pupils recognise their own behaviour is reinforced in the star points system. Pupils feel valued and safe and know that when it’s the right time to ask for help’ there are key people including buddies that they can go to. Fresh starts and forgiveness are recognised by the pupils as an important part of the behaviour policy. The environment reinforces the Christian foundation very successfully with crosses in all classrooms and displays which are bright and thought provoking and which promote spiritual development very effectively. The school’s commitment to the World Peace Prayer Society provides an excellent vehicle for pupils to appreciate that peace begins within themselves and ripples out into personal, social, emotional, aspects of learning (SEAL), which supports pupils’ religious education and spiritual development.
The impact of collective worship on the school community is outstanding
Collective worship is central to the life of the school. It provides a strong sense of occasion and purpose in which the pupils engage very effectively. They sing well and respond to well thought out stimuli and meaningful questioning. Pupils’ spiritual development is enhanced because a reverent atmosphere is created with calming music as the classes enter, a lighted candle as a focal point and images on the whiteboard. This is particularly effective in engaging all children in both Key stages. An act of worship on Remembrance was moving and meaningful; the prayers written and read by year 6 children show their spiritual sensitivity. Pupils readily talked about the way the worship made them feel, ‘sad for the soldiers and their families, lucky that they didn’t live in a war-torn country and amazed that people would go to war for our future’ Worship clearly gives the pupils something to reflect on and take into their daily lives. The Foundation Stage pupils enjoy the act of worship because it is set in a lovely atmosphere in which all the children are fully engaged by the excellent use of active storytelling and action songs. The children contribute their own ideas. Pupils have a very good understanding of Anglican practice because a weekly act of worship is devoted to ‘May Peace prevail on Earth‘ as part of the world Peace Prayer Society programme and sharing in the Eucharist both in St Paul’s Church and in school.
The effectiveness of the religious education is outstanding
Children enjoy Religious Education. Learning is of a very high standard because lessons use innovative strategies such as Philosophy for Children, the World Peace Prayer programme, SEAL and enquiry-based learning. These enable children to develop very good understanding in religious education. They demonstrate a rich balance of knowledge, skills and reflection on meaning, which develop both learning about and especially learning from religion. Consequently, religious education makes a major contribution to pupils’ spiritual development. Pupils are able to recount previous learning and move on to deeper discussions. Children display a wide variety of learning styles. They take ownership of their learning because assessment takes place as an active part of the lesson where learning objectives are discussed alongside success criteria. Children have a very good knowledge of Christianity but a limited one of other religions. Consequently, religious education makes a much better contribution to children’s understanding of the local community than of the more extended society.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good
Leadership and management in St Paul’s are good with outstanding features. The headteacher has a clear purpose and Christian vision, which are supported by the other senior leaders. She encourages and supports strategies which create an outstanding ethos and an innovative curriculum. Good links have been built up with St Paul’s Church, members of which are active on the governing body. The school has successfully used the National Society toolkit to evaluate the impact they make and where development needs to take place but the governing body has played a limited part in this. It is important that governors are consistently engaged in the self evaluation process so that they can fully support the school in continuing to promote the strong Christian ethos.
SIAS report November 2010 St Paul’s CE Primary School, Royton, Oldham OL25LU
