St Augustine’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

Leaders at all levels set high expectations for staff and pupils. Their vision is fully endorsed by a highly committed teaching team. Leaders' determination to provide the best possible education for pupils means that all areas of the school's work are at least good, and improving strongly.

Pupils' behaviour is outstanding. They exemplify the school's ethos of 'love, hope and forgiveness'. They support and care for each other and have very positive attitudes to learning.

The school's work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Leaders work proactively to ensure staff are very well trained to identify any child who may be... at risk of harm. Attendance remains consistently above the national average.

The school works exceptionally well with parents and the local community. Parents fully endorse the view that this is a good school, where their children are safe and receive a good education. Teaching is good.

Teachers work hard to improve their practice and ensure they can meet the many complex needs of their pupils. As a result, pupils make good progress over time, given their starting points. Achievement is good.

Children start school with skills and levels of understanding that are often much lower than average. The school ensures they reach broadly average levels of attainment by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. The progress of current pupils is also good.

Children in the early years make good progress because leaders ensure they constantly review the provision to meet their needs. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Not enough pupils make more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, some pupils do not catch up with their peers and some of the most able pupils do not reach the higher levels of attainment.

Not all subject leaders monitor their areas with sufficient rigour. Teachers do not have sufficient expertise to know when to carefully adjust learning in lessons. As a result, pupils do not always have the chance to tackle more demanding work.

Pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply their literacy and mathematical skills in other subjects.

Information about this school

St Augustine's Church of England Primary School is a smaller than average-sized primary school serving an area of very high social deprivation in Manchester. A new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed since the last inspection.

The headteacher has been in post for two years. There is also a new Chair of the Governing Body. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than the national average.

Most of these are from a Black African background. Similarly, the proportion of pupils for whom English is not their first language is almost double the national average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is higher than the national average.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the pupil premium provides support (this is additional government funding for pupils who are or have been eligible for free school meals, and for pupils in the care of the local authority) is more than double the national average. All the children in the early years provision attend full-time. The school meets the government's current floor standards for primary schools.

This is the minimum expected level of achievement that pupils should reach by the end of Key Stage 2. St Augustine's holds UNICEF's Rights Respecting School Award. This recognises schools that place the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of its ethos and policies.