An Oldham primary school has received a good inspection result from Ofsted nearly four years after it was told to improve.

St Hugh’s Church of England Primary School had been told to improve in nearly all areas when it was inspected in March 2019.

However, in a report published this week and based on an inspection conducted in February, Ofsted inspectors upgraded the school from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’.

The school received a good rating in all areas, relating to: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

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The inspection team, made up of lead inspector Alun Williams and inspector Peter Berry, said that pupils rose to the ‘high expectations that leaders have of them’ and were ‘learning well in all classes, from early years to Year 6.’

This is a stark contrast from the previous inspection report – where the quality of teaching was said to ‘lack precision’, with expectations of pupils’ achievement criticised as ‘not as high as they should be’.

Reading in the school was also now said to be a ‘high priority’, with leaders praised. Previously, the school had been criticised for not promoting reading ‘well enough’.

Pupils were praised for being ‘kind and considerate’ towards each other, and polite to adults. Incidents of bullying or inappropriate behaviour were said to be dealt with quickly and effectively.

However, attendance was identified as a concern, with leaders told they needed to take further steps to improve the attendance of pupils, especially boys.

According to 2021/2022 data published by the Department for Education, the school had an 8.2 per cent absence rate, higher than the rate in Oldham and England, at 6.3 per cent.

This rose to 30.4 per cent of students who missed 10 per cent or more of the mornings or afternoons they could attend, much higher than Oldham’s 19.3 per cent or England’s 17.7 per cent.

Leaders were praised for overseeing a ‘considerable improvement’ despite the pandemic, and the school’s staff were identified as ‘hard-working and committed’.

One point of criticism in the report was the school’s governance.

While inspectors said the governance was improving, the governing body was said to lack educational knowledge and expertise, meaning it could not scrutinise and challenge leaders about the quality of education provided as well as it should.

Headteacher reacts to positive inspection

Headteacher Jane Lisic said: “We are so proud of the outcome of the recent Ofsted inspection stating that the school is good across all areas.

“The children who attend St Hugh’s are an absolute delight and the staff are an amazing team, who go above and beyond to support children towards the best possible outcomes whilst providing an excellent level of pastoral care and support.

“We have worked hard to move the school forward and are very happy that the good work at St Hugh’s has been recognised.

“The inspection was rigorous and fair and was overall very positive.  We are working hard to improve attendance and the educational knowledge of our governing body – these were the two areas for development identified by the inspectors.

“We are delighted that the inspectors identified the high importance we place on learning to read and how hard we work to ensure that the curriculum is interesting and engaging. 

“I am so pleased that the school has moved from requires improvement to good.  We have worked rigorously to bring about these improvements.”