A primary and nursery school in Oldham has received a glowing report from Ofsted but has been instructed to teach about gender and sexual orientation to improve.

St Margaret's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School on Hive Street, Hollinwood, was visited by the education watchdog in March this year which gave it an overall rating of 'good'.

Inspectors, Stuart Perkins, Patrick Rayner and Chris McDonald, had plenty of praise for the setting which looks after youngsters aged three to 11.

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In their report published this month, the inspectors found the school to be a "warm and welcoming learning environment" with pupils happy, safe and "proud" of their school.

It found while pupils work hard to live up to leaders' high expectations of their learning and behaviour, leaders, in turn, are "keen to make sure that St Margaret's vision of being a 'place to become' is at the heart of everyday school life".

The students are taught the importance of tolerance and respecting one another with the inspectors finding pupils' behaviour and attitudes to learning are "strong".

The youngsters conduct themselves well around the school, including at social times, as older students care and support their younger peers through their role as 'mini mentors'.

The watchdog also found they know where to go to get help if they have any worries and that the school deals with the "rare" and small number of bullying incidents and lesson interruptions effectively.

The inspectors further found the youngsters know how to behave well, concentrate in lessons and debate "with maturity" when discussing their ideas.

The curriculum was also found to be effective and a "considerable" improvement since the last inspection.

All the pupils have access to the "broad and balanced" curriculum, including children in early years, which prepares them for the next steps in their education and develops a "deep and rich body of subject knowledge".

Meanwhile, teachers "carefully" design each lesson to ensure the pupils achieve well.

However, the inspectors did note that some teachers "do not adapt the delivery of the curriculum as effectively as they should", leaving some students to develop "misconceptions" in lessons.

"Nevertheless, pupils build up a secure body of subject knowledge on which they can make connections to future learning", the report added.

Beyond the curriculum, the school offers a range of opportunities to develop students' talents and interests, such as through performances with a resident poet and artist.

There is an abundance of leadership opportunities up for grabs, including becoming members of the school council, the ethos committee and the reading committee.

Early years students also benefit from a well-designed curriculum with a focus on their communication and language skills ahead of moving into Year 1.

Their journey of learning to read starts as soon as they join nursery with Ofsted finding the youngsters are "immersed" in different books, rhymes and stories.

The reception class are then taught phonics and are on the path to becoming proficient and confident readers.

Special educational needs or disability (SEND) children are identified quickly and are adequately supported with adequate adaptations to their lessons.

Safeguarding was also found to be effective and a "key priority" at the school.

While Ofsted found the pupils understand how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy, and have a deep understanding of different religions and races, the inspectors added the students' understanding of other protected characteristics such as sexual orientation and gender "are not as secure as they could be".

To hike the 'good' grade, Ofsted said leaders should ensure pupils have access to an age-appropriate understanding of gender and sexual orientation.

The inspectors said that the lack of knowledge on these characteristics "prevents pupils from having a full appreciation of the diversity of modern Britain".

The education watchdog also said adaptations in lessons for SEND pupils do "not always have the desired impact" and should be enhanced further.

The visit is the latest graded inspection carried out at the school and means St Margaret's has maintained its 'good' status since 2011. 

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