A primary school in Oldham which was found with 'serious weaknesses' has made a dramatic U-turn, an Ofsted report reveals.

St John's Church of England Primary School on James Street, Failsworth, teaches children aged between three to 11 and was visited by the education watchdog in April this year.

Prior to joining the One Church of England Multi Academy Trust in September 2022, the school had endured some tumultuous times.

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Inspectors had rated the school 'inadequate' in 2017 and by June 2018, a letter was sent to the headteachers to address the "serious weaknesses" a follow-up monitoring inspection had found.

The letter pointed to a history of "serious failings in safeguarding" at the school and said it continued "to be affected by a legacy of weak leadership that has left new leaders and staff deskilled".

Meanwhile, progress to attend to matters had "been slow" while its improvement plan was dubbed "not fit for purpose".

However, inspectors Timothy Gartside, Schelene Ferris and Chris Metcalfe wrote that the school has drastically transformed, issuing it with the overall grade 'good'.

In their report published this month, the inspectors said children are "proud" and "happy" to come to school because they have lots of friends, kind teachers and generally feel safe.

The students benefit from enrichment opportunities and told inspectors that they like the daily assemblies with the Friday celebration assembly a "highlight of each week".

The report further revealed bullying is rare at the school and the students are polite, behave well, are keen to learn and socialise well with each other when they eat together on 'family' tables.

Meanwhile, staff were praised for being "determined" to see pupils succeed, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The inspectors said the recent support of the trust has inspired leaders to make "some significant improvements" to the curriculum which is now "ambitious" and builds "strong foundations" in reading and mathematics.

In particular, children in nursery, reception and key stage 1 were found to be confidently developing fluency in reading, writing and understanding of numbers.

The inspectors said this comes as all staff have been trained to deliver a new, clearly structured phonic programme while the early reading curriculum has been adequately changed by leaders.

"These changes mean that pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, are becoming more confident and fluent readers", the inspectors added.

A "well-designed personal development programme" is also teaching youngsters how to be "responsible" citizens, respect differences, challenge stereotypes and know the difference between right and wrong.

The watchdog said safeguarding at the school is now effective with leaders ensuring staff take regular training.

The report then revealed trustees are kept well informed about the school while parents and carers speak highly of the setting - especially the "hard work of the staff".

However, the inspectors said there is some "variation" and "inconsistency" in the way staff teach themes in key stage 1, resulting in some youngsters being less prepared for the next stage of their learning.

Inspectors also said some teachers and leaders are "not clear enough about the knowledge that they want pupils to acquire" in some subjects, again impacting the "building blocks" pupils need to build for their future learning.

To improve further, Ofsted has advised leaders to develop the curriculum in certain subjects and ensure that teachers are familiar with the "sequence of learning" and stick to it consistently. 

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