Ofsted rating Manchester: St Francis RC Primary School in Gorton downgraded to inadequate

A primary school in East Manchester which was deemed ‘Outstanding’ when it was last inspected by Ofsted has been downgraded to ‘Inadequate’. St Francis RC Primary School in Gorton got top results when it was inspected in 2009.

However, the school in Ellenbrook Close was exempted by law from routine inspection due to its high score, leaving a longer-than-usual gap between inspections. In 2015, Ofsted visited the school in response to a decline in standards, but it did not carry out a full inspection until March of this year.

Inspectors criticised the school’s curriculum, describing it as ‘poorly designed’ and ‘weakly implemented’. Pupils do not gain the knowledge that they need to be successful, according to the Ofsted report which was published last week.

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Consequently, pupils across the school are not ready for the next stage of their

education, Ofsted concluded. Pupils are happy in school and many behave well, the report said, but poor behaviour is not managed as well as it should be.

This means that pupils’ learning is sometimes disrupted, inspectors explained. The report also said that pupils feel safe in school and they feel confident to share their worries with trusted adults who deal with bullying ‘effectively’.

However, academic achievements across a range of subjects, including English and maths, is ‘weak’, according to the report. School leaders have not set out what pupils should learn in different subjects, inspectors concluded, and little consideration is given to the order in which knowledge will be taught.

School leaders and teachers were also criticised for not having high enough expectations for pupils with special education needs and disabilities. Overall, inspectors concluded that St Francis is inadequate in three areas – quality of education, leadership and management and early years provision – while it requires improvement in behaviour and attitudes and personal development.

The Ofsted report said: “Until very recently, leaders have not paid enough attention to the curriculum. Although leaders have started to think about how to improve the curriculum, it remains in a state of disarray across the school.”

Responding to the report the primary school’s headteacher Lynn Elder said: “The Ofsted findings don’t reflect the ambition we have as a school for our pupils and we’re determined to do everything we can as quickly as possible to improve things and address the issues raised. Our school is nevertheless a happy place to be – with children who are all brilliant, hard-working staff, and parents and families whose support is very much appreciated by us.”

A Manchester council spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with Salford Diocese and with the school’s leadership team and governors to support them in addressing the areas of concern raised by Ofsted as quickly as possible, to ensure the school provides the good, solid, well-rounded education we expect all our schools in the city to be delivering to their pupils.”