Ss Simon & Jude CofE Primary School, Bolton

Overview

Pupils at Ss Simon & Jude CofE Primary School feel “well cared for” and demonstrate “impressive” attitudes towards learning, despite significant disruption from recent fire damage to the original building. The school has successfully established a temporary “learning village” to minimise educational impact, ensuring pupils continue to make positive progress and achieve well by the end of key stage 2.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit “exceptional levels of conduct” and are “sensible and courteous,” with no disruptions to learning observed.
• The curriculum in many subjects is designed so that content is taught in a “logical, coherent way,” allowing pupils to build a “secure body of knowledge.”
• Reading is prioritised through a new phonics programme and “carefully chosen high-quality texts,” resulting in more pupils becoming “fluent readers” by Year 1.
• Staff effectively support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who “achieve well” and access learning effectively.
• Pupils develop strong personal development skills, including knowledge of mental and physical health, online safety, and an appreciation for diverse beliefs and customs.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, curricular thinking is “less precise,” meaning pupils do not develop a “deep understanding of the content.”
• The school lacks “strong oversight” of how well some subject curriculums are delivered, meaning weaknesses in design and implementation are not addressed swiftly.
• Trustees and governors do not have “robust oversight” of safeguarding procedures, failing to consistently identify minor weaknesses in record keeping and compliance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, although the report notes that oversight by the school and governance is “not as sharp as it could be,” leading to some minor weaknesses in record keeping not being consistently identified.