St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Embed leadership and management at all levels to ensure that the school has the capacity to further improve.
• Ensure that levels of challenge are consistently high in lessons so that more pupils achieve higher standards in their work.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since her appointment in 2015, the headteacher has raised expectations within the school. She is honest and open about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, leaders have an accurate picture of what the school does well and have rightly prioritised areas for improvement. Staff, governors, parents and pupils support her wholeheartedly.
• Careful restructuring of the leadership team has led to leaders and managers being very clear about their roles and responsibilities. This has increased the school’s capacity to improve further. While all are new in post, middle leaders are enthusiastic and committed. They understand their role in driving improvement across the school and are increasingly confident in managing other staff.
• Monitoring of teaching is robust and leaders are swift to tackle any ineffective teaching. Leaders provide clear guidance and support to staff on how they can improve their practice. Performance management targets and staff training tie in with the school’s key priorities. Staff, including trainee teachers, feel well supported and welcome opportunities for professional development.
• Leaders acknowledge that previously, they had a poor understanding of the new assessment criteria and that progress tracking was weak. Consequently, leaders have introduced a new, rigorous system to track pupils’ progress and attainment. Leaders closely monitor progress against challenging targets and hold teachers to account more closely. The school works with local schools to moderate teacher assessment. As a result of leaders’ timely actions, pupils’ progress has improved.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) tracks the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities regularly. Additional funding is allocated appropriately to ensure that pupils make good progress. The SENCo uses her experience and qualifications to deliver high-quality training to staff so that they understand individual pupils’ needs. Consequently, pupils receive effective support which ensures that they have equal opportunity to achieve well.
• Leaders analyse the use of pupil premium funding to ensure that it is making a difference to the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders respond to the changing needs of pupils and amend plans accordingly so that pupils’ needs are met. Interventions, such as additional support in lessons, booster classes and access to trips and extra-curricular activities, are having a positive impact.
• The curriculum is well designed so that pupils study a broad and balanced range of subjects. Common themes link subjects so that pupils can use their literacy and mathematical skills across subjects. Following the poor outcomes in writing in 2016, leaders have made writing a key focus across the school. The impact of this is evident in the high standard of extended writing across the curriculum. Artwork created by pupils shows a variety of religious and cultural influences.
• The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is a strength. The school’s Christian values align closely with British values. Pupils show tolerance of those from different backgrounds and faiths. One pupil said, ‘We’re not all the same but we have the same values.’ They are knowledgeable about other cultures and religions and consequently, they have a broad perspective on life outside the school. Pupils have excellent social skills and the school places a clear emphasis on pupils’ moral development. They hold fund-raising events throughout the year, such as ‘The Big Breakfast’ for Fair Trade.
• The school uses the physical education and sport premium funding to good effect. Teachers receive training to improve the quality of teaching in physical education lessons. Additional extra-curricular clubs and lunchtime activities encourage pupils to be more active. Increasing numbers of pupils attend sports competitions and they enjoy opportunities to take up new sports such as Gaelic football.

Governance of the school

• The school’s governing body was restructured recently. As a result, governors have a clearer understanding of their specific roles within the leadership team. They have a good knowledge of the school and are keen to improve their governance skills to be even more effective.
• Governors receive and challenge information about the school’s work. They are increasingly confident in using assessment information to question the school’s actions. Governors work closely with parents to promote a sense of community within the school. Parent groups are well supported and play an active role in the school.
• Governors visit the school regularly to assess how well pupils are achieving. They evaluate additional funding and are aware of the quality of the teaching. Governors meet their statutory duty to ensure that safeguarding is effective, and are up to date in their training.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders are highly knowledgeable about all aspects of safeguarding. They are rigorous in ensuring that all staff know and follow the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Pre-recruitment checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are carefully carried out.
• Leaders respond quickly and effectively if safeguarding concerns arise. Referrals are timely and leaders are tenacious in following these up with external agencies if necessary. This ensures that pupils receive the help and support they need.
• Notices and displays on pupils’ safety and well-being around the school reassure pupils that they are safe. A pupil said, ‘We feel safe, the whole school is a community.’ Leaders alert parents to increase their vigilance with regard to online safety. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey or who spoke to inspectors believe that the school provides a safe and caring environment.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers expect pupils to work hard, and they plan lessons that engage pupils’ interest. Pupils participate confidently in lessons and know what they have to do to improve. Displays of pupils’ work are of high quality and celebrate their success in a variety of subjects.
• The school has worked on improving progress and achievement in writing. This is proving highly successful. Teachers provide a range of opportunities for pupils to write across the curriculum. For example, Year 6 work on the Second World War inspired a variety of writing tasks, including biographies of Winston Churchill and imaginative diary entries based on life during the Blitz.
• Effective grammar teaching is also helping pupils to make good progress in their writing. Visual prompts in classrooms help pupils to use accurate punctuation and spelling.
• Pupils enjoy reading. They read regularly at home and benefit from a well-stocked library at school. In key stage 1, good teaching of phonics enables pupils to develop their skills for reading well, including pupils who speak English as an additional language. This forms a secure basis for reading across the school.
• Teachers and support staff use skilful questioning to check pupils’ understanding. At times, however, pupils are not sure of what to do because instructions have not been explained clearly.
• Teachers deliver structured and well-resourced lessons. However, pupils are not consistently stretched to do more challenging tasks. This is particularly the case in mathematics, where the emphasis is on consolidating rather than deepening pupils’ knowledge.
• Teachers are confident in using the new assessment system. Weekly progress updates feed into half-termly progress meetings to check how well pupils are achieving. Teachers use this information to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning effectively.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils like coming to school very much and are happy. They take pride in their work and talk with enthusiasm about the subjects they study. They attend a rich programme of extra-curricular clubs that they take responsibility to set up themselves, such as those for dance, cycling and chess.
• Pupils’ emotional well-being is a high priority of the school. Older pupils run an ‘amigos club’ for any pupils to attend if they are feeling lonely or want to make new friends. Every week, pupils award the ‘friendship cup’ to a pupil in the school who has been a good friend to others. One pupil said, ‘It’s not just about me, it’s about us.’ They learn to look out for others from the start of their time at school.
• Pupils say that they can talk to their teachers readily and know that they will be listened to. Other pupils are confident to write down their thoughts and putting them in the ‘worry box’.
• Bullying is very rare. When pupils are unkind to each other or fall out, teachers deal with these incidents effectively. Pupils know about different types of bullying from the anti-bullying workshops and assemblies they receive. They are highly knowledge about cyber bullying in particular, and know how to stay safe online. Selected pupils are trained as cyber mentors to provide support and guidance to their peers. Pupils talk to them if they have any concerns.
• There are many opportunities for pupils to take on responsibility and they do so enthusiastically, for example as house captains, prefects or sports ambassadors. The democratically elected school council takes an active role in improving the school, such as advising on the safety of playground equipment. Pupils take their roles very seriously and are determined to do a good job.
• The school is proud of its work to promote healthy lifestyles. Pupils understand what it means to be healthy and say that the rewards system motivates them to make healthy choices at lunchtime.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils display exemplary behaviour in lessons and around the school. This results in a calm and purposeful atmosphere.
• Expectations of behaviour are consistently high across the school. Pupils are polite and respectful to staff, to visitors and to each other.
• Pupils settle quickly to their work without disruption. They work together well and help each other in tasks. One pupil said that working with his partner ‘helps ideas flow’.
• Attendance is above the national average. The school works closely with parents to ensure that pupils’ time off school is kept to a minimum.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The school’s current assessment information shows that pupils across all year groups are making at least good progress from their starting points in all subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics. Evidence in books confirms that teacher assessments are accurate.
• Leaders have addressed any areas in the 2016 outcomes with urgency and impact. Progress and attainment in key stage 2 writing were significantly below average in 2016. Leaders sharpened the focus on developing writing across the curriculum and ensured that teachers understood the new assessment criteria. Across the school, pupils now write for different purposes and use ambitious vocabulary. As a result, standards in writing are much improved.
• Attainment and progress in key stage 2 reading and mathematics in 2016 were in line with or above the national average. By the end of key stage 1, pupils’ achievement in reading and writing was in line with average. Leaders recognise that not enough pupils, including the most able, achieve the high standard and that there is still work to do in ensuring that more pupils achieve their full potential.
• Standards have been consistently above average in the Year 1 phonics screening check and this trend is set to continue. Pupils read confidently in all year groups and make good progress in understanding higher level texts.
• The school directs additional funding effectively to ensure that the small number of disadvantaged pupils in the school make at least good progress in a range of subjects. Pupils who are at an early stage of speaking English as an additional language receive good support, which helps them to develop their basic literacy skills.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive strong support linked to their specific needs. The school’s assessment information shows that their progress over time is good from their various starting points.

Early years provision Good

• Children make good progress in early years from starting points that are lower than typical. This is a result of good teaching and ensures that children enter Year 1 ready to learn.
• Children are safe, happy and well cared for in Nursery and Reception. Established routines mean that children know what is expected of them and they behave well. Relationships between staff and children are warm. Children work and play well together.
• The classrooms are bright and well organised. Newly hatched chicks were a cause for much excitement and prompted some new vocabulary learning as children learned how to care for them. The outdoor space has been developed recently to provide a wider range of activities. However, it is not particularly stimulating to help children develop their skills further. Leaders are still considering how to make the best use of this space.
• The focus on improving writing across the school extends into early years. In Reception, children’s writing about animals was presented neatly and included simple sentences. Staff provide opportunities for children to practise their basic literacy and numeracy skills as they move around the different themed areas.
• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development dipped in 2016. The early years leader has analysed outcomes and put effective measures in place. She works with the local authority’s early years team to ensure that initial and ongoing assessment of children’s progress is accurate.
• Current assessment information indicates that a greater number of children, including disadvantaged children, are on track to reach the expected standard. Learning journals show clear progress across all areas of learning.
• The school works well with parents, encouraging them to be involved in the education of their children. Parents make regular contributions to the ‘wow’ book and learning journals, recording key comments about their child’s development. Staff do home visits for children who are new to Reception to inform and reassure parents.
• When children enter early years, their language and communication skills are often particularly weak. The majority of children speak English as an additional language. Staff do not always model language sufficiently for children to develop their language skills quicker.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101921 Ealing 10033756 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 434 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Teresa Coelho Correia Tracey Brosnan 0208 7990970 www.st-johnfisher.ealing.sch.uk admin@st-johnfisher.ealing.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 October 2011

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. The early years provision comprises a Nursery class and two Reception classes.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited all classes in the school to observe teaching and learning across a range of subjects. Some of these observations were done jointly with the headteacher.
• The inspection team reviewed pupils’ learning over time through scrutiny of pupils’ books from a variety of subjects and all year groups. They also spoke with pupils about their work in lessons.
• Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders to discuss aspects of the school’s work.
• Meetings were also held with the chair and vice-chair of the governing body, the local authority officer linked to the school, support staff, a trainee teacher and groups of pupils.
• Inspectors scrutinised documentation provided by the school, including the leaders’ self-evaluation of the school, external reviews of the school, information about pupils’ progress and attainment, safeguarding records and procedures, minutes from governing body meetings, behaviour records and attendance information.
• The inspection team held informal discussions with parents. Inspectors also evaluated the views and responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire and the school’s own parent surveys.

Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector David Daniels Karen Jaeggi Margaret Warner Anna Bosher

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector