St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Primary School and Nursery Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve progress and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • making sure that all groups of pupils, especially the most able, are supported and encouraged to achieve to the very best of their ability
  • giving more support to disadvantaged pupils to make sure that they make swifter progress in reading, writing and mathematics, across both key stage 1 and key stage 2
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to practise and refine their skills across the curriculum
  • ensuring that pupils acquire greater depth in their mathematic understanding.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management, including governance, by:
  • making sure that accurate and comprehensive systems for assessing pupils’ performance in reading, writing and mathematics are in place and adhered to by all teaching staff
  • ensuring that the school’s self-evaluation accurately reflects the school’s strengths and areas for development
  • developing the school’s behaviour and anti-bullying policies to include the school’s approach to tackling racist incidents and homophobic bullying
  • improving the attendance of those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium
  • sharpening strategies to assess the impact of additional funding in raising standards for disadvantaged pupils
  • offering precise advice to teachers on how they can improve their practice.
• Improve progress and outcomes in early years by ensuring that teaching challenges all children to do their very best so that a greater proportion of children achieve a good level of development. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Over time, St Wulstan’s School has experienced significant turbulence in staffing, including at senior level. Governors have had difficulties appointing a substantive headteacher. The current associate headteacher started her tenure at the beginning of the autumn term, less than three weeks before the inspection. She will remain in post for the foreseeable future. The headteacher knows that there is much work to do and, together with the long-standing deputy headteacher, is determined to accelerate the pace of change and secure improvements initiated by her predecessor.
• Leaders are determined to make sure that pupils achieve the high standards of which they are capable, and aim to win back the confidence of all parents. Inspection evidence indicates that the school is settling and beginning to turn a corner. This is most evident in the improving quality of work in pupils’ books and the high morale among staff. Staff benefit from well-focused training, which they say is helping to improve their teaching practice.
• The school’s self-evaluation lacks precision. It does not clearly indicate where the school’s strengths lie or what it needs to do to make rapid and sustained improvement. Senior leaders have made this a priority area for development. Plans are in place for developing a clear strategy for moving the school forward and leaders recognise the importance of an accurate self-evaluation in this process.
• The new headteacher has inherited different procedures for assessing pupils’ progress and attainment. This is hampering teachers in their planning and partly explains why work set for pupils in class is not always set at the correct level of challenge. The outcomes from teachers’ assessments vary considerably from national assessments. This was the case with end of key stage 2 data in reading, writing and mathematics in 2016.
• Procedures are in place for monitoring the quality of teaching. Senior leaders and governors have not been afraid to make difficult decisions. This has meant eradicating teaching that was not good enough and providing targeted support to improve teachers’ practice. Records show that senior leaders regularly carry out observations of teachers’ practice. They scrutinise pupils’ work books as part of this process. Records indicate that the quality of teaching is improving. However, feedback to teachers is not as precise as it needs to be to rapidly improve the quality of teaching.
• Performance management procedures are in place for both teachers and teaching assistants. Targets for teachers are linked to raising standards, especially in writing and mathematics and for disadvantaged pupils.
• Funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is spent effectively to train caring, nurturing staff and is helping to raise levels of achievement for these pupils.
• Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils, the pupil premium, is not being used effectively and is not diminishing the differences between eligible pupils and other pupils nationally. Plans for allocating additional funding to raise standards are not sufficiently detailed and include too little information on impact. The headteacher is aware of this and is working closely with governors to rectify this weakness.
• The quality of the curriculum requires improvement. Most pupils enjoy learning and willingly engage in most lessons across a wide range of subjects. Pupils enjoy reading and have recently benefited from new books and resources. However, the curriculum for writing does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills and extend problem-solving skills in mathematics.
• Senior leaders are exploring ways to further enhance pupils’ personal development and ensure that no groups of pupils are disadvantaged by low attendance.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed effectively, as is their appreciation of British values. Pupils learn about the major world faiths, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and have visited various places of worship. Pupils raise money for different charities. Recently they participated in a ‘day of many colours’. During the event, they learned about different world cultures while securing funds for worthy causes.
• Pupils collect for the local food bank and engage in cultural celebrations, such as Chinese New Year. They learn about democracy and the rule of law through the spiritual, moral, social, health and citizenship aspects of the curriculum. In key stage 2, pupils learn French. All pupils have opportunities to play musical instruments, including the ukulele and recorder. Educational trips and visits to theatres and museums help to support pupils’ cultural development.
• The primary school sports fund is spent effectively, enabling the school to offer a wider range of sports, including mini tennis, ‘kwik cricket’, tag rugby, gymnastics and cross-country. St Wulstan’s has a successful track record for winning various inter-school competitions. Funding helps to develop staff skills in teaching various sports and physical activities.
• Almost all parents are of the view that their children are safe and looked after well. However, a small core of parents says that there is sometimes poor behaviour and bullying in the school. Parents also expressed concern about the frequency with which the senior leadership team has changed in recent years, high mobility among teachers and the adverse impact of such turbulence on the quality of education.
• Most of the support currently being provided to the school has been brokered through the local authority. This is long term and has included support with recruitment and selection. In addition, support has been available to improve English and mathematics. This is helping to improve standards. The local authority is in the process of carrying out a full review of teaching and learning.
• The special educational needs funding is now being used to better effect to ensure that the differing needs of this group of pupils are met.
• Senior leaders ensured that the school’s website was compliant by the end of the inspection.

Governance of the school

• Governors are aware that pupils’ performance, especially in mathematics and writing at the end of key stage 2, is not good enough, and that disadvantaged children are underperforming. However, they do not have a precise enough understanding of the extent of such underperformance across the school. Senior leaders were not able to provide the inspection team with information to show the impact of pupil premium funding on improving standards for eligible pupils.
• Governors challenge the headteacher’s recommendations for staff to be awarded pay increases or remuneration for additional responsibilities. Any increases are only granted when teachers achieve their performance management targets.
• Governors know that it is essential for St Wulstan’s School to have a long-term senior leadership team in place. They are optimistic about the current leadership arrangements.
• Governors are trained well and have recently engaged in safeguarding and safer recruitment training. New governors have had full induction into their roles.
• Governors know that the school has a journey ahead but are confident that it is moving in the right direction. They state that their primary mission is to ‘get the school to good’.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

• Staff and governors are trained well and keep themselves up to date with the latest government guidance on keeping children safe in education.
• All staff who spoke with inspectors demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding matters. They know precisely what to do if a pupil approaches them with a concern relating to their safety or welfare. Staff take prompt action on safeguarding matters and work with a range of professionals. Designated safeguarding leaders have had enhanced training.
• The school’s central record of checks on the suitability of staff to work with children is up to date and contains all the necessary information. This ensures that risks to pupils are minimised.
• To add to pupils’ safety, senior leaders are currently revising the school’s anti-bullying and behaviour policies and fine-tuning strategies to improve attendance.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching over time has not been effective enough to ensure good outcomes for pupils; as such, it requires improvement. Currently, teaching is moving in the right direction. However, it is not yet effective enough to accelerate pupils’ progress in English and mathematics and make up for a legacy of instability in teaching that has left gaps in pupils’ learning.
• Some aspects of teaching are weak. Weaker assessment systems in the past have hampered teachers’ accuracy in matching work to pupils’ ability. This is particularly the case when teachers’ expectations of pupils are not high enough and tasks and activities in class do not meet the different skills and abilities of pupils, including those of the most able and disadvantaged pupils. Too often, as seen in work books, pupils are given the same work. Harder work does not always probe their understanding.
• Teachers do not give enough attention to developing pupils’ writing skills. There are not enough opportunities for pupils to practise and refine their writing skills across the curriculum. However, teaching is giving more attention to this weaker aspect, and examples of extended writing were seen in pupils’ learning journeys in key stage 2 and writing books in key stage 1. However, there are few examples of writing for different purpose, across the curriculum, or of discursive and creative writing.
• The teaching of mathematics requires improvement. Teachers have improved their skills at teaching pupils basic methods, and most pupils now have a range of strategies to carry out simple calculations. Too few opportunities are available for pupils to apply their skills to problem-solving activities.
• Teaching assistants have good relationships with pupils. They are trained well and work closely with teachers to provide effective support in the classroom. Teaching assistants are familiar with teachers’ planning and are deployed to work with small groups of pupils of all abilities.
• Phonics teaching is good. Teachers are trained well and take a consistent approach to helping pupils to use different strategies to learn to read unfamiliar words. Pupils who read for inspectors, including those who found reading difficult, enjoyed reading a variety of books. Their reading records indicate that they read often and are well supported by teachers and teaching assistants, in partnership with parents.
• Good practice is beginning to emerge in enhancing pupils’ writing skills. This was evident in a lower key stage 2 class where pupils were exploring the writing conventions in fairy tales. When asked, pupils demonstrated their good understanding of fairy tale features, which they said included phrases such as ‘long, long ago’, ‘happy ever after’ and ‘once upon a time’. Pupils’ knowledge of this genre supported them well with their writing tasks.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is starting to improve in response to training provided by English and mathematics consultants. Teachers are increasingly planning learning activities which sustain pupils’ interests. Improved knowledge is reflected in teachers’ confidence to ask questions to deepen pupils’ understanding and stimulate their thinking.
• Teachers consistently apply the school’s feedback policy; senior leaders are currently reviewing methods of assessment.
• Morale among teachers is high. Teachers and teaching assistants are increasingly helping pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning. Teachers expect pupils to take pride in their work. This is very evident in pupils’ books, which are neat and well presented. Staff deepen pupils’ understanding of how they can improve their learning, enabling them to apply themselves and make better progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Pupils are polite and respectful towards each other and adults. They were very welcoming to inspectors and eager to talk about their learning. Pupils’ knowledge of what they need to do to improve their learning is developing.
• Pupils know that bullying can take place in different situations and take many forms. Pupils who spoke with inspectors showed a limited understanding of racism. Once explained, they were adamant that racism never takes place in school. Similarly, pupils were not familiar with the term ‘homophobic bullying’. School policies do not fully consider these matters. Leaders are aware of the need to rectify this situation, to properly prepare pupils for the next stages of their learning and future employment.
• Most pupils are inquisitive and interested in learning. However, they are not yet as confident or resilient as they need to be. Most behave well in class, listening carefully to instructions and sharing their ideas with peers. Some, especially boys, seek attention and are over-reliant on support from teachers and teaching assistants.
• The effective work of staff, including the learning mentor and family support worker, ensures that pupils are well cared for. Pupils say that they feel safe and confident to talk to any member of staff if they have any concerns.
• Pupils attend the breakfast club regularly, which gives them a good start to the day and ensures their punctuality. Here pupils can eat a healthy breakfast in a safe and secure environment, catch up with their friends, engage in various creative and construction activities and play team games.
• Aspects of the school’s work support pupils in acquiring and developing the perseverance and independence they need for the next stage of their learning. Year 6 pupils give out registers, take their peers’ packed lunches into the dining hall and ‘tally up’ house points. Senior leaders are currently rejuvenating the school council and exploring ways of further developing pupils’ leadership skills.
• Pupils know how to stay safe when using the internet. Those who spoke with inspectors advised that online profiles should be set to private, ‘rogue’ links should never be ‘clicked’ and ‘nasty messages should be reported to adults’. Some pupils are familiar with the term ‘cyber bullying’.
• Visitors from the emergency services, including firefighters and police officers, come into school to discuss safety matters and how pupils can avoid dangers. This helps to develop pupils’ appreciation of safe and unsafe situations.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.

• St Wulstan’s is a calm and purposeful school most of the time. Pupils’ behave sensibly when moving around the school between lessons, play safely during breaktimes and ensure that lunchtimes are calm and free of disturbance. Pupils who have difficulty managing their own behaviour are managed sensitively by staff, in accordance with pupils’ individual behaviour plans. Teachers take a consistent approach to implementing the school’s new behaviour policy, with which pupils are fully conversant.
• Lessons usually flow smoothly, with pupils showing respect for others’ views and ideas. However, occasionally there is low-level disruption, including shouting-out, which diverts teachers’ and teaching assistants’ attention from teaching.
• A small, but significant, group of parents who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, are of the view that behaviour is not always managed effectively. They are also of the view that bullying sometimes takes place at school. Almost all parents who spoke with inspectors are of the view that behaviour is good.
• Pupils who spoke with inspectors indicated that it can sometimes be noisy in class. They said that bullying is rare and always ‘sorted out’. Most staff, and governors, are of the view that behaviour is good.
• The school’s own behaviour logs show that there has been a higher than usual number of serious incidents over the last year, including fighting. Incidents coincide with senior leaders’ and staff’s clamp-down on poor behaviour and the implementation of the school’s new behaviour policy.
• Good behaviour was observed during a key stage 1 physical education lesson. Pupils listened to instructions intently before taking responsibility for their own learning as they followed a carousel of activities requiring them to throw bean bags, bounce balls and navigate a slalom.
• Most pupils attend school regularly. Overall attendance is average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average. Leaders have made it a priority to work more closely with families to emphasise that good attendance is necessary for pupils to achieve well.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ achievement has been variable since the previous inspection. Pupils’ progress, especially in key stage 2, has not been good enough. As a result, pupils have not attained the standards of which they are capable. This links to the instability in teaching which has led to gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders’ action to address underperformance is beginning to have a positive impact on standards.
• Test results at the end of Year 6 in 2016 showed that pupils’ progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics was well below average, as was their attainment. Performance in spelling and science was better and was average. Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing, mathematics and science was average at the end of Year 2 in 2016, with an average proportion attaining greater depth in each subject.
• Unvalidated data for 2017 shows some improvements at the end of Year 6 in grammar, punctuation, spelling, reading and mathematics. Writing had dipped, remaining below average. Data indicates that at the end of Year 2 in 2017, pupils’ greatest gains were in mathematics.
• At the end of Year 1 in 2016, an above-average proportion of pupils were secure in their phonic skills and knowledge at the national screening check. Outcomes in phonics have been consistently strong over the last three years. Unvalidated data for 2017 shows a slight fall in standards.
• Inspection evidence from pupils’ workbooks from 2016/17 shows that pupils’ progress is variable. This is partly due to a high turnover of teachers in some classes. For example, pupils made good progress in mathematics in Year 5, writing in Year 1 and reading in Year 3. In other subjects and years, progress is less secure. However, although progress is not consistently good, many make expected progress to achieve age-related expectations.
• Pupils’ progress in mathematics is improving as seen in test results. Many now make faster progress, especially in handling numbers and simple calculations. Progress is hampered by lack of challenge. Books show that too often pupils of different abilities are presented with the same work. As a result, too few pupils attain the necessary depth of understanding to attain highly in mathematics.
• Pupils get a good start to learning to read, with effective teaching of phonics. Many make steady progress, and pupils who read for inspectors were enthusiastic readers. All read books appropriate to their age and ability. Those who found reading difficult used their phonic skills well to sound out and read unfamiliar words. Pupils’ appreciation of different authors and writing styles is developing.
• The quality of pupils’ writing, as with other subjects, varies from class to class. Teachers’ assessments indicate slight improvements at the end of key stage 1 in 2017 and a slight decline at the end of key stage 2. Pupils’ books show that although standards are inconsistent, progress is improving.
• At the end of Year 6 in 2016, disadvantaged pupils’ progress was below average in all subjects; mathematics was especially weak. Too few disadvantaged pupils reached the standards expected for their age. Differences between their progress and that of other pupils nationally were diminishing too slowly. Workbooks show that current pupils’ progress is improving, due to stronger teaching and effective deployment of teaching assistants.
• From 2016/17, the most able pupils make similar progress to other pupils, but the lack of challenge restricted the number of pupils who reached the higher levels of which they are capable. Very few attained the higher standards in any subject at the end of Year 6 in 2016 but unvalidated data for 2017 shows slight improvements.
• Provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has recently improved. Support for such pupils has been consolidated in the form of a senior teacher, the deputy headteacher, who is mentored by an experienced special educational needs coordinator. Timely interventions are beginning to have an impact on standards and are helping to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are starting to make the progress of which they are capable.
• Stability in teaching is helping to raise levels of achievement, including in subjects such as art, science and history. In 2017, a much higher proportion of pupils than in 2016 were prepared with the skills and knowledge needed for the next stage of their learning in Year 7.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The leadership and management of the early years provision require improvement. For a three-year period, up until 2016, outcomes improved at the end of the Reception Year. In 2016, an above-average proportion of children made good progress and were ready for their learning in Year 1. This dipped in 2017; an average proportion attained a good level of development and were ready for the next stage of their learning in key stage 1. Too few children attained the standards of which they are capable.
• Children enter the Nursery class with different skills and abilities in the various areas of learning. Children are confident, gregarious and highly communicative. However, children’s progress is not fast enough. Work in learning journeys and discussions with children reveal that children are not consistently challenged to achieve to the absolute best of their ability.
• Almost all children are of White British heritage, very few have special educational needs and/or disabilities and none is eligible for additional funding.
• For the most part, children in the Nursery and Reception classes play and learn together in one room, recently three rooms, created to form a large adventure space for children. During the inspection, children were engaged in various activities linked to the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’. As it was early in the term, staff were still engaged in initial assessments of children’s skills and abilities.
• Indoor and outdoor areas reflect the early learning goals, providing opportunities for children to participate in role play in the home corner and reading in the reflection area. Children develop their weighing and measuring skills and hone their fine motor skills. They regularly engage in construction activities, sand and water play, drawing and painting, bridge-building and balancing. Too few opportunities are available for children to develop their creative writing skills.
• Nursery and Reception children were observed enjoying fairy tale-themed activities. Teachers and teaching assistants engaged children well and supported them to write ‘huff and puff’ using a sound mat. Children were very interested and confident to share their ideas. Children then took up the challenge of building a strong house using various materials, including straw, twigs and wood. In the creative area, children were making colourful houses, while a small group of children played in the ‘pigs’ house’. However, the quality of teaching is variable and does not consistently engage children in learning.
• Children’s behaviour is good most of the time. They usually play safely and sensibly throughout the course of the day. Children are considerate towards their peers and share toys and resources readily. They usually listen carefully to adults, enjoy clearing up and halt whatever they are doing when asked. Children, especially boys, can sometimes be boisterous, especially during unstructured activities where expectations of behaviour are not consistently reinforced.
• Staff regularly monitor children’s progress in the different areas of learning, which is recorded in children’s learning journeys. Information on children’s learning is shared with parents, who are encouraged to observe and record their children’s learning at home.
• The early years leader has produced an action plan, which identifies the right priorities to raise levels of attainment and improve children’s progress. Priorities include raising standards for boys and narrowing the gap between their performance and that of girls.
• The early years leader knows children well and, as with other staff, has a good understanding of how young children learn. Staff develop strong bonds with children. They look after children well, making sure that all welfare requirements are met. Safeguarding is effective. The same well-established procedures in operation in key stages 1 and 2 are in operation in the early years provision.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 119624 Lancashire 10036782 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 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 307 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Associate Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Steve McLaughlin Helen Sant 01253 874785 www.st-wulstans-rc12.lancsngfl.ac.uk head@st-wulstans.lancs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 20–21 October 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• Since the previous inspection, there have been many staffing changes. The substantive headteacher resigned in July 2016, after which an associate headteacher took up the post for one year. A second associate headteacher is currently leading the school. This is a long-term arrangement agreed by the governors and arranged by the local authority. The associate headteacher took up her post at the beginning of the autumn term 2017.
• The early years provision has been reorganised. The deputy headteacher has taken up the position of special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). Several teachers have left the school.
• The school is a larger than average-sized primary school. A below-average proportion of pupils are disadvantaged and in receipt of support paid for by the pupil premium funding.
• Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. Very few speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average. The proportion of pupils who have education, health and care plans or a statement of special educational needs is below average.
• Almost all children in the early years are taught on a part-time basis in the Nursery class. Children are taught full time in the Reception class.
• The school runs a breakfast club. This is managed by the governing body and was evaluated as part of this inspection.
• Some pupils are taught in mixed-age groups in the Year 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6 classes.
• The school does not meet the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. 

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed a range of lessons in all year groups, as well as the teaching of small groups of pupils and sessions aimed at helping pupils learn to read. Two observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and held discussions with pupils from across the school. Pupils’ work in books was scrutinised in class and separately with senior leaders.
• Inspectors read 86 text responses submitted by parents during the inspection and met informally with parents at the beginning of the school day. Inspectors considered 77 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and parents’ emails. Responses to the inspection questionnaire completed by 19 members of staff were also considered.
• A meeting was held with seven governors, including the chair of the governing body. Meetings were held with various leaders, including those responsible for English and mathematics. Meetings were also held with leaders responsible for assessing pupils’ learning and progress, the early years provision and provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• A meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors examined a range of documents. These included various records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour, the school’s checks on the quality of teaching and reviews of its own performance, development plans, information about pupils’ progress and safeguarding documentation.

Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Gill Burrow Nusret Ellahi

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector