St Patrick's RC Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and pupils’ progress by:
  • ensuring that teachers provide a greater degree of challenge for the most able pupils and the most able disadvantaged pupils
  • embedding the new approaches to the teaching of language, literacy and mathematics.
• Improve pupils’ personal development and welfare by:
  • ensuring that expectations for pupils’ conduct at breaktimes fully promote their well-being
  • encouraging pupils to be less reliant on adult support to develop their learning
  • ensuring that pupils develop a better understanding of different cultures and beliefs.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • further developing the role of subject leaders to more closely monitor and promote progress in their subjects
  • refining systems for monitoring and evaluation to include a fuller consideration of the impact of arrangements for breaktimes, the quality of teaching and the identification of pupils who may have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities
  • continuing to work closely with families to improve attendance and reduce levels of persistent absence.
• Improve outcomes for children in early years by ensuring that teaching more fully meets their needs, including the most able.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The school has been through a period of turbulence, with significant changes to staffing. The executive headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors have brought about some improvements to behaviour and to the quality of teaching and outcomes. However, they have not ensured that the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes are consistently good.
• The executive headteacher has worked determinedly to ensure that any weak teaching is eradicated. The leadership of teaching has ensured that all staff have relevant training and are equipped to teach the recently introduced approaches to teaching English and mathematics. As a result, the quality of teaching overall is improving. However, systems to evaluate teaching, at times, do not identify weaknesses swiftly enough. For example, the performance of teachers is not always checked well enough to identify where teaching is not effectively meeting pupils’ needs.
• Similarly, other aspects of monitoring and evaluation are not sufficiently thorough. Leaders’ monitoring of pupils’ views has not identified the negative impact of expectations for conduct at breaktimes on some key stage 2 pupils’ enjoyment of school and their sense of well-being.
• The funding for the small number of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is used to ensure that they are appropriately supported in school. However, procedures to identify pupils who may have SEN and/or disabilities are not fully effective in ensuring that pupils in all classes are swiftly identified.
• Subject leadership is developing. The local authority and an independent adviser have provided effective support in ensuring that subject leaders have an overview of their subject and plans for further development which include clear priorities. However, subject leaders have yet to establish clear systems to monitor progress in their area and so fully promote improvements in teaching and learning in their subject.
• Leaders have introduced a theme-based curriculum which covers an appropriate breadth of subjects. This is enhanced by after-school activities, such as football and netball clubs. Pupils are offered the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. Pupils learn to follow school rules and develop an awareness of right and wrong. However, their understanding of different cultures and belief is underdeveloped. This means that pupils are not effectively prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The primary sports funding is used appropriately to improve pupils’ enjoyment of, and participation in, sport. Provision of a dance club, sports coaching and opportunities for more pupils to access after-school sports sessions have benefited pupils’ health and fitness.
• Leaders ensure that pupil premium funding is used appropriately to provide support to pupils and to overcome barriers to learning. As a result, this group’s progress is improving and there are signs that differences in attainment are diminishing.
• Leaders are keen for the school to improve further. Plans for further development identify clear milestones and targets for further improving the quality of teaching and outcomes.
• Most parents and carers who spoke with inspectors or shared their views via the online free-text facility to Ofsted held a positive view of the school. This included some who were new to the school or to the country. Some said that they felt that their child could be challenged more in their learning.

Governance of the school

• Governance of the school has undergone significant change since the last inspection. Following the previous inspection, a core group of governors was created to provide strategic direction for both schools in the federation, but with a particular focus on improving outcomes and teaching at St Patrick’s. Governors have provided effective challenge and support to leaders in managing the staff changes and bringing about improvements to the quality of teaching and outcomes.
• Governors are passionate for the school to improve further. They use their skills well to support the school. For example, they ensure that finances are well managed and they support the monitoring of teaching through visits to school and book scrutinies.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that staff have a good knowledge of child protection procedures and are kept up to date with training. Staff are vigilant in identifying signs of abuse and know the procedures to follow should they have concerns.
• Leaders work appropriately with outside agencies and parents to meet pupils’ needs and ensure their safety.
• Pupils show a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe, for example online safety, as this is taught in school.
• Parents who spoke to inspectors said that the school kept their children safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is variable. As a result, some pupils do not make consistently good progress to achieve the standards of which they are capable.
• At times, teaching does not provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils. Staff do not routinely question pupils effectively to extend their thinking or ensure that pupils deepen their learning. For example, during the inspection, most-able pupils in an upper key stage 2 lesson were given fractions problems that they could easily complete.
• On other occasions, teachers match work better to pupils’ needs. For example, in an upper key stage 2 lesson, pupils were engaged in learning about the Holocaust through looking at different sources of evidence. Pupils were asked to answer different questions according to their ability levels. This resulted in the most able pupils thinking deeply about what they had learned from their source of evidence and making decisions about the quality of the source.
• Most staff have high expectations for pupils’ good conduct in lessons, which helps to promote the smooth running of lessons. This contributes to the progress that pupils make. However, at times, pupils lack confidence to think for themselves and develop their learning, preferring to wait for staff’s assistance to complete tasks or deepen their learning.
• Mathematics is increasingly well taught. Teachers’ subject knowledge has improved with recent training and this is improving the promotion of pupils’ number and problem-solving skills. These improvements are still embedding across the school.
• The teaching of writing is also improving in response to training and the introduction of new methods. Staff encourage pupils to develop writing skills appropriate for their age. Improvement in pupils’ skills is evident in their longer pieces of writing. Pupils learn to apply these skills in other subjects, but this in inconsistent across classes.
• Teachers’ use of a recently introduced phonic scheme is bringing about improvements to pupils’ progress in reading. Pupils show an interest in reading and younger pupils are able to apply their phonic knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words. Older pupils are making better progress in the development of their comprehension skills as a result of changes to teaching following the disappointing end of key stage 2 results in 2017.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Leaders’ work to raise expectations for pupils’ conduct, particularly during breaktimes, has meant that some pupils report not enjoying school as much as they should. This was reflected in some pupils’ comments to inspectors, and some responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. For example, some pupils who spoke to inspectors indicated that they would like more opportunity to chat with their friends and be outdoors.
• Pupils learn to develop an understanding of democracy through, for example, elections to the school council and older pupils’ involvement in mock elections. Pupils show respect for staff and each other. However, pupils show a limited understanding of different cultures and beliefs. As a result, their preparation for life in modern Britain is underdeveloped.
• Pupils show an understanding of the different types of bullying, although their understanding of homophobic bullying is limited. Pupils report that bullying is rare and, where it does happen, staff deal with it appropriately.
• Pupils show a clear understanding of how to be safe online and of fire safety as they say that they are taught these things in school through events such as ‘safer internet day’.
• Pupils learn to take responsibility and contribute to the school, for example as members of the junior leadership team, book monitors and prefects.
• Pupils show a pride in the presentation of their work in their books.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Pupils mostly engage well with their learning. They respond well to staff’s expectations for them to apply themselves to their work. On occasion, pupils lose concentration and become distracted where activities are not fully meeting their needs.
• Although pupils generally work hard in lessons, some lack the confidence to use their own skills to further their knowledge or apply their learning, preferring instead to wait for adult help.
• The school offers rewards and encouragements for good attendance and works with families to improve attendance. However, pupils’ attendance remains below the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school, although improving, is higher than the national average.
• Pupils’ conduct in and around school is good. Pupils are polite and welcoming. They move sensibly around school and are familiar with routines.
• Leaders have brought about improvements to pupils’ behaviour since the last inspection. School records show that there are far fewer incidents of poor behaviour, or of fixed-term exclusions.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress varies between year groups. Published data shows that by the end of key stage 2, pupils’ attainment is below average. This reflects their inconsistent progress over time.
• In 2017, writing progress was in line with the national average. In 2017, pupils made below-average progress in reading, a decline from 2016 when progress was similar to the national average. Mathematics progress was similar to the national average in 2016 and 2017.
• Current pupils’ progress is improving in reading, writing and mathematics. Some pupils are making good progress, but this is not consistent across year groups. Pupils for whom English is an additional language make similar progress to their peers.
• Pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 1 at the expected standard is below national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This represents steady progress from skill levels at the end of Reception Year, which are below those expected for their age.
• In both key stages 1 and 2, the proportions of pupils attaining the higher standards are below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. This reflects the lack of sufficient challenge for the most able pupils.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ progress shows signs of improvement. As with other pupils, there are variations in year groups. The school’s information and scrutiny of pupils’ books show that in some year groups, differences are diminishing and, in others, pupils are making similar progress to non-disadvantaged pupils.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• In most years, children enter school with skill levels below those typical for their age. Not enough children make good progress to catch up with similar children nationally. By the end of the Reception Year the proportion reaching a good level of development was below average in 2017.
• Recent changes have strengthened the leadership of early years. Actions have resulted in improvements to the environment and to the quality of teaching. As a result, children’s progress is improving, particularly in writing. The early years leader has a secure understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of provision and plans for future developments.
• Teaching requires improvement. Staff assess children’s learning and often provide activities that develop children’s skills well. However, at times learning is not as well developed. For example, staff questioning and or planning of activities is sometimes not closely matched to children’s abilities. Expectations are sometimes too high and at other times activities are not challenging enough to develop learning to the full. As a result, some children do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Relationships between staff and children are positive in both Nursery and Reception classes. Children behave well and show growing independence skills as they happily select their own activities.
• Staff provide some interesting activities which relate to children’s interests. For example, Nursery children listened well to a story about an egg which they had decided contained a baby dragon, and confidently suggested what the baby dragon might say when it hatched.
• In Nursery and Reception classes children show an interest in developing their writing skills. Staff encourage children to use their knowledge of letter sounds to spell simple words. For example, some showed growing confidence to write a speech bubble showing the word or phrase the baby dragon will say when it hatches.
• Staff establish positive relationship with parents and keep them informed about their children’s progress. The early years leader is seeking to develop this partnership further to make sure that parents contribute more fully to assessments of their children’s learning.
• Children show a sense of security in early years and staff work effectively to ensure their safety.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105535 Manchester 10042430 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 222 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive Headteacher Nicola Evans Anne Clinton Telephone number 0161 834 9004 Website Email address www.st-patricks.manchester.sch.uk admin@st-patricks.manchester.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 March 2016

Information about this school

• This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.
• The biggest ethnic groups within the school are White British, Black and Black British African.
• About a third of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.
• The school has experienced significant staff changes since the last inspection.
• The school is part of a loose federation with St Edmund’s RC Primary School. The current headteacher was appointed as executive headteacher of both schools in September 2015.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning throughout the school. Some observations were carried out jointly with the executive headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors scrutinised pupils’ workbooks and listened to pupils read.
• Meeting were held with pupils, the chair of the governing body and four other governors, the executive headteacher, deputy headteacher and some middle leaders. The inspectors also held a meeting with a representative from the local authority and the school’s quality assurance adviser. A telephone meeting was held with a representative from the diocese.
• Inspectors looked at a range of information produced by the school, including information on pupil’s progress and attainment, behaviour and attendance, procedures for safeguarding and the school’s own evaluation of its work. They considered reports to the governing body, minutes of their meetings and the school’s plans for further improvement.
• There were insufficient responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, for inspectors to analyse. Inspectors spoke to parents at the school gate and took account of two written questionnaires. The views of 14 parents who expressed their views via the online free-text facility to Ofsted were also considered.
• Inspectors also took account of the 43 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire. There were no responses to the online staff questionnaire to consider.

Inspection team

Elaine White, lead inspector Moira Atkins Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector