St Gabriel's Roman Catholic Primary School, Rochdale Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for the most able pupils in Reception and key stage 1 by:
  • ensuring that the curriculum always allows them to make rapid progress.
• Continue to improve the quality of teaching by:
  • ensuring that work is always suitably adapted so that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities consistently make good progress.
• Further strengthen the quality of leadership and management by:
  • refining procedures for dealing with the few instances of poor behaviour and bullying, including how these are communicated to parents
  • bringing the quality of provision in before- and after-school care up to the same standard as the rest of the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and her team have made their vision for the school a reality. This is due to a steely determination to do what is right for the pupils. They have successfully improved the quality of teaching, leadership and outcomes since the previous inspection.
• One parent commented: ‘This is an excellent school. I could not be happier that my child attends here. Brilliant staff, excellent leadership, a real community.’
• Leaders have transformed the curriculum for the promotion of British values, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Their approach is typified by in-depth, valuable learning experiences. For example, Year 3 visited a mosque during the inspection. On their return, inspectors asked them what they had learned. Pupils said: ‘We’ve learned that we have more in common than we are different.’ They understood why mosques have domes and minarets and the significance of the mosque in the community.
• Pupils have a strong moral purpose, guided by the very many extra-curricular activities that they take part in. The fantastic school choir performs in the local community, and pupils are enthusiastic about music and their school sporting fixtures. Pupils have a good understanding of their purpose in society. During Epiphany, pupils bring in gifts for babies born to young mothers, and at harvest festival, donations are made to the local foodbank.
• Staff changes since the previous inspection have been plentiful. The headteacher has taken the lead on teaching and learning and has systematically and successfully addressed underperformance. Teachers have benefited from ongoing professional development and networking through the local cluster of Catholic schools. Teachers have been trained as moderators to make them more confident with new assessment arrangements.
• Subject leadership has been strengthened. Leaders regularly report back to governors and are held accountable for standards in their subjects. As a result, pupils have good subject knowledge and make good progress.
• Pupil premium funding is used well. The progress of disadvantaged pupils is improving. The physical education and sport premium has been used well to increase participation in competitive sport.
• The local authority and Salford Diocese have supported the school well. Leaders say that they greatly appreciate being part of the Rochdale cluster of Catholic schools so that they are able to share good practice and support assessments and moderation.

Governance of the school

• Governors have been pivotal in improving the quality of teaching since the previous inspection. They ensure that performance management is used to focus on school priorities and raise standards.
• Governors effectively hold subject leaders accountable for the standards in their departments. They have a good understanding of the school’s performance data and they offer an appropriate balance of robust challenge and support.
• Governors have made shrewd decisions since the previous inspection in order to balance the school’s budget so that it is now in a healthy financial position.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The single central record meets requirements. There is an appropriate procedure to sign pupils in to and out of the before- and after-school club and an appropriate handover policy.
• All staff and governors are appropriately trained. Staff benefit from regular safeguarding updates. A number of pupils benefit from the school’s early intervention and effective multi-agency working. Staff are vigilant and regularly report any niggles to build a picture of safeguarding concerns. Robust procedures are in place for child protection.
• Almost all parents who expressed their views though Parent View or who spoke to an inspector feel that their child is safe in school and that bullying is dealt with effectively.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that they make good progress across the curriculum, including in humanities, science and modern foreign languages. Ongoing assessment is used well in lessons and in pupils’ books to inform teaching.
• Scrutiny of Year 6 pupils’ reading journals shows that they are exposed to interesting and varied literature. Their skills of comprehension and inference are well developed, and they write interesting reflections about their reading, with a high degree of technical accuracy.
• Similarly, Year 5 topic books showed highly developed writing about topics such as the rainforest and ancient Greeks. Through their writing, pupils articulated well-thought-out reasons for their opinions.
• Year 2 pupils were observed making rapid progress in mathematics. High expectations, well-established routines, clear learning objectives, continuous assessment and excellent modelling of methodology led to significant gains in learning. Pupils were eager to tell the teacher when they had ‘got it’ and quick to point out her purposeful mistake of using a ruler incorrectly.
• In Year 5, pupils behaved excellently and made good progress in English. They learned skills of inference and considered the importance of empathy. They discussed the meaning and implications of the word ‘patriotic’ with reference to singing the national anthem at the world cup.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities were observed making good progress in some lessons due to careful planning and high-quality support from teaching assistants. However, the school’s assessment information and pupils’ books show that they do not make consistently good progress, because learning is not always sufficiently adapted to meet their needs.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are taught well about how to stay safe. Almost all parents who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire feel that their children are safe at school, and pupils and staff agree.
• Pastoral support is strong. Pupils have access to bereavement counselling, buddying and mentoring and a drop-in service at social times run by the pastoral manager. Healthy lifestyles are promoted through healthy and active lunchtimes.
• The overwhelming majority of parents and pupils feel that the few instances of bullying are dealt with effectively. However, a few parents feel that bullying is not dealt with in a timely manner and that the procedures followed by the school are unclear.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. Inspectors observed good routines in lessons, high expectations and a great amount of respect between pupils and their teachers.
• Behaviour in Year 1 was inconsistent, particularly when pupils were not well challenged by their learning tasks.
• This year, leaders split key stage 1 and key stage 2 lunchtime, which has had a very positive impact on behaviour. Pupils enjoy receiving regular praise for working hard and eating all their lunch.
• Attendance remains at the national average and pupils are punctual to school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes have improved significantly since the previous inspection.
• Overall, pupils enter the school with skills and abilities slightly below those typical for their age. Last year’s validated data for the end of key stage 2 shows that more pupils than found nationally met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, and all of them met the standard in spelling, punctuation and grammar. This illustrates good progress from their starting points.
• Pupils make rapid progress in mathematics due to consistently high-quality teaching and strong subject leadership. There have been big improvements in reading and writing since the previous inspection. Progress in reading is significantly above the national average. Progress in writing has improved from significantly below the national average to broadly average.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils is improving towards that of their peers and other pupils nationally. Inspectors observed that pupils with SEN and/or disabilities are making good progress in many lessons. However, in a small minority of lessons they did not make good progress, because the work was inaccessible to them. This confirms the school’s current assessment data which shows that the progress of this group remains variable.
• By the end of key stage 1, pupils who achieved the expected standard in Reception go on to make rapid progress, above that found nationally. Almost all pupils achieve the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 1. However, few of the middle or high prior attainers go on to achieve the better than expected progress of which they are capable.

Early years provision Good

• There is strong leadership of early years. The teacher and her team care deeply about the welfare and progress of the children who they teach. There are strong partnerships with parents; they regularly stay and play alongside their children. One parent commented: ‘My child started Reception in 2017 and has thoroughly enjoyed the process. He has made excellent progress and looks forward to going every day. I feel the quality of teaching is outstanding and feel reassured as a parent that my child is safe and happy.’
• Children behave well because the provision is well organised, interesting and engaging. They enjoy investigating electricity, connectors and lightbulbs at the ‘tinkering table’. Children eagerly participate in reading a range of stories, brilliantly brought to life through colourful displays. Children’s learning journeys show that they have made good gains in writing since they started in Reception. Even children whose writing is still not at age-related expectations show good progress.
• The outdoor area has been developed so that children can practise their reading, writing and number skills in the resident airport or travel agents. Children love exploring shape, space and measure in the sand and water areas. Adults support them well to estimate amounts and measure accurately.
• Overall, children enter the Reception class with skills and abilities slightly below those typical for their age. The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development in readiness for Year 1 is in line with the national average. This is because the quality of provision is good. Fewer of the most able children exceed the standards expected at the end of Reception. This is because the curriculum does not always offer enough challenge for them.
• The teaching of phonics is highly effective and outcomes in phonics are consistently good. Learning is enriched by many opportunities for story-telling, ordering events from a story and children writing about what they have learned.
• Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is promoted really well. Children were keen to show off the henna tattoos and to recreate the Islamic prayer mat that they had talked about using mosaics. Children behave very well. They show respect and understanding for each other.
• In the 2017 outcomes, disadvantaged children outperformed their peers. Pupils with SEN and/or disabilities make good progress due to highly effective support from teaching assistants.
• Safeguarding is effective, and all welfare requirements are met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105825 Rochdale 10046060 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mary Chadwick Laura Bolton 01706 650 280 www.stgabrielsrc.com office@stgabrielsrc.rochdale.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14–15 June 2016

Information about this school

• This school is smaller than the average primary school.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of key stage 2.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors spoke informally with many pupils and parents.
• Inspectors met with representatives of the governing body. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with the chair of the governing body.
• Inspectors met with a representative from the Salford Diocese and the local authority.
• Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders.
• Inspectors scrutinised school policies and records relating to safeguarding, behaviour, self-evaluation, performance management, teaching and learning and a range of other documentation.
• There were 22 responses to the staff questionnaire and no responses to the pupil questionnaire.
• There were 35 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 27 free-text responses that were considered.

Inspection team

Sally Kenyon, lead inspector Julie Bather

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector