St Teresa's Catholic Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve further the quality of teaching and thereby outcomes for pupils by:
  • ensuring that an even greater proportion of pupils reach the expected and higher standards at the end of key stage 1, particularly the most able, with a specific focus on mathematics
  • continuing to diminish rapidly the differences between disadvantaged pupils and others nationally, particularly in mathematics
  • ensure that learning support assistants are always deployed effectively.
• Improve further leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that teachers’ performance targets relating to pupils’ outcomes are sharp and measurable
  • ensuring that feedback to teachers after observations of teaching focuses more on the progress and learning that has taken place for different groups of pupils
  • developing the role of middle leaders of subjects such as history and geography so that they have a greater impact on teaching, learning and assessment
  • ensuring that the website is compliant and checked regularly by governors to ensure that it remains so.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The improvements that the headteacher and her new team of teachers have made since the last inspection are remarkable. Their passion, commitment, drive and vision have been fundamental in improving outcomes across the school in a short period of time. The senior leadership team has stabilised and morale among the teaching staff is high. All share the headteacher’s vision for the school.
• Parents speak very highly of the school. They commented, ‘We are very lucky to have a wonderful school like this.’
• Staff at this school do not rest on their laurels. They are well aware of what they need to do to drive the school onwards and upwards. These priorities are clearly set out in the school development plan, with clear time scales and lines of accountability.
• The school’s self-evaluation is honest and accurate.
• The headteacher conducts regular checks on the quality of teaching. This is done in a variety of ways, such as formal lesson observations, learning walks and a scrutiny of pupils’ work. Any actions set are quickly followed up. However, the feedback given to teachers after lesson observations does not succinctly evaluate the progress and learning for different groups of pupils. In addition, teachers’ performance management targets about pupils’ outcomes are not sharp or measurable. This makes it difficult for senior leaders to monitor the quality of teaching with rigour or hold teachers fully to account.
• Staff have undertaken a great deal of training since the last inspection and this has a positive impact both on the quality of their teaching and on outcomes for pupils. Teachers also have opportunities to observe each other, allowing them to learn from the best. Opportunities are also made available for teachers to observe excellent practice at other schools in the locality.
• Leaders of English and mathematics have a firm grasp on their subjects and this is reflected in the published results for 2017. Both leaders have made significant changes which have been instrumental in reversing the decline in standards in 2016. For example, guided reading takes place daily and all staff have received additional training to enhance their skills in the teaching of reading. Reading has also been given a higher profile around the school, with dedicated book areas in all classrooms. Leaders recognise that better use could be made of the school library to promote a love of reading. Staff have also had additional training in the teaching of writing and every class has a day dedicated solely to writing every half term.
• In relation to mathematics, every pupil completes four mathematical activities at the start of every day for 10 minutes. This is affectionately known as ‘4 a day’. Dedicated time is timetabled weekly to developing problem-solving skills and every half term the school has a day dedicated to solving problems. Year 2 pupils also play chess weekly. This allows them to solve problems, think strategically and work in partnership with their classmates. Pupils relish this time.
• Middle leaders of subjects such as history and geography are relatively new to their roles, which they have taken to with passion and enthusiasm. However, they do not monitor the quality of teaching in their areas of responsibility or the progress that pupils make as they move through the school.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Some subjects are taught through topics, others discretely. The curriculum is enriched by a wide range of visits and trips, which ignite further pupils’ passion for learning. British values are embedded through all aspects of the school’s work and are reflected in the school’s motto of ‘we love, learn and laugh together’.
• Opportunities are available for children to learn about other faiths and cultures, such as Judaism and Islam. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.
• As a result of the pupil premium review, better use is being made of this additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Outcomes for this group of pupils are much improved. The money is spent wisely to support children socially, academically and emotionally. Such good practice demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.
• The special educational needs coordinator maintains an overview of the work of staff, pupils’ learning and the use of the extra funding. Leaders spend the funding wisely to ensure that the diverse needs of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are met. All pupils’ progress is now much more closely monitored. This ensures that any specific needs that pupils have are quickly identified and support put in place to address them.
• Additional funding for sports is spent well to provide training and development opportunities for staff and increase pupils’ participation in various sports, including rugby, gymnastics, handball and cricket.
• Transition arrangements into the Nursery and onwards to junior school are effective and tailored to meet the needs of each child.
• The local authority has provided good levels of support during this turbulent period. They are proud of what the school has achieved in such a short time.
• The website is bright, informative and easy to navigate. It has been updated since the last inspection and gives parents a wealth of information about life at St Teresa’s. However, it is still not compliant regarding the information that must be published. The SEN report does not evaluate the effectiveness of the provision or outline procedures to follow should parents have a complaint about the SEN provision. Furthermore, the impact of the sports premium funding is not as detailed as it should be.

Governance of the school

• Governors bring a varied range of experiences to their role. No one can doubt their dedication or commitment to the school or their desire to ensure that each pupil achieves to their best.
• Governors are regular visitors to the school. They have a good awareness of what the school does well and priorities for development.
• They have a clear understanding of the progress that pupils make as they move through the school.
• Governors regularly access training and safeguarding duties are taken seriously.
• As a result of a recent review of governance, the level of challenge offered to the school is much improved.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school.
• Staff have completed safeguarding training and have a good awareness of the indicators of abuse or neglect. They take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and are aware that anyone can make a referral to the relevant agencies if they are concerned about a child’s welfare.
• Staff talk with some confidence about the latest national concerns related to the ‘Prevent’ duty.
• There are clear and structured procedures in place for the recruitment and selection of staff. No one is allowed to start working at the school until all relevant checks have been completed. At the time of the inspection, the single central record reflected current guidance and legislation.
• The school site is secure and visitors’ credentials are checked.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• As a result of the significant improvements made by the headteacher and the commitment of the new teaching staff, the quality of teaching across the school is now good.
• Activities are planned to take into account the needs of most pupils. Teachers strive to make lessons interactive, stimulating and fun, and in most cases succeed. Some teachers make good use of their voice and facial gestures to attract and sustain pupils’ interest.
• Teachers ask meaningful and probing question to develop and extend pupils’ learning as observed during the inspection. For example, in mathematics the teacher asked pupils to find the total of three numbers. She then skilfully used questioning to encourage pupils to describe the strategies they had used to work out this calculation.
• Overall, progress is well monitored during lessons. This allows teachers to move learning on and deal with any misconceptions swiftly.
• A few learning support assistants are deployed well and are a valuable asset to the school. They work well with the class teacher to develop and deepen pupils’ learning. However, this is not consistent practice across the school.
• Pupils enjoy reading. The most able pupils read with fluency and expression. They can make predictions about what might happen next in the plot and explain what they like about a character in a book. All pupils make good use of their phonic knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words. Pupils read regularly at home with members of their family. They clearly understand the importance of being able to read well. They told the inspector, ‘If you can’t read you won’t get a job.’ However, few pupils make regular use of the school library to develop further their love of reading.
• Children show a real love of mathematics. They enjoy solving problems, explaining their reasoning and developing their number skills. However, work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are not consistently given activities that challenge them to do their very best.
• Writing skills are developing well. Pupils write for different purposes and across subjects such as science, history and geography. However, on occasions, an overuse of worksheets with small boxes prevents some pupils from writing at length and in greater depth.
• Pupils are becoming keen scientists, historians, geographers and designers. They take part in scientific experiments. For example, Year 1 pupils conducted a simple experiment to see what would happen if they put brightly coloured sweets into hot and cold water. They made predictions, carried out both experiments, compared results and wrote up their conclusions. Pupils use maps, atlases and images to locate cities in Britain and countries around the world. They compare and contrast the lives of children living in Britain to those living in Africa. They learn about historical characters within and beyond living memory, such as Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus. Pupils use iPads to design vehicles that will be suitable and capable to travel in places such Antarctica and the Amazon jungle.
• Pupils are becoming resilient learners. Teachers encourage pupils to take risks. Pupils clearly understand that it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils make a significant contribution to decision-making within the school. For example, all pupils have contributed to establishing the school’s code of conduct. Members of the school council are also included on the interview panel when the school are recruiting new staff.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school and most are keen to learn. They feel safe. Any worries or concerns that they have are shared with teachers. Pupils are taking more pride in how they present their work.
• Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms of bullying. They say that bullying sometimes happens, but that staff deal with it effectively.
• Lunchtime is a pleasurable experience for pupils. Meals provided by the school are healthy and nutritious. Pupils happily sit and chat with their friends and share experiences. Good levels of supervision ensure that lunchtimes are calm and orderly.
• Pupils have a good awareness of how to stay safe when online. They understand the dangers of sharing their password and of speaking to strangers when on the internet. Visitors, such as police officers and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children come into school to talk to pupils about personal safety and healthy relationships.
• Pupils are becoming aware of the needs of others. For example, they regularly raise money for a variety of charities to help other children and adults facing challenging circumstances.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are happy and confident. They come into school every morning with happy and smiling faces and a spring in their step.
• Generally, pupils behave well in class. However, low-level disruption occurs when teachers do not reinforce their expectations about behaviour or when pupils lose interest.
• Attendance is a thorny issue which the school has worked hard to address. As a result of a concerted effort by the school, levels of attendance have increased. There were justifiable reasons to explain why persistent absenteeism was high in the last academic year. Good attendance is celebrated and any unexplained absences are diligently followed up.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Children start in the Nursery class at different times throughout the year and with a range of skills and abilities, some of which are below those typical for their age. All children make good progress in relation to their starting points. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development rose sharply in 2017. As a result, even more children are ready for their transition into Year 1.
• Outcomes at the end of Year 2 in 2016 were poor. This contributed significantly to the school being judged as having serious weaknesses at the last inspection.
• The tide has turned. As a result of good leadership and teaching, outcomes at the end of key stage 1 in 2017 have risen sharply. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected and higher standards is above the national average in both reading and writing. Although outcomes in mathematics are good, they lag behind that of reading and writing. Senior leaders and teachers show a steely determination to push outcomes to an even higher level by the end of this academic year, particularly in mathematics. Current pupils in the school are making good progress in all of these subjects.
• The teaching of phonics has improved since the last inspection. Current pupils are making good progress in their acquisition of linking sounds to letters. The proportion of Year 1 pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check is rising steadily over time. Those that met the required standard by the end of Year 2 was above the national average in 2017.
• Work in pupils’ books and on display show that pupils are also making strong gains in subjects such as science, history and geography.
• The school is quite rightly proud of the progress that disadvantaged pupils make. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected and higher standards in reading is above that of other pupils nationally. In addition, the most able from this group of pupils perform significantly better than others nationally in writing. This is quite an achievement for a school than was judged to have serious weaknesses 15 months ago. However, leaders recognise that these achievements must be sustained over time and that more work needs to be done do diminish differences with others nationally, particularly in mathematics.
• Taking into consideration their very diverse needs, pupils with SEN and/or disabilities make steady progress from their starting points. This is a result of more careful monitoring of their progress and close partnership working with outside agencies.
• The needs of the most able pupils are generally well met. For example, pupils are streamed for phonics. This ensures that they are provided with activities that make them think deeper and harder. However, on occasions pupils are given activities which do not stretch them. Consequently, learning slows.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership and management of the early years is strong. The early years leader, who is also the assistant headteacher, has a good understanding of what is being done well and what needs to improve.
• The learning environment indoors is mostly inviting, attractive and well resourced. The outside area is a labyrinth of exciting places for children to learn and play, whatever the weather.
• Staff in the early years are caring and their relationships with children are positive and supportive. Children behave well, show good levels of independence, feel and are safe.
• The quality of teaching is good and all children make good progress. Teachers’ use of questioning is effective in developing children’s learning. For example, at the inspection teachers used a series of probing questions to develop children’s understanding of the scientific concept of floating and sinking.
• Developing children’s skills in phonics, reading and writing is a priority in the early years. Children in the Reception class understand that sentences begin with a capital letter and finish with a full stop. Without prompting they make good use of their phonic knowledge to sound out words such as ‘cheeky’.
• Children’s progress is carefully monitored and tracked. Children show good levels of confidence and perseverance.
• Staff have developed positive relationships with parents, which helps to promote security and consistency in children’s lives. Staff encourage parents to take an active part in their learning by facilitating a stay and play session at the start of each day. They are keen to develop relationships with parents further.
• At the time of this inspection, statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements were met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 104917 Sefton 10044743 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 Infant School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 80 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Laura McCormick Eleanor Daniels 01704 567528 www.st-teresas-school.co.uk head.stteresas@schools.sefton.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 November 2016

Information about this school

• This infant and nursery school is smaller than the averaged-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic backgrounds is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than the national average.
• A new assistant headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.
• Most of the teachers in the school were not in post at the last inspection.
• Children start in the Nursery class at three points throughout the year: September, January and April. They have the option of attending on a part-time or full-time basis, dependent on their circumstances.
• Children in the Reception class attend full time.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector, together with the headteacher, observed teaching and learning in all classes throughout the school.
• Meetings and discussions were held with the headteacher, middle leaders, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, staff and pupils.
• Informal discussions were also held with parents at the start of the school day.
• The inspector listened to pupils read and looked at examples of their work in books and on display.
• The inspector examined a wide range of documentation, including that relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance, the school’s own information on pupils’ outcomes and reports on the quality of teaching.

Inspection team

Sheila Iwaskow, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector