Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Witney Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching and learning further by ensuring that teachers provide the same high-quality feedback to pupils about their learning in other subjects as they give for English and mathematics.
• Raise standards of achievement for pupils by:

ensuring that pupils have more opportunities to develop their reasoning skills in mathematics

helping pupils to improve their spelling.

• Improve leadership and management further by ensuring that leaders analyse pupils’ progress information more closely to evaluate the impact of their actions on the performance of different groups of pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Following the previous inspection, the principal acted quickly and decisively to bring about necessary improvements. The drive to raise teachers’ expectations and improve the quality of teaching and learning has been effective. As a result, the standards pupils now achieve are higher.
• Senior leaders and governors have an accurate picture of the school’s performance and those areas that need further improvement. They are strongly committed to striving for further improvements.
• Leaders make rigorous checks on the quality of teaching. Teaching expertise is improved through training and coaching. For example, teachers have introduced effective methods to improve pupils’ comprehension skills. Good practice is shared within school. Teachers are involved in research projects on specific aspects of teaching, for example the use of questioning. Underperformance is challenged robustly and suitable support programmes are promptly implemented.
• The principal has taken full advantage of the association with other schools in the local cluster and within the multi-academy trust. Schools work together to share training and to ensure that teachers’ judgements of pupils’ work are accurate. Teachers collaborate on projects to develop more effective teaching techniques. The multi-academy trust provides funding for some of the training.
• Leaders make effective use of the additional pupil premium funding. They have identified the barriers to learning faced by disadvantaged pupils and have planned appropriate strategies to overcome them. Teachers know who the disadvantaged pupils are in their classes and monitor their progress closely. Teachers plan additional, effective support, including one-to-one tuition, for those pupils who need to make more rapid progress.
• Well-planned spending of the primary sports funding is increasing pupils’ physical activity and improving teachers’ coaching skills. Pupils enjoy the wide range of sporting activities, the well-attended clubs and the competitive games that are available. Sports coaches also train pupils as sports leaders who can help organise playground games at lunchtimes.
• Support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well organised and effective. Teachers and teaching assistants receive valuable training from the special educational needs coordinator, who also checks the quality and impact of the help provided for pupils. Teachers clearly plan the nature of support and deploy teaching assistants well. Several parents commented on the high quality of help their children received.
• Staff actively promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The calm, respectful and caring atmosphere in the school is a reflection of this. Different school values are considered each term and pupils have opportunities for meditation. Pupils learn about other religions and cultures, for example, by visiting places of worship for different faiths. Pupils regularly raise money for charities and they support local community projects, such as developing food banks. In addition, there has been a focus on fundamental British values through young enterprise projects and a junior citizen programme. Pupils in the school’s parliament experienced the responsibility of leadership when they reviewed school policies and playtimes.
• Leaders ensure that there is equality of opportunity and that staff do not tolerate any form of discrimination. There is a good team spirit among staff. They cooperate well and show consideration towards one another and care for pupils. Pupils are also considerate of each other, reflecting adults’ behaviour. Some parents commented that their children were very happy at school and that everyone gets along together well.
• Leaders strive to engage parents in the life of the school. In addition to the regular invitations to celebrate pupils’ achievements at the end of topics, parents have good opportunities to understand how their children learn and how they can help at home. This is developed through workshops, particularly for phonics, reading and mathematics. The principal has organised several focus groups for parents, on such topics as homework and the behaviour for learning policy, to enable parents to share their views and contribute to the running of the school. The number of parents attending these focus meetings is increasing.
• Pupils experience a broad and balanced range of subjects at school. Most subjects are integrated into themed topics, which begin with stimulating activities, such as a trip to a castle or aquarium, and finish with an open afternoon to share learning with parents. Teachers include interesting activities to engage pupils, for example growing crops in the school garden and visits to the local area. Pupils explained how crops grow and how they looked after them. Clubs, visits and visiting speakers further enhance pupils’ learning.
• English and mathematics are well organised and given appropriate emphasis. Pupils are given good opportunities to experience art, music and sport. Pupils enjoy developing their creative skills and the increased opportunities for sporting competitions, for example, in football, swimming, gymnastics and netball. They have good opportunities to practise singing, to learn different musical instruments and to perform. Pupils spoke excitedly about their preparations for Matilda, a forthcoming musical production. Teachers’ assessment of pupils’ knowledge and understanding in subjects such as science is not as well developed as it is in English and mathematics.
• Teachers carefully check the quality of pupils’ work against expected standards. The accuracy of teachers’ assessments is assured by working with other local schools to agree standards, and verified through regular testing and moderation visits by the local authority. Leaders work with teachers closely to check how well pupils are progressing. Suitable extra help is planned for any pupil who is in danger of falling behind. However, leaders are not analysing information about the overall progress of different groups of pupils sharply enough, and therefore do not identify important differences in rates of progress and achievement.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has a good range of expertise, enhanced by recent training. The chair of the governing body has a clear understanding of the role of governors and of the relationship between the school and the multi-academy trust, and ensures that the governing body is well organised and effective.
• Governors know the school well, including the quality of its performance and how well pupils are doing. Governors receive reports from the principal and other leaders, but also gather information through regular detailed and focused visits. Individual governors are charged with overseeing the school’s work in different areas. Governors are ambitious for the school and offer strong support, but also robust challenge, to keep the school on course.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties. They ensure finances are managed prudently and wisely. For example, they check that the use of additional funding, such as the pupil premium, is effective in helping eligible pupils, and that pay awards for teachers are based on improved teaching performance.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

• Leaders have developed a caring and inclusive school, where pupils’ welfare has a high priority. Pupils are kept safe and secure. The designated safeguarding leads have established good working relationships with the local social services. They can readily seek advice, but are not reluctant to push social services to get a timely response to concerns raised.
• All staff are appropriately trained, including in the Prevent strategy, and know the procedures to follow whenever there are safeguarding concerns. Leaders work well with parents to safeguard children, for example, by keeping parents well informed about safety issues, such as e-safety. Parents spoken to said that their children felt safe at school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• As a result of senior leaders’ raised expectations, targeted training and rigorous monitoring, teaching, learning and assessment have improved. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, productivity and standards of work.
• Pupils say lessons are usually fun. Teachers have established strong, supportive relationships with pupils. Pupils feel secure and willing to answer teachers’ questions or admit when they are unsure. Teachers manage their groups well. Classrooms are calm and purposeful places. No member of staff was heard raising their voice during the inspection.
• Displays in classrooms include recent teaching points and support pupils’ learning well. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They plan activities that interest pupils and usually provide appropriate challenge. Pupils said that the ‘blue dot challenges’ made them think hard. Good examples of effective questioning were seen during the inspection that prompted pupils to think deeply about their learning.
• Teaching assistants play an important role in pupils’ learning. They have benefited from training and their performance is well managed. They are suitably deployed by teachers and support identified pupils effectively, particularly those who are disadvantaged, speak English as an additional language, or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work closely with teachers to plan and report on extra help for pupils. Relationships between teaching staff provide good models for pupils’ own behaviour.
• Phonics is taught effectively. Teaching staff use a range of strategies to help pupils pronounce the sounds of letters accurately and blend them into words smoothly. Learning phonics is closely linked to early writing activities and supports pupils’ writing well.
• Reading regularly and for enjoyment are promoted effectively. All pupils are expected to read regularly at home and have good opportunities to read independently at school. Pupils have visited the local library. There is a good range of high quality texts, that pupils regularly borrow, available in the school library and each classroom. Restructured guided reading activities have improved pupils’ comprehension skills.
• Teachers are held to account for pupils’ progress. They check pupils’ progress closely to identify gaps in their learning and those pupils who may be falling behind. In line with the school’s policy, teachers provide frequent and informative feedback to pupils on their work in mathematics and English. Pupils usually respond appropriately and know what they have to do to improve. Feedback given to pupils in other subjects is less helpful as it focuses more on the quality of literacy and too little on pupils’ knowledge of the subject.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Pupils have good attitudes to their learning. They like school and their teachers, settling down to work quickly and following teachers’ instructions. They are keen to learn and to express their ideas. Generally, pupils work hard, completing learning tasks and responding to teachers’ marking. They show pride in their written work and usually present it well. Pupils collaborate successfully when working in pairs or small groups.
• Pupils show confidence when answering questions in class and readily explain what they are doing. They are used to being listened to by their teachers and their classmates. Teachers know their pupils well, and care for and value them.
• Pupils enjoy a range of responsibilities, for example, as sports leaders and school parliamentarians. Some older pupils act as ‘buddies’ to younger ones, or help them with their reading. Pupils spoken to said everyone is friendly at school and they feel safe there. They all said they have an adult they can turn to if they are worried or upset.
• Pupils have learned how to stay healthy. They enjoy healthy meals and know they need to exercise regularly. Pupils said sport was popular at school and gave examples of sports competitions they had taken part in. During the inspection day, all pupils took part in a two-kilometre run for the charity event ‘Race for Life’. Pupils are also learning how to keep themselves safe, for example, when using the internet.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.

• Pupils know the school’s rules, including rewards and sanctions, and think teachers treat them fairly. Most pupils conduct themselves well as they move around the school and in the classroom. Pupils are polite to visitors and considerate of one another. They learn in early years how to tidy up after themselves and share resources fairly.
• At playtimes, pupils are well supervised and get along with each other. Pupils in the Liberty Garden said they enjoyed the garden’s tranquillity and the opportunity to talk with friends.
• Pupils understand what bullying is and the different forms it can take, including cyber bullying. They know that they must tell a teacher if they see or experience bullying. They reported that bullying was rare and they were confident that teachers would sort things out quickly and fairly if incidents happened.
• The school’s incident logs also show that bullying is uncommon and that the school’s response is effective and proportionate. Other forms of misbehaviour, which are low in number, are fully recorded in class logs. Analysis of incidents is used appropriately to inform behaviour management strategies. Staff manage effectively and unobtrusively the behaviour of the very few pupils who have specific behavioural needs and sometimes present challenging behaviour.
• In contrast to most parents spoken to, a few parents on Parent View expressed concerns about pupils’ behaviour. Leaders responded promptly and effectively to these concerns. No evidence to substantiate the concerns was found during the inspection.
• Attendance has improved and has been maintained at above the national average for the last two years. Currently, once again, it is above the national average. Leaders check on pupils’ attendance and punctuality closely and have put in place a range of measures that usually result in pupils’ attendance or punctuality improving.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• School performance information, confirmed by work seen in their books, shows pupils across the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards are rising and a significant proportion of pupils in each year group are working at, or above, age-related expectations in English and mathematics.
• The proportion of pupils in Year 2 who are working at greater depth in reading and writing is greater than last year, and is above last year’s national average. In 2016, by the end of key stage 2, pupils made broadly average progress in reading and mathematics, but above-average progress in writing. However, their attainment in reading was below average. A much greater proportion of current Year 6 pupils are reading at the expected standard.
• The small number of disadvantaged pupils in each year group benefit from the extra help they receive and make similar progress in their learning to their peers. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and make similar progress to others who have the same starting points.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are making progress that is similar to, or better than, that of their classmates. The extra support provided in order for them to develop the necessary language skills ensures that they achieve well.
• The most able pupils make strong progress and attain well. Regular ‘blue dot challenges’ planned by teachers really stretch them and make them think hard. Further challenge comes from regular opportunities to work with the most able pupils from other schools on activities organised at a local secondary school.
• Pupils use their knowledge of phonics well to pronounce unfamiliar words, which helps them to develop good reading habits. They have many opportunities to write at length and in a variety of styles. Also, they develop good handwriting skills. In contrast, their ability to spell correctly is not as strong. Most pupils gain the appropriate level of fluency in mathematics, but they have too few opportunities to reason and to explain and justify their answers. A good proportion of pupils are reaching age-related expectations in other subjects.

Early years provision Good

• Provision in the early years has improved since the last inspection. The department is well led and managed and teaching is good. Early years staff know the children well and provide a safe and caring environment for them to play and learn in. They use praise judiciously to promote good behaviour and raise achievement.
• Children are settled and well behaved. They play happily together, sharing equipment fairly and listening to each other’s ideas. They listen to their teachers and talk confidently to them.
• Adults focus on helping children to develop speaking and listening skills quickly. Every opportunity is taken to engage children in conversation. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported well. Adults’ questioning makes children think more deeply and encourages them to express their ideas. For example, three children were considering making a tent using some long sticks they had collected. Careful questioning, and a combination of encouragement and challenge by the teacher, made them think about safety and how they could carry out the construction of the tent.
• Staff carefully observe and record children’s progress. Information from parents contributes to a full picture of children’s stages of development. Staff plan appropriately challenging activities that interest and engage children of different abilities. Children have developed resilience and usually persevere with chosen activities. Activities extend their learning well and result in them making strong progress. Through ‘forest school’, children are given experience of learning outside. Last year, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of early years was above average. The school’s information and evidence seen in children’s records of development indicate that a similar proportion of the current cohort will reach a good level of development.
• Effective additional help is planned for identified children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Part of the pupil premium is used for extra resources to support disadvantaged children effectively.
• Children have many opportunities to develop their literacy and numeracy. For example, they make signs for their inventions and dens, and play with scales to weigh mud. Parents are given helpful advice and guidance on how to support their children’s learning at home.
• Adults teach phonics well and enable children to use their developing knowledge to blend sounds for early writing and segment unknown words when reading. Adults make learning fun and match activities to children’s abilities. Children demonstrate appropriate phonic skills to sound out words and adults take every opportunity to encourage children to practise.
• Leaders have improved the outside area. It is an inviting and stimulating place with activities available for all aspects of learning. Colourful displays in the inside area, including ones about words and numbers, together with activity stations, engage children well. A ‘workshop’ area develops children’s creative talents successfully and showcases children’s art, such as their models of rocket ships and vehicles. Children develop greater independence. For example, children were seen confidently collecting the resources they needed from the ‘help yourself’ boxes.
• Safeguarding is effective. Adults look after children well. They are sensitive to children’s needs and moods. The early years department is a warm and welcoming place where children are safe and valued.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139527 Oxfordshire 10024515 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 Academy converter 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 199 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Judith Schmidt Jennifer Walker 01993 702 480 www.ololwit.org.uk/ principalolol@dbmac.org.uk Date of previous inspection 14–15 January 2015

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than an average primary school. There is one full-time Reception class and one class in each year group from Year 1 to Year 6.
• Since April 2013, the school has been part of a multi-academy trust, The Dominic Barberi Multi Academy Company, composed of six Catholic primary schools and one all-through Catholic school. The school is also part of a local cluster of schools, the South Oxfordshire Catholic Schools Partnership.
• Most pupils have White British heritage. The remainder comprise small numbers from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan, is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s floor targets that set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with school staff, including the headteacher, other senior leaders and leaders in charge of aspects of the school’s work. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start and end of the school day. Inspectors met the chair of the governing body and a representative of the multi-academy trust.
• Inspectors carried out observations of learning in all classes, some of which were undertaken with the headteacher. Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work in books, across all year groups and most subjects.
• Inspectors spoke with two groups of pupils during formal meetings, and informally with pupils during lessons and breaktimes.
• A range of documentation was considered, including: the school development plan; the self-evaluation report; records of monitoring of teaching and learning; and information about pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour. Inspectors scrutinised records concerning safeguarding, and toured the school site.
• Inspectors analysed 38 responses and 19 written comments submitted to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, during the inspection.

Inspection team

James McVeigh, lead inspector Nicola Cale

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector