St Catharine's Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the impact of leadership, including governance, so that:
  • leaders’ checks on teaching, learning and assessment, including in the early years, take into account all groups of pupils, and pupils’ starting points, so that pupils’ underachievement is eliminated
  • inconsistencies in provision across mixed-age classes are eradicated
  • the curriculum for mathematics develops pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills well
  • governors stringently hold leaders to account for the impact of school improvement initiatives so they can measure how well previous weaknesses are rectified and plan for next steps
  • governors hold leaders to account firmly for ensuring that their safeguarding record-keeping is of a consistently high quality
  • governors hold leaders to account for the use and impact of additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, for disadvantaged pupils, and for the sport premium fund.
• Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good, including in early years, by ensuring that:
  • teaching builds on what pupils know, can do and understand, to ensure that middle-attaining and the most able pupils are sufficiently challenged to enable them to focus on their work and fulfil their potential
  • pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities or those with previously low attainment are provided with work that is closely matched to their needs so that they make good progress and catch up
  • teaching addresses misconceptions in spelling and punctuation and pupils use and apply the complex sentence structures and punctuation in their writing expected for their age
  • teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in mathematics and writing are increased so that the proportion of pupils meeting and exceeding the standards expected for their age matches that in reading
  • teachers’ subject knowledge in mathematics continues to improve
  • the differences between boys’ and girls’ attainment in writing in the early years diminishes quickly
  • children in the early years experience high-quality learning in the school’s outdoor area. External reviews of governance and of the school’s use of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders’ actions have not secured strong outcomes at the end of key stage 2. However, more recently, leaders at all levels are working with determination to bring about further improvement. The headteacher has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that require improvement. She has appropriate plans in place to drive improvement. However, the progress of current pupils’ progress is too inconsistent in mathematics and writing to be good overall.
• Leaders have not identified or tackled the inconsistencies of provision and quality of teaching evident in some mixed-age classes. As a result, pupils’ progress speeds up and slows down dependent on the quality of education and level of challenge they receive.
• In recent months leaders have introduced a new school-wide system for recording pupils’ performance. However, this system is not yet implemented effectively. The headteacher analyses pupils’ performance information in detail and has identified that some teachers’ assessments are inaccurate. Consequently, teachers do not consistently plan work to precisely meet their needs.
• Leaders’ systems to track pupils’ achievement, such as meetings to discuss pupils’ progress and work scrutiny, enable the headteacher to have a deep understanding of where shortfalls remain. However, it is too recent to see the impact of these actions in bringing about the improvements required. As a result, pupils’ prior underacheivement, that has gone undetected in recent months, persists.
• Leaders’ checks on teaching and learning are not precise enough. They do not provide teachers with specific feedback about how to accelerate the progress that pupils make. As a result, pupils’ progress in mathematics and writing is too slow. However, leaders do provide detailed feedback to teachers about the strategies they use. Consequently, teachers’ subject knowledge in the teaching of mathematics and writing is improving quickly.
• The use of the sport premium funding is not checked thoroughly. This makes it difficult for leaders to ascertain the impact of funding on improving pupils’ access to physical education (PE) and sport.
• Leaders are not sharply focused on deploying and measuring the impact of the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils across the school. Consequently, governors are not able to hold leaders to account for its impact on raising disadvantaged pupils’ achievement.
• Leaders have clear oversight of pupils’ spiriutal, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils receive a variety of experiences to enhance their knowledge and understanding across a range of subjects. For example, pupils learn about India and the Mayan civilisation. In such projects, the curriculum encourages pupils to research a wide range of information and enter into debates to deepen their views and understanding of the concepts covered. Increasingly, the wider curriulum provides a range of opportunities for pupils to use and apply their writing skills.
• The SEN leader liaises effectively with external agencies to facilitate support for pupils. The register and provision map for this group of pupils is up to date and pupils’ needs are accurately identified. Additional intervention teaching is in place for pupils who have not made sufficient progress in the past. However, leaders’ checks on the impact of these sessions are too limited. As a result, this group of pupils does not make sufficient progress over time.
• Leaders’ training and support is beginning to make a positive difference to improve the quality of teaching in mathematics. Teachers’ subject knowledge is improving. However, leaders’ work is recent and is not yet ensuring that teachers can confidently plan work which builds pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding. Leaders’ actions have not yet ensured that pupils can use and apply their mathematical skills to reason and solve problems and deepen their understanding. As a result, the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged.
• The English subject leader has improved the teaching of phonics so that pupils’ outcomes are now good. Reading is a strength of the school. Leaders’ recent actions have begun to increase teachers’ understanding of planning and progression in writing. As a result, pupils are making faster progress. Nevertheless, leaders know that pupils’ progress in writing remains too variable, particularly in the mixed-age classes.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a strong understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the school. They keep up to date with the actions leaders are taking, through their regular visits to school. They receive regular information from school leaders in reports and in meetings. However, they do not use this information well enough to check the impact of leaders’ actions on improving teaching, learning and assessment and pupils’ outcomes.
• Governors have not held leaders to account for the spending and impact of additional funding. They do not have all the information they need to assure themselves that the sport premium, funding for disadvantaged pupils, and SEN and/or disabilities funding are used well. As a result, governors are not aware whether their statutory duties are met.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff undertake safeguarding training in line with current legislation. Staff vetting checks and safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.
• Leaders with designated responsibility for safeguarding work with a variety of external agencies to minimise pupils’ risk of serious harm. Staff know how to apply the school’s safeguarding policy to make referrals should they have concerns about pupils’ well-being. Referrals are followed up quickly by designated safeguarding leaders. They ensure that they are doing all they can to keep pupils safe from harm. However, pupils’ safeguarding records are not sufficiently well organised.
• Governors take their safeguarding duties very seriously. The safeguarding governor meets with leaders regularly to monitor safeguarding. For example, he actively checks the impact of staff safeguarding training. Governors check that the local authority safeguarding audit is completed on time. However, governors have not picked up inconsistencies in leaders’ systems to secure effective record-keeping of safeguarding documentation.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The leadership of teaching, learning and assessment has been too variable. Leaders have not picked up the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching across classes and groups of pupils quickly enough. As a result, current pupils’ progress remains too inconsistent in mathematics and writing across some classes.
• Some teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations for their pupils. On these occasions, teachers do not use the information they have about what pupils know, can do and understand to plan work that challenges them. As a result, middle-attaining and most-able pupils’ progress is too inconsistent over time.
• Recent actions taken to improve pupils’ mathematical skills are beginning to have a positive impact. The teaching of mathematics is enabling pupils to gain greater fluency in number. However, the teaching of mathematics does not yet encompass all aspects of the curriculum. Some teachers’ questioning does not routinely enable pupils to deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts well. Some teaching does not enable pupils to apply their mathematical skills to solve problems and reason in mathematics. This restricts the progress pupils make, particularly the most able.
• Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in writing are too inconsistent, and variation in the quality of teaching remains. Teachers do not take into account provision across mixed-aged classes when planning units of teaching. As a result, pupils in different classes, from the same year group and with the same starting points, receive inconsistent provision and coverage of the writing curriculum. However, the teaching of writing in Year 6 is sharply focused on developing pupils’ writing skills. Increasingly, the quality of teaching in Year 6 is ensuring that pupils develop the sophistication and accuracy of writing expected for their age.
• Teaching does not routinely tackle pupils’ misconceptions in spelling, grammar and punctuation, especially in lower key stage 2. This results in too few middle-attaining pupils writing with the complexity and accuracy expected for their age.
• Teachers do not routinely use the information they keep about pupils’ progress to plan tasks which take account of what pupils already know, can do and understand. As a result, some lower attaining pupils, or those who have SEN and/or disabilities, cannot access some of the tasks on offer. Teaching does not support these pupils well enough. Consequently, they do not make strong progress, particularly in writing.
• Teachers do not have full oversight of the learning support that teaching assistants provide. As a result, when pupils struggle with their learning, or it is not well matched to their needs, they lose focus and concentration. This is not picked up quickly enough by teaching staff.
• The teaching of reading is effective. Teaching engenders a love of books. Pupils are keen to read and most have a good understanding of what they read. Consequently, pupils achieve strong outcomes in reading.
• The teaching of phonics is regular and systematic. It enables pupils to decode unknown words well. Teaching is closely matched to pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils make good progress in their phonic development.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. The quality of teaching and lessons planned in a range of subjects in some classes does not sufficiently engage and motivate pupils to learn effectively. Some pupils do not demonstrate perseverance and determination in their learning. On occasion, they are too dependent on adult support to keep them motivated. Consequently, pupils’ progress falters.
• The record-keeping and checks to support the most vulnerable pupils have not been sufficiently strong. Increasingly, leaders’ current work is remedying this weakness successfully.
• Pupils have a firm understanding of the risks associated with using the internet, including online bullying. Pupils said that bullying does not take place at school. They talked confidently about how to raise concerns should they be worried about something, or should they fall out with friends. The vast majority of pupils said that school is a very happy place, and when they raise issues with adults, their concerns are resolved promptly.
• Pupils said that they feel safe in school. Almost every parent who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that their child is safe and well looked after at school.
• The work of the school’s chaplaincy team is successful in ensuring that pupils feel part of the St Catharine’s school community. An inspector saw pupils showing a deep sense of respect for one another during worship.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although most pupils behave well in lessons, when work does not meet their needs well, some pupils lose concentration and their learning slows. This is not picked up quickly enough by leaders or teachers. This is particularly evident in small group activities led by teaching assistants.
• Transitions from breaktimes to the classroom are quick and orderly. Pupils are friendly, polite and courteous to each other at these times.
• Leaders’ actions are successful in following up absenteeism. Where pupils’ attendance has been low in the past, leaders’ work to support families to ensure attendance improves has had a positive impact. As a result, attendance is good and well above the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress is too inconsistent as they move through the school. Leaders have not picked this discrepancy up quickly enough. As a result, some pupils underachieve.
• Pupils in some mixed-age classes are not given access to work that builds on what they know, can do and understand. In a number of classes, middle-attaining and the most able pupils do not get work that challenges them to deepen their understanding. Low-attaining pupils find it difficult to access tasks because they are not sufficiently well planned to meet their needs. As a result, some pupils in mixed-age classes do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Outcomes in mathematics are too variable and therefore require improvement. In the recent past, too few middle-attaining pupils reached the expected standards in mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Consequently, pupils’ outcomes dipped in 2017. At the end of key stage 1, pupils’ acheivement has been below national averages for the last two years. While recent improvement is evident, and pupils have made improvements from their early years starting points, current teaching does not yet provide sufficient coverage of the mathematics curriculum. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding, particularly in their ability to reason and solve problems.
• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development, the standard expected at the end of early years, has increased over the last three years. It is now above the national average. However, there is a notable difference between boys’ and girls’ attainment in writing. Teaching is not yet remedying this weakness quickly enough.
• Pupils’ outcomes in writing are too variable. Some teachers’ subject knowledge is not sufficiently strong and and their expectations are not appropriately high. As a result, some teachers do not routinely pick up spelling and punctuation errrors and the structure and composition of pupils’ writing is too variable. These aspects act as barriers to some pupils making good progress.
• In recent months, improvements to the way writing is taught is resolving some previous weaknesses in pupils’ achievement at the end of Year 6. As a result, pupils’ progress at the end of key stage 2 has improved. It is now average when compared to other pupils nationally. Increasingly, Year 6 pupils are able to write with the complexity and accuracy for their age. In this class, the recent focus on supporting pupils to edit and improve their work is resulting in pupils making faster progress.
• The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been in line with the national average for the last three years. Pupils can decode unfamiliar words accurately. However, some pupils do not apply their phonic skills to their writing to spell words accurately. This slows some low- and middle-attaining pupils’ progress in their writing.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is too small to make meaningful comparisons of this group of pupils to other pupils nationally.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make inconsistent progress. Some pupils find it hard to tackle their work because it is not well matched to their needs. Conversely, other pupils make strong progress over time and catch up.
• The proportion of pupils achieving and exceeding the expected standards in reading at the end of key stage 2 has been above the national average for the last two years. Pupils read well in relation to their age and development. Outcomes are strong.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Some groups of children are not making the progress of which they are capable. Leaders are aware of the need to improve children’s early writing, number skills, and learning provision in the outside area. Although leaders are working with determination on the right aspects of improvement, it is too early to see the impact of this. Teachers’ assessments of what children know, can do and understand have not been precise enough. Teachers and adults have not captured a full range of assessments. For example, assessments in number have been limited this year. Recently, teachers’ and adults’ assessments are more focused on children’s learning and next steps. As a result, teaching is increasingly more closely matched to children’s needs.
• The teaching of reading sits at the heart of the early years curriculum. Children show a genuine interest in sharing books and sequencing the main events in stories. This engenders a love of reading. High-quality texts are used as a springboard to stimulate the curriculum. The teaching of phonics is regular and systematic. This, along with careful checks on children’s early reading, is enabling children to decode simple words well. As a result, in recent years the proportion of children reaching the early learning goal in reading has increased so that it is above the national average.
• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development, the standard expected at the end of early years, is above the national average. However, across a number of years, boys have not made the progress of which they are capable. The proportion of boys meeting the good level of development has been consistently below the national average. In recent weeks, leaders have been tackling this issue head on. Increasingly, staff provide activities that motivate boys and girls to learn. For example, the bicycle repair centre in the classroom allows children to be young mechanics and develop their speaking and writing skills. However, this work is very recent, and it is too early to see its impact on improving children’s outcomes. Some children’s writing skills remain too limited for their age.
• Children are keen to engage in a range of activities and are increasingly able to manage their own behaviour and self-regulate in the classroom. However, on occasion, adults do not manage children’s feelings and behaviours well enough. Sometimes children become restless and distracted when adults are teaching them. This is not picked up quickly enough.
• Children’s welfare requirements are fully met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 115705 Gloucestershire 10042687 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 138 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Myra Whitehouse Joanne Welch 01386 840 677 www.stcatharines.org.uk/ admin@st-catharines.gloucs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 26–27 February 2014

Information about this school

• This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. There are five classes. Four out of five classes make provision for two year groups in mixed-age classes.
• The headteacher has recently returned after a period of absence.
• The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who receive SEN support is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have an SEN statement or an educational health and care plan is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well below the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Very occasionally, Ofsted will delay the publication of a report to ensure full consideration of concerns identified during the quality assurance process. In a rare instance, this process may suggest gaps in the inspection evidence base, which will cause Ofsted to conclude that the inspection is incomplete. This happened at St Catharine’s Catholic Primary School. Her Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school in February 2018 to gather additional information to secure the evidence base. In such cases, the inspection report is not published until Ofsted is satisfied that the inspection is secure.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in visits to lessons across the school, many of which were jointly observed with school leaders.
• The inspection team, along with senior and middle leaders, scrutinised the quality of work in pupils’ books.
• Inspectors talked with groups of pupils to seek their views about the school. Inspectors also listened to the views of many other pupils during lessons, playtimes and lunchtimes. Inspectors listened to pupils read from a range of year groups.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and middle leaders in the school. Inspectors met with representatives of the governing body and the local authority. A telephone conversation was held with the director of education for the Catholic Diocese of Clifton.
• Inspectors scrutinised a number of school documents including: the school’s action plans; the school’s view of its own performance; pupils’ performance information; governors’ minutes; records relating to behaviour; checks on teaching and learning; pupils’ attendance information and a range of safeguarding records.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, at lunchtimes and playtimes and around the school.
• Inspectors considered 44 responses to the online survey, Parent View, as well as 40 free-text responses from parents. Inspectors also talked with parents during the inspection to seek their views of the school and education their children receive.

Inspection team

Spencer Allen, lead inspector Lisa Rowe Julie Carrington Richard Light

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector