Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management, including governors, by:
  • establishing a culture of high expectations throughout the school that is focused consistently on improving outcomes for all pupils
  • ensuring that senior and middle leaders are held to account for pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility
  • ensuring that timely advice, appropriate expertise and robust challenge is provided by the multi-academy trust to support the headteacher and governors to swiftly raise standards.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by:
  • raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve, including in the early years
  • improving the subject knowledge of teaching assistants in key stage 1 so that they use the correct letter sounds
  • providing training which enables teachers to assess pupils’ work accurately
  • making sure that teachers provide appropriate feedback that enables pupils to clearly understand what they need to do to improve
  • improving the teaching of mathematics and the quality of the mathematics curriculum.
• Improve pupils’ outcomes, by:
  • providing the most able pupils with activities that engage and challenge them to deepen and extend their learning
  • supporting disadvantaged pupils, including those who are the most able, to achieve well and make the progress of which they are capable
  • ensuring that those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to engage them in their learning and help them to make good progress
  • making sure that pupils consistently take pride in their work and present it neatly
  • ensuring that all low-level behaviour is eradicated in Reception, key stage 1 and during lunchtimes in the hall. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspects of leadership and management may be improved. In June 2016, the school had an external governance review which assessed how aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• This school has been in decline for too long. Over time, it has lacked clear direction and its weaknesses have not been dealt with quickly enough by leaders, managers and governors. School self-evaluation is inaccurate.
• The quality of teaching and the impact this has on pupils’ outcomes has not been effectively evaluated by senior leaders. Improvements have been too slow and too many pupils continue to underachieve. The new headteacher is very clear about what needs to be done and about the significant amount of work required to enable the school to function effectively.
• The roles of subject leaders are underdeveloped and fragmented. Over time, middle leaders, including those with responsibility for specific groups of pupils such as those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, have not focused on improving the quality of teaching and securing good outcomes for pupils.
• While middle leaders and teachers have not been given opportunities to observe good practice and share initiatives with other schools, improvement has also been hampered by a resistance to introduce new ideas and methods in school.
• External support from Plymouth CAST (the trust) has not been provided quickly enough to halt the school’s decline. The trust has now brokered support from specialist leaders for education from the Torbay Teaching Schools Alliance (TTSA). They are currently supporting subject leaders to identify actions that will rapidly improve pupils’ outcomes. It is too early to see the impact of this work.
• It is recommended that newly qualified teachers are not appointed.
• Additional government funding is not used effectively to support those pupils who are disadvantaged, including the most able disadvantaged. Some of the teaching staff have recently been trained to help support those pupils who have social and emotional problems. However, the impact of this support is not reflected in any improvements in pupils’ academic outcomes.
• The new seconded deputy headteacher has wasted no time in auditing the needs of the disadvantaged pupils. Future strategies to use the funding effectively have been planned. For example, the school has arranged for those disadvantaged pupils who are the most able to attend future special events at the University of Exeter.
• In the past, there has been a fragmented approach to making best use of the sports premium funding, with a proportion of the funds being left unspent. A sports apprentice has recently been employed to support the development of Reception children’s physical skills, and introduce key stage 1 pupils to sporting activities. At the time of the inspection, the sports apprentice had only been in post for five weeks.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and reflects an appropriate range of subjects. Historical topics, such as life in Roman and Tudor times and during the first and second world war, help pupils to acquire an understanding of how people lived in the past. However, the curriculum is more limited in its support to develop pupils’ mathematical and scientific skills across other subjects.
• Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is firmly embedded in the ethos of the school. It is a caring school where pupils, parents and the wider community are warmly welcomed.
• Discussions about ‘Brexit’ and a visit to the school by a local Member of Parliament have helped pupils understand why they use a voting system to select house captains. They are very proud of the civic awards they receive from the council when they volunteer to help in the community.
• The online Parent View questionnaire and discussions with inspectors indicate that not all parents feel confident about the leadership and management of the school. A number of comments reflect the recent unsettled period. Most parents who responded to the questionnaire were impressed with the new headteacher who has ‘shown strong leadership, is approachable, empathetic and supportive of parents and pupils’.

Governance of the school

• Until very recently, governors were unclear about their roles and did not have accurate information about the performance of the school. This lack of clarity extends to their understanding of the use and impact of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.
• The recent external governor review highlighted that governors did not understand their responsibilities and had failed to hold previous senior leaders to account for falling standards and deficit budgets. The governor review noted that governors had not received any training from the trust.
• Until the arrival of the new headteacher, initially on a secondment, governors faced an extensive period without any support from the trust. The very recent appointment of a new area adviser by the trust has been welcomed by the governors.
• A new chair of governors has been appointed and very recent training from the trust has given governors a much clearer understanding of their roles and responsibilities. In the past few months, governor involvement in the life of the school has rapidly moved from basic operational work to a more strategic approach. Governors now know that outcomes for all groups of pupils at the end of the last academic year were inadequate. They have started making more frequent visits into school to develop their understanding further.
• Governors recognise that the programme of training for teaching staff has failed to have the positive results intended. They know there has been resistance to change from some staff and any impact of the training programme to improve teaching is not yet evident.
• Governors have a clear understanding of the high cost of their teaching staff budget and are now focusing strongly to ensure the school gets better value for money.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Statutory safeguarding requirements are met.
• Recent training has ensured that all staff are fully up to date with safeguarding procedures. All adults who work in the school know what to do if they are concerned about a child. The school works closely with relevant external agencies to ensure that children are safe and given the help that they need.
• A new electronic way to record any concerns ensures that all relevant information is maintained in one place. Leaders know that their next step is to use this information to track and analyse any recurring patterns.
• Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that if they have a worry or concern an adult will listen to them and help them.
• All staff and governors have been trained to protect pupils from radicalisation and extremism through the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty programme.
• The vast majority of parents who responded to the online Parent View questionnaire felt that the school kept their children safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• Teachers’ expectations of what the pupils can achieve are too low. Pupils’ current workbooks, and a sample from the last academic year, show that all groups of pupils do not develop their knowledge, skills and understanding as well as they could.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that too often there is a lack of challenge across the ability range. For example, over time teaching does not deepen or extend the understanding and skills of the most able. It also fails to sufficiently support those who find learning difficult.
• Although a new approach to marking has been recently introduced throughout the school, it is not being used effectively to help pupils improve their work.
• Teacher assessment is overgenerous and does not accurately reflect pupils’ achievement and where they are in their learning. Consequently, teachers do not build well enough upon pupils’ starting points to develop what they know, understand and can do.
• In the Reception Year, teaching assistants know when to intervene and structure children’s learning. However, this is not a consistently strong feature in key stages 1 and 2.
• Some teaching assistants in key stage 1 have an inaccurate knowledge and understanding of the sounds that letters make. This leads to some pupils learning sounds that are inaccurate.
• Those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not always receive the support that is most suited to their needs. Action plans to support their academic and personal development are not sufficiently detailed or regularly evaluated.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Although the school has recently introduced a specialist programme which supports mental well-being, it is not always used to best effect to help those pupils with extreme social and emotional problems.
• Pupils, staff and parents are proud of the ‘family feel’ to this school and appreciate its happy and supportive ethos.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school, especially to learn and see their friends. They reported to inspectors that they feel safe in school and spoke confidently about the expert training they had received from police officers. They are very clear about not giving away personal information when they use computers. One group of older pupils highlighted the importance of keeping medicines safe. They explained that if they had a particular medical need, there was a very safe system in place for the school to administer medication when needed.
• Recently, there has been a more robust approach to improving the attendance rates of pupils, especially those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Weekly attendance rates are shared with parents via the website and this has resulted in improved levels of attendance for those pupils who find attending school regularly a challenge.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Pupils do not take enough pride in their work. Books are untidy and handwriting is poorly formed and, at times, unreadable. Aids to help their presentation, such as the lines and squares in books, are not used effectively.
• At times, pupils do not behave as well as they could. For example, when pupils are not sufficiently challenged in their work or find the learning too difficult, they start to become fidgety and disrupt the learning of others. This is particularly prevalent in Reception and in Years 1 and 2. Outdoor playtimes are generally orderly. However, rowdy sessions during lunchtimes in the hall go unchallenged. Younger pupils were observed shouting at each other in order to be heard.
• Pupils move around the school sensibly and adhere to rules and routines when using the stairs. Pupils speak politely to adults.
• Pupils explained very clearly to inspectors that anti-social behaviour, such as bullying, homophobic abuse and racism, is rare and should it occur then it is speedily dealt with.

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

• Over the past few years, outcomes have been in steady decline. Pupils do not make enough progress from their starting points and as a consequence their achievement is poor. This decline in standards has not been effectively dealt with by leaders, governors and the trust.
• Not enough pupils are reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, especially given their strong starting points. Although there were a significant number of pupils who joined this cohort in Year 5, overall progress was too slow. Consequently, pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Progress in writing is a particular weakness. Current workbooks, and a sample submitted from the last academic year, highlight that pupils do not write at length with sufficient quality and precision to ensure they meet the expected standard for their age. Pupils’ presentation of their work is untidy, especially their handwriting which is often difficult to decipher.
• All groups of pupils in Year 6 did not perform well in the most recent Year 6 national tests for mathematics. Weak teaching and a poorly planned mathematics curriculum are hampering the progress that pupils make from key stage 1.
• Pupils read widely at home and this helps them to make appropriate progress against the expected standard in reading by the time they leave school. However, a lack of challenge for the most able readers limits the opportunities to extend their skills and achieve highly. Younger pupils do not change their books regularly and older pupils do not receive enough guidance on their choice of books.
• Given what pupils know, understand and can do by the end of Reception they do not make the progress they could as they move through key stage 1. While standards in the most recent Year 2 national tests were average for reading, they were below average in mathematics and writing.
• An average proportion of pupils attained the expected level in the most recent Year 1 phonics check.
• Despite some individual work with disadvantaged pupils to support them with literacy and numeracy skills, the gap between them and their non-disadvantaged peers is not diminishing. This pattern is found across all year groups.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make the progress of which they are capable because at times they do not receive the tailored support they need.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Over time, published information shows that Reception children make expected progress. In the most recent assessments at the end of Reception, there was a slight increase in the proportion of pupils who reached expected standards.
• Leadership is currently being overseen by the headteacher in the absence of the early years leader. Improvements made to the quality of provision are being maintained and children are appropriately prepared for Year 1. Nevertheless, the gap between those children who are disadvantaged and their non-disadvantaged peers has not diminished.
• Most children have a good start in the adjoining pre-school and transition between the pre-school and Reception is well coordinated. There is a warm and caring feel to the Reception and the links established between the teaching staff and parents are a strength of the provision.
• The vast majority of children are confident and talk clearly. They play well together in small groups or alongside their friends. Their knowledge of numbers up to 10 are secure and they have well-developed physical skills. This enables them to hold pencils and handle small objects, such as toy cars which they manoeuvre around a road map.
• Staff pay insufficient attention to the strong starting points of many of the children and thus fail to challenge those children who are capable of achieving highly.
• Activities at the start of the day do not engage and interest children enough. Although Reception children have a calm start to the day when they are brought in by their parents or carers, they often make a slow start to their learning and development. This leads to the most able children, including those who are disadvantaged, becoming bored. The less able children and those who are still developing confidence are unsure of what they should do. Behaviour during this session deteriorates, especially for the boys, who become over-excited and unfocused.
• Phonics is systematically taught and children quickly grasp key sounds. This enables them to read and write simple words accurately. They enjoy looking at books and recognising words.
• Teaching assistants are skilful in supporting the Reception teacher in developing the children’s knowledge and skills and in intervening when individuals become over-excited and boisterous.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140745 Torbay 10021133 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 Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address academy trust Angie Baldwin Jane Fraser 01803 613095 www.queensway-primary.torbay.sch.uk admin@queensway-primary.torbay.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Queensway Catholic Primary School is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school and is part of the Plymouth CAST. The Trust was formed in April 2014. The work of the Trust is overseen by a board of directors. The Trust is responsible for: one nursery; one first school; 32 primary schools and two secondary schools across seven local authorities in the south west region.
• The school joined the Trust and became an academy on 1 April 2014.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school does not comply with the Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish. The school does not publish an annual statement assessing the impact of the governing body on the school. The website does not provide a link to the Department for Education’s performance tables.
• The headteacher has been in post since November 2015. This followed an 18 month period when the school had no headteacher or deputy headteacher.
• The headteacher is currently being supported by a temporary deputy headteacher who has been seconded for a year from her middle leadership role at Sherwell Valley Primary School.
• The proportions of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups and use English as an additional language are below national averages.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is just below the national average.
• An above average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The school did not meet the most recent government’s floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed class, group and individual learning sessions. Some of these were jointly observed with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, the seconded deputy headteacher, other senior and middle leaders, members of the local governing body and the newly appointed area adviser for the multi-academy trust.
• A range of documentation was scrutinised during the inspection. This included the improvement plan, the school’s evaluation of its performance, and information relating to the pupils’ current progress.
• Inspectors talked to pupils and looked at their current books. They also looked at a selection of pupils’ books from last academic year.
• The 18 responses to the online survey, Parent View, were taken into account along with discussions held with parents on day two of the inspection. Views from the 12 completed staff questionnaires were also taken into consideration.

Inspection team

Lorna Brackstone, lead inspector Deborah Tregellas Roy Souter

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector