St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Build on the good practice that exists so that teachers and support staff ensure that pupils fully understand what they are learning in lessons, by:
  • adapting tasks and activities to deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding
  • asking questions and assessing what pupils know and understand in order to identify gaps or misunderstandings in their learning
  • sharing the best practice in mathematics teaching across the school to ensure that pupils who are capable of reaching or exceeding age-related standards in mathematics are sufficiently challenged.
• Continue focusing on improving pupils’ achievement in reading and writing, by:
  • providing the most able pupils with more opportunities to write at length to sustain the current rise in the proportion reaching the highest writing standards
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to write across all subjects of the national curriculum
  • encouraging pupils to read regularly and widely so they experience a broader range of genres and authors, as well as more challenging books and texts.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and staff are passionate about the school and, together with governors, they are dedicated to their pupils, families and church community. ‘Learn to love and love to learn’ is a very appropriate motto for St Bernadette’s. The staff work very hard to provide a good education and uphold the Catholicity of the school’s values and ethos.
• There is a shared sense of communal responsibility and a determination to do what is best for every child across the school. Parents and carers are very appreciative of what the school provides for their children. Nearly all that spoke with inspectors and those completing the online questionnaire, Parent View, paid tribute to the headteacher, staff and governors for their efforts and commitment to their children.
• The senior leadership team, comprising headteacher, deputy headteacher and two assistant headteachers, have good oversight of the quality of teaching and the curriculum. There is a well-established and effective management structure, enabling leaders to accurately monitor staff performance and the impact of teaching and the curriculum on pupils’ personal and academic development.
• The two assistant headteachers each manage one of two faculties, providing them with clear oversight of middle leaders who coordinate subjects and aspects of the curriculum within each faculty. Leaders at all levels of responsibility understand how to assess pupils’ learning and progress. Sharp evaluations of the impact of planned work and interventions inform leaders’ core priorities for improvement. For example, the most recent national assessments in 2017 point to significant improvements on the previous year’s assessment results in reading, writing and mathematics. This improvement has come about following thorough reviews and adaptations to the way staff teach phonics, reading and writing.
• Leaders assessed pupils’ progress in writing following the pupils’ outcomes in national test results in 2016. Appropriate adjustments were made to the teaching of writing as teachers were asked to focus more on the needs of pupils who are capable of exceeding age-related standards. This resulted in marked improvement to the proportion of pupils learning in greater depth and writing to a high standard. Leaders are building on this, knowing that it must be sustained.
• Leaders and staff have, rightly, focused on narrowing the differences between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally. Governors and senior staff have allocated funds and resources from the school’s pupil premium to provide innovative and targeted support programmes for disadvantaged pupils in reading and mathematics. The peer-to-peer reading support provided for younger disadvantaged pupils in Year 2, for example, is boosting pupils’ progress in reading and supplements the very effective guided reading sessions they experience each day in lessons. An online computer tuition programme for disadvantaged pupils across the school is helping pupils to catch up and achieve well in mathematics.
• The effective leadership of teaching, training and staff development is keeping the school on a sustained course of improvement. Staff morale is high and is reflected in the positive responses from staff when receiving feedback from inspectors. It is clear that staff are willing and capable of continually improving their practice. The school demonstrates good capacity to secure further improvement to teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• Senior leaders and staff with management responsibilities carry out accurate evaluations of teaching and pupils’ achievements. They provide effective support and guidance to staff, including newly qualified and less experienced teachers.
• The coordination and management of special educational needs provision are effective. Support staff are being deployed very well. They provide timely interventions and individualised or group support for pupils who are working below age-related expectations or have additional learning needs, such as speech and language difficulties.
• Similarly, leaders and teachers effectively support the needs of pupils who are in the early stages of learning English. Conversational English is encouraged from an early age with all pupils. Assessment information shows that most pupils learning English as an additional language make rapid progress. Some parents from different backgrounds and heritages also confirmed that their children develop early spoken and written language skills and settle into school quickly.
• There are effective checking systems in place to continually improve teaching and learning. Many of the actions set out in the school’s improvement and action plans help to guide leaders’ monitoring activities. Reports to teachers about their performance are systematically carried out through routine monitoring of lessons and regular scrutiny of pupils’ work in books.
• Senior and middle leaders identify relative weakness in teaching and learning and follow this up with teachers when revisiting lessons. This is good practice. However, monitoring records show that some of the areas of strength or relative weakness in teaching, as identified by leaders, do not focus sufficiently on the impact it is having on learning. As a result, some teachers are not made aware of how best to identify any gaps or misunderstandings in pupils’ learning, such as through questioning or the tasks planned for pupils to do in lessons.
• Leaders and staff encourage pupils to develop into well-rounded and tolerant individuals. They do this through the school’s excellent and well-devised curriculum. The school provides varied and stimulating activities that combine interesting topics with the full range of subjects of the national curriculum. The creative and performing arts enliven and interest pupils as they have good opportunities to play musical instruments or perform musical ensembles and drama performances for parents and other audiences.
• The school is successful in promoting a strong emphasis on tolerance and equality, which prepares pupils well for life in a modern Britain. The staff make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This results in excellent behaviour and attitudes to learning in lessons and at other times when engaged in educational or outdoor visits and activities.
• The strong emphasis on the Catholicity of the school is promoted alongside the teaching of all major world faiths and customs. Stimulating educational visits at home and abroad excite and interest pupils in their learning. For example, the annual visit to Paris for Year 6 pupils, residential adventurous visits for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils and day visits for other classes to places of interest develop enquiring minds and a sense of adventure. Governors and leaders make sure that these many and varied activities are accessible to all pupils, whatever their backgrounds or capabilities. In addition, pupils broaden their experience of language as they are also taught to speak and communicate in French.
• Additional funding for specific programmes and interventions is used effectively to boost learning and pupils’ progress. Additional staff and resources for out-of-school activities enable pupils to broaden their interests in physical activities, hobbies and to extend their learning through homework activities planned at school. The school invests its funds intelligently to promote reading and to encourage pupils to use the school library or information and technology resources. There is scope, however, to focus on broadening pupils’ reading experience by providing more challenging books and texts for the most able readers.
• The primary school physical education and sports premium is used very well to provide a range of opportunities and resources for pupils to engage in team games, sports and activities that promote healthy and active lifestyles.
• The headteacher is very good at working with other schools and external consultants to continually promote improvement. The external support provided by the local authority through the Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) is proving to be effective. Leaders invite consultants and senior staff from other schools to focus on specific areas such as improving pupils’ reading and writing. There are good opportunities for staff training and professional development with schools in the local Catholic partnership as well as with other schools through joint moderation and peer review exercises. These are effective in promoting continuous improvement as staff benefit from seeing and sharing best practice. Governance of the school

• Governors are very committed and knowledgeable. They keep in regular touch with the school community and hold the staff to account for the standards achieved and staff performance. As one, rightly, put it, ‘We are critical friends and offer the school challenge and support.’
• Governors are diligent and effective in managing the school’s resources and funds.
• The governing body has managed changes to staffing very well since the previous inspection. Together with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, governors promote an ambitious culture which continually improves the performance and effectiveness of teachers and support staff.
• Governors have a good understanding of assessment information and records show that they challenge underperformance. They are fully aware of the improvements and priorities reported to them, including the way teachers and support staff are reducing the differences between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils nationally.
• Governors are linked to subjects and classes and regularly visit the school so they gain first-hand experience of the school’s work. They exercise effective oversight of pupil premium funding, additional funding for special educational needs provision and the primary school physical education and sports premium.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, robust and fit for purpose. There is a vigilant culture of safeguarding. Leaders, staff and governors make sure that pupils are happy and safe in school.
• Staff recruitment and vetting procedures are rigorous and effective. Staff understand their roles in relation to child protection procedures. Staff and governors know what to do and who to ask to seek advice about the safety and welfare of pupils.
• The parents that spoke with inspectors paid tribute to leaders and the staff team, especially the way they are committed to pupils’ well-being and safety.
• All staff have been trained to keep children safe and they promptly report any concerns they may have about pupils. Staff have undertaken first-aid training, including paediatric first aid for early years children. Leaders, staff and governors are vigilant in protecting children from radicalisation, extremism and child exploitation.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Inspection findings confirm that teaching is having a positive impact on raising standards and improving pupils’ achievement across the school. Workbooks show that pupils are expected to do their best. Teachers usually set high expectations in lessons for both behaviour and learning.
• The teaching is helping pupils to achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils who are provided with additional teaching and support. Specialised intervention programmes have been carefully tailored to meet the needs of specific groups. For example, those in the early stages of learning English receive well-focused support alongside their classmates. Younger disadvantaged pupils in key stage 1 also receive individual tuition and peer support from older pupils, as well as additional small-group support when learning to read. These interventions and more are improving pupils’ confidence and fluency when reading and writing independently.
• Leaders have skilfully adapted assessment information from previous national curriculum levels to the revised curriculum that measures pupils’ progress in relation to age-related standards. Teachers use assessment well to group pupils by ability in English and mathematics lessons and use assessments to plan learning targets for pupils to aim for. As a result, pupils are very clear about their learning and can explain what they have learned before.
• Careful thought is also given to balancing the need for some pupils to be taught in small, targeted groups as well as whole-class teaching. This is particularly effective for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• When pupils write independently, teachers and support staff help and encourage them to improve their first attempts, known as ‘cold drafts’, before producing the final piece of writing, the ‘hot draft’. This process is effective as it gives pupils time to check and reflect on their work before improving it. However, there is still room for improvement as the most able pupils could still be writing more extensively and at length across a broader range of topics and subjects.
• Typically, teachers provide challenging tasks that extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding and build on what they already know and can do. However, there are instances when teachers do not probe further when asking questions to deepen pupils’ understanding or to find out if there are any gaps in pupils’ learning. In addition, some teachers do not plan enough extension work, so pupils who have completed the planned tasks mark time or wait to be told what to do next. These examples are not common but they slow pupils’ learning and hold back some of the most able pupils.
• The teaching of mathematics is strong in many classes and is evident in the positive outcomes seen in national tests and teachers’ assessments since the previous inspection. In Year 6, for example, the most able pupils were observed calculating some complex number problems. The teacher demonstrated excellent subject knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. This had a direct impact on pupils as they persevered and answered some challenging questions very clearly and with confidence. The challenge and pace of learning seen in this lesson are not routinely replicated in other classes, where some pupils are sometimes completing tasks that are too easy for them.
• Reading sessions are carefully planned so that pupils learn to read with confidence and fluency. The teaching of phonics right across the school, including in the early years, is raising standards quickly. This is evident in the consistent trend of improvement to phonics standards in key stage 1. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics well to read unfamiliar words and to spell accurately when writing independently.
• Pupils are encouraged to read at home. The planned guided reading sessions each day in school enable them to read for pleasure as well as focus on specific reading skills. For example, identifying key vocabulary and phonic patterns to improve spelling. Pupils enjoy reading independently, although some tend to choose some books that are not challenging enough to extend their reading skills further. Discussions with pupils and records of the books they read show that there is room for improvement here, to enable pupils to experience a broader range of genres and authors. Staff work very closely and effectively with parents by running workshops to help parents support their children’s reading at home.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• ‘I love my school’ and ‘teachers are great and they always help you’ were just some of the comments made by pupils to inspectors. Pupils have excellent opportunities to influence the work of the school. For example, reading buddies in Year 6 support disadvantaged pupils in Year 3; school councillors come up with ideas to improve playground equipment and design when presenting their proposals to the governing body; and pupils and staff were observed walking to the local church, with older pupils taking great care of younger pupils as they held their hands and talked to them as they walked.
• A parent commented to an inspector that her children settled into school very well because the headteacher, staff and other pupils are so caring and respectful of everyone. Another parent confirmed, ‘This is a lovely school and everyone, both staff and children, really care for each other.’
• Pupils respond very well to learning in lessons and the excellent opportunities they have to study special topics, engage in creative art and craft or take part in special visits to places of interest or to local woodlands as part of their science and geography work.
• The school is successful in tackling any form of discrimination in a cohesive and supportive school community. Special topics; cultural and religious festivals and celebrations; and the wide range of educational visits or visitors, such as specialist advisers, tutors or artists, improve pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the different cultural, religious and ethnic traditions that exist in the United Kingdom and beyond. These activities make a strong contribution to pupils’ cultural development.
• Staff make sure that pupils are taught how to stay safe. The pupils who spoke with inspectors confirmed that they feel safe in school. They also talked knowledgeably about road safety, staying safe from online bullying and the safe storage of medication at home.
• Pupils take really good care of resources and their school community. The school is well maintained, clean and stimulating, which is appreciated and respected by pupils. There is no litter and there are no unkempt areas of the school, reflecting how well pupils care for their school community.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils cooperate very well in lessons and at other times. They are kind and helpful to each other and willingly offer praise to other pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities. These positive characteristics make a very good contribution to pupils’ moral and social development.
• The pupils spoken with during lessons and breaktimes said that it is easy to make friends and they say that they trust the adults who care for them, including those who supervise them at lunchtimes. There are warm and positive relationships among pupils and with adults.
• Pupils listen carefully and respond enthusiastically during class discussions. For example, pupils in Year 2 were very keen to share and generate ideas about ‘snowy settings’ to stimulate their writing and to search for suitable adverbs when writing. They encouraged their classmates and listened to each other with respect and courtesy, so that even the most reluctant pupils were encouraged by their classmates to contribute. This is excellent behaviour.
• Pupils are proud of their school. They dress smartly. Pupils with specific responsibilities wear the school badge with honour. Pupils are keen to show visitors their work displayed around the school and they appreciate the way staff value their efforts.
• Staff work well with families to encourage pupils to attend school regularly and arrive on time. Leaders and support staff work very hard to promote good attendance and this is reflected in above-average attendance rates and low levels of persistent absence. Pupils are usually punctual and any that do arrive slightly late are checked in by administrative or support staff with sensitivity and encouragement. Parents fully support the school in bringing or sending their children to school regularly and on time.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Most children join the Nursery or Reception classes with skills and abilities that are typically well below those expected for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy. The standards pupils reach in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stages 1 and 2 represent good rates of progress in relation to these starting points in the early years.
• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year has improved consistently between 2014 and 2016. The slight decline in 2017 was not particularly significant as some of the children in that cohort, currently in Year 1, had very low starting points, and some have special educational needs or joined the school speaking little or no English. These pupils continue to make good progress in Year 1 and are very well supported.
• Currently, children in the Reception Year and pupils in both Year 1 and Year 2 are on track to reach standards similar to last year’s national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. This represents good rates of progress and prepares pupils well for the next key stage, as children transfer from the early years to key stage 1 and pupils in key stage 1 move into key stage 2.
• Last year’s national assessments at key stage 1 show that standards were in line with the national average and pupils made good progress. The results represented a significant improvement on the previous year’s assessments. Most pupils reached age-related standards in reading, writing and mathematics and the proportion of disadvantaged pupils reaching these standards increased significantly on the previous year.
• Current assessments show a sustained improvement in the proportion of pupils reaching the required standard in phonics by the end of Year 1. Pupils are well on course to reach or exceed last year’s national figures for phonics in both Year 1 and Year 2. This trend is being sustained as teachers build on the good start made in the early years.
• At key stage 2, the 2017 national assessments, though unvalidated at this stage, show a significant improvement on the previous results in 2016. Progress in mathematics was strong and disadvantaged pupils made much better progress compared with the previous year. Overall attainment was just above the combined national average in 2017 in reading, writing and mathematics. Although more pupils could have exceeded these standards in writing. This is, rightly, a focus for school leaders, with early indications of improvement for the most able pupils in writing in both key stage 1 and key stage 2. Pupils in key stage 2 are well prepared for secondary education as they acquire core literacy and mathematics skills well to be able to cope with the key stage 3 curriculum.
• Accurate assessments of pupils’ progress and teachers’ performance help leaders identify any dips in the achievement of disadvantaged pupils early and to plan appropriate interventions and support so they can catch up quickly. The most recent assessments show that the differences in progress and attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others are narrowing rapidly in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress because they receive carefully tailored and timely support in class or when working separately as a group or individually. The good management of this provision enables teachers and support staff to plan the right interventions for these pupils. These include effective support and one-to-one tuition for pupils who have specific additional language needs that affect their learning and behaviour.
• Pupils in the early stages of learning English make rapid progress developing conversational English and learning basic reading, writing and mathematics skills. Last year, the proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language that reached age-related standards in reading, writing and mathematics combined was above the national average for all pupils.

Early years provision Good

• Early years children make good progress in relation to their low starting points. Currently, the large majority of children in the Repletion class are on track to reach a good level of development in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Good teaching and effective support for children and families in both the Nursery and Reception classes enable the children to get off to a good start. Children are well prepared for Year 1 by the time they finish the Reception Year. There are effective transition arrangements in place when children move into Year 1. This lays good foundations for learning and development in key stage 1.
• Learning journals (written and pictorial records of children’s work and progress) and current assessments indicate positive outcomes. The outcomes from early years in recent years represent a sustained profile of good achievement. Leaders and staff are keeping good-quality ongoing records of both Nursery and Reception children’s achievements.
• In the Nursery, three-year-old children are very settled and adults make sure that the children have plenty of stimulating and purposeful indoor and outdoor activities to engage them. Adults provide sensitive care and attention to children’s needs. They treat all the children, whatever their backgrounds or abilities, with respect and dignity at all times. The children are making good progress in all areas of learning appropriate to their age and capabilities.
• In the Reception classes, indoor and outdoor resources are easily accessible to children and provide a stimulating environment for play and learning. The staff provide good care and plan some exciting activities that improve children’s physical and emotional development in safe and secure surroundings. Children throughout the early years are very well behaved and attentive. They listen to instructions and are polite to each other and to adults.
• The children in both settings (Nursery and Reception) are allowed to make choices during the day so they receive a good balance of focused learning with an adult and cooperative or independent play and learning when choosing activities. Problem-solving tasks are well planned to stimulate curiosity and enquiry. For example, Reception children were observed testing how different solid shapes rolled or slid down an incline. In all three Reception classes, the children enjoyed the challenge, but some groups did not persevere or complete the task because they were not encouraged to record their findings or share their ideas. Other groups were given the appropriate resource to record their findings, so learned more about the properties of solid shapes.
• Early literacy and phonics skills are taught very well. The children in both Nursery and Reception settings learn to recognise and form letters and to recite stories, nursery rhymes and familiar songs. The children throughout the early years are encouraged to form letter shapes as they sound them out during phonics sessions. This is helping them to improve their hand–eye coordination skills and improves pencil control when writing. However, it was pointed out to early years staff that there appears to be a slight inconsistency in the way early handwriting is taught as the school is establishing a new handwriting scheme across the school. Leaders are aware of this and are addressing the way young children form their letters to ensure that this is consistent with the new scheme.
• Role play is well planned and is successfully improving pupils’ language and communication skills and self-confidence. Both Nursery and Reception children improve their language skills and self-confidence when cooperating with other children and sharing equipment. Reception children, both four- and five-year-olds, like to read stories and share books, helping them to form good reading habits when handling books. Adults stimulate children’s interests using familiar characters and settings in traditional and modern children’s literature. For example, ‘snowy settings’ and a story about a family of penguins are currently encouraging the children to use a range of malleable materials. This enables them to replicate polar ice caps and discuss why penguins like to live in such habitats.
• Leadership of early years provision is good. All welfare and statutory requirements, including assessments and the provision made for three-year-olds, are met. Staff are well qualified and have the necessary experience and expertise to deliver good teaching and sustain improved outcomes for children.

School details

Unique reference number 103460 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10037884 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 682 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anna McLaughlin Headteacher Angela Cowings Telephone number 0121 783 7232 Website www.stberns.co.uk Email address acowings@stberns.bham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 December 2012

Information about this school

• The school is much larger than most primary schools. Pupils come from a range of heritages and backgrounds. Pupils from White British backgrounds form the largest group. Others come from a broad range of backgrounds that include African, Caribbean, Indian and Eastern European heritages. A small, but significant, number of pupils join the school speaking little or no English.
• The school’s early years provision comprises a Nursery class for three-year-old children and three Reception classes for four- and five-year-olds. The children in both the Nursery and Reception classes attend full time.
• The percentage of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is slightly higher than that of most schools and includes mainly pupils who have moderate learning difficulties and/or speech, language and communication needs.
• The percentage of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is well above average.
• The school met national floor standards in 2016, which are the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Senior and middle leaders have commissioned support for the school from a range of sources, including the BEP as part of continuing professional development for staff. In addition, the school has well-established partnerships with other local schools, including strong working partnerships with other Catholic schools, to share best practice and moderate assessments of pupils’ work and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited parts of lessons, some jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. They checked samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors observed some intervention sessions, including a special catch-up reading session for young disadvantaged pupils working with older pupils. An inspector observed part of a specialised online tutoring programme in the computer room, which provides one-to-one mathematics tuition and support for disadvantaged pupils.
• The inspection considered a range of documentation, including: leaders’ and governors’ own evaluations of the school’s effectiveness; the school’s improvement and action plans; information about pupils’ achievement, progress and performance; and documents or data relating to governance, teaching, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.
• Inspectors spoke to pupils during lessons and met with two groups of pupils to hear them read and to discuss their work, behaviour and safety. Inspectors spoke to pupils during break and lunchtimes to ask them for their views about the school.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and safety in the playground and at other times. For example, as the whole school walked to the local Catholic church for the school mass and worship.
• Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, early years leader and teachers responsible for managing a subject. The lead inspector held a meeting with six governors, including the vice-chair of the governing body. The lead inspector met with a representative of BEP to discuss recent reviews and advisory support provided for the school.
• Inspectors spoke with a number of parents and carers to seek their views and analysed 20 responses to the online Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors gathered staff views during discussions and feedback sessions with inspectors.

Inspection team

Charalambos Loizou, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Amanda Clugston Ofsted Inspector Julie Griffiths Ofsted Inspector Anna Smith Ofsted Inspector