Holy Name Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching to ensure that pupils make the best possible progress by:
  • making sure that teachers set the right level of challenge to enable pupils to make even stronger progress
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to develop scientific enquiry skills
  • sharpening leaders’ monitoring of teaching so they focus more on how effectively groups of pupils learn and make progress in lessons.
• Ensure that the early years outside learning area is planned, organised and resourced in a way that fully meets children’s needs.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Clear, focused and determined leadership by the headteacher, ably assisted by the deputy headteacher, has led to rapid improvement across the school. Staff morale is high. The headteacher has successfully developed a culture of high expectations and ambition. As a result, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes have improved since the last inspection and are now good.
• The headteacher and subject leaders work in close collaboration with one another. As a result, the progress pupils make is carefully tracked. Any additional barriers to learning are quickly identified and tackled. This means that pupils achieve well, irrespective of their backgrounds or starting points.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the subjects they are responsible for monitoring. Monitoring the quality of teaching has led to improvements in teachers’ and, consequently, pupils’ skills. However, when monitoring, leaders do not take enough account of the impact of teaching on the progress of groups of pupils in lessons.
• Pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum, and through interesting topics such as ‘The Great Fire of London’ and ‘Ancient Egypt’ they study design technology, art and science subjects. Pupils greatly enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities. These include science, French, computing and guitar lessons. These activities nurture pupils’ interests and develop their skills well.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is woven throughout the curriculum and included in most subjects. Close links and visits to the local Sikh gurdwara and Jewish synagogue extend pupils’ knowledge of different religions and cultures. In topic work about the second world war pupils debated the morality of a ‘just war’.
• Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. Each class has its own British values display. A Year 2 pupil explained, ‘I know about democracy because we voted for a playground slide.’ Pupils know about and demonstrate through their actions the key values of respect and tolerance. Pupils understand about the rule of law. They participated in a mock crime scene, which was set up by the local police officer to find out who stole the school’s Catholic football cup.
• The pupil premium grant for disadvantaged pupils is used well. Each pupil is identified, their needs assessed and funds used to give additional support, as required, or assistance for educational visits and events, which is helping them to progress well in their learning.
• The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is carefully checked by leaders. The special educational needs coordinator uses the extra funding efficiently to ensure the individual pupils’ learning needs are met by adapting resources to meet their needs. As a consequence, they achieve well.
• Primary physical education and sport funding has been used successfully to widen the range of sports on offer. Pupils have opportunities to develop their skills in a range of different sports including multi-skills, cross-country running and athletics. The large majority of pupils now participate in extra sport activities. Pupils have had success in the local Sandwell Primary Cricket competition.
• The local authority has provided effective support and challenge to the school since the previous inspection. The school’s self-evaluation and teaching have been strengthened and, consequently, pupils’ outcomes have improved and are now good.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a clear view of the strengths of the school and also where it can improve. They provide good levels of support and challenge to school leaders. Governors have a clear view about the quality of teaching and the performance of the school, and are committed to ensuring that pupils’ achievement continues to rise. They are knowledgeable about and appreciate the school’s work to reward good teaching and tackle underperformance.
• Governors bring to their roles a wide set of qualities such as professional skills and a good knowledge of the local community.
• Governors ensure that senior leaders check the impact of additional funding the school receives such as the pupil premium, primary sports funding and money for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteacher has ensured that all staff and governors have read and acted on the latest guidance on keeping children safe in education. The school works successfully with its key partners to ensure that all pupils are safe and well cared for. There is a very tangible sense of a strong safeguarding culture, which is evidenced by the level of care that staff demonstrate towards pupils and the clear trust that pupils have in the adults who look after them. Regular reminders about the importance of internet safety are given to pupils and parents through newsletters and school activities.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• There have been significant improvements since the previous inspection to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the whole of the school and it is now consistently good. Weak teaching has been swiftly tackled. This has led to most pupils across the school making good progress from their different starting points.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and plan lessons that ensure pupils are constantly interested and on task. They use questioning effectively to challenge pupils to think through questions and explain their answers in detail. For example, in a Year 3 history lesson effective questioning encouraged pupils to discuss how people lived in the Stone Age and then explain their reasoning.
• The highly effective teaching of phonics has ensured that pupils can build words well and develop their early reading skills confidently. Pupils with different abilities read fluently and with understanding to inspectors. Texts for the most able readers are often particularly demanding, such as poetry by Pie Corbett.
• Teachers are effectively extending pupils’ ability to reason and deepen their learning in mathematics. For example, Year 1 pupils were given the task of solving addition and subtraction money problems. They made good progress in choosing the correct coins and explaining what they could have bought with the money.
• Teachers ensure that pupils learn and practise different kinds of writing. Even when focusing on composition and the use of expressive vocabulary, teachers reinforce the importance of correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. In a Year 5 lesson, pupils used commas to good effect to avoid ambiguity when writing very good character and plot developments.
• Throughout the school, a committed and highly effective team of teaching assistants very ably support teachers. They make an extremely valuable contribution to the quality of teaching and learning and in improving pupils’ progress.
• In some lessons the work set is not at the right level of difficulty for pupils. When this happens pupils’ learning slows down because it is too easy and they are ready for more demanding work. Consequently this limits the amount of progress pupils make.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are confident learners, well equipped for their lessons, and settle quickly to their work. They rise well to challenge and persevere even when they are finding activities difficult.
• Visits from the local police community support officer and fire service and Year 1 pupils’ participation in an extended off-site road safety programme ensure that pupils have a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. The school’s ‘Let’s create a better internet together’ promotion reinforced pupils’ good understanding of using the internet safely.
• Pupils know about the different types of bullying, including cyber bullying and homophobic bullying. Pupils say that bullying is rare and if they have any concerns they are dealt with quickly. They learn how to eat well and stay healthy, physically and mentally. Pupils develop a good appreciation of the importance of hygiene, diet and exercise.
• Pupils have good opportunities to take on extra responsibilities. For example, Year 6 pupils are ‘buddies’ for Reception children, organising activities at breaktimes and lunchtimes and sharing reading together. Pupils learn to take responsibility and consider their role in society. They help others by raising funds during Lent and for charities. These events often involve making and selling items, which helps them to learn about the value of money.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. The school has a calm and orderly atmosphere. Pupils are polite and well mannered, holding doors open for adults and each other and generally showing consideration for one another. All the pupils the inspectors spoke to said that behaviour was good.
• In lessons, pupils listen carefully to their teachers and apply themselves well to their work. If someone on their table gets stuck, they are eager to help them out. Only occasionally are pupils’ attitudes less than good when they are not given work that keeps them concentrating.
• School lunchtimes and breaktimes are calm and well organised. Pupils like the way the playground is organised into zones that allow them to run and play games like football or find a quiet space to chat with their friends. They enjoy the outdoor play equipment, such as the large filled-in tyres to jump and balance on sensibly.
• The school’s nurture groups are highly effective in dealing with pupils who have emotional, social or behavioural difficulties. Through the school’s support and guidance, the behaviour of these pupils has improved over time, reducing the barriers to learning that these pupils might face and ensuring that they make good progress.
• The attendance of pupils is above average and persistent absence is below average. Pupils enjoy school and do not like to miss their time in lessons or with their friends.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The headteacher and leaders have successfully addressed the underachievement of pupils since the last inspection following a number of staff changes. Books and information about pupils currently in the school show that most pupils are working at the expected standards for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. An increasing number of pupils are working at, or moving towards, the higher standards in key stage 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. This prepares them well for secondary school.
• In the 2016 national test results, Year 6 pupils made good progress in mathematics and similar progress to other pupils nationally in reading and writing. A higher proportion of pupils achieved above-average attainment in reading, writing, mathematics and English grammar, spelling and punctuation than other pupils nationally. However, attainment in science was average. From their starting points most pupils in Year 2 made good progress and achieved well, although the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards in mathematics was below average.
• The proportion of pupils in Year 1 who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check is consistently above the national figures. The most able pupils read fluently and with good comprehension. They are able to predict and infer and they read widely. Less able pupils read with fluency that is appropriate to their development.
• Writing skills are developed well. By the time pupils are in upper key stage 2 they structure different types of writing well and use interesting vocabulary, similes and metaphors to good effect. Pupils achieve well in mathematics. They build on their knowledge of number bonds and multiplication tables to use these skills well in solving number problems.
• Pupils also make good progress across a range of other subjects. In art pupils are demonstrating good observational and creative skills. In history they show increasing understanding about the cultures and features of historical events. However, some pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to carry out different types of science enquiries to develop their skills, and this slows their progress.
• The most able, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are making good progress. From their starting points, work in books shows they are reaching higher than age-related standards in reading, writing and mathematics as they move through the school. They are typically given work that extends them further in English and mathematics so they develop higher-level analytical skills.
• Pupils who have special needs and/or disabilities are making good progress. Leaders organise provision for these pupils well, identify needs promptly and provide good support. Effective targeted support has made sure that pupils at risk of falling behind quickly catch up so they achieve as well as other pupils.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is too small to comment on their achievement without risk of identifying individual pupils. The school’s own evidence and that gathered during the inspection shows that disadvantaged pupils make good progress throughout the school and achieve as well as other pupils nationally.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership of the early years is effective. Staff work collaboratively across the Nursery and Reception settings and ensure that the quality of provision is of a consistently good standard. As a result, children, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress from their various starting points.
• Children start their time in the early years with knowledge and skills that are broadly typical for their age and stage of development. Most children make good progress from their starting points and, by the end of Reception in 2016, about three quarters achieved a good level of development and were ready for learning in Year 1.
• Children are presented with activities that grab and hold their attention, encourage cooperation and conversation, and fuel their imaginations and inquisitiveness about the world around them. For example, in Reception, children were given images of the different habitats that bears live in around the world. During discussions with their ‘talking partners’ they were able to distinguish the differences between grizzly and polar bears. They made good progress in making collages of the bears. The most able children were able to write a sentence about what is the same and different about the bears.
• Staff reinforce important skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and mathematics frequently throughout each day. Children make good gains in working with number and solving basic problems. They are able to add two groups of objects up to 10. The development of children’s reading skills, particularly phonics, is given good attention. For example, adults encourage children to use the letters to sound out and spell correctly the names of the three bears in the ‘Goldilocks’ story.
• Currently, the outdoor area is not as stimulating as that indoors. It is undeveloped as a place for children to extend their learning or explore a wide range of activities.
• There are warm and caring relationships in the early years settings. Adults have high expectations of the children, including that of behaviour. Consequently children cooperate well and learn how to share and take turns because the adults consistently follow these routines.
• Parents are involved in their child’s learning from the start. They are encouraged to support their child’s learning at home, and there are regular opportunities for parents to find out how well their child is doing. Parents are highly positive about the experience their children have in the early years.
• Children are kept safe because all staff adhere closely to safeguarding procedures and risk assessments. Children are happy, safe and well cared for in the setting.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 103996 Sandwell 10025181 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 Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mary McMahon Andrew Neenan 0121 357 3216 www.holynameprimary.co.uk headteacher@holyname.sandwell.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 December 2014

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average primary school.
• Early years provision is part time in Nursery and full time in Reception.
• A below-average proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic heritages: very few speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average. The proportion of pupils in receipt of an education, health and care plan is average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below average.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2015, which are the minimum standards expected nationally for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment over time. They observed learning in lessons. These included joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors listened to pupils read in Years 1 and 6.
• Inspectors looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked to them about their learning.
• Inspectors talked to parents as they brought their children to school.
• Inspectors took account of the 43 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.
• Inspectors considered the views of staff that completed the online questionnaires.
• Meetings were held with a group of pupils, the chair and members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and school leaders.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documents, including: the school’s own information on pupils’ current and recent progress; planning of work in different subjects; leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning; and records relating to behaviour, attendance and the safeguarding of pupils.

Inspection team

Steve Nelson, lead inspector Marie Thomas

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector