St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and thereby increase the rate of progress for all groups of pupils by:
  • sharing the best practice across the school
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to apply their calculation skills to investigate and solve more complicated problems in mathematics
  • making sure that pupils can explain their thinking and how they solve problems in mathematics
  • ensuring that teachers consistently follow the school policy when feeding back to pupils, especially those pupils who need to catch up, so that it helps them to improve their work
  • giving pupils time to develop their skills and knowledge in writing across a range of different subjects.
• Develop the leadership and management of the school by ensuring that subject leaders regularly check on the accuracy of teachers’ assessments.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The interim headteacher and the interim deputy headteacher provide strong leadership. During the short time they have been at the school, they have used their experience to build on the improvements that have been made since the last inspection. As a result this is a good school.
• Middle leaders are developing their roles well and provide good leadership for the areas they are responsible for. They know how well the school is doing and where further improvements are needed. Subject leaders monitor the quality of teaching regularly. However, they recognise that procedures for ensuring that teacher assessments accurately reflect the progress pupils are making are not developed fully.
• The curriculum covers all subjects very effectively. It is enhanced by specialist visitors to the school, who work alongside pupils to support their learning in subjects such as art and poetry. Pupils also visit places of interest, including museums to support their topic work on the Vikings and the Egyptians.
• Leaders successfully develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through the school’s Christian values. Pupils have opportunities to study other faiths and cultures, such as Islam and Sikhism, and they support children in other countries who need help through their charity work.
• The school council went through a rigorous election process which involved all pupils in the school taking part in the democratic process. Candidates made speeches and pupils voted for their preferred choice. Through the curriculum and the school’s values, pupils understand the diverse nature of British society and have developed good attitudes such as respect and tolerance towards others. As a result, pupils have an understanding of what it is to be a good citizen and are well prepared for life in modern-day Britain.
• Leaders’ good use of the pupil premium grant ensures that disadvantaged pupils achieve well, especially those who are most able. The differences in outcomes between disadvantaged pupils currently in the school and other pupils nationally are diminishing.
• School improvement planning is effective and clear. It includes appropriate priorities based on accurate evaluation of the school’s performance.
• Senior leaders manage staff performance well. Teachers have challenging targets linked to improving pupils’ achievement. Effective professional development supports teachers in meeting their targets. However, opportunities to use the expertise in the school to improve teaching further are sometimes missed.
• Leaders’ good use of the additional sports funding has resulted in pupils adopting active lifestyles. The school has invested heavily in playground activities, such as trim trails, a multi-use games area and an outside gym, which pupils use enthusiastically.
• Since the last inspection, the support provided by the local authority and The Catholic Schools Partnership has been effective in helping leaders address areas for improvement.

Governance of the school

• Governors have high expectations and know how well the school is performing. They provide effective challenge and support based on the good-quality information they receive at meetings and through their regular visits to the school.
• Governors work closely with school leaders to ensure that improvement planning is appropriate and are focused on those areas where further improvement is needed. Governors monitor and evaluate the impact of plans rigorously through their committees.
• The governing body has a good understanding of its statutory duties and ensures that funding is appropriately and effectively used. They are well informed about the school’s approach to managing staff performance and about the impact this has on improving teaching.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have effective procedures in place to address any safeguarding concerns. Staff receive appropriate training and they have a good understanding of what processes to follow should they have any child protection or safeguarding concerns.
• The school’s learning mentor supports parents, carers and pupils very robustly and works hard in ensuring that their welfare and personal needs are addressed.
• Leaders work well with outside agencies and the local authority to ensure that pupils are safe and free from harm.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Over time, teaching has improved since the last inspection so that it is now good.
• Teaching assistants are very effective at supporting pupils with their learning. In classrooms or through targeted intervention, additional adults help pupils improve and make progress.
• The teaching of reading ensures that pupils become competent readers, especially those pupils who are most able; these pupils read challenging texts with fluency, expression and confidence. However, some less able pupils are sometimes reading books that are too easy.
• Phonics teaching during the early years and key stage 1 has improved so that pupils’ achievements in phonics are similar to national averages. Teachers and teaching assistants deliver good-quality learning activities that consolidate and improve pupils’ knowledge of phonics.
• Usually, teachers have high expectations of what the most able pupils can achieve, including those most able pupils who are disadvantaged. During learning activities, the most able pupils complete challenging tasks that make them think deeply about what they are learning.
• The teaching of mathematics has improved due to an increased focus on the subject by leaders. This has resulted in much-improved outcomes since the previous inspection. Sometimes, however, pupils are not given enough opportunities to use their calculation skills to complete more complex problem-solving, investigation and reasoning activities.
• Teachers provide written and oral feedback that follows the school policy. In most instances, this supports pupils with their learning. However, occasionally feedback does not help pupils to improve, especially those pupils who need to catch up because they are progressing from lower starting points.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils have a developed understanding of the different forms bullying can take. They say that bullying is rare but, if it does occur, adults quickly sort it out.
• Pupils feel very safe in school. They know how to keep themselves safe in and out of school, including when using a computer online.
• The school offers a range of after-school clubs, including a ‘cook and eat’ club where pupils learn to cook healthy meals alongside their parents. Playground equipment promotes active lifestyles, such as the outside gym which pupils use with great enthusiasm.
• Pupils have access to a breakfast club each morning and school leaders ensure that pupils who sometimes miss breakfast at home are encouraged to attend.
• Those pupils who are vulnerable, or have occasional personal problems, receive good-quality support and guidance from dedicated and skilled staff employed at the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite and well mannered to adults and each other. They enjoy opportunities to work together in class and share ideas with others.
• Staff, parents and pupils all agree that behaviour is good in school. Parents feel that their children enjoy school and are well cared for.
• Attendance has improved overall and is currently above average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils has also shown rapid improvement from being significantly below to now being just below average.
• Behaviour in lessons and attitudes to learning are typically good. In lessons, pupils are engaged in what they are learning and show an interest in the activities. Just occasionally when learning slows, a minority of pupils can lose concentration, but this does not hinder the learning of others.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes for pupils at key stage 2 have improved since the last inspection. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are mostly above average, and pupils are making progress at least in line with national averages. As a result, pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education by the time they leave the school.
• Outcomes in key stage 1 have varied since the last inspection. Recent results have shown a slight decline to below average at expected levels for reading, writing and mathematics. However, work in pupils’ books shows evidence that current Year 2 pupils are making better progress.
• Significant increases in the proportions of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check reflect the good-quality phonics teaching that children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 receive.
• The proportion of most-able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, who attained higher standards by the end of Year 6 is above average for reading, writing and mathematics. Evidence collected during the inspection shows that this improvement is being sustained and enhanced.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress overall, sometimes at a faster rate than other pupils nationally. This is especially so for those most able disadvantaged pupils who have higher starting points.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress because their needs are effectively met.
• Standards in writing for pupils currently in the school vary, especially at key stage 1. Although outcomes are above average at the end of key stage 2 for most recent results, evidence collected during the inspection shows that, in a minority of classes, pupils are not making the progress they are capable of because they are not given enough opportunities to develop their writing skills in other subjects.
• From their different starting points, pupils make mostly good progress. However, for those pupils who have lower starting points, progress is not as strong as other pupils nationally who have similar starting points.

Early years provision Good

• Most children enter the Reception class with skills that are typical for their age, although a minority are below. They make good progress while in the early years and the proportion of children attaining a good level of development is above average. As a result, the majority of children are well prepared and ready for Year 1.
• The early years leader provides effective leadership. He tracks children’s progress methodically and ensures that any children who are identified as falling behind are given appropriate support.
• Typically, teaching over time is good. Teachers and teaching assistants know the children well and they ensure that learning activities are interesting and appropriate to children’s needs. Staff mostly challenge and support pupils of different abilities effectively. Occasionally, activities do not provide the challenge needed to ensure that children make rapid progress.
• The inside learning environment provides children with rich opportunities to learn from activities they have chosen to do as well as from planned group sessions. The outside play area also provides a range of interesting and stimulating learning opportunities, such as the mud kitchen. The opportunities for developing number and writing skills are not as well developed in the outdoor area as they are inside. However, plans to address this are being implemented.
• Children’s behaviour is good; they play and learn happily with each other. They share resources willingly when accessing the different learning activities.
• Adults ensure that children are kept safe. All appropriate welfare and safeguarding requirements are met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 107348 Bradford 10019718 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 125 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Jennifer Weston-Beyer Alison Carrick (interim headteacher) Telephone number 01274 592738 Website Email address www.stanthonysshipley.org.uk office@stas.bradford.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5−6 November 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is smaller than an average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• In the early years, Reception children attend full time.
• Two teachers at the school are specialist leaders of education.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in all classes. All lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.
• Pupils’ work from all classes was scrutinised.
• The inspector listened to pupils read.
• Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, other staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• The inspector observed pupils moving around the school outside lessons, including on the playgrounds during breaks and in the dining hall.
• The inspector scrutinised a number of documents, including the school’s view of its own performance, school improvement plans, attendance and safeguarding.
• The inspector analysed the 29 responses that had been submitted to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View).
• The inspector took account of the online questionnaire completed by eight members of the school staff.

Inspection team

Alan Chaffey, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector