Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and settled at this school.

They are considerate of each other and of staff, who care for them well. Pupils told inspectors that they make friends quickly and that they enjoy being part of the school's community.

The school, with effective support from the trust, has taken the necessary steps to create a culture of high expectations for pupils' achievements and for their wider development.

Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), typically learn well. They proudly showcased their learning, such as clay sculptures that they had designed and made.

Pupils benefit ...from calm and nurturing learning environments.

The school has created additional spaces for pupils who require targeted support for their emotional health and well-being. Most pupils behave well. They learn to respect other people's differences.

For example, older pupils take part in activities that help them to understand some of the ways that disabled people partake in sports.

The school aims to provide pupils with rich and varied experiences. Links with sports foundations and nearby universities broaden this offer.

Visits to the local area and further afield assist pupils' learning across a variety of subjects. These visits include trips to the church, museums, zoos and the Houses of Parliament. Pupils enjoy dance, sports and mathematics clubs.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

During a time of instability in staffing, the school, the trust and local governors have worked together to minimise disruption to pupils' learning. They have secured improvements to the curriculum. Published data does not reflect the strengths of this school.

In 2023, pupils' attainment in some subjects was significantly below national averages. A high proportion of pupils joined the school at various times across all key stages. Most current pupils are achieving well across the curriculum.

The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. It has determined the small steps of knowledge that pupils should learn and the order that this should be taught. The curriculum is adapted to suit the school's own context and includes references to the rich history of the local area.

Generally, staff have effective subject knowledge, and they present new learning clearly. In the main, staff select appropriate activities to deliver curriculum content, before checking that pupils have learned what was intended. Nonetheless, staff's subject knowledge and their delivery of the curriculum is not consistent in all subjects and across the school.

This limits how well some pupils learn important knowledge.

Pupils with SEND receive the support that they need. The school identifies their additional needs as soon as possible.

It provides adaptations to the school day and to learning activities, to help these pupils to fully access the curriculum. Staff liaise well with external professionals to enable pupils with SEND to be ready to learn.

The school has a renewed focus on reading.

For example, it has purchased new books and created spaces to foster a love of reading. Pupils visit the library to choose from a wide selection of texts. They listen to stories regularly.

Older pupils said that they enjoy completing quizzes of the books that they have read. Reading lessons are helping to build their comprehension skills further.

Children begin to learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception class.

Staff are well trained and access support from the trust to develop consistency in how well they assist pupils in learning to read. This includes providing additional help for pupils who fall behind. Pupils read from books that match their phonics knowledge.

They typically develop into accurate readers by the time that they leave school.

Pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly. The school monitors how well pupils attend and has taken action to address levels of low attendance.

However, some pupils remain persistently absent, and some are late when coming into school. This means that these pupils experience less learning and less wider opportunities than they should. This sometimes restricts their achievements.

The school has recently introduced a new system to encourage pupils' positive behaviour. Most pupils have responded successfully to this. They have mainly positive attitudes towards their learning.

Clear routines begin from the start of the early years. This helps children to settle quickly and develop a sense of belonging.

The school has thought carefully how to support pupils' personal development.

Pupils discuss improvements that they can make to the school and to the environment in their roles as school councillors and eco-team members. Older pupils look after younger pupils, such as by modelling behaviour expectations during assembly and helping them to develop their sports skills.

Staff appreciate being part of the wider trust team.

The trust and the school are supporting staff to fulfil their roles well, while considering their workload and well-being. For instance, the trust is coaching staff in effective curriculum delivery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is variability in staff's subject knowledge and how well they deliver the curriculum in some subjects. This inconsistency hinders how well some pupils learn the intended curriculum. The school should provide staff with the necessary guidance and support to further develop their subject knowledge and help them to implement the curriculum consistently well.

• Some pupils do not attend school on time or as regularly as they should. As a result, they miss out on important learning, which limits how well they achieve. The school should build on its attendance strategy and work closely with parents and carers to further reduce levels of pupils' absence.