All Saints’ Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

All Saints' Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that they feel happy in this supportive school community.

They value their friendships and the positive relationships that staff have forged with them. Pupils said that staff are caring and kind. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Pupils know that leaders want them to do their best, and they live up to the high expectations that leaders have for them. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are enthusiastic about their learning. They work hard in lessons.

They said that they do not mind if they find their wor...k tricky because staff will give them extra help when needed.

Pupils behave well. They understand the importance of respect and they learn to encourage and support each other.

Pupils are confident that staff will listen to them and do their best to help if they have concerns. Pupils said that staff will deal with any incidents of bullying quickly.

Pupils enjoy developing their talents through the exciting range of clubs on offer.

They are proud to recount the performances and sporting competitions in which they have taken part.

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

Leaders have planned an interesting curriculum that is suitably broad and ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with SEND. In most subjects, leaders have identified clearly the important knowledge that they want pupils, including children in the early years, to learn.

They have ordered this knowledge carefully so that pupils progress well through the curriculum, knowing and remembering more over time. At the end of Year 6, pupils achieve well. They are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

Subject leaders have strong curriculum expertise. They provide a wealth of information for teachers. This develops their subject knowledge and helps them to deliver subject curriculums effectively.

Pupils are enthusiastic about their work and take pride in deepening their understanding of important themes, such as chronology in history. However, on occasion, some information that subject leaders provide for teachers does not outline clearly enough the essential building blocks that pupils should gain through their learning.

Teachers understand how to support pupils, including those with SEND, to remember earlier learning.

Pupils have regular opportunities to reinforce and secure their understanding of previous learning before new concepts are introduced. For example, in the early years, children are encouraged to revisit and use correct mathematical vocabulary. This vocabulary is modelled accurately and clearly by well-trained teachers and teaching assistants.

Leaders have ensured that the plans for the early reading curriculum set out clearly what they want pupils to learn and by when. Children in the early years learn sounds and letters as soon as they begin in the Reception class. Teachers keep a close check on how well pupils, including children in the early years, are doing.

Staff provide additional support so that those pupils who fall behind in reading can catch up quickly. Pupils practise their reading regularly with books that are well-matched to the sounds that they know. Almost all pupils gain fluency and confidence in reading by the end of Year 2.

Through their study of suitable texts, older pupils have plenty of opportunities to develop strong comprehension skills. Leaders have recently reorganised the school library and have purchased a wide selection of high-quality books for pupils to enjoy reading independently.

Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified early.

This group of pupils benefit from appropriate support to access the curriculum and achieve well.

Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Even so, leaders have developed additional strategies to support pupils with their emotional well-being.

Parents and carers value the help that their children receive.

Leaders ensure that pupils understand the world beyond their local community and are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about equality and diversity through all aspects of school life.

For example, they were keen to discuss their recent learning about the composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who they had studied recently as an inspirational figure. Pupils are keen to take on a range of responsibilities through the school's 'leader in me' scheme. Through this scheme, they learn that they can make a positive difference to their school and community, for instance by supporting a charity for the homeless.

Governors are proud to be members of the school community. They speak highly of the school values and the positive, ambitious and supportive culture that school leaders have created. After a period of time when their focus was centred on the school's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have once again renewed their focus on leaders' development of the curriculum.

Staff appreciate that leaders are approachable and considerate of their workload and well-being. They are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that staff receive regular safeguarding training, including on issues relating to peer-on-peer abuse. This ensures that staff can spot potential signs that indicate a pupil could be at risk or suffering from harm.

Leaders work closely with outside agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils benefit from appropriate support.

Staff also work together with families to provide advice and to signpost them to sources of additional help when needed.

Pupils have many opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe, including road safety, 'bikeability' training and how to stay safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, some of the information that subject leaders provide for teachers does not outline clearly enough the essential knowledge that pupils should learn.

From time to time, this hinders some teachers in designing learning that supports pupils to remember the intended curriculum. Leaders should ensure that, across subjects, curriculum plans from the early years to Year 6 specify the building blocks that pupils should learn.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2016.