Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingol, Preston

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Holy Family Catholic Primary School. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils talk about how well staff support their well-being.

Leaders deal effectively with any rare incidents of bullying.

Leaders have created a warm environment that helps pupils to feel happy and safe. They make sure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are fully included in all aspects of school life.

This plays an important part in supporting pupils' well-being.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' achievement. They are successful in realising this ambition.

All ...pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

Pupils are polite and courteous. They live up to staff's high expectations.

In lessons, pupils are eager to learn. They show positive attitudes in all that they do.

Pupils have opportunities to take part in clubs and leadership activities.

They can be well-being warriors, school councillors and/or prayer leaders. They especially enjoy spending time with the school's therapy dog. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the school choir and how they are going to perform at a local theatre.

Learning is less successful for children in the early years. This is because leaders have not thought carefully enough about what they want the children to know. This hinders children's preparation for the next stage in their learning.

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

In all subjects, the curriculum has been well designed from the start of key stage 1 to the end of key stage 2. The key knowledge that leaders want pupils to know and by when has been carefully considered. Leaders have ensured that pupils with SEND have their needs identified in a timely way.

Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. Teachers adapt their teaching effectively so that pupils with SEND learn well.

Pupils typically achieve well.

However, this was not the case for the Year 6 pupils who left the school in 2022. They did not achieve as well as they should in the end of key stage reading, writing and mathematics tests and assessments. In part, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on pupils' achievement, as did the rates of absence.

However, leaders have recognised that some aspects of the English and mathematics curriculum hindered pupils' learning. They have taken swift and effective actions to tighten up these areas. As a result, pupils' learning in these subjects is secure.

Leaders ensure that teaching staff receive high-quality professional development to deliver the curriculum well. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present information clearly to pupils.

Teachers mostly check that pupils have learned what they have been taught, but, at times, they do not use assessment information well enough. This means that gaps in pupils' learning sometimes go unnoticed.

Leaders have placed reading at the heart of the school's curriculum.

All staff are well trained in the phonics programme. The books that pupils read match the sounds they are learning. Leaders ensure that pupils who are struggling to read get extra sessions to help them catch up.

As a result, most pupils become fluent readers. Leaders have ensured that all pupils have access to high-quality books.

Pupils' rates of overall absence remain stubbornly high.

Some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not attend school often enough. This impacts on how well they learn.

Pupils behave well and make the most of their learning time.

Pupils who are new to the school, including those who have recently arrived in the country, are made to feel welcome and safe as soon as they arrive.

All pupils have regular access to experiences that support their personal development. They understand how to stay healthy, sustain friendships and show empathy.

They learn about respect. Pupils have a mature understanding of discrimination and the importance of equality. This means that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Children in the early years enjoy learning. They are safe and well looked after. However, the curriculum that these children experience is not fully developed.

While children are taught number, reading and writing knowledge, they do not get enough opportunities to practise what they have learned. The curriculum is not delivered consistently well across the whole of the early years. This means that, over time, some children do not build knowledge as well as they should, to help them prepare effectively for the Year 1 curriculum.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They comment that their well-being is supported and that leaders are considerate of their workload. Governors are highly involved in the life of the school.

They are proud of the improvements that they have seen over recent years. However, they have not asked enough questions around pupils' attendance to help leaders resolve high absence levels.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training. Staff understand how to identify if a pupil might be at risk of harm. Staff act on any concerns promptly.

Leaders work closely with parents, carers and external agencies to ensure that pupils get the support they need.Pupils know how to stay safe. They learn how to manage the different risks that they may be facing in school and in the community.

For example, pupils explained confidently how to stay safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• At times, teachers do not use assessment information effectively. This means that gaps in some pupils' learning are not remedied quickly enough.

This hinders how well they learn. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment information more effectively so that they can address gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly. ? Some pupils are regularly absent from school.

This means that they do not benefit from the curriculum offer. This hinders their achievement. Leaders should further enhance their work to ensure that pupils attend school regularly.

• Children in the early years do not learn all that they should. This is because the curriculum is not designed well enough, and adults do not give children enough opportunity to practise what they have learned. Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum is carefully ordered so that children over time learn all that they should in readiness for their next stage.

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