Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is a good school in which pupils from all backgrounds and of all abilities achieve well.

The quality of education provided at Holy Family is good; teaching and the curriculum are both good and support effective learning. In addition to the academic progress pupils make, their personal development is good. This is supported by the strong Catholic ethos, which underpins the school's daily routines, and good levels of care, guidance and support.

As a result pupils feel safe in school, their behaviour is good and they develop well in terms of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural growth. As one parent wrote, 'Holy Family is not just a school, but a family....' The school has introduced a number of effective initiatives to raise standards.

By the end of Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is broadly in line with the national average. There has been some improvement in reading and writing by the end of Year 2 and attainment is steadily approaching the national average. However, the same level of improvement is not evident in mathematics, where attainment remains significantly below average.

Standards in problem solving, reasoning and number are similarly below those in language at the end of the Reception. Inspection observations show that the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics is mostly satisfactory in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. In lessons, pupils are not given sufficient opportunity to learn through meaningful activities, and the language of mathematics often confuses some pupils when solving problems.

Improvement has taken place in the Early Years Foundation Stage under new leadership. Overall, children's progress is good, but there is some variation in the quality of teaching and learning across the key stage; it is good in the Reception and satisfactory in Nursery. Assessment is used satisfactorily in the Nursery and well in the Reception Class.

It is used effectively to support and challenge the children capable of achieving higher attainment levels, but less well in supporting those who find learning more challenging and children who speak English as an additional language. Some small group teaching in the Nursery is not followed up with learning activities that provide sufficient enrichment to encourage children to develop their language and learn through experiencing for themselves. The school has improved since its previous inspection, when its overall effectiveness was judged satisfactory.

As a result of improved teaching and curriculum, pupils now achieve well. There is a strong drive for continued improvement among the senior leadership team and staff. Through effective self-evaluation, senior leaders are clear about what needs to be improved and the headteacher has a realistic view of where the school is in its development.

Consequently, the school has a good capacity to sustain further improvement.

Information about the school

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is similar in size to most other primary schools. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average.

The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is very high when compared to other schools nationally and a majority of these come from a Pakistani background. A very high proportion speaks English as an additional language and 43 pupils are at the early stages of learning English. One pupil has a statement of special educational needs and the proportion identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to other primary schools.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in the Nursery part-time and full-time in a Reception class. A breakfast club operates under the direction of the governing body. The school has achieved Healthy Schools status, holds the Basic Skills Quality Mark and has been awarded the Sportsmark.