Holy Family and St Michael’s Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

This is a good school, where pupils feel happy and well provided for. Many aspects of the school have improved since the time of the last inspection.

Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay fit and well, take plenty of exercise and eat healthily. Pupils' contribution to the school and wider community is also outstanding; they willingly accept extra responsibilities and many have roles that help the smooth running of school life. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.

New pupils who join the school comment how this helps them settle very quickly. Pupils also have an excellent knowledge of how to keep themselves safe. Attendance for the majority ...of pupils is in-line with average and there are growing numbers of pupils who attend well.

Overall attendance, however, is broadly average as there are a small number of pupils who are more difficult to engage, their attendance remains low and, consequently, their academic progress is more limited. Children enter the school with skills that are generally below those typical for their age, although this varies from year to year. Attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 has been on an upward trend in recent years and by the time pupils leave Year 6, the majority attain broadly in-line with the national average.

This represents good progress from pupils' individual starting points. Attainment and progress vary across the school, however, and are higher in mathematics than in English, and higher in reading than in writing. Pupils identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress, due to activities that are carefully matched to their individual needs.

The majority of lessons are good, providing opportunities for pupils to achieve well. During these well-paced lessons, activities are pitched at just the right level, providing challenge and excitement. Consequently, pupils' enjoyment of learning is good and they challenge and encourage each other to do their best.

This practice, however, is not seen across the school and in a minority of lessons, teaching and progress remain satisfactory. The curriculum is good and many trips and visitors enrich provision well. Senior leaders have developed robust systems to track the progress pupils make.

They use this information to establish well thought through plans for improvement. Across the school there is a shared determination to ensure the school goes from strength to strength. This is best illustrated in the significant improvements made to both provision and outcomes within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Senior leaders have also recently implemented a new system to set targets for pupils in Key Stage 2, in order to raise attainment further. The governing body offers both support and challenge, ensuring statutory requirements are met. There is clear evidence to demonstrate that the school's self-evaluation is accurate and capacity for sustained improvement is good.

Information about the school

This is a smaller than average-size primary school. The majority of pupils come from White British backgrounds. The proportion from minority ethnic heritage is broadly average.

A slightly lower than average proportion of pupils speaks English as an additional language, although this number is growing. The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The proportion of pupils identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average, with twice the national average having a statement of special educational needs.

A growing number of pupils join the school at differing times during the year. The school has gained a number of awards including the Activemark, Investors in people, The National Association of Professional Teaching Assistants (NAPTA) award as a Centre of Good Practice, Financial Management Standards in Schools (FMSiS) and the Advanced Inclusion Award. It has Healthy Schools status.

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