Holy Innocents Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Holy Innocents Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, staff and parents and carers hold this school in high regard. They are proud to be members of this warm, welcoming and inclusive school community. The school's values permeate all aspects of school life.

Mutual respect and kindness are part of everyday life.

Teachers have high expectations for all pupils' learning and behaviour, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils rise to these expectations, and they get on with their learning without interruption.

They achieve well and want to be successful. Pupils beh...ave well in class and around the school, and they encourage and support each other. They are confident that staff will listen to them and do their best to help them if they have any concerns.

Pupils comment that incidents of bullying or poor behaviour are rare. Staff deal swiftly with any problems that arise. Pupils feel safe and are happy.

Leaders provide pupils with a range of clubs and enrichment activities, including guest speakers and visits to places of interest. These are planned to help pupils follow their interests and experience new things. Pupils appreciate these opportunities.

They are enthusiastic about participating in orchestra, gardening and robotics sessions, for instance. Pupils also welcome the opportunity to develop their leadership skills as school councillors and digital leaders.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum.

They have clearly identified the important knowledge, skills and vocabulary they expect pupils to learn. In some subjects, leaders have recently revised the order that these will be taught. This is so pupils can build incrementally on what they already know.

Teachers deliver the curriculum well because they have strong subject knowledge and receive clear guidance from subject leaders. They use assessment strategies effectively to find out how well pupils have learned what they have been taught. This helps pupils to develop their knowledge securely in most subjects.

Pupils achieve well, including in reading, writing and mathematics. However, in subjects where the order that pupils learn knowledge has recently changed, some pupils have small gaps in their knowledge.

Leaders want all pupils to develop a love of reading.

They have prioritised the teaching of early reading. This work begins as soon as children join the school. In early years, adults share stories and rhymes often, so children remember them and the language that they hear.

All staff receive training in early reading, and they deliver the new phonics programme consistently. Teachers ensure that pupils practise by using the sounds they know when reading. Books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils have been taught.

This helps pupils to learn new sounds securely. Staff provide effective support for pupils who need to catch up. They ensure that these pupils learn to read fluently and develop a love of reading.

Older pupils enjoy the books that teachers read to them.

Children in early years get the strong foundations they need to be ready for their future learning. They are taught to listen attentively and respond to adults positively.

Leaders have given careful thought to making sure that the indoor and outdoor learning environments provide children with high-quality and appealing learning opportunities, including in mathematics. For example, following the visit from a mobile farm, children in Nursery excitedly used model animals to 'find the difference' when working with numbers to 10. The curriculum supports older pupils to build well on what they have learned in the early years.

For example, in mathematics, they become fluent with their calculations, confidently using their strong knowledge to show their workings out when they tackle mathematical problems.

Leaders have clear systems in place to identify pupils with specific needs. Teachers skilfully adapt how they deliver the curriculum for pupils with SEND.

Leaders work successfully with external partners to secure appropriate specialist support. They ensure that pupils with SEND learn well alongside their peers and are included in all aspects of school life.

Pupils learn about difference and diversity within their own community and in the wider world.

Through the curriculum, they are taught about a range of faiths and cultures. Pupils learn to listen to the views of others and to express their own views respectfully. They are knowledgeable about British values and understand how these link to the values of the school.

They fundraise for local and international charities. Pupils experience a wide variety of trips. These include visits to museums and local places of worship.

Governors provide leaders with an appropriate level of challenge. Leaders are considerate of staff's well-being and work hard to make workload reasonable. Staff comment that leaders are understanding, supportive and approachable.

They feel well supported. Staff are proud to work at Holy Innocents.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. They ensure that staff receive regular and appropriate training. Staff know the signs that indicate a pupil may be at risk of harm and how to report concerns promptly.

Leaders have put in place a thorough system to record and monitor all safeguarding concerns. They make timely referrals to outside agencies to secure the help that vulnerable pupils need. Appropriate recruitment checks are undertaken to ensure that all adults are suitable to work in school.

Pupils are helped to keep themselves safe. They are particularly knowledgeable about the risks linked to working and playing online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few instances, leaders' checks on how well changes to the curriculum are strengthening pupils' learning are still developing.

Some of the recent changes to subjects have led to pupils' developing small gaps in their knowledge. Leaders' work in this area needs to continue and develop further, ensuring that all pupils make coherent and successful progress in all subjects as they move through the school.

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

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2017.

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