Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Holy Saviour is a caring and welcoming place to learn. Pupils are happy and safe.

They appreciate that the school is a close-knit community where everyone supports each other. For example, older pupils value the chance that they have to buddy children in the early years in their first year of school.

Pupils benefit from the school's clear behaviour policy and staff's high expectations of their behaviour.

As a result, pupils behave well. Most pupils treat each other with respect. Children learn these behaviours from the moment that they join the ...school.

Pupils value how the school recognises and celebrates their positive behaviour.

Pupils enjoy a wide range of experiences during their time at the school. For example, they are provided with rich opportunities to learn from people of different faiths.

This teaches pupils about the diversity of the world in which they live.

The school expects pupils to achieve well. Often, pupils join the school part way through the year.

The school identifies and addresses any gaps in these pupils' learning swiftly. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported and involved in every aspect of school life. Pupils are prepared well for secondary school.

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

The school has a strong ambition to give pupils a high-quality education. The school has adopted a curriculum that ensures pupils learn key knowledge and vocabulary in a well-organised way. In the main, teachers check pupils' understanding in lessons and provide targeted support to those who need it.

This contributes to pupils achieving well across the curriculum.

In some areas of the curriculum, however, the school has not identified the precise knowledge that children in the early years are expected to learn. This makes it difficult for teachers to ensure that children's learning is built on successfully when they move into key stage 1.

Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to carefully explain learning so that pupils can relate it to what they already know. In lessons, pupils are curious to learn more and they enjoy rich learning experiences. Teachers provide effective support for pupils who need extra help to focus and regulate their behaviour.

As a result, there is little disruption to learning. However, on some occasions, teachers do not select appropriate activities to support pupils to learn the knowledge in the curriculum as deeply as they could.

The school identifies pupils with SEND quickly and communicates openly with parents and carers.

When necessary, the school provides specialist support to give pupils with SEND the best chances to succeed. Pupils with SEND learn the curriculum well.

Pupils enjoy reading.

For example, the school welcomes pupils and their families into its library each day. This helps pupils to foster a love of reading and an appreciation of books. Children start learning to read using phonics as soon as they begin the Reception Year.

The school's approach to phonics is ambitious, with reading books closely matched to the sounds that pupils are learning. The school has effective systems in place to help pupils who struggle with reading to catch up quickly. This includes pupils who join the school mid-year.

Most pupils become accurate, fluent and confident readers.

The curriculum plays a key role in developing pupils' character. Pupils recognise and celebrate diversity.

They are respectful of each other's differences. Pupils learn about physical and emotional health and healthy relationships. Pupils are proud of the work that they do to raise money for charities within and beyond their school community.

The broad range of high-quality experiences and opportunities provided by the school helps pupils to become confident, well-rounded citizens.

The school takes appropriate steps to work with parents and external agencies to promote the importance of regular attendance. As a result, the school has helped to improve the rates of attendance for many pupils, particularly those whose attendance has been low in the past.

Most parents who shared their views were positive about the school. They appreciate the ongoing support that their children receive from approachable staff.

Staff value the focus that the school has on their well-being.

They know and appreciate how the school is mindful of their workload when making curriculum decisions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some aspects of the curriculum in the early years, the school has not defined exactly what children are expected to learn in readiness for Year 1.

Sometimes, teachers do not know which learning to focus on as a result. The school should ensure that teachers are clear about what they intend children in the early years to learn, and when this content should be taught. ? On some occasions, the activities that teachers select for pupils do not match curriculum intentions well enough.

This sometimes prevents pupils from securing the essential knowledge identified by the school. The school should ensure that teachers have a secure understanding of how to design learning that enables pupils to deepen their knowledge over time.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.

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