Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Since the last inspection, strong leadership and governance have successfully maintained good teaching and learning practices, despite significant changes in staffing. Outcomes for pupils at the end of each key stage remain high. Leadership coaching and external support ensure that teaching is consistently good and the majority of pupils across the school make good progress.

Teachers' strong subject knowledge and enthusiasm support pupils' achievement, fuelling pupils' excitement about learning. A rich curriculum supports pupils' learning effectively. There are rich and varied opportunities for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development... of pupils.

Pupils are highly motivated to work hard. Visits and activities capture pupils' interests and develop their understanding well. The few disadvantaged pupils make good progress compared to others nationally.

Pupils' personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding. Pupils conduct themselves extremely sensibly and are highly enthusiastic learners. They have an excellent knowledge of how to keep themselves safe.

Overall, the most able pupils currently in school make good progress. This is because strong and improving teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) lower down the school has secured better skills for pupils in reading and writing. Leaders have made sure that children get off to a good start in the early years.

Strong leadership and effective teaching mean that children continue to make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for their move into Year 1. Parents are effusive in their praise of the school's work, both academically and because : of the care their children receive to help them become confident individuals. Tasks in mathematics are occasionally too easy for the most able pupils and this means that they are not sufficiently challenged.

As a result, the very few most able disadvantaged pupils are not making as much progress in mathematics as others nationally. Leaders are not monitoring the progress of pupil groups sharply enough to quickly identify where more than expected progress is required. As a result, a few pupils are not making enough progress.

Information about this school

The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about its pupil premium strategy on its website. The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The early years comprises one full-time Reception class.

Just over two thirds of pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The largest group are from 'Any other White background', with White British pupils forming the next sizeable ethnic group. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language has risen since the last inspection but remains below the national average.

The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium funding is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding that schools receive to support those known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.

The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the usual times is below average. The school organises and manages breakfast and after-school provision. The school meets the government's floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.