Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Our Lady of Lourdes are happy to come to school. They have positive attitudes towards their learning and towards each other. Adults know the pupils well.

As soon as children begin in Reception Year, they are well cared for and feel safe. Parents appreciate this, as well as the 'happy and encouraging staff'.

The school is aspirational for all pupils.

However, the quality of education that pupils receive is not yet good enough. The curriculum design and implementation are priorities. Pupils do not build their knowledge well over time in a range of subjects.

Classrooms are purposeful and calm. Pupils say they can concentrate on their learning ...because of this. Pupils are respectful towards one another and adults.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour. The clear rules, 'be safe, ready and respectful', are intertwined with the school's values. Pupils respond well to these during lessons and social times.

Pupils have many opportunities to develop as a responsible citizen. They understand the democratic process for the election of house captains, as well as the important role some pupils have as an anti-bullying ambassador.

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

The school has experienced a period of turbulence in staffing.

This has impacted on the school's aim to make the necessary improvements in the quality of education. The school is ambitious for all pupils to receive a high-quality education. It has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses.

It recognises that there is more work needed to ensure that pupils build their knowledge well across the curriculum.

The school has prioritised early reading. As soon as children start in Reception Year they learn to read.

Staff ensure that pupils receive phonics teaching that matches their needs well. Books match the sounds pupils know. This helps all pupils, including those who struggle to read, to develop fluency and confidence.

The robust assessment system ensures that pupils who have gaps in the sounds they know, or who are at risk of falling behind, are quickly identified. Extra support helps these pupils to catch up. However, reading beyond phonics is not well developed.

Older pupils do not have the necessary reading skills and knowledge they need to develop their understanding or infer from the texts they read. This means that some pupils are not well prepared for the next stage in their education.

The school does not know how the subject design and implementation in some subjects help pupils to know and remember more.

Gaps pupils have in their knowledge are not identified accurately. For example, in science, some pupils do not understand the different food groups they have learned previously, or the important factors required when working scientifically. This means that pupils do not build knowledge well and that gaps in learning persist.

Pupils' ongoing understanding is not checked effectively. In mathematics, for example, pupils confidently complete their work, but sometimes misconceptions are not addressed and teachers miss opportunities to deepen pupils' knowledge and to get them to tackle more complex concepts. Some pupils say that the work is sometimes too easy for them.

The school identifies pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities accurately. A range of useful resources and effective support from adults enable these pupils to access learning alongside their peers.

The curriculum for pupils to understand the world around them is carefully designed.

Pupils recognise that everyone is unique and that all are equally important. Pupils understand and learn from other faiths and cultures that are different from their own. They embrace difference and say, 'The world is pretty special because we are all different.'



Pupils are keen to learn. They understand the school's values and ethos. From Reception Year, children follow the routines straight away and learn the expectations quickly.

They know the difference between right and wrong. Attendance is a priority for the school. Most pupils attend well.

The school is supporting some families to ensure they attend school on a regular basis effectively.

Governors support the well-being of staff across the school. However, they do not have an accurate view of the school's strengths and priorities.

This means that they do not provide the level of challenge the school needs to ensure that pupils receive a high-quality education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not fully defined the reading curriculum beyond phonics.

It is not clear what pupils need to learn and by when. Therefore, pupils do not build the knowledge and skills they need to read well. The school should ensure that the reading curriculum beyond phonics identifies the important knowledge and skills that support all pupils to read confidently and understand what they have read, so that they are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

• In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment with enough precision to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge or support them to deepen their understanding. As a result, pupils do not build knowledge well. The school needs to ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding systematically and address misconceptions so that pupils develop a depth of understanding across all curriculum subjects.

The school does not know how effectively some subjects are designed and implemented. As a result, there is not an accurate view of what pupils know and remember, or any gaps they have. The school needs to ensure that the quality of design and implementation in all subjects is evaluated accurately.

• Governors do not have a sufficient depth of understanding of the quality of education pupils receive. Over time, they have not challenged the school sufficiently about the quality of education. Governors need to ensure that they gain a clear oversight of the effectiveness of the quality of education and hold the school to account for improving it.