Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Hindley Green

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils' positive relationships with caring staff, coupled with the range of experiences the school provides, help them become confident and independent. This helps pupils to feel happy at school.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour.

Children in the Reception Year quickly learn and follow the school rules and the class routines. Pupils across the school behave well and value the importance of treating others with respect.

The school is ambitious for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils make the most of the learning opportunities that the school provides for them. They are keen to l...earn, and many pupils achieve well during their time at the school.

Pupils speak with great enthusiasm about the range of trips that they experience.

These include visits to the theatre, museums and places of local historical significance. Part of the school's mission statement is to encourage pupils to recognise their value through using their talents to help others. Activities such as the choir singing at a local residential home and pupils raising money for charities bring this to life.

These opportunities also build pupils' understanding of empathy and how to make a positive contribution to society.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious for pupils, including those with SEND. Across much of the curriculum, the school has set out the important knowledge pupils should learn from the Reception Year through to Year 6.

Pupils with SEND benefit from well-chosen resources that help them to access the same curriculum as their peers. This is supported by the effective systems that the school has in place to identify the needs of pupils with SEND. Across many subjects, pupils, including those with SEND, are well prepared for the next stage of education.

There remain one or two subjects where the school has not determined the full range of key content that pupils should learn. This makes it difficult for teachers to know what knowledge to prioritise when designing lessons. Consequently, in these subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve as well as they could.

In most subjects, teachers design activities that deepen pupils' knowledge and connect earlier learning with new content. High-quality training has supported teachers in being able to do this. In the main, teachers use effective checks to identify and address any gaps in knowledge that pupils have.

That said, in a small number of subjects, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge. These gaps are the result of weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Although the school has improved the curriculum, these gaps in knowledge remain unaddressed.

In these subjects, some older pupils' understanding is less secure. At times, this hinders their ability to make sense of new learning and concepts.The school places a high priority on younger pupils developing a secure knowledge of phonics.

Staff teach the phonics programme consistently. The school uses assessment information accurately to identify and support any pupils who need additional help. Parents and carers value the information they receive from the school that helps them support their children's phonics learning at home.

Carefully selected books help pupils to experience success and enjoyment when reading. Many pupils become fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.

Children in the Reception Year are very well behaved.

They quickly follow adult instructions and learn cooperatively alongside their classmates. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere around the school. Pupils are attentive in class, and they have positive attitudes towards their learning.

Consequently, learning is rarely interrupted by incidents of poor behaviour. The school's systems and procedures around attendance are effective. The majority of attendance concerns are picked up and addressed at an early stage.

Pupils experience a range of opportunities that enhance their personal development. For example, they understand how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils understand the importance of having a healthy diet.

Regular outdoor learning helps them to develop their teamwork and problem-solving skills. Pupils value the wider range of opportunities that have recently been made available to them to take on roles of responsibility. These include being prefects and members of the school council.

Governors support and challenge the school well to improve the quality of education. They work effectively with the school to realise the agreed values. Staff appreciate the recent actions taken by the school to further support their workload and well-being.

These include resources to aid assessment and access to training that helps them to deliver the curriculum well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In one or two subjects, the school has not finalised its curriculum thinking.

This hinders teachers from designing learning that helps pupils to build up a deep body of knowledge. The school should ensure that it finalises its curriculum thinking so that it is clear what pupils should learn and when this knowledge should be taught. ? In a small number of subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge as a result of weaknesses in the previous curriculum.

Consequently, some pupils' knowledge is insecure, and at times, this hinders their ability to make sense of new learning. The school should ensure that teachers are equipped to swiftly remedy these gaps in pupils' knowledge. This is so that pupils can build and further strengthen their knowledge in these subjects.

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