Saint Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, the Borough

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the Borough continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the Borough is an inclusive place to learn.

The school's values of encouraging diversity, equality and empowering leadership are put into practice in all aspects of the school's work. Pupils are supported to live these values through their kindness towards, and celebration of, each other's achievements.

Pupils' behaviour is positive and sensible in lessons and around the school from the early years to the end of Year 6.

Pupils feel safe and bullying rarely happens. Adults resolve any issues quickly. Pupil...s attend school regularly and are very happy here.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve in their academic work, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school understands the individual needs of pupils and they receive extra help where needed. This includes in the school's sensory room.

Pupils in all year groups study a broad and engaging curriculum. They go on numerous educational visits to enhance their learning experience. For example, visiting the British Museum and the London Central Mosque.

Pupils appreciate the range of after-school clubs, for example the school choir and girls' football.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Generally, content is sequenced so that pupils build their subject knowledge, year on year.

For example, in mathematics, children in the early years learn to recognise and count whole numbers. This knowledge is consolidated as pupils move up the school. By Year 6, pupils use their knowledge of numbers to complete long-division problems.

The early years curriculum promotes learning in all relevant areas. Learning captures children's curiosity, develops their spoken language and encourages their independence skills. Children gain the knowledge they need to be ready for Years 1 and 2.

Typically, leaders' curriculum thinking helps pupils to build their subject knowledge between Years 1 to 6. Mostly, the essential subject knowledge and skills which pupils need to know and remember are outlined in detail. However, this detailed curriculum thinking is still a work in progress in some subjects and, as a result, pupils' recall of what they have been taught in previous years is not as secure.

This limits pupils' ability to link new knowledge to their prior learning and impacts on their overall achievement in these subjects.

Pupils with SEND are taught the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Close working with families ensures that the needs of pupils with SEND are carefully identified and sensitively supported.

Adults check pupils' understanding of what they are learning in lessons using carefully selected assessment approaches. These identify pupils' misconceptions, which are subsequently addressed. Staff adapt their teaching and resources appropriately to enable pupils with SEND to access the intended curriculum.

Adults personalise their teaching approaches appropriately to support pupils' learning needs.

Reading is treated as a priority in the school. The teaching of phonics starts during the first week of children joining the Reception Year.

All adults have received phonics training to teach early reading. Pupils build their reading confidence and fluency by the end of Year 1. Daily phonics teaching is in place for any pupils in all year groups who need additional support with reading.

The books pupils read are matched to their phonics knowledge. Through carefully chosen texts for pupils to read, the school fosters a love of reading.

Pupils' conduct is excellent and their attitudes to learning are positive.

They play well together in the playground. Low-level disruption in lessons is rare. Adults rarely need to remind pupils how to behave.

The impact of the school's effective approaches to ensure that pupils attend school regularly is strong.

The school supports pupils to be prepared for life beyond primary school. Pupils' aspirations and their ability to overcome challenges are encouraged.

Through the curriculum, pupils are taught to respect different religions and cultures within their own community and the wider world. Educational visits are planned so that pupils have varied experiences, from shopping in a supermarket to a week-long residential trip. Leaders and the governing body care about staff well-being.

Leaders are understanding, supportive and approachable and consider the workload of staff carefully when making decisions.

Leaders have an accurate view of the school's effectiveness and actively seek to engage parents in their children's education. Leaders have planned priorities for school improvement and clearly defined actions.

The governing body is well informed and maintains effective strategic oversight of the school. The governing body has received relevant training and understands statutory responsibilities well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Where the school has not thought carefully about the crucial knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember, some pupils do not build securely on their previous knowledge and cannot recall prior learning securely. The school should identify the essential subject knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember in all subjects, so that pupils build up knowledge and skills equally well in all subjects.

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 December 2013.