St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School. They feel safe and well cared for.

Pupils make friends easily.

Children in the early years settle quickly into school routines and develop confidence. Older pupils successfully use their talents and interests to make a tangible contribution to their school and the wider community.

Pupils enjoy playtimes.

For example, they cooperate well together in high-quality physical activities. They also take part enthusiastically in the wide range of experiences on offer at school, such as sport or learning in the outdoor area.

Pupils learn how important positive behaviour is.

Typic...ally, they behave well and focus intently on their learning. Pupils benefit from additional support, if they need it, to access all aspects of school life. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This helps pupils to experience success at school.

The school has high expectations of all pupils' achievement. Children learn how to meet these expectations while they are in the Reception Year.

Across the school, staff support pupils to be ready to learn. Pupils achieve well.

Pupils learn to embrace diversity.

They demonstrate courtesy and respect towards others. Pupils explained to inspectors how people's differences make the world a more interesting place.

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

The school's published data from national tests has been very strong over time.

Despite this, the school has not been complacent. It has developed a new curriculum, which has broadened and enriched pupils' knowledge across a wider range of subjects. Pupils continue to achieve well in national tests, as well as learning more broadly across the curriculum.

The school's revised curriculum supports pupils to build a rich body of knowledge over time. Pupils benefit from opportunities to recall what they have learned previously. This helps them to understand new learning.

Pupils' recall of the wider range of essential knowledge that the school wants them to learn is improving.

Typically, in most subjects, teachers regularly check that pupils have grasped new learning before moving on to something new. However, in a few other subjects, the school's assessment systems are underdeveloped.

On occasion, they do not provide teachers with all the information that they need to check whether pupils have remembered curriculum content. From time to time, this hinders how well teachers identify whether pupils have gaps in their knowledge or if they have developed misconceptions.

Reading is a strength of the school.

In recent years, the school has introduced a new phonics programme to address gaps in some pupils' reading knowledge following the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff are suitably trained to deliver this programme consistently well. Children start to learn how to use phonics to read words as soon as they begin in the Reception Year.

Most pupils develop secure reading knowledge by the time that they complete key stage 1.

Pupils across the school enjoy reading the wide range of high-quality texts that the school provides. This helps pupils to access the rest of the curriculum more easily.

Expert staff provide effective support for those older pupils who require additional support to catch up with their reading knowledge.

In the main, teachers provide appropriate support to enable pupils in their class to access the curriculum fully. This includes pupils with SEND.

However, there is variability in the school's knowledge of different types of SEND and how to identify these. For example, some teachers are not sure about how best to support pupils with more complex SEND. Added to this, the systems in place to record and share important information about pupils' additional needs are not used consistently well by staff.

Some pupils with SEND struggle to access aspects of the curriculum as a result.

Pupils are well motivated to earn the rewards on offer for positive behaviour and trying their best. As pupils progress through the school, they become adept at remaining focused on their learning during lesson time.

Pupils benefit from the school's strong focus on wider personal development. They develop a secure understanding of the importance of nutrition, mental well-being and physical fitness in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. They know what constitutes a safe and healthy relationship.

Consequently, pupils' learning across the curriculum prepares them well for later life.

Leaders and governors work closely together with staff, parents and carers. For example, the school ensures that parents are well informed about how they can support their children's learning.

Staff appreciate the school's consideration of their workload and well-being. For instance, the school checks that any changes or improvements made to the curriculum do not create additional workload for staff.

Governors provide effective support and challenge to the school.

They are committed to supporting the school in providing a high-quality education for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some teachers do not know how to identify and meet the range of needs of some pupils with SEND consistently well.

This means that, at times, some pupils with complex additional needs struggle to access the curriculum as well as their peers. The school should ensure that teachers are well equipped to identify the full range of pupils' additional needs. This is so that they can provide effective support for pupils with different types of SEND.

• In a few subjects, the school's assessment systems are underdeveloped. This sometimes hampers teachers from identifying pupils' misconceptions and gaps in knowledge quickly enough. The school should ensure that assessment systems in these remaining subjects support teachers to check how well pupils have learned the knowledge in the curriculum.

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