St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and happy school that is built on Christian values and excellent relationships between staff, pupils and their families. Leaders have high expectations of what pupils can achieve, how they behave and their attitudes to learning. Pupils almost always do their best to live up to these high expectations in the work that they produce and the way that they conduct themselves.

Staff do all that they can to inspire pupils to become independent, confident learners.

Pupils behave well, in class and during break times. They told inspectors that they feel sa...fe and well looked after in school.

They play happily with their friends during break times and work hard in class. Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour and pupils said that bullying hardly ever happens. They said that if it does occur adults help to sort any problems out very quickly.

Pupils are excited that the after-school clubs are restarting. They are looking forward to once again taking part in residential visits and the many other extra-curricular activities that were taking place before the pandemic.

Staff and pupils are proud to be part of their school community.

Parents and carers are fully supportive of the school's staff and leadership team. One parent captured the views of many by writing on Parent View, 'Brilliant, passionate teachers. Amazing management.'



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

Reading is a priority and an essential part of each school day at St Augustine's. Staff use the school's well-planned phonics curriculum very well to help children and pupils to develop their early reading knowledge and skills. They make sure that the books pupils read match the sounds that they have been taught.

This helps pupils to use their phonics knowledge confidently to build fluency in their reading. Staff are well trained in the teaching of reading. They make regular checks on pupils' progress and make sure that those who are struggling receive the extra support that they need to catch up.

As they move into key stage 2, the focus on reading remains. Pupils experience a wide range of literature and many older pupils become avid readers.Leaders have developed an ambitious and well-ordered curriculum which helps pupils to achieve well across a range of subjects.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is accessible to all pupils including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They ensure that these pupils are identified as early as possible in their school lives. This helps leaders to put the necessary support in place to ensure that the needs of these pupils are met.

Pupils with SEND achieve well.

Children's learning journeys begin in the early years where the well-planned curriculum helps children to develop the knowledge that they need when they move into Year 1. Staff help children to develop their language skills by explaining tasks clearly and encouraging children to discuss and describe their learning.

As pupils move through the school, teachers use the curriculum plans to build pupils' knowledge across subjects. Leaders have clearly identified the end points in each subject. Teachers use this information to assess pupils' progress and identify where they have gaps in their learning and need extra support.

Teachers have received effective training. This has led to particular strengths in the mathematics and science curriculums. Teachers have secure subject knowledge.

They ensure that the work they provide helps pupils to build on their prior learning. However, in a small number of subjects the curriculum plans are not precise enough to ensure that teaching sharply focuses on meeting pupils' differing learning needs. For example, in geography there are planned activities for each class, but there is not enough information about the precise knowledge and skills that pupils need to develop from year to year.

Pupils are well behaved. Leaders ensure that there is a strong focus on supporting pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This was evident in the discussions that inspectors had with groups of older pupils.

They were able to discuss a number of issues, such as discrimination and equality, in an extremely mature manner. Pupils said that diversity is celebrated at the school. They are knowledgeable about different cultures and major world religions.

They told inspectors that, when they were learning about issues such as mental health, drugs and alcohol abuse, they were spoken to 'like adults'. Pupils also develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe when out in the community or working online. For example, pupils recently learned about water safety and took part in an internet safety day.

Staff feel well supported in their work. They said that school leaders are mindful of their well-being and considerate of workload issues. Staff value the training that leaders have provided, particularly in reading and mathematics.

They believe that this has contributed to improvements in pupils' learning.

Leaders and governors have created a caring and nurturing environment at St Augustine's. All members of staff said that they are extremely proud to work at the school.

Pupils thrive and by the time they leave Year 6 they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school.

Staff are fully aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and they are alert to the risks that pupils may face. Staff know pupils and their families extremely well. They are quick to pick up on any concerns.

Leaders work closely with external agencies to ensure that pupils receive appropriate support where necessary. Leaders also ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training. Recruitment checks are carried out on employees and other adults who regularly work in the school.

The governing body maintains an overview of all safeguarding policies and procedures.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Most curriculum plans carefully set out the essential knowledge that pupils need to develop in each year group. However, in a small number of subjects this guidance is less precise.

This limits pupils' learning in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that the essential knowledge is clearly identified in all subjects. This will enable teachers to sequence pupils' learning more effectively and help pupils to know more and remember more across the whole curriculum.

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. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 14 and 15 June 2016.