St Boniface RC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders' goal of making St Boniface 'a happy place to work and learn' is a reality. Staff give pupils the emotional and personal support they need to be happy and successful. Pupils appreciate this.

One pupil's comment, 'I have learned not to give up here', echoed the views of others. Parents and carers are confident that their children are safe and well looked after. They are particularly thankful for the support given to them and their children throughout the pandemic.

The school puts its work around communication at the heart of its curriculum. Right from early years, staff have high expectations for pupils to use the vocabulary they are learning and to speak in fu...ll sentences.

Pupils take on responsibilities, such as being 'pupil of the day', a buddy, monitor or prefect.

Pupils enjoy these roles and take them seriously. Pupils behave well in and around the school. Most keep focused on their tasks and work hard.

Pupils learn right from day one to respect each other, to take turns and to cooperate. As a result, pupils get on well together and they say that bullying hardly ever happens. Pupils feel safe in school.

They are confident that staff would help them if they ever had to report any concerns.

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

Leaders focus closely on pupils' language development and communication. Many pupils learn English as an additional language.

Staff use a range of strategies effectively, including visual aids, to help pupils to learn. These strategies also help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff know these pupils well.

They provide the right level of support to help them to learn the same things as their peers, including in subjects such as physical education (PE).

Pupils' journey of learning to read begins in Nursery. Staff make sure that pupils read books that match the sounds they have been taught.

Pupils enjoy reading. They also enjoy it when their teachers frequently read aloud to them, sharing their enthusiasm and passion for books, poems and stories. Staff assess pupils' phonics knowledge regularly.

They listen to and support the pupils who need to catch up. Occasionally, some of the support for the weakest readers is not as sharp as it should be. Some staff are not as adept as others in helping pupils to use phonics to sound out words.

Some of the strategies being used do not help pupils to consistently develop their letter formation and posture for writing.

Leaders are ambitious for the curriculum. They are clear about what they want pupils to learn in every subject.

They know how this learning begins in early years and builds up through the rest of the school. For instance, children in Reception were learning about making biscuits. They confidently spoke about eggs and cooking equipment.

They used the vocabulary that they had been taught. This learning prepares children well for subjects such as design and technology and science that they will learn in future years.

Leaders have planned each subject to take into account the mixed-year group classes in Years 3 to 6.

The curriculum plans make clear how pupils' knowledge and skills develop in each subject. That said, sometimes the work that teachers give to pupils is not sufficiently demanding. When this happens, teachers do not use their assessment of what pupils already know and can do well enough.

Overall, parents are happy with the school's work. Some are not happy with the move to mixed-year group classes.

Pupils learn from an early age to manage their emotions and to look after their well-being.

Staff's expertise in mental health awareness means that pupils who are anxious or need support get the help that they need.

Pupils relished the number and range of clubs and activities that took place prior to the pandemic. They particularly enjoyed clubs such as those for fitness, dance and yoga.

Pupils visit places such as the Houses of Parliament. The gardening club recently went to a ceremony at Guildhall to collect an award for being highly placed in a competition. Pupils are looking forward to clubs starting again to complement their Friday enrichment activities.

Governors know the school well. They visit the school to test out for themselves the views of staff, pupils and parents. They set the tone for checking on the well-being and workloads of staff, including the headteacher.

There is a strong sense of community at St Boniface. Staff are happy working at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils feel safe at school and are taught a wide range of ways to keep themselves safe, including when online. They have also been trained and feel confident on what to do if the school had to go into a 'lockdown', for example if an intruder came onto the school site. Leaders keep parents up to date with guidance on how they can best protect their children from harm, including in relation to online safety.

Leaders know pupils and their families. They take decisions that are in the best interests of pupils, including working effectively with external agencies. Staff know what signs to look for that could indicate a pupil may be in need of support.

They refer any concerns quickly to leaders responsible for safeguarding.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Occasionally, the support given to the weakest readers is not as helpful as it should be. A few staff do not have the same level of expertise as others in supporting the weakest readers to catch up.

Leaders need to make sure that further training and monitoring are in place to ensure a consistently expert approach to delivering the phonics programme. Leaders should ensure that staff use strategies consistently well to develop pupils' letter formation and their posture for writing. ? Leaders have thought carefully about curriculum planning and progression to take account of mixed-year group classes.

However, there are occasions when lessons and the work given to pupils are not demanding enough. Sometimes, teachers do not make sure that lessons build on pupils' prior knowledge and skills. Leaders now need to put even more focus on supporting teachers in delivering their subject plans, so that lessons fully build on what pupils already know and can do.