St Hubert’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this happy and caring school. They routinely act out the school's values, for example forgiveness, friendship and respectfulness.

Pupils are kind to each other. They learn to make the right choices and to accept responsibility for their actions. Pupils enjoy positive relationships with staff.

This helps them to feel safe in school.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pupils achieve well across a broad range of subjects.

This begins in the early years, where children make a strong start.

Pupils benefit from many opportunities to develop their talents and interests. The school offers a wide range of ...after-school clubs, including sports clubs.

The school provides activities suitable for all abilities. These include team games such as kurling and boccia.

Pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to their learning.

Those pupils who need extra help in managing their emotions receive effective support from staff who understand and care for them.

Pupils make a positive contribution to the life of the school. For example, older pupils act as 'gardeners' and they look after younger pupils, who are 'seedlings'.

These experiences help pupils to learn what it means to contribute to the school community.

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

The school has developed a broad and knowledge-rich curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils. It has set out clearly the information that pupils should learn and when they should learn it.

Pupils, and children in the early years, achieve well.

Children in the early years benefit from a well-designed curriculum. Teacher-led learning and guided activities support children in developing their knowledge, communication and language skills.

Children learn to follow the routines that the school has in place. Staff care for the children well and help them to develop independence. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

The school provides appropriate training that helps staff to implement the curriculum successfully. This supports staff workload and well-being. Generally, staff provide suitable activities that enable pupils to build their knowledge securely over time.

However, on occasion, in a few subjects, staff do not match learning activities accurately to the knowledge that the school has identified for pupils to learn. When this is the case, some pupils do not learn some curriculum knowledge as well as they could.

Staff regularly check on what pupils know and remember.

They address gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly. At times, these checks on pupils' learning are not as detailed as they could be. This means that some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to develop a love of reading. Children begin to learn to read from the start of the Reception Year through daily phonics sessions. Staff deliver these sessions with expertise.

They use assessment well to identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. These pupils receive extra support and catch up quickly. Most pupils gain the knowledge and skills they need to read with confidence and fluency.

The school has invested in an extensive library. Reading is prioritised and all pupils are encouraged to read a wide range of books from different genres. Books are carefully chosen to spark pupils' interests and to reflect the diversity of the world.

Older pupils talk enthusiastically about the books that they have read, including those that relate to the different subjects they study. For example, they read about influential women in science and exceptional Black people in history.

The school accurately identifies the additional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils with SEND access the curriculum alongside their peers and they achieve well. The school ensures that staff receive clear and timely information about the needs of pupils with SEND and they use this information to support these pupils effectively.

Pupils are typically attentive during lessons and show engagement in their learning, including in the early years.

Pupils attend school regularly and they are punctual. The school takes effective action to support the small number of pupils who need to improve their attendance or punctuality.

Pupils benefit from an extensive range of opportunities that support their wider development.

They know how to care for their physical and mental health. They learn to celebrate the differences that exist between people and to treat everyone with respect. This prepares them well for life in a diverse world.

Governors have a good knowledge of the school's strengths and priorities. They provide appropriate support and challenge to the school and they ensure that resources are used effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, teachers do not match learning activities sufficiently well to the knowledge that the school has identified for pupils to learn. This means that, at times, some pupils do not learn curriculum knowledge as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers design learning activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum in sufficient depth.

In a small number of subjects, the school does not identify gaps and misconceptions in some pupils' knowledge quickly enough. This means that these pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. The school should ensure that staff use appropriate assessment strategies so that they can help pupils to build their knowledge securely over time.

Also at this postcode