St James Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils spoken to said how much they enjoy school.

Leaders look after them very well, so they feel safe. The ethos of the school is rooted in its values. Pupils are at the heart of their school prayer, 'let your light shine'.

Pupils are proud of having 'prayer partners'.

Leaders are very ambitious for all pupils to do as well as they can, regardless of background or starting points. As a result, pupils achieve very highly, including in reading.

Pupils who find learning difficult or who have challenges to overcome are fully involved in lessons and the wider life of the school. All pupils can access trips, such as to the zoo or the Lickey Hills.
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In addition to their regular lessons, which include Latin, pupils benefit from a 'breakout' curriculum.

Here they can learn to dance, cook and sew, as well as design and make working models such as windmills, boats and rockets.

Pupils behave very well. They take on responsibilities such as serving food to younger ones at lunchtime and clearing away plates at the end.

Pupils reported that bullying is exceptionally rare. Any incident that does occur is dealt with swiftly and effectively by leaders.

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

Leaders have designed and put in place a curriculum plan from Reception to Year 6 which is very well sequenced.

All units in each subject interlink and build on previous learning. There are also strong links across subjects, for example aspects of design and technology are taught through science or computing.

Teachers and additional adults are very well trained to deliver the curriculum.

They have excellent subject knowledge. Where there are two or more adults in a class, they interact very well with each other to effectively support pupils' learning.

From Reception onwards, all adults are involved in checking pupils' learning and addressing misconceptions.

Through highly effective and targeted questioning, they establish whether pupils understand concepts and the meaning of key words. 'Prior learning' activities at the start of each lesson are used very well by teachers to help pupils recall previous information.

Teachers are very skilled at making adaptions to pupils' work.

This ensures that those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are able to access the same learning as their peers at an appropriate level of challenge. This includes additional resources, such as word banks, visual clues or additional support where pupils can hear texts read aloud.

Leaders get pupils reading very early on in Reception.

All adults are consistent in the application of the phonics scheme. Leaders have put in place appropriate additional support in reading for those at an early stage of learning and those who have fallen behind. This helps pupils to quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers.

As a result, almost all reach the expected standard in reading in Years 1 and 2. By Year 6 standards in reading are very high for all pupils. Disadvantaged pupils also make rapid progress in reading.

Pupils also do exceptionally well in mathematics by the time they leave school. In the early years, all mathematical activities, whether structured or unstructured, follow the theme of learning to count.

In each subject, pupils make very rapid gains in their learning.

For example, in history they can recall information about their study of castles in Reception. Adults present technical and subject vocabulary very well. This starts right from Reception where children understand the concept of King John being a 'tyrant'.

They can also recall details of the painters they have studied in art.

Pupils engage very well in their learning. They attend school very regularly.

They have very positive relationships with adults and each other. Pupils show high levels of respect for those from different backgrounds or beliefs.

The curriculum contributes significantly to pupils' wider development.

In English, for example, pupils have performed poems that they have written themselves at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Pupils are developed to be responsible citizens. They are able to suggest ideas for clubs, which they then run themselves.

Pupils can be sports leaders. They also understand about issues in the local community. They have supported the parish in fundraising for food.

During refugee week they learned about sanctuary.

Leaders and governors are very mindful of staff's workload. This is much appreciated by all of the staff who responded.

In the parents survey 100% of the large number who replied said they would recommend the school to another parent. Governors know the school very well, including what is does well and its priorities for the future.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.