St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are aspirational for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders have high expectations for what pupils can achieve and want the very best for them. The curriculum ensures that pupils learn and remember knowledge successfully in most subjects.

Pupils are kept safe and said that they feel like valued members of the 'St Joseph's family'.

They trust adults to help them with any issues or worries that they may have. Pupils are happy and enjoy school. This is because there are warm and caring relationships between adults and pupils.

Pupils' behaviour is calm and orderly. Pupils generall...y show respect to each other and towards adults. Leaders have established clear expectations for pupils' behaviour and conduct.

Nevertheless, these expectations are not consistently upheld by all adults. In a few instances, staff do not expect pupils to stay focused on their work and develop the positive attitudes that leaders aim for.

Pupils have a wide range of opportunities and experiences outside of lessons.

These are planned to support the development of their talents and interests. For example, pupils attend a variety of extra-curricular activities such as art, film and football clubs. Educational visits, including a residential for older pupils, enrich the curriculum and provide pupils with plentiful first-hand experiences of the wider world.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that starts in the early years. The content of the curriculum is well chosen and clearly sequenced. Across a range of subjects, the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils need to learn and remember have been identified and mapped out with clarity.

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They know which strategies to use to enable pupils to learn and understand key ideas. This includes opportunities for pupils to practise and revisit what they have been previously taught.

As a result, in most subjects, pupils develop their knowledge well. Sometimes, though, activities and resources are not chosen to help pupils remember this knowledge in detail and in the long term. For example, when talking about their prior and current learning, sometimes pupils are not expected to recall and use the vocabulary that they have been taught.

This is particularly the case for the subjects where leaders' curriculum thinking is not as far ahead, such as design and technology. In these subjects, pupils are less able to build on their prior learning or make meaningful links between knowledge.

Staff quickly identify where a pupil may need additional support with their learning and appropriate extra help is put in place.

Pupils with SEND experience the same curriculum as their peers. Leaders have made sure that staff are well trained to adapt their teaching to meet pupils' needs. Leaders also work with external agencies to ensure that pupils get the right support.

Leaders prioritise reading. Staff have been trained to deliver a structured phonics programme. As a result, most have the expertise to teach the early reading curriculum with confidence and precision.

However, in a few instances, leaders have not ensured that all staff are confident in putting their training into practice. This means that, on occasions, support and adaptations are not sharply focused on increasing pupils' phonic knowledge, especially for pupils who find learning to read difficult. Leaders have additional training and guidance planned for staff to address this.

Pupils practise the phonics that they have been taught through reading books that are closely matched to the sounds that they know. Extra support is provided for pupils who have any gaps or are falling behind. Throughout the school, leaders promote a love of reading.

For example, they invite parents in to read with their children, organise for older pupils to act as reading buddies for younger ones, and make books available for reading at breaktimes. Daily story time sessions are popular and enjoyed by pupils.

In the early years, leaders have set out a clear approach to ensure children are ready for the next stage of their learning in Year 1.

Systems and routines have been established to support children to learn the intended curriculum. However, on occasions, staff miss opportunities to extend children's language and reinforce understanding of important ideas.

The provision for pupil's personal development is comprehensive and carefully thought through.

Pupils have many opportunities to take on roles of responsibility. For example, they can be elected to be a member of the school parliament, a house captain, a sports leader, an anti-bullying ambassador or a school chaplain. Pupils learn how to keep physically and mentally healthy, as well as about respecting difference.

Leaders and governors know exactly what they want for the school and its future. Governors provide an effective balance of challenge and support for leaders.

All staff benefit from planned professional development, including collaborative working relationships with other local schools and the local authority.

Staff are proud to work here. They feel that their workload and well-being are taken into account by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Regular and relevant training for staff helps them to identify any pupil who may be at risk of harm. There are systems and procedures in place for concerns to be reported. Leaders respond to concerns raised in a timely manner.

Leaders work well with other agencies to get help for pupils and families where needed.

Pupils learn how to keep safe. They learn about keeping safe online and what makes healthy and unhealthy relationships.

Pupils are supported to identify and manage their emotions. Pupils know that there are adults that they can talk to if they have any worries.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have developed clear policies and procedures for learning and behaviour, including in the early years.

However, not all staff fully understand and implement them. This leads to some inconsistencies in how well pupils learn and behave. Leaders need to ensure that their high expectations for learning and behaviour are realised by all staff, from the Reception Year onwards.

• The curriculum is well planned and coherent. However, in some cases, its implementation is not enabling pupils to remember in the long term the crucial knowledge and skills that leaders have identified. Leaders need to support teachers to deliver the curriculum in all subjects in a manner that enables pupils to know more and remember more.