St Joseph’s RC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Children get a good start to their education. They make good progress in Reception and are prepared well to join Key Stage 1.

Pupils achieve well at Key Stage 1 and at the end of Year 2, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is consistently above average. Pupils achieve well at Key Stage 2. Starting from above average levels, good attainment is sustained and at the end of Year 6, standards are typically above average.

They were especially high in 2012. All pupils achieve well in mathematics and a good number reach the very highest levels possible. Pupils' knowledge and use of grammar, punctuation and spelling are good.

...Teaching is good overall. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They set tasks that are effective in helping pupils to move on to the next levels of learning quickly.

Pupils have positive attitudes to school and to learning. They show pleasure in achieving and confidence in taking the next steps in learning. Attendance is above the national average.

Pupils enjoy coming to school and are safe. Senior leaders carefully check the impact of teachers' work on pupils' achievement and set effective plans for improvement. Governors have a good level of involvement in the school.

They know its strengths and where improvements are needed. They skilfully prioritise school development matters and contribute well to school improvement. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Progress in writing is not as good as in other subjects.

Teaching of writing is often too directed and limits pupils' use of imagination. Marking does not always give pupils enough guidance on how to improve their work. They are not sure how to make their work better.

Teachers too often direct learning and do not enable pupils to find things out for themselves. Teachers' assessments of pupils' progress do not match well enough the evidence in books and where teaching is at its best. Opportunities for pupils to write for different purposes and in different subjects are not sufficiently planned across the curriculum.

There are no formal procedures to set targets to develop the work of teaching assistants.

Information about this school

This school is an average-sized primary school. Most pupils are White British.

The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below average. A few pupils speak English as an additional language, but none are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below average.

In this school, the additional funding is for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.

The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics. There is on-site nursery provision. This is run independently of the school and is therefore subject to different inspection arrangements.

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