St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Osbaldeston

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Osbaldeston continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like their school. They enjoy spending time with friends at playtimes. Pupils challenge themselves on the climbing wall and trim trail.

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes play happily and securely in their outdoor area. There is always someone to talk to in this happy, friendly school.

Teachers want pupils to achieve well.

Pupils try their best to live up to these high expectations. They listen carefully in lessons and get on with their work. This ensures that everyone can learn without being disturbed.

Pupils know t...hat they can ask for help if they do not understand something. Pupils achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils understand the school rules and follow them.

This starts with the youngest children who learn to move around school sensibly and quietly. Pupils are courteous and respectful to adults, including visitors. All of these things help to make the school an orderly place.

Pupils are confident that bullying is not tolerated at this school by staff. They trust their teachers to stop it, if it ever happened.

There are many activities to support pupils' wider development.

For example, older pupils are excited about their forthcoming residential stay in an outdoor adventure centre. Pupils take part in singing competitions and sports events with other schools. Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to make healthy choices, for example about food.

Pupils said that they feel safe in school. They know who to speak to if ever they are worried.

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

Leaders have designed an exciting and ambitious curriculum for pupils.

Pupils learn well from this curriculum, including those with SEND. In each subject, leaders have decided what they most want pupils to learn by the time they start secondary school. They have organised the curriculum so that pupils build up this important learning in a logical order, from the early years to year 6.

Teachers provide learning for pupils that is interesting and engaging. In lessons, they check to make sure that pupils have understood new learning. They provide the right support for pupils who need it so that these pupils do not fall behind.

Most subject leaders check whether the curriculum helps pupils to know more and remember more over time. This enables subject leaders to make adjustments to the curriculum, if necessary, to improve pupils' learning. A few subject leaders are new to their roles.

They do not have a clear picture of how the curriculum is helping pupils to know and remember more. This is because their work to check the curriculum in their subjects is at an early stage.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum.

Children in the early years begin to learn about phonics as soon as they join the school. They learn new letters and sounds each day. They also keep practising the ones that they have already learned.

Adults make sure that the words in children's reading books contain the sounds that children have learned. This helps children to read successfully, including those with SEND.

Leaders have provided pupils with a wide range of books to read.

Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the books they had read. They said that they particularly enjoy story times when their teachers read to them. Pupils across the school develop a real love of reading.

Leaders work with staff to identify pupils who may have SEND. They communicate effectively with parents and a wide range of professionals. This ensures that this group of pupils receives extra help if it is needed.

Pupils with SEND achieve as well as other pupils.

Pupils have opportunities to contribute to the life of the school in a range of ways. For example, pupils can serve as representatives on the eco-school council.

Others support the school's Catholic life as members of the 'mission team'. Pupils learn about diversity in families and the wider world, and about a range of faiths and cultures. Pupils enjoy their roles of responsibility when they become play leaders at lunchtimes.

They learn to consider the needs of others in their roles as 'well-being warriors.' All of these experiences help to prepare pupils well for their future lives.

Governors and leaders are considerate of staff's workload and well-being.

They are mindful of the impact on staff of the decisions they take about the running of the school. Staff are very appreciative of this concern. They said that they enjoy working at the school and feel supported in their roles.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders provide a range of safeguarding training for staff. This ensures that staff understand how to recognise signs of abuse or neglect.

They know how to report any concerns they may have about a child's welfare.

Leaders work well with other professionals in their work to keep children safe, for example the local authority, multi-agency teams and health professionals. This enables them to secure help for pupils and their families if it is needed.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when they work online. They know what action to take if they see anything that makes them feel uncomfortable.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, subject leaders do not have a clear understanding of the impact of the curriculum in their subjects on pupils' learning.

This is because they are new to the role and have had limited opportunities to make sure that pupils know more and remember more over time. Leaders must ensure that all subject leaders have the time that they need to check the impact of the curriculum.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2013.

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