St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The dedication shown by all at St Patrick's to improve this school has ensured that pupils now receive a high-quality education.

All members of the community are united in their belief that this is a 'great school to attend' and feel lucky to be part of this 'family'.

Pupils are safe and happy because of the kind and caring relationships they form with each other and adults. Pupils do well in their learning because their social and emotional needs are so well met.

Disadvantaged pupils do particularly well in their learning. This is an inclusive school where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) take part in all activities on offer.<...br/>
Classrooms are calm places to learn.

Pupils show increasing independence and excitement when learning new things. They listen attentively and provide thoughtful answers when asked challenging questions. Pupils greet visitors with a smile and demonstrate a willingness to discuss the many opportunities they are provided and their views of the school.

Pupils enjoy being given the opportunity to decide what clubs they are offered with dodgeball, wheelchair basketball and art club being their favourites. Receiving a 'golden ticket' provides extra motivation to try new activities, all designed to develop confidence and physical well-being.

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

A strong and highly effective partnership between school and trust leaders has enabled sustained and considerable improvement to the quality of education on offer to be made.

There is a 'can-do' culture at this school and expectations of what can be achieved are 'without limits'. A key feature of the school's success has been how they have trained all staff with the skills needed to deliver the curriculum effectively. Staff know that their contributions make a difference and feel that, despite significant changes, their workload and well-being really matter to school leaders and the trust.

There is a completely new curriculum in place, with learning sequences designed to include knowledge that is linked to the local area and needs of the pupils. There are clear knowledge endpoints that the school want pupils to learn with knowledge building progressively over time. Staff 'reactivate' prior learning at the start of a new lesson to assess what pupils have remembered.

However, not all staff are consistently checking pupils' understanding as learning takes place or responding to misconceptions as they arise, meaning some pupils continue to make the same mistakes at a later point.

Reading is a high priority. The school have purchased extensive reading materials that excite the imaginations of many pupils.

Children learn to read from the first days in school and many go on to grasp phonics by the time they leave key stage 1.The school have identified that more work is needed to develop how fluently the weakest readers can read, knowing that this will support their ability to understand what they have read.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start.

Developing children's communication and language skills is a high priority. The school successfully achieve this by linking the curriculum to the interests and needs of the children. A key success is how well children are able to regulate their emotions.

This is achieved because staff form close relationships and help children to feel secure quickly. Many leave the early years showing that they can concentrate for long periods of time and a readiness for more formal learning.

Pupils with SEND are increasingly well supported.

A new leader has worked well to develop new systems that now more successfully identify and assess the needs of pupils with SEND. Learning is adapted to support pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers. Support plans are in place to remove barriers to learning, however, not all pupils have plans that identify precisely enough what is needed to help them to be successful in their learning.

Pupils behave well and know that being kind is the most important thing to be. They use 'kind words and hands' and see their responsibility in making their school a nice place to be. They talk enthusiastically about opportunities they are provided and are increasingly resilient to setbacks when learning becomes a challenge.

Most attend school regularly with the school successfully supporting parents to understand the importance of attending school. The welfare team build strong relationships with families and remove barriers to pupils coming to school on time and regularly.

Pupils know the importance of being tolerant and active citizens and understand that being different is to be celebrated.

They help others by raising money for local families in need and know how to keep themselves safe online and in the real world.It is an exciting time to be part of the St Patrick's community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all staff consistently check pupils' understanding as learning takes place or respond to misconceptions as they arise. This means that some pupils make the same mistakes and do not build secure knowledge as well as they might. The school should continue to ensure that all staff know the importance of checking pupils' understanding.

Some of the weakest readers are not supported to develop their reading fluency quickly enough. As a result, they struggle to comprehend what they read, affecting their enjoyment and understanding. The school should ensure that all staff develop an understanding of how to support pupils to read fluently at the earliest point.

• Not all pupils with SEND have support plans that identify precisely enough what is needed to support them to be successful in their learning. Consequently, targets do not focus on the specific small steps required to help them to progress. The school should ensure that staff are supported to use new systems as intended and monitor the effectiveness of support plans.