St Teresa’s RC Primary School a Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Teresa's Roman Catholic (RC) Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that St Teresa's RC Primary School provides a happy and nurturing environment. Parents and carers appreciate the warm welcome that they and their children receive each morning. Pupils said that the best thing about school is their teachers.

Pupils are happy and safe. They know that adults will listen to them if they have any worries. Staff ensure that any instances of bullying or name-calling are dealt with swiftly and effectively.

Leaders make use of trained staff and outside specialists to help support pupils with their emotional health.
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Leaders provide pupils with a wide variety of extracurricular activities. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to take part in the choir, sewing and karate clubs.

Older pupils carry out their responsibilities with pride and maturity. They explained how their different job roles help the school day run smoothly. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about their residential trips to Whitby and Wales.

These trips help pupils further develop their interpersonal skills.

Pupils are polite and respectful. They strive to match leaders' high expectations of their behaviour and learning.

Children in early years display positive learning behaviours that are replicated across the school. This helps all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils effectively, including those with SEND.

Subject leaders have thought carefully about the order in which new knowledge is learned. They have ensured that the curriculum for each subject begins in early years. This helps prepare children well for their learning in Year 1 and beyond.

Subject leaders use a range of visits and visitors to further enhance the curriculum for pupils.

Leaders provide staff with a range of professional development. This helps teachers to deliver the curriculum effectively.

Across lessons, teachers check pupils' understanding and deal with any misconceptions that may arise. In many subjects, pupils can articulate their learning clearly. For example, in the Reception class, children could confidently explain how to make the number six in a range of different ways.

In a few subjects, pupils are less clear about the important knowledge that they need to know and remember. Leaders have recognised this and taken action to provide more opportunities for pupils to recap knowledge. However, the impact of these actions is at an early stage.

Staff quickly identify pupils with SEND. Teachers make adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum whenever necessary. Leaders are able to access a range of specialist support from outside agencies.

These actions are helping pupils with SEND to achieve well.

Leaders' focus on reading has been unrelenting. They have invested in books that enable pupils to understand further the diverse nature of the world in which they live.

Carefully chosen books are used to foster a love of reading among pupils. Pupils said that they enjoy listening to their teachers read to them as it helps them to learn new vocabulary.

Children in early years are surrounded by high-quality texts in the classroom.

Nursery children listen to rhymes and poems and learn how to make different sounds. They are well prepared to begin the phonics curriculum as soon as they enter the Reception class. Regular training enables staff to deliver the phonics curriculum well.

Staff ensure that the books pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they are learning. Any pupil at risk of falling behind is quickly and effectively supported. As a result, pupils are confident and fluent readers.

Classrooms are calm environments where pupils can learn free from interruption. Pupils know that everybody should be respected. Pupils typically say, 'We are all different, yet all the same.'

They are knowledgeable about different faiths and cultures. 'Stewardship' sessions help pupils to understand the importance of looking after the world around them. They are encouraged to take on projects such as litter-picking and voting for school charities.

Governors know the school well. They support and challenge leaders with school improvement priorities. Governors and leaders take action to reduce the workload for staff where possible.

Staff appreciate these actions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders provide regular training for all staff on a wide range of safeguarding issues.

This helps staff to recognise the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Staff understand the importance of reporting any concerns immediately, no matter how small. Leaders' record-keeping is thorough, and actions taken are timely.

Leaders know their families well. They are able to access help and support from external agencies to help keep pupils and their families safe. Teachers use the curriculum and a range of visitors to assist pupils in learning about how to keep themselves safe.

Pupils learn about how to use the internet safely and the dangers of gang culture.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Systematic opportunities to recap prior knowledge have not taken place until recently. As a result, pupils are sometimes less able to recall important knowledge.

Leaders should ensure that the recently introduced opportunities to recap previous learning continue. This should help pupils to retain important knowledge over time.

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2013.

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