St Francis Catholic Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 18–19 January 2012 Inspection number 376905 St Francis Catholic Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 103437 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 376905 Inspection dates 18–19 January 2012 Lead inspector Christine Merrick

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 384 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Ryan Headteacher Mark Humphreys Date of previous school inspection 11 January 2007 School address Nursery Road Handsworth Birmingham B19 1PH Telephone number 0121 4645072 Fax number 0121 464 3728 Email address enquiry@stfranrc.bham.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed 25 lessons carried out by 16 teachers as well as intervention groups led by teaching assistants. The inspectors held meetings with staff, members of the governing body and groups of pupils. They met informally with parents and carers as they arrived with their children in the morning. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at a wide range of documentation. This included school policies, the school development plan, analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress, teachers’ lesson plans and the leadership team’s records of monitoring activities. They also looked at pupils’ work from across key stages. Questionnaires from 225 parents and carers, from staff and from pupils in Key Stage 2 were analysed and their responses taken into account.

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Information about the school

St Francis is a larger than average, two-form entry Catholic primary school. Many pupils join and leave the school outside the normal times. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average with many entering the school at a very early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is high. The proportion of disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs is also above average. The majority of these are related to behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. The school meets the current government floor standard.

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Information about the school

The school has achieved the Quality Mark for Basic Skills. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school that has continued to make good progress since the last inspection. The atmosphere is calm and welcoming. Staff have high expectations of the pupils matched by a strong commitment to providing high levels of support for those with difficulties. The vast majority of parents, carers and pupils think highly of the school and say that it is a safe place to be.  Achievement is good. From levels that are sometimes well below those expected on entry to Reception, pupils make good progress throughout the school. This was recognised by parents’ and carers’ responses to the questionnaire. At the end of Year 6 standards are broadly average. Pupils take great care and pride in their work and this is reflected in the good level of presentation seen in books.  Teaching is good. Work is well planned and meets the needs of all pupils. There are always very clear learning objectives and pupils get good feedback on their

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Key findings

work so that they know what they need to do to improve. However, questioning does not always allow misunderstandings to be addressed sufficiently well. There is a good focus on basic skills and these are taught well including early sounds that letters make. There are few opportunities for pupils to develop independent learning skills, particularly for the most able. A very high proportion of pupils, parents and carers believe that teaching is good.  Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils are courteous and polite. Those with behaviour difficulties are given excellent support by the learning mentors and this means that learning is not disrupted.  Leadership and management are good. There is a clear vision for the school and its role in the community. The headteacher provides good direction and is well supported by the senior team, middle managers and the governing body. Self-evaluation is accurate and monitoring systems are effective in identifying

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop pupils’ independent learning skills by: Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 increasing opportunities for pupils to show initiative and make choices about both their learning and the way they present it  challenging the more able to take more responsibility for their own learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching so that a greater proportion of teaching is outstanding by:  building on current coaching opportunities for teachers and sharing best practice  more consistent use of questioning that probes understanding and identifies and tackles misconceptions.

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Achievement of pupils

On entry to Reception, children’s skills and understanding are much lower than expected for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress because of focused teaching and opportunities to practise their skills in play-based activities. By the time they reach the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage they are closer to expected levels in areas such as physical development. Areas relating to literacy and numeracy typically remain below average.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils continue to make good progress, most notably in reading. They have a good grounding in the sounds that letters make and reading attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 has been improving steadily since the last inspection. In 2011 boys’ reading was in line with national expectations although girls’ reading was slightly below. Progress continues to be good because there are many opportunities to read in class throughout Key Stages 1 and 2. This was evident in Year 6 for instance, where pupils enjoyed reading a variety of texts individually and in groups such as ‘Prince Caspian’ and excerpts from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. By the time they reach Year 6 standards are broadly average. Pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities make similar progress to their peers because they receive good quality focused support in the classroom and through smaller intervention groups. Pupils’ specific needs are identified quickly and provision adjusted in response to their

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Achievement of pupils

progress. Those pupils who speak English as an additional language also make good progress because they are given the support that enables them to access the curriculum.

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Achievement of pupils

Good use is made of basic skills such as literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. This was seen in a Year 1 class as pupils role-played counting the lost sheep in a religious education lesson, and writing up their predictions in science lessons on insulation in Year 6. Pupils are able to talk about a wide range of activities that they have been involved in using technology and are knowledgeable about how computers can be used for research and developing presentations. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

Progress seen in lessons, and in the work over time in pupils’ books, supports the view of the vast majority of parents and carers who felt that pupils make good progress at the school. This was echoed by the large majority of pupils who feel that the school helps them do as well as they can.

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Quality of teaching

Almost all pupils, and a high proportion of parents and carers who completed the questionnaire, rightly think that teaching is good. Teachers have high expectations of almost all pupils and there is a strong emphasis on the development of social skills alongside pupils’ academic skills. Clear objectives are set in lessons to ensure that pupils know exactly what they are learning. Individual learning targets, reviewed regularly, mean that pupils know what they need to learn next. For instance, in the writing coaching group, three pupils were given very individual, precise targets for the work they were undertaking. Teachers set out what steps make learning successful so that pupils can check their own progress at the end of lessons. Teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage assess learning through listening and observing carefully. This continues throughout the school and the information informs teachers’ planning across all subjects in order to extend pupils’ previous

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Quality of teaching

knowledge, skills and understanding over time. Feedback from teachers, both verbal and written, is comprehensive, particularly in English. However, high quality questioning is not used in all lessons to probe understanding more deeply and to identify and tackle misconceptions immediately.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers provide a wide range of activities and pupils say that they enjoy lessons because they are interesting. Throughout the school relationships are positive and teachers manage pupils well. Teaching has a good impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. There is often a high level of enthusiasm and a sense of shared enjoyment in the pupils’ achievements. This could be seen in a Year 3 class totally engrossed in a mathematical problem and in the enthusiastic drumming class. Activities are sometimes too tightly controlled by the teachers, which means that pupils do not take the initiative and make choices about their own learning enough. Opportunities for the most able to take responsibility for directing their own learning are few.

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Quality of teaching

The learning mentors, and the teaching assistants, are a strength of the school. Their work in the intervention groups means that they are an important element of the teaching team. These groups are well structured and monitored to ensure that they have a positive impact on pupils’ learning. Pupils who are involved in these groups speak favourably about the difference they make to their progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The vast majority of pupils are polite, courteous and have positive attitudes to learning. This results in behaviour typically being good both in lessons and around Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

the school. The school is calm, orderly and welcoming. When pupils do have a concern they know where to go to for help. They are confident that the adults in school will resolve situations quickly and well. The school has good systems for promoting positive behaviour and the behaviour policy makes high expectations explicit. Pupils know what strategies are in place to deal with any difficult behaviour and they say that these strategies work. Learning mentors provide good levels of pastoral support in class and provision such as the nurture group for pupils in Key Stage 1 has a positive impact. Teaching assistants successfully use a range of strategies to secure a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the intervention groups where there is a strong emphasis on promoting self-control. Records show that incidents of bullying are rare and pupils feel that these are dealt with well. Pupils from the wide range of ethnic minorities in school relate well to each other and when

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

asked what was best about school pupils said that people were kind and helpful and that ‘everyone is happy’. This is reflected in attendance rates that have improved steadily in recent years. Attendance in the Autumn term was above average. Pupils recognise how to stay safe, for instance pupils from Year 1 and 2 explain clearly about the arrangements for the fire drill and why these are necessary. The safety and security of the school has a high priority and as a result almost all pupils, parents and carers felt that the school is a safe place to be.

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Leadership and management

Since the last inspection, the headteacher and deputy headteacher have worked to develop the leadership team as a whole and provide opportunities for staff at all levels to be involved in the development of the school. Middle managers now have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Substantial professional development has had a positive impact and their work is now much more focused on improving teaching and learning and raising achievement. They monitor and evaluate teaching closely and provide support and guidance to staff through a coaching approach. This has led to improvements in a number of areas. For instance, changes to the mathematics curriculum in response to a whole school audit resulting in greater consistency in written methods across the school and more practical activities that engage and enthuse the pupils.

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Leadership and management

Rigorous analysis of data by the headteacher and deputy headteacher provides good information about the progress of individuals and groups. Procedures for identifying and supporting disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs and those with behavioural difficulties are thorough and effective so that interventions are used effectively to secure improvement. Their progress is measured and monitored and those most at risk of underachieving receive the benefit of well-placed external expertise. The caring and nurturing nature of the school, and the strong spiritual ethos, promote equality. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated and all individuals are respected.

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Leadership and management

The governing body brings good levels of expertise to its role and is able to support and challenge the school well. Members have a good understanding of the strengths Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

of the school and monitor the progress of the comprehensive development plan. They also ensure that procedures for safeguarding and protecting pupils are securely in place. The school has strong capacity for improvement.

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Leadership and management

The school provides a well-structured curriculum that prepares pupils thoroughly for the next stage of their school career. It is organised through theme-based topics that are enhanced by visits and special events such as ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ and ‘Arts Week’. Pupils say they particularly enjoy these along with the range of after-school clubs. Aspects of pupils social, moral, spiritual and cultural development are woven through these, for instance during the Year 5 topic based on the local community and environment, when pupils passionately discussed changes to the area they live in.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Birmingham, B19 1PH

I am writing to thank you for being so welcoming, polite and courteous when we came to visit your school. We really enjoyed our visit and hearing your views about your school as well as reading your questionnaires.

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Inspection of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Birmingham, B19 1PH

Your school is a good school. You told us you feel safe there, that you are happy to come to school and you learn a lot while you are there. Your parents and carers also think you are safe in school and that you are taught well. We agree with them because we saw some interesting lessons and noticed how many of you behave well in class and as you move around the school.

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Inspection of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Birmingham, B19 1PH

We have asked your headteacher and staff to make your school even better. We have asked them to do this by making sure that you have the chance to take more responsibility. We have also asked them to involve you more in making choices about what and how you learn as well as the ways you show what you have been learning. You can help by telling staff what you enjoy about your learning and what else you would like to learn about. We have also asked them to make sure that they question you more thoroughly to check your learning so that they can help you more effectively.

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Inspection of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Birmingham, B19 1PH

We hope that you continue to enjoy school and all the activities that take place.

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Inspection of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Birmingham, B19 1PH

Christine Merrick Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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