St Katharine's Church of England Primary School

St Katharine's Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 113841 Local Authority Bournemouth Inspection number 357436 Inspection dates 9–10 June 2011 Reporting inspector Brian Evans

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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 435 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Smith Headteacher Nicola St John Date of previous school inspection 14 May 2007 School address Rolls Drive Bournemouth BH6 4NA Telephone number 01202 426663 Fax number 01202 430047 Email address stkatharinesce@bournemouth.gov.uk

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Age group 4–11 Inspection dates 9–10 June 2011 Inspection number 357436 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 after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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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 .

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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 documentation 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'. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by four additional inspectors. The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 23 lessons and parts of lessons taught by 15 teachers. Meetings took place with the Chair of the Governing Body and a number of staff, parents and carers, and groups of pupils. The inspection team observed the school's work and looked at documentation, which included the school strategic plan, assessment information, safeguarding documentation, curriculum planning and samples of pupils' work. Inspectors analysed the results of 174 questionnaires completed by parents and carers, and took account of the views expressed in the pupils' questionnaires. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.  The impact of interventions since September 2010 in raising standards in writing and in numeracy.  The impact of teaching and learning and use of assessment in Years 3 to 6.

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Introduction

 The impact of the new headteacher on raising standards since September 2010.

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Information about the school

St Katharine's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary is larger than most primary schools. The great majority of pupils are from White British heritages. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average, as is the proportion with a statement of special educational needs. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average.

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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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Main findings

 St Katharine's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary is a satisfactory school. Since the previous inspection when it was deemed outstanding, the pupils have not made the progress expected of them in 2008, 2009 and 2010. However, since the appointment of the new headteacher in September 2010, the current Year 6 has made very good progress in English and mathematics and attainment is now rising to above average. Pupils and parents and carers state that they enjoy school.  The new headteacher leads the school well. Self-evaluation procedures are good and the school's improvement plan is rigorously reviewed by the governing body. The range of expertise on the governing body has supported the recent rise in the school's achievement. The focus is firmly on providing good equal opportunity for pupils and the school is reducing the gaps in pupil achievement. The success of present interventions in relation to learning and the good progress this year shows

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Main findings

the school has good capacity for sustained development.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are given satisfactory support in the classrooms. Intervention programmes for pupils identified as underperforming are only just being developed on a whole-school basis. Pupils are not always challenged sufficiently by the work set for them.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory and result in pupils' satisfactory progress. Where teaching is most effective, assessment is used well to plan lessons from the learners' starting points. Feedback to learners tells them how to improve and they have a good understanding of how well they are doing. In many lessons, however, the pace of learning is not challenging enough. In mathematics, marking is not always consistent enough and not of the same quality as the marking of writing, and this slows pupils' learning. Pupils' satisfactory progress in learning basic academic

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Main findings

skills is aided by the well-established partnerships with external agencies and good relationships with parents and carers. The work of the home-school pastoral worker aids and supports pupils and families well.  As a result of the school's and parents' and carers' rigorous efforts, attendance is high. The school gives a clear and consistent message to parents, carers and pupils about the importance of attending school and the link with achievement.  The personal development of pupils is a key element in supporting good achievement. All pupils were very attentive and listened carefully in assemblies. Parents' and carers' questionnaire returns show that they feel their children feel very safe. Pupils' commitment to the school and local community is outstanding. Pupils' understanding of the diversity of communities and cultures in the United Kingdom is not so well developed.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and learning by: lifting the quality of any satisfactory teaching to become good or outstanding through teachers challenging pupils and increasing the pace of lessons applying the successful assessment techniques in writing to mathematics and to other areas of the curriculum.  Extend the opportunities for pupils to understand the diversity of communities and cultures and interact with other groups within the United Kingdom.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

The majority of pupils enter the school with above-average skills. From this point, they make satisfactory progress in their learning, so that their attainment is also above average rather than higher by the time that they leave the school. Overall, they achieve satisfactorily. Attainment in writing has steadily risen in English but not as quickly in mathematics over the past three years across the school. Convincing data for Year 6 outcomes in both English and mathematics show that this gap is narrowing and pupils are on track to attain the high scores of 2007. Excellent paired work in a Year 6 numeracy lesson allowed pupils to learn well from each other. Pupils in this class assert that if a task is challenging, they will work it out. However, in a Key Stage 1 numeracy lesson, progress was hindered because the teacher had not used assessment information well enough to help develop pupils' problem-solving and investigative skills quickly enough.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Displays around the school show that pupils are helped to use their writing across the curriculum. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress and most teachers set tasks that match their learning needs. Pupils are polite and well mannered in welcoming visitors to the school. Assemblies raise pupils' self-esteem and have helped build their confidence to speak publicly at these and many other events in the local community. Pupils respond thoughtfully to opportunities for reflection. The quality of pupils' spiritual, moral and social development has many strong features. All pupils are happy and play and learn well together and they enjoy artistic cultural activities. Their overall spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. It is not yet outstanding because the school recognises that it needs to extend opportunities for pupils to learn more about the diversity of communities and cultures, within the United

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Kingdom and overseas. Pupils' outstanding contribution to the school and the local community is seen in their work for local charities and in their wide-ranging and very effective contributions to local sporting and music organisations.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 3

Taking into account: Pupils' attainment¹

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 3

The quality of pupils' learning and their progress 3

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 3

The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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3

Taking into account: Pupils' attendance¹

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The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4

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How effective is the provision?

Teaching, though satisfactory, is inconsistent in different subjects and across year groups; some of the best teaching was evident in Year 6. Often, the teaching and assessment of learning in numeracy and in other areas of the curriculum is only satisfactory because assessment is not developmental enough. In a number of classes, there is not always enough attention given to matching the task to different groups of pupils. Assessment is used well in writing but is not as thorough in numeracy or in other areas of the curriculum. Teaching assistants make a very strong contribution to learning either by their work in 'boosting' individual skills in withdrawal groups or by in-class support. In the Reception class, there was very supportive teaching from the teacher and teaching assistant. The teaching of writing was well structured with the children saying the sentence before writing it. They were encouraged and supported to use their phonic (the sounds that

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How effective is the provision?

letters make) and keyword knowledge to write about the life cycle of the butterfly. However, inconsistencies across the year groups lead to pupils having different experiences of learning, and overall challenge and expectations are not high enough. Specialist spaces are used well, including the impressively equipped music room area and information and communication technology (ICT) learning area. Pupils go on valuable residential visits from Year 5 onwards including a recent journey by Year 6 to Swanage. The school is in the process of planning the curriculum so that learning is enriched and the curriculum motivates pupils. More opportunities for practical activities are evident through

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

colourful displays of pupils' work such as the egg-hatching project. There is good evidence that the 'talk for writing' project is helping teachers to plan for cross-curricular writing. The school offers a wide range of sporting and musical extra-curricular activities. Pupils are very enthusiastic and links with a local sports college are very close. Teachers and support staff provide good care, guidance and support and liaise well with parents and carers. Pupils say they feel safe at all times and very well supported and cared for. The school's pastoral care worker is very effective and works effectively with the consultant special educational needs coordinator who is in school for one day a week.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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The quality of teaching 3

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

The senior leaders and managers work very closely with the headteacher. The headteacher is a strong, motivating force throughout the school and is very successful in taking all staff with her when driving improvement. The management of teaching and learning is emphasised in the school improvement plan but there is much more to be done yet to raise the quality of teaching. The impact of good leadership by the headteacher and senior leaders and managers can be seen in the development of a school ethos that is friendly, welcoming and mutually supportive. Statutory duties are reviewed regularly and meet requirements, including the good procedures relating to safeguarding. The protection of children is embedded in all aspects of school life. Policies and their impact on child protection are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that they reflect best practice and are followed consistently by all staff. Concerted action to promote equal

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How effective are leadership and management?

opportunities and the effective tackling of any discrimination leads to harmony across all groups and has improved the performance of all groups of pupils, especially those who need additional support. Professional support and staff training days are regularly used to raise awareness of teaching and curriculum issues and to improve practice. Parents and carers are well informed and engaged in their children's learning through newsletters and other communication; especially through the pastoral care worker. The governing body carefully examines the impact of policies on the school's work and effectively holds the school to good account for its performance. It has been especially effective in working with the new headteacher. The promotion and impact of community cohesion has some excellent features in terms of the local community. Pupils also study and understand that communities and cultures in other parts of the world can be different.

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How effective are leadership and management?

An understanding of the diversity of lifestyles within the United Kingdom is not as well developed.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for leadership and management

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2

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Early Years Foundation Stage

 The provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children make good progress. An inclusive ethos and an open-door policy engage parents and carers well in their children's learning. Behaviour is good and parents and carers say children are safe.  Assessment and annotation of 'Learning Profiles' are thorough and support learning. Attendance is good and supports the good ethos and relationships in the setting.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with appropriate visual support from all classroom assistants and teachers. The leaders have a good knowledge of the children which supports their learning effectively. Partnerships with outside agencies are good.  The children are confident, independent learners and behave well when working with adults and when working independently. When learning outside hunting for bugs and taking care of their plants, the children show a good understanding of the world

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Early Years Foundation Stage

around them. This is because of the wide range of learning experiences planned for them such as the Chinese New Year celebrations.  Motivating contexts such as The Hungry Caterpillar give children the impetus to write their own stories. With good guidance, many make good progress in their writing.  The Early Years Foundation Stage leader's very high aspirations for the children drive her planning for them in the development of the setting. Consistency in assessment and teaching across the two classes is monitored well. The outside play area is not well used, which has an impact on children's self-initiated learning.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Views of parents and carers

Parents and carers are generally pleased with the school. The headteacher and deputy headteacher are always at the gates before school in the morning. Parents and carers say they are involved in the school. For example, a group of parents helped with vegetable beds during a weekend. This has had a great impact on pupils. In their responses, almost all parents and carers state that their children enjoy school and feel very safe. The quality of pastoral care, the curriculum, and opportunities for extra-curricular activities were highly praised. Parents and carers and pupils indicated both orally and in their questionnaires that their perception is that the school does need to challenge pupils more. The school is developing effective strategies to address this perception. During the inspection, inspectors saw no instances of unacceptable behaviour.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at St Katharine's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

The inspection team received 174 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 435 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 93 53 70 40 5 3 2 1 The school keeps my child safe 115 66 56 32 1 1 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My school informs me about my child's progress 54 31 93 53 19 11 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child is making enough progress at this school 64 37 79 45 23 13 4 2

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The teaching is good at this school 73 42 83 48 10 6 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps me to support my child's learning 55 32 93 53 17 10 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 84 48 76 44 9 5 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 72 41 82 47 8 5 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 55 32 91 52 17 10 3 2

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 48 28 92 53 20 11 5 3

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 47 27 93 53 20 11 2 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 65 37 95 55 5 3 1 1

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 80 46 77 44 11 6 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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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.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils.

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Grade Judgement Description

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

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 December 2010 and 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. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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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

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on 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 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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Southbourne, BH6 4NA

We are writing to let you know how much we enjoyed our visit to your school. We judge St Katharine's to be a satisfactory and improving school. These are the main findings of the inspection. We agree with you that the school does many things well for you, which helps you to be happy and successful learners. We understand that most of you are proud of the school two Year 6 pupils showed me why they were proud of the school through a computer set piece.  You are making much better progress than previously in writing and satisfactory progress in numeracy.  You feel very safe at school, contribute outstandingly to the local community and have a good understanding of adopting healthy lifestyles.  The good levels of care, guidance and support provided by the school allow you to flourish as learners and develop good levels of independence.  The partnerships between the school, your parents and carers, outside agencies and

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Southbourne, BH6 4NA

yourselves are good.  Teaching is satisfactory but it does include outstanding and good teaching.  Displays around the school are well illustrated by you.  The school is in a beautiful environment for learning. We have asked the school to build on the good start this year in writing. We have asked teachers to set a brisk pace within lessons, challenge you more and assess appropriate tasks according your levels of ability across all years in numeracy and other aspects of the curriculum. We have also asked the school to look at areas of the United Kingdom which are different to your own. All of you can help, too, by continuing to work hard with your teachers and all adults, and maintaining your enthusiastic approach to learning.

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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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