Holy Name Roman Catholic Primary School Manchester

Holy Name Roman Catholic Primary School Manchester Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 21–22 June 2012 Inspection number 377254 Unique Reference Number 105516 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 377254 Inspection dates 21–22 June 2012 Lead inspector Judith Straw

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 182 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Headteacher Catherine Gordon Date of previous school inspection 24 September 2007 School address Denmark Road Moss Side Manchester M15 6JS Telephone number 0161 226 6303 Fax number 0161 232 1897 Email address head@holyname.manchester.sch.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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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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Judith Straw Clarice Nelson-Rowe Additional Inspector Additional Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed 16 lessons and several parts of lessons taught by 11 teachers. They visited teaching assistants leading small groups and heard pupils read. Meetings were held with pupils, members of the governing body and staff. They had informal conversations with parents bringing their children to school and before and after assemblies. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s self evaluation evidence, school improvement plans, data on pupils’ progress, governing body minutes, records of monitoring and evaluation and policies relating to safeguarding, child protection and health and safety. They analysed 81 questionnaires received from parents and carers, together with those from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Holy Name Roman Catholic is smaller than an average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is high and includes nearly half of all pupils. The large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic heritages with only a small proportion coming from White British backgrounds. The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average, as is the proportion of pupils supported by School Action Plus or with a statement of special educational needs. The school has high pupil mobility with more than average numbers of pupils joining during the school year or in Key stage 2. The school meets the current floor standard which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. Amongst the school’s many awards are Activemark and full International School status. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate

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Information about the school

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key Findings

 This is an outstanding school because from very low starting points all pupils make excellent progress, both academically and in their personal development. They thrive in the happy, secure and welcoming environment. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent and parents and carers are highly appreciative of the work of the school.

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Key Findings

 Holy Name Roman Catholic is an inclusive school in which pupils learn harmoniously alongside others. Their achievement is excellent so that by the end of Year 2 and Year 6, their attainment in reading is above average and their attainment overall is broadly average and rising. Social and economic barriers to learning are systematically tackled. Hard-to-reach families are sought out, embraced and encouraged to succeed. The school is a haven and a hub of the community. Its work has a very positive effect on families and children.

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Key Findings

 Outstanding teaching is evident in all areas of the school. Learning moves at a fast pace, tasks are challenging and perfectly matched to different pupils’ needs and abilities. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make excellent progress, as do those for whom English is an additional language. Assessment is good, but just occasionally, targets set for pupils are not consistent and clear for them to know exactly how best to improve their work.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and attitudes to learning are excellent. Pupils love school, work extremely well together and persevere with tasks, redoubling their efforts when work is hard and joyously celebrating their successes and those of their classmates.

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Key Findings

 The thoughtful and dynamic leadership of the headteacher provides a very clear vision for improvement which is shared by all staff and members of the governing body. Self-evaluation procedures are rigorous and expert professional development has improved teaching from good to outstanding. The rich and rewarding curriculum enhances learning and raises aspirations.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on existing good and outstanding practice by: - making better use of pupils’ individual targets so that pupils know exactly how to improve their work.   

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the school with skills which are well below those typically expected for their age in all areas of learning. They settle quickly in the stimulating environment, happy and eager to participate in the many exciting activities indoors and out. They enjoy listening to stories and love singing. For example, during the inspection, at the end of the working day, children in the Nursery were still so engrossed in their learning, singing, sharing of percussion instruments and responding to teachers’ instructions that they were oblivious of the need for the session to end. As a result of excellent provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage, progress is rapidly accelerating so that an increasing number of children are reaching national expectations by the time they enter Year 1.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make excellent progress in reading throughout the school. Their attainment in reading is now above average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. They develop good understanding of how letters are written and combined to make different sounds, which enables them to learn new words quickly and effectively. Pupils of all ages and abilities enjoy reading and many read aloud fluently, with confidence, expression and humour. Some pupils enjoy learning poetry by heart. For example, pupils in Year 1 had excellent recall of a poem learned some time ago about faraway places.

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Achievement of pupils

In mathematics pupils relish the challenge of solving problems and respond very positively to the school’s excellent strategy of teaching Years 5 and 6 in small ability groups. This ensures that the highest attaining pupils work at a fast pace, while pupils of middle and lower abilities build up their confidence and expertise in a nurturing environment. Over the last three years pupils have reached broadly average standards by the end of Year 6 from a very low start, but this year they are set to reach above average attainment in English and mathematics. More pupils than ever before are reaching the higher Level 5. Last year nearly all pupils made better than expected progress in both English and mathematics; this year all pupils have done so.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils enjoy learning and many can recall ‘amazing learning moments’ such as the Hamlet quiz, Black History month and learning about Victorian engineering from a visit to the town of Stalybridge. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make exceptional progress. They respond very positively to the strategies used to accelerate their learning, often benefiting from being taught for a time individually or in very small groups. Pupils who join the school during Key Stage 2 often make excellent progress to reach the same standards as those who have been in the school longer. Parents and carers were unanimous that their children make good and often excellent progress and this view is confirmed by inspection evidence.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers are enthusiastic, motivate pupils to want to succeed and have positive relationships with all their classes. They set very high expectations for learning and behaviour and offer timely rewards. For example, pupils in the Nursery and Reception classes build up petals for the class flower and, when they have a full flower, they celebrate their learning with a picnic.

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Quality of teaching

Lessons are planned to build on pupils’ prior learning and to maximise their potential. Teachers’ subject knowledge is excellent and is evident in the sharply focused and challenging questions they ask. They devise activities, which engage pupils, for example, pupils in a Year 4 class were developing writing skills by framing advertisements for imaginary products such as an invisible cloak, a spy watch and a television which talks back. As a result, pupils develop an accurate use of language. In a Year 5 information and communication technology (ICT) lesson pupils were working out systems for the accurate programming of traffic lights. Mathematics is made lively by the use of practical activities, such as in Year 2 where pupils were using pairs of socks on a washing line to concentrate on symmetry and counting in twos. Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to learning by ensuring that pupils are listening and concentrating right from the beginning of lessons, supporting

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Quality of teaching

the learning of small groups and watching in plenary sessions to see which pupils are answering questions and contributing most. Expert support for disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language enables these pupils to make the same excellent progress.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers use the highly engaging curriculum to inspire. International School status broadens pupils’ horizons. For example, work on the creatures living on the coral reefs of the Cayman Islands is contrasted with the rock pools of Blackpool. After the annual visit to Spain, pupils produced impressive displays of work on the siege of the Alhambra Palace in Granada in 1492. Writing about their trip, one pupil wrote ‘the sun was beaming hot. It is like falling asleep next to the fire and starting to melt’. Teachers mark work regularly and give comments on how to improve. Although pupils all have individual targets to which to aspire, these are not always used to guide their learning during lessons and sometimes conflict with the targets in pupils’ books.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are eager to support each other and their very positive attitudes make a strong contribution to their learning. Behaviour is typically outstanding and all pupils feel safe in school because they say that ‘discipline is fair’. Pupils have a lively awareness of how to keep safe in many different circumstances such as using the Internet, road safety and rules for safe swimming. Pupils are adamant that they are free from bullying, racial or gender harassment and say that at school ‘we are a family’ and that ‘we are never sad’. Not surprisingly, attendance has been consistently above average over time and is still rising. Pupils are intensely proud of their school and lose no opportunity to make a positive contribution. In the annual ‘Pupil of the Year Award’, which occurred during the inspection, it was clear which values are most highly prized. These include initiative, hard work, taking responsibility and contributing to the school community. The school’s very strong

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

spiritual, moral, social and cultural values pervade its work so that pupils develop good self-esteem, high aspirations and respect for others.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive that behaviour is excellent and that their children are safe and enjoy school. Typical comments made by parents and carers include ‘this is more than a school to me; the teachers look after me and my children’ and ‘this is an outstanding school which should be commended and celebrated.’ Inspection evidence endorses these views.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher’s vision, dynamism, passion and drive are key factors in the school’s success. She has established a demanding but supportive professional climate in school. The leadership team and the entire staff also share the headteacher’s qualities and values. There is a particularly strong sense of team spirit. Rigorous monitoring of teaching has improved the rate of pupils’ progress across the school. The leadership team meets every six weeks to review the needs of the pupils and to make sure that provision is exactly matched to pupils’ needs. The pupil population can change rapidly and progress can suddenly accelerate or falter. New timetables are issued after these reviews. This personalised learning is one reason why standards are rising. The governing body is highly supportive and brings a wide range of expertise to the role. Governors are effective in carrying out their statutory responsibilities to ensure that child protection measures fully meet requirements.

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Leadership and management

The school is highly inclusive and totally committed to equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination of any kind. As a result, gaps between girls’ and boys’ achievement have been eliminated and pupils known to be entitled to receive free school meals achieve as well as others. The curriculum is outstanding in its breadth and balance and promotes pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development extremely well. The international dimension and links with schools in many parts of the world encourages ambition, removes barriers, builds confidence, promote the value of languages and awareness of other people. All pupils learn Spanish and there is an annual residential trip to Spain. Music is central to the life of the school and many pupils play instruments, dance and sing. This is vividly seen in the weekly ‘Praise’ assemblies. The very supportive relationships, which the school has developed with parents and carers, has a significant impact on the high rates of

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Leadership and management

attendance and excellent achievement of pupils.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 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 ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures

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

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Manchester, M15 6JS

Thank you for the welcome you gave to Ms Nelson-Rowe and me when we inspected you in school. It was a pleasure to see you enjoying your lessons and many other activities. We take away many happy memories about you, especially your wonderful music and singing, and sharing the celebration of the ‘Pupil of the Year’ award.

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Manchester, M15 6JS

Holy Name Roman Catholic is an outstanding school and you are right to be proud of it. Your achievement is excellent because you are taught so well and you have such positive attitudes to learning. Teachers find ways of inspiring you, challenging you to do your best in lessons and making sure you work hard. All adults help you to feel safe and take excellent care of you, especially those of you who may need extra help to settle in and do well. Your behaviour is excellent and you show great respect for each other. Being an international school gives you a window on the world and helps you to be ambitious to learn about other people. You are very well prepared for the next stage of your education.

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Manchester, M15 6JS

The headteacher, staff and governors all work very well together to ensure you have the best opportunities to succeed. We have suggested that the targets set for you could be used more in lessons and when the teachers are marking your books.

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Manchester, M15 6JS

You can help to make sure the school continues its outstanding work by attending as well as you do now, keeping up your excellent and positive attitudes to work and reaching the highest standards you can in all your subjects. I wish you all well in the future.

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Manchester, M15 6JS

Judith Straw Lead Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspectio ns', 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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