St Anthony's Catholic Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 12 Oct 2012

Holy Name RC Primary School Dane Park Road, Hull, HU6 9AA,

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Typically, attainment by the end of Year 6 is low and improvements across the school have been inconsistent; they are stronger in Key Stage 1 than Key Stage 2.  The work pupils are given is not always suitably matched to the range of needs within every class and activities are not always sufficiently interesting to keep pupils fully engaged.  Not all teachers make effective use of teaching assistants during whole-class lessons.  The quality of guidance offered to pupils about how to improve their work is inconsistent across the school.  While fixed-term exclusions are falling they remain above the national average.  Recent developments in the curriculum have not had time to make an impact on pupils’ achievement.  Senior leaders, including governors, have concentrated their efforts to effectively address inadequate teaching but not ensured teaching is good.  The role of leaders of subjects with particular

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

responsibilities in supporting school improvement is underdeveloped.  The governing body does not monitor carefully enough the school’s use of additional funding (the pupil premium) to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher has taken the right steps to improve the weakest teaching.  Good systems have been established to make checks on pupils’ progress and flag up any underachievement.  Attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 has been on an upward trend and is now broadly average in writing.  Pupils’ attendance has improved year-on-year and is now in-line with the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has also significantly reduced.  Careful checks undertaken by the headteacher ensure that the school’s self-evaluation is accurate and reliably informs the school’s plans for making improvements.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher, and also a number of small group and one-to-one activities led by support staff.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, senior leaders and school staff.  Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons about their work, looked at books, listened to pupils read and talked to groups of pupils from Key Stage 2.  Inspectors took account of three responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), a recent school survey of parents’ views and spoke to parents at the start of the day.  Inspectors also took account of 20 questionnaires returned by members of staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, looked at progress data, performance management information, records relating to behaviour and attendance, as well as documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Jim Alexander, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Derek Sleightholme Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action is average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is higher than average.  A lower than average proportion of pupils is from minority ethnic groups.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is over twice the national average.  The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement and improve the quality of teaching to good or better, by:  increasing the proportion of pupils who make and exceed expected progress and so raise attainment in all subjects, particularly in Key Stage 2  ensuring a good match of work to pupils’ level of ability so all pupils make the best possible progress in every lesson  planning activities that motivate pupils’ enthusiasm for learning  increasing the number of opportunities for pupils to work by themselves with better use of homework activities  maximising the involvement of teaching assistants during whole-class lessons  improving the overall quality of marking and guidance given to pupils so they are clear about how to make their work better.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance, by:  making careful checks on the quality of teaching to ensure all teaching becomes good or better  developing the role of leaders of subjects with particular responsibilities and equipping them to drive improvements at a faster pace  checking on developments in the curriculum, with a particular emphasis on securing basic number skills and problem-solving activities across a range of subjects  developing the systems used to manage pupils’ behaviour to reduce the number of exclusions  ensuring the governing body is fully informed about the use of the pupil premium funding, so they are better able to hold the school to account.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because while some pupils make good progress, particularly those in Key Stage 1, for the majority it is not good enough. The main reason is that teachers do not always pay enough attention to matching work to pupils’ individual abilities or planning work that engages and excites the pupils.  There are clear signs of improvement and the headteacher has successfully addressed a number of difficult staffing issues which slowed down the process of gaining a consistent approach to raising achievement across the school.  Children start the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are low compared with those typically expected. Their language and number skills are particularly low. Progress in the Reception class requires improvement because while children are helped to make good progress in developing their personal and social skills, development in their language and number skills is

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

not as fast.  By the end of Year 2, attainment which was low in 2010, has been improving year on year and was much closer to the national average in 2012. Attainment in writing improved so much that it was broadly average and this represents good progress for these pupils.  By the end of Key Stage 2, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has not improved in a similar way and remains low by the end of Year 6. Across the school there is clear evidence that the progress pupils make in their lessons varies from class to class, and while some make good progress this is not true for the majority.  Pupils learn best when they are inspired by the topics planned. For example in Year 2, pupils’ imaginations were fired-up by The Hull Fair theme and the effective use of information and communication technology. The outcome was that they wrote some wonderfully descriptive poems. However, pupils are not always so sufficiently engaged and consequently they can

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

become more passive.  Pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium generally make similar progress in their writing and mathematics to others in the school. Pupil premium funding is helping to pay for the additional staff to work on developing pupils’ reading skills. As a result, pupils read regularly and enjoy a range of texts, using their phonic skills (linking letters and sounds) well. This is helping many pupils make increasingly good progress in this subject.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported to make similar progress to others across the school. The few pupils from minority ethnic groups also make similar progress to others in their class.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because while it is good in some lessons, it is weaker in others and so is not consistent enough to speed up pupils’ progress, which varies from class to class.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage children receive a warm welcome and are helped to develop positive attitudes to school life. However, adults miss opportunities to reinforce and extend children’s understanding, particularly in their language and number work. The school has provided a well-resourced outdoor area, but this is not always used to its fullest extent.  Across the school the quality of marking is improving, particularly in writing but is not consistently good across the school. When the guidance provided is good, pupils say this helps them know how to improve their work and gives them constructive advice to follow in the next lessons. Pupils’ progress is more limited in mathematics because on occasions while teachers

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

identify what the pupils need to do to improve, they do not plan follow-up work quickly enough. As a result, when the topic is revisited some weeks later pupils continue to make the same mistakes as before.  Older pupils say they are enjoying the new setting arrangements for English and mathematics, which have been introduced this year, because they are finding the work more challenging. Teachers are also planning activities that are more practical. However, these developments are at a very early stage of implementation and are not yet having an impact on pupils’ overall achievement.  Across the school, teachers’ plans do not regularly provide opportunities for pupils work by themselves and opportunities are missed to develop this ability through, for example, homework activities.  Teaching assistants are deployed effectively to work in small groups or one-to-one activities, often supporting the learning of the less able or those with special educational needs. They build

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

trusting relationships with these pupils and help to build their self-esteem. However, their deployment is less effective in some lessons, especially when the teacher takes a long time to introduce a lesson or during whole-class question and answer sessions.  Throughout the school, the impact of teaching on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has improved since the time of the last inspection and from an early age children are encouraged to play and learn well together.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Behaviour requires improvement because in some lessons not all pupils display the same positive attitudes to their learning as the majority. This is particularly evident when lessons are not planned well enough to meet their interests or needs. On such occasions pupils’ attention can wander, which hinders the progress they make.  The school has worked very effectively in recent years to improve pupils’ attendance, which is now consistently in-line with the national average. Leaders have also worked well with families and outside agencies to ensure the proportion of pupils who were persistently absent has been significantly reduced.  Around school, pupils are polite and respectful towards one another and have a genuine concern about one another’s well-being. Support staff are effective at helping those pupils who find managing their emotions difficult.  The number of fixed-term exclusions has reduced since a high point in 2010 but has not been

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

entirely eradicated and this sanction has already been used a number of times since the beginning of term.  Pupils are taught to recognise safe and unsafe situations and are clear, for example, about the potential risks associated with using the internet. Pupils say that although some bullying and name-calling occasionally occurs they are confident that adults are quick to respond to their concerns.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because while effective action has been taken to tackle the weakest teaching, leaders have not ensured that all teaching is good.  The headteacher has made productive links with external agencies. The local authority’s effective support has not only helped the school address weaknesses in teaching but also establish accurate self-evaluation. Planning identifies the right priorities for future improvement. A programme of training is directly linked to the performance management of staff.  Senior leaders have developed a robust system to make checks on the attainment and track the progress of different groups within the school. The information gained is being shared with the governing body, which are deploying resources to address any identified underachievement. This is one example which demonstrates the school’s commitment to ensure all pupils have equality

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The leadership and management requires improvement

of opportunity.  The leadership of special educational needs within the school has been strengthened this year and the coordinator is undertaking ongoing training, which is bringing a more rigorous approach to this aspect of leadership.  The role of subject leaders in helping the school to improve and checking on the impact of actions taken is underdeveloped. For example, the curriculum has recently been redesigned to enable pupils to practise their writing skills across a range of subjects; it is also intended to help develop pupils’ basic number and problem-solving skills. However, these developments have not yet been planned for whole year groups nor checked to ensure they are having the desired outcome of raising achievement in these subjects.  The curriculum ensures a broad range of activities that promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and leaders make good use of outside providers. For example, pupils

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The leadership and management requires improvement

regularly enjoy learning to play steel drums.  The governance of the school:  Governors are increasingly well informed about what the school is doing well and what needs to further improve.  They ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.  Governors bring a range of skills and the experience of new members is helping to strengthen the support and challenge the governing body provides to school leaders.  The governing body does not have a clear enough view of how pupil premium funding is being spent and what difference it is making. They have not published a summary of this information on the school’s website.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 118047 Local authority City of Kingston upon Hull Inspection number 405742

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School details

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

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School details

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 189 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mary Clark Headteacher Elizabeth Harros Date of previous school inspection 16 February 2011 Telephone number 01482 850286 Fax number 01482 850286 Email address admin@holyname.hull.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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