Setting

Mrs M O'Friel Headteacher St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Dudley Road Birmingham B18 7QW

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Education act 2005 to St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 21 November 2012, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report on the findings of my visit. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Education act 2005 to St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in September 2012. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, and a group of pupils. The school improvement plan was evaluated. A range of documentation was reviewed, including the feedback to teachers following lesson observations and notes of pupil progress meetings.

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Context

There have been no significant changes since the recent inspection which judged the school to require improvement.

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Main findings

The school improvement plan has been suitably revised. There is now a stronger emphasis on addressing the areas for improvement identified in the recent Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0121 683 3288 Direct email :beverley.joyner@serco.com

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

inspection. The plan includes appropriate actions, timescales and intentions. However, it does not always make clear how the governing body will check that the school’s actions are making a difference to pupils’ learning and the quality of teaching.

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Phase leaders have benefited from training and support provided by the school’s local authority advisor and external consultants. They are now checking teachers’ planning and pupils’ work. The headteacher is intending to work with phase leaders in order to help them report to governors on the impact their actions are having on raising pupils’ achievement.

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All teachers now have individual targets that directly relate to accelerating pupils’ progress. Senior leaders regularly check the work of staff and provide them with feedback. However, their feedback does not always focus on how well different groups of pupils are learning.

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Members of the governing body meet regularly to discuss the progress of pupils and the actions that need to be taken in order for the school to become good. Nevertheless, governors are not yet fully involved in evaluating the work of the school.

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Senior leaders and governors have begun to take effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. Following the visit to the school, HMI recommend that further action is taken to:

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 make sure that the school improvement plan clearly specifies how governors will evaluate the impact of the school’s action  ensure that feedback to teachers focuses on the achievement of different groups of pupils  work with the local authority in order to further strengthen the role of the governing body.

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Ofsted will continue to monitor the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority advisor and the headteacher have worked in partnership to coordinate a range of useful support for staff. This is helping to improve the quality of teaching and strengthen leadership. The local authority has linked the school with a local leader of education in order to help the school continue improving. Partnerships with a number of local schools are providing teachers with regular opportunities to observe good practice. An external consultant has recently started working with phase leaders to help them develop their coaching skills. There is further scope for the local authority to provide training for the governing body.

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I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Birmingham and the Diocese.

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