St Bede's RC Primary School, Jarrow

St Bede's RC Primary School, Jarrow Harold Street, Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, NE32 3AJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  This is a very caring school where pupils achieve well and reach standards that are above those found nationally by the end of year 6.  Progress is good in all subjects.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is very effective and gives children a good start to their life in school.  Pupils read widely and reading is improving strongly.  Teaching is good. Teachers get on with their pupils very well and provide them with work that they find interesting and fun.  Learning support staff play an important and effective part in ensuring that pupils who have additional needs make good progress.  Pupils enjoy school and say that they feel very safe there. They say that their school is a happy one where people get on well together.  Senior leaders work very well together and lead the school effectively. As a result staff are very positive about all aspects of the school.  The work that staff do is monitored well and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the quality of teaching is improving.  Checks on the progress that pupils make are carried out regularly and any that fall behind are helped to catch up.  There is a wide range of additional activities such as trips and visitors. These develop pupils’ personal skills and prepare them well for the future.  Governors are highly involved with the school and support it well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally teachers do not always give work that stretches all pupils, or make it clear to them how they can tell if they are learning well or how to improve their work.  The pace of some improvements is slower because not all teachers know how to improve their teaching and governors are not given clear enough information about the progress pupils make.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed seven teachers teaching 14 lessons. One observation was conducted jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, and carried out analyses of pupils’ books and other work.  The inspectors listened to pupils read individually and talked to them about how much reading they do, as well as observing them read in class.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and child protection, development planning, the quality of teaching and information about teachers’ professional development.  Meetings were held with school leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body, pupils and a representative from the local authority.  The 14 responses to Parent View, the Ofsted online survey, and the 15 responses to the staff questionnaire were analysed.

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Inspection team

Alison Thomson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Frank Cain Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Bede’s is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action, by school action plus or with a statement of special education needs is average.  The school meets the current government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Establishing more outstanding teaching that raises achievement further by:  consistently using information about what pupils can or cannot do to give all of them work that stretches them  always giving pupils high quality feedback so they know how they can improve their work  making sure pupils respond to the guidance and marking they receive  letting pupils know how to tell how well they are working.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Bring about improvements even more quickly by:  sharing more effectively the best practice in teaching and providing training that matches specific needs so teachers can improve the quality of their teaching  presenting governors with clear information about pupils’ progress so that they can hold the school to account even more effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Nursery with skills that vary, but are generally below those expected for their age. They make good progress throughout the school and leave in Year 6 with standards that are consistently above those found nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress in English is particularly good.  Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. This is due to better teaching and better use of activities, especially those that encourage children to talk about what they are doing.  Progress in reading has improved and is good. This is because the school places great importance on learning to read well and all teachers follow the same approach. Inspectors listened to pupils read during the inspection and were impressed by how much they enjoyed reading. In a mixed Year 4 and 5 class, pupils made good progress with a variety of activities

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The achievement of pupils is good

related to the books that they had read recently.  Great emphasis is placed on learning to write and spell. Reception children were seen making outstanding progress using words ending with ‘ck’.  Pupils who are disabled and who have special educational needs make good progress in line with their peers. This is because of the good support they receive from teaching assistants, which allows them to access their work well.  Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium also make good progress because the money the school receives to help them is used well to provide additional support. Any gaps in literacy and numeracy are made up through working in small groups  Pupils have good skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. These aspects are integrated well into many lessons and the inspectors saw many instances of this during the inspection. For example, in a Year 2 art lesson, pupils created pictures on

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The achievement of pupils is good

computers in the style of the artist Piet Mondrian by incorporating mathematical shapes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good and sometimes it is outstanding.  Responses to Parent View showed that parents agree that their children are taught well.  Teachers are very enthusiastic and create a good atmosphere in class where pupils are able to learn well. They provide a wide range of tasks that pupils get involved in eagerly.  In the best lessons information about what the pupils can and cannot do is used to plan work that stretches all of them and allows them to made outstanding progress. This was seen to very good effect in a mixed Year 5 and 6 English lesson on Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Here pupils rose to the challenge of writing subordinate clauses and using personification to make their writing come alive. Others acted out scenes from the play.  Sometimes work is not matched well to pupils’ different abilities and the whole class is set the same work, meaning it is too easy for some and too hard for others.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers usually share with pupils how to tell if they are learning well. However, this is not the case in all lessons and progress slows as a result.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well in many lessons. For example, thinking about what it was like to live in Tudor times or writing poems in the style of Pam Ayres.  Learning support staff help pupils who have specific needs to understand their work well, by explaining to them carefully what they need to do and then asking them questions about it. This was seen in many lessons, including a Year 1 mathematics lesson where thoughtful questions helped the pupils put the days of the week in the correct order.  Marking in books is generally good with some helpful guidance on how pupils can improve their work. However, some marking does not do this as well, nor are there enough examples of pupils acting on teachers’ comments.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of pupils behave well and are polite and courteous to adults and to each other. They describe their school as ‘friendly’ and say that they would not want to change anything.  Parents and staff agree that behaviour is good. Good behaviour was evident throughout the inspection.  Pupils are keen to get on with their work and are eager to do well. They enjoy working together and this was seen in many lessons throughout the school: from children in Nursery helping each other use the water cascade; to pupils in a mixed Year 3 and 4 class speaking to each other in French; to pupils in a mixed Year 5 and 6 class calculating perimeters.  Pupils rate behaviour as eight out of 10. Older pupils confirmed that behaviour has been good for some time. Pupils understand different forms of bullying well. They say that occasionally there is name-calling but it gets sorted out quickly.  Pupils told the inspectors that their school is a very safe one. They work safely in practical

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

lessons and they have a good understanding of safety issues, such as e-safety on computers. They said that they enjoyed a talk by a first aider and now know how to help someone who is choking.  Attendance is average for all groups of pupils. There have been no exclusions since the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, other leaders and governors work as an effective team. They have improved many aspects of the school since the previous inspection, such as the effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The staff questionnaires indicated that all are very proud to work in school and that there is unanimous support for the work that is being done there.  Senior leaders know the school’s strengths and areas to develop further. However, improvements are not occurring as quickly as they might do. Although checks made on teaching and learning are improving the quality of teaching, the best aspects of teaching in the school are not shared well enough to help all teachers become clearer about how they can improve their own teaching.  The progress that pupils make is checked regularly. Any pupil found to be falling behind is helped to catch up quickly using a variety of methods, such as one-to-one tuition and working in

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The leadership and management are good

small groups.  There is very little difference between the progress of different groups of pupils. This means that pupils all have an equal opportunity to do well and there is no discrimination.  The curriculum helps all pupils to learn well by making learning relevant to their interests. Pupils from all classes were seen eagerly recording their own Christmas CD and there had been much competition to design the front cover.  The school provides many opportunities to enhance the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The inspectors were most impressed by pupils’ enjoyment and confidence as they rehearsed their Christmas Nativity play. We hope that Mary did manage to finish knitting the blanket for baby Jesus before he was born.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements.  The local authority provides very effective support for the school.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body work closely with the school and support it well. They play a

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The leadership and management are good

major role in the allocation of the budget. They have played a full part in ensuring effective use of funds for pupils eligible for the pupil premium and for linking teachers’ pay and promotion to the quality of their teaching. They undergo training, including that relating to data. However, the school does not provide governors with clear enough information about the progress that pupils make. This limits their ability to hold the school to account in this area of its work.

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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 108725 Local authority South Tyneside Inspection number 403073

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 185 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roy Smith Headteacher Moya Rooney Date of previous school inspection 28 April 2008 Telephone number 0191 489 8218 Fax number 0191 420 3603 Email address officestbedes@yahoo.co.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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