St Michael's Catholic Primary School

School report St Michael's Catholic Primary School Howard Road, London, E6 6EE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  Pupils, including those who need extra help and those at risk of not doing well, make good progress from their starting points and achieve well.  The school is improving. Since the previous inspection, leaders, managers, staff and members of the governing body have worked successfully together to ensure the quality of teaching is good and raise pupils’ achievement.  To raise attainment, leaders have introduced daily reading sessions in all classes, encouraged pupils to write at length in a variety of different styles and a systematic approach to teaching mathematics skills that boosts pupils’ confidence in working with big numbers.  Interesting activities in lessons, well-selected visits to local places of interest and consistent promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development underpin pupils’ positive approach to learning and enjoyment of school.  Friendly and caring attitudes help pupils from

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

diverse backgrounds to form strong relations. Pupils behave well. They attend school very regularly and have a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe from harm.  Leaders, including governors, carefully check the progress pupils make. They regularly assess teaching and provide effective additional training and coaching for staff to sustain improvements.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, during independent tasks, the work set for the most-able pupils is not difficult enough.  The part additional adults play in lessons is not always focused sharply on supporting pupils’ learning.  The proportion of outstanding teaching is not high enough to ensure that all pupils make rapid progress. Monitoring of individual teachers by subject leaders does not always accurately evaluate the quality of teaching and pinpoint specific priorities for development to improve the quality of teaching further.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and undertook some joint observations with senior leaders. They visited 20 lessons.  Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils, staff, members of the governing body and with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors listened to groups of pupils reading. They looked at work in pupils’ books and tracking data showing pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school website, development plans and records relating to safeguarding pupils were also seen.  The inspectors took account of 21 responses to the online survey (Parent View) and 12 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Additional inspector David Hatchett Additional inspector John Viner Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 St Michael’s Catholic Primary School is an average-sized primary school.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in two part-time Nursery classes and one Reception class.  More pupils than the national average speak English as an additional language. Few of these are at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action is slightly above the national average. A below-average proportion is supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. Most of these pupils have speech, language and communication needs.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding provided by the government for pupils looked after by the local authority or known to be eligible for free school meals) is below the national average.

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Information about this school

 There is no alternative provision used by the school.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school organises and manages a breakfast club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  making sure tasks set for the most-able pupils are always challenging enough, being closely matched to their abilities  involving additional adults consistently in supporting pupils’ learning in lessons  making sure the monitoring of teaching by subject leaders evaluates the quality of teaching accurately and identifies precise priorities for improvement for individual teachers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good gains as they progress through the school and learn well. From entering the school with skills below those expected for their age, particularly in personal, social and emotional development and in communication, language and literacy, pupils’ attainment is broadly average and improving by the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics.  An increasing proportion of pupils reach above-average standards by the end of Year 6. In other classes, although the achievement of the most-able pupils is good, they are not always expected to do more demanding work to help them make even greater progress.  Children in Nursery and Reception make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Well-established routines help them to settle quickly when they join the school. They confidently select activities for themselves from the wide variety of tasks that staff plan for them in the inside and outdoor areas.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading and spelling because they benefit from daily reading sessions that develop their skills quickly in Years 1 to 6. Regular sessions on phonics (letters and the sounds they make) in Reception and for pupils in Key Stage 1 help them to make good progress in reading and spelling.  Better results compared with all pupils nationally in the phonics screening check for six-year-olds show that, by the end of Year 1, most pupils have the expected knowledge of letters and the sounds they make. Older pupils speak enthusiastically about the books they are reading.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because they receive extra help. Additional guidance and support in small group sessions is carefully planned to develop their basic literacy and numeracy skills.  The achievement of pupils from minority ethnic groups, including pupils speaking English as an

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The achievement of pupils is good

additional language, is similar to other pupils at the school. The school is successfully closing the gap between the attainment of these pupils and that of all pupils nationally.  The pupil premium is used effectively to raise achievement for this group of pupils. Funding is used to provide additional resources and support for these pupils, and helps raise their achievement. As a result, the gap is closing between the average points scores in national tests for these pupils and those of all pupils nationally. They achieve as well as other pupils at the school.  These strengths show the school builds good relations and tackles discrimination to promote equality of opportunity.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships in lessons are warm and supportive. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to frequently work in pairs to strengthen their social skills and promote collaboration.  Teachers check the progress pupils make and use the information to set work that is often at the right level of difficulty for pupils’ abilities. However, teachers do not always set the most-able pupils more difficult work to do, particularly when working without direct teacher support. When teachers expect them to complete the same work as other pupils before getting on to harder activities, the pace of learning for these pupils slows.  Teachers explain what is expected and model new learning so that pupils understand quickly. Resources, including computers, are used skilfully to support clear explanations. Pupils in a Year 6 lesson watched a short video clip about hill-walking that supported them in identifying key features of a well-balanced argument. This prepared them well for writing their own persuasive

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The quality of teaching is good

texts.  Teachers’ comments when they mark pupils’ work praise their efforts and guide them on how to improve further in order to move up to the next level of attainment. Pupils take responsibility for responding to the additional tasks and exercises set by teachers to deepen their understanding further.  Staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage emphasise speaking and listening activities that help children develop their spoken English quickly. For example, children in the Reception class enjoyed acting out the story of the three little pigs together. Adult-led tasks help children build on what they know and can do already. Working with an adult, children in Reception wrote instructions on how to build a house. They thought carefully and used their knowledge of phonics to write their list of things to do.  Pupils at an early stage of learning English benefit from regular practice in small groups with

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The quality of teaching is good

trained staff to help them learn key vocabulary and phrases quickly so that they make good gains in developing English skills. Teachers ensure that all pupils speaking English as an additional language increase their proficiency in spoken English and achieve well in other subjects.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs benefit from additional sessions and helpful guidance from specialist teachers and therapists to help them develop literacy, numeracy, and speaking and listening skills.  Sometimes, additional adults are not clearly deployed, particularly during whole-class teaching, or they wait too long before interacting with pupils. As a result, their contribution to pupils’ learning is uneven because they are not always fully involved in supporting pupils to make faster progress in lessons.  Leaders have worked with staff to improve the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics to

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The quality of teaching is good

help pupils build upon their skills as they progress through the years. Teachers follow a consistent approach to teaching phonics so that reading skills are developing well, and improving. They carefully select books for pupils to read in English lessons in order to encourage their enjoyment of reading. Approaches to teaching mathematics are well chosen to capture pupils’ interest, help them develop knowledge of basic number facts and boost confidence in their abilities to calculate quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils from a wide variety of different backgrounds get on well together because the school places a strong emphasis on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As a result, they respect one another and show caring attitudes. Pupils are polite and courteous, and make a constructive contribution to the calm and friendly atmosphere around the school.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Their behaviour is typically good, although sometimes a few pupils need reminders about the behaviour that is expected in lessons.  Pupils feel safe in school. Road safety, guidance on keeping safe when using computers, anti- bullying events and workshops for older pupils help them develop a good knowledge of how to keep safe from harm.  Pupils are confident that bullying of any form is rare and dealt with effectively, as school records confirm. They are also confident that staff will help them should any problems occur.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attendance is consistently above the national average and pupils arrive punctually to school and lessons. The school works very effectively with the whole school community to make the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality abundantly clear.  The breakfast club ensures a sociable start to the school day for the small number of pupils who attend.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective monitoring of teaching and other aspects of the school’s work by senior leaders and governors ensures self-evaluation is accurate. This has helped the school identify priorities for improvement. Since the previous inspection, leaders have successfully enhanced the quality of teaching, improved the teaching of mathematics and English, and raised pupils’ academic achievement. The overall effectiveness of the school’s work is good, demonstrating the school’s capacity to improve further.  Sometimes, the checking of teaching by other staff who have subject leadership responsibilities is not always as helpful in evaluating the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and identifying specific priorities for improvement to bring about rapid further improvement and increase the proportion of outstanding teaching.  Through effective training, staff development and coaching activities, leaders have improved

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The leadership and management are good

weaker teaching. There is a clear link between promotion and salary progression, and between pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching, because the performance of staff is managed carefully.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strongly promoted. Charity fundraising and taking on responsibilities in the school, for example as prefects and house captains, help pupils develop consideration for others. Music is a particular highlight and many pupils learn to play instruments. Pupils’ high-quality artwork is on display around the school. Close links with the parish church foster pupils’ spiritual growth and moral awareness.  The school works to involve parents and carers in their children’s learning. Workshops, for example on how phonics and mathematics are taught, help them to support their children’s learning at home.  The local authority has provided appropriate advice and guidance to assist the school in securing

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The leadership and management are good

lasting improvement to the overall effectiveness of its work. Given the school’s raised performance, the local authority rightly now provides low-key support for this good school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body works closely with the school’s leaders and takes an active interest in all the school’s work. Governors fulfil their role in managing performance well. They scrutinise the links between performance, promotion and salary progression. Governors visit the school regularly. They review the quality of teaching by visiting lessons with leaders and checking the information the school gathers about pupils’ academic progress. They make a point of attending professional training for their roles, and organise additional training sessions during governing body meetings, in order to accurately evaluate the quality of the school’s overall effectiveness, and confidently challenge the school to improve further. Governors know how

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The leadership and management are good

well the school is doing compared with other schools nationally. They are aware how additional funding is used to support pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. They evaluate the impact of this against the results these pupils achieve compared with other pupils at the school and all pupils nationally, although they do not rigorously check that every pupil known to be eligible for the pupil premium is benefiting individually from the additional funding. The governing body ensures that statutory duties are met, including those related to safeguarding pupils. The school site is secure and well maintained.

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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 102773 Local authority Newham Inspection number 404840

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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 262 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Dennis Headteacher Linda McSweeney Date of previous school inspection 10–11 February 2011 Telephone number 020 8472 3964 Fax number 020 8821 9157 Email address info@st-michael.newham.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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