Our Lady's RC Primary School

Our Lady's RC Primary School Boycott Road, Hereford, HR2 7RN

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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.  The headteacher’s and deputy headteacher’s relentless drive for improvement has resulted in significant improvement to teaching, pupils’ achievement and behaviour.  Pupils across the school make good progress because teaching is good and sometimes outstanding.  A varied range of activities caters for the different abilities and interests of pupils and ensures good attention in lessons.  Pupils are proud of and care about themselves, each other and the school. They enjoy school and want to do well.  Pupils’ warm welcome to new starters helps them to make friends quickly and, in particular, helps those who speak another language to learn English rapidly.  Governors ensure that staff training is making a positive difference to the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not share and review targets with pupils often enough to help them to make the necessary improvements to their work independently.  Pupils are not always given enough opportunity in lessons to talk about their learning and so develop their vocabulary and language skills.  Information about individual pupils’ progress is not used sufficiently to identify whether all groups of pupils are making enough progress throughout the year in order to reach the school’s challenging targets for their attainment.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons and made a number of short visits to lessons and teaching sessions for small groups of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Eight teachers were observed teaching.  The inspectors heard some pupils read. They looked at past and current information about pupils’ progress, pupils’ work in books and on display, documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, the school’s checks about what is going well, and school improvement planning.  The inspectors met with small groups of pupils to talk about their learning and to find out what they thought of the school. Inspectors also met with staff, and with representatives of the governing body and the local authority  The inspectors talked to parents informally at the start of the day and took into account 22 responses shown in the online questionnaire (Parent View), and the school’s own parent survey.

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Inspection team

Georgina Beasley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Philip Winch Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average. The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The next largest group is of pupils from Eastern Europe, mostly Poland. The remainder of pupils are from a number of different minority ethnic backgrounds.  An above-average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  An above-average proportion of pupils, many of whom speak little or no English, join the school in Years 5 and 6.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average.  The proportion supported at school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs is above average. Most of these pupils have either specific or moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, visual or hearing impairment and

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Information about this school

behavioural difficulties.  A below-average proportion of the pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who have a parent in the armed services.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expected standard for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school makes use of alternative provision off site for a very small number of pupils with specific needs.  The onsite breakfast club and after-school club are not managed by the governing body and are inspected separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Move more teaching to outstanding by ensuring all teachers:  give pupils more opportunity to talk in lessons about their learning to develop the vocabulary and language they need to make faster progress  set, share and update learning targets with pupils so that they are all clear about how well they are doing and how to improve  expect pupils, especially the more-able pupils, to act upon teachers’ advice and guidance about their learning and to make the necessary improvements to their work independently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Use the information the school collects about individual pupils’ progress with more rigour to identify throughout the year whether different groups of pupils and pupils in every class are making the progress they should to reach the school’s challenging targets for their attainment.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most pupils start school with knowledge and skills below those which are typical for their age, whether they start in the Reception class or in classes for older pupils. Pupils have made good progress over the last two years and standards are now rising rapidly in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment at the end of Years 2 and 6 this year is above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in Reception are confident and inquisitive learners by the time they start in Year 1 because they take part in a varied range of activities that encourage them to explore, create and investigate. Most reach the expected level of attainment in nearly all areas of learning. The one area where they do not is in their ability to talk about what they are doing and learning, both when they are playing and when they are working with an adult on a particular task or activity.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who speak English as an additional language do not reach the same above-average levels as their classmates in Years 1 and 2 because many do not have the same range of vocabulary and language they need to achieve well, especially in writing. This is also the case for pupils who start at the school in Years 5 and 6 with little or no English. Older pupils who speak English as an additional language and who have been at the school for more than two years go on to do well. The school’s information about their progress and the work in their books indicate that nearly all are on track to reach or exceed the national average by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics this year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils have good reading skills. Younger pupils can talk about what is happening in the stories they read and can use an index to find information about different topics to support their learning across a range of subjects. In last year’s phonics check, an average proportion of Year 1 pupils achieved the nationally expected level. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, they can read between the lines to understand the author’s meaning in more difficult stories, poems and non-fiction extracts.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive focused support to ensure that they make good progress. Many overcome their difficulties and are confident learners by the time they leave the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding make good progress from their starting points to reach the national average points score at the end of Year 6 The school’s information about pupils’ progress indicates that these pupils are currently achieving higher than the national average score and the same score as pupils in school who do not receive this funding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ practise and apply their reading, writing, mathematics and computer skills well when learning in other subjects. During the inspection, for example, pupils in Year 2 confidently logged onto computers and added pictures and text to create a slide show with little support from adults in the classroom. In a science lesson, pupils in Year 5 measured accurately their heart rate as it reduced after exercise and showed the results on a graph.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use the information they have about pupils’ learning to plan tasks and activities that cater for the different abilities and interests in lessons. Teachers and teaching assistants give relevant support to pupils who find the tasks difficult to help them understand the planned learning. They do not always check that more-able pupils are making the progress they should.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is planned well. Younger pupils are taught well in ability groups by teachers and teaching assistants. As a result, pupils are able to use their knowledge of letter sounds to work out unfamiliar words and can say what is happening in the story from their reading and from looking at pictures.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants give particularly good support in lessons to disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to ensure that they can complete the tasks and activities they are given by teachers. They often adapt the tasks if they find that they are too difficult or too easy for pupils to complete.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning is presented in different ways to ensure pupils are interested in lessons. As a result, they all listen attentively and are keen to get on with the tasks and activities. Sometimes, teachers do too much of the talking which gives pupils too little opportunity to develop their own spoken language and vocabulary and to show what they do and do not understand.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers diligently check pupils’ work in books and explain what they have done well and what they need to do next to improve. They do not always insist that pupils follow this advice when they work on their own. Most pupils have targets that help them understand how to move to the next level in reading, writing and mathematics. Some teachers do not revisit these often enough with pupils and so some cannot recall what their targets are.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They care about others’ feelings and raise considerable amounts of money for different charities. When asked what they would like to see improved in school, many replied, ‘To raise more money for the charities we support’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils get on very well together. Pupils new to the school settle quickly and soon play an active role in the school. Pupil parliament gives pupils regular opportunity to say what they do and do not like about the school. Their suggestions are sensible and relevant.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are extremely polite and courteous to each other, staff and visitors. They have an astute understanding of right and wrong and so follow the school rules and behave well. The school records in detail and tackles effectively the very rare incidents of unacceptable behaviour that do occur.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school. They know the school’s policy on using the internet and why they still need to adhere to the same rules when using computers at home. They say, ‘Bullying is being unkind deliberately more than once,’ and understand that this can happen through texts and other messaging services. They are adamant that bullying hardly ever happens and, if it should occur, they are confident that staff will take effective action.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has improved well and is currently above average. Pupils keep close track of which classes regularly reach the 95% target and which class is winning the ‘attendance race’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s and deputy headteacher’s uncompromising focus on improving teaching has resulted in significant improvement in its quality and pupils’ achievement since the school’s previous inspection two and a half years ago. Well-focused targets for improvement are based on an accurate evaluation of the school’s performance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has comprehensive information about the progress individual pupils make which it uses to give additional support to anyone who is falling behind. It has started to track the progress of different groups and classes but does not yet use the information to pinpoint throughout the year whether all groups and classes are on track to reach the school’s challenging targets for their attainment. As a result, planning to increase progress of younger pupils who speak English as an additional language as a group is not sharp enough.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers and teaching assistants receive good support through the school’s appraisal and training systems. The school checks closely that teaching assistants employed to support disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and pupils eligible for pupil premium are making enough of a difference to the progress of these groups.

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The leadership and management are good

 Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well in lessons and through topics and special events. Pupils learn to respect and value their own and others’ cultures through a number of events throughout the year including the school-run Eisteddfod and dance festivals. They learn what it means to be a member of the wider community through their involvement with the church, parish and other local schools. Clubs and visits, including a residential visit, enrich pupils’ learning and social development well.

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The leadership and management are good

 Equal opportunities are promoted well. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are fully involved in school activities. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. The school is uncompromising in its handling of the very rare incidents of a racist nature that occur.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has supported the school well over the last three years. It recognised that the school no longer needed intensive support last year and currently takes more of a watching brief. The school values the training provided by the local authority, local leader and a training partnership which supports leaders, teachers and governors in improving their knowledge and skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors visit the school regularly to check what is working well and to identify areas requiring improvement. They check closely whether arrangements for keeping pupils safe are met and other policies are being followed. Attendance at relevant training has helped them to understand the information they receive about pupils’ progress. They ask searching questions about any differences between the school’s results and all schools nationally and what training is required to improve the quality of teaching further to move it to outstanding. The information is used to set relevant and challenging school and staff performance targets which inform any decisions about pay awards. Governors check closely that planned spending is making the expected difference to pupils’ progress, especially the progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and that pupil premium funding is making

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The leadership and management are good

enough difference to the progress of those pupils for whom it is intended.

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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 116883 Local authority Herefordshire Inspection number 401627

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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 177 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Carol Thompson Headteacher Maria Woolaway Date of previous school inspection 4 May 2010 Telephone number 01432 274814 Fax number 01432 276467 Email address admin@our-ladys.hereford.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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