St Teresa's Catholic Primary School

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Preston Downing Street, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 4RH

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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.  Whatever their start point at St Teresa’s, most pupils make good progress because their differing needs are well met. Teachers regularly check how well pupils have learned and use this information to carefully plan future lessons.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. There are many interesting activities in lessons which the pupils enjoy. Pupils are involved in choosing aspects of topics that capture their imaginations and these are successfully used to further develop their literacy and numeracy skills.  Pupils are eager to learn and get on with their work. They say their views are listened to and acted upon. Pupils feel safe.  Pupils respect and celebrate the wide range of faiths and cultures that are represented in this vibrant school community. They behave well and show respect for each other and the adults around them.  The school works well with a wide range of other professionals to guide and support pupils

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

whose circumstances might put them at risk. There is a holistic approach to pupils’ academic and personal development.  The inspirational headteacher has a clear view of how successful the school can be and expects the best from pupils. Leaders and managers, including the governing body, have prioritised teaching, leading to improvements since the previous inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although most Year 6 pupils reach the nationally expected standards in English and mathematics, too few do better than this.  Occasionally, pupils are not given enough time to correct their work and respond to teachers’ marking.  There are a few lessons where the more-able pupils are not given work that challenges them to do their best and to work out things for themselves.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed nine teachers and visited 14 lessons of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, a number of short visits were made to lessons.  Discussions were held with school staff, groups of pupils, subject leaders, parents, a representative from the local authority and members of the governing body.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including safeguarding documents, reports of the school’s checks on how well it is doing, development plans, local authority reports, records of pupils’ current attainment and progress, documents relating to pupils’ attendance and behaviour, and pupils’ work. They also heard groups of pupils read.  There were 20 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) prior to the inspection and these were taken into account when planning the inspection. Another three responses were

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Information about this inspection

recorded during the inspection and inspectors also took into account pupil and parent views which the school collates.

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Blackburne Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Teresa’s is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. Approximately one third of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, which is higher than that found nationally. About a quarter of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is higher than the national average.  Increasing numbers of pupils are joining the school other than at the usual times and for many of these pupils, English is an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is approximately double that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is slightly lower than average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is much higher than average.  The Early Years Foundation Stage includes a Nursery and holds the Step into Quality award for

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Information about this school

outdoor provision.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1, pupils are taught in age-related classes. In Key Stage 2, pupils are taught in three classes depending on their ability.  The school provides breakfast- and after-school clubs.  The school holds Health Schools status and the Leading Parents Partnership Award.  The new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection. She has made several new appointments to the school since she took up post.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to increase the achievement of pupils, particularly the more-able, in English and mathematics, improve the quality of teaching so that more is outstanding by: - setting work for pupils which encourages them to work out things for themselves - ensuring the more-able are consistently challenged to do their best - regularly allowing time in lessons for pupils to respond to teachers’ marking in order to correct and improve their work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children settle very well when they join the Nursery and Reception classes. This is as a result of very effective transition arrangements between school and home. They quickly learn to play well together and demonstrate their understanding of right from wrong, showing respect for each other and the adults around them.  Most children start school with skills that are well below those typically expected for their age. Children do well in the Early Years Foundation Stage and also in Years 1 and 2. They join Year 3 with attainment levels which are still below those expected for their age but these skills are improving year on year due to improvements in teaching.  Throughout Key Stage 2, all groups of pupils, including those who are disabled or who have special educational needs and those who are known to be eligible for pupil premium support, make good progress and some do better.  Many pupils are often at a very early stage of learning English as an additional language when

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The achievement of pupils is good

they start at St Teresa’s, so initially their progress in mathematics is stronger than in reading and writing. However, precise actions and activities provide many opportunities to increase pupils’ speaking and listening skills, and this ensures that rapid progress is made in a short space of time. Pupils from minority ethnic groups make good progress in English and mathematics by the time they leave school.  By the end of Year 6, standards reached are affected by the number of pupils who regularly join or leave the school other than at the usual time. Nevertheless, most pupils leave with skills in line with national expectations in English and mathematics, but not enough do better than this.  Changes have been made to the teaching of reading skills. These have been successful and have resulted in improvements in pupils’ ability to link letters to the sounds they make. Standards in reading are improving year on year. By the end of Year 2 standards are just below national

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The achievement of pupils is good

expectations but by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, their reading abilities are in line with those expected for their age and for some, better than this.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of the headteacher prioritising improvements in teaching and learning through training opportunities for staff, teaching is now consistently good throughout the school and some teaching is outstanding. This has led to improvements in the engagement and enjoyment of pupils in their learning, resulting in improvements in achievement for all groups of pupils.  Where teaching is at its best, teachers and teaching assistants plan lessons very well together to ensure pupils are given work to get the best out of them. Consequently, pupils learn rapidly because they are given work which matches their ability and they are finding out things for themselves.  An example of this was seen in a Year 2 English lesson. Pupils were encouraged to develop their ideas to create their own ‘naughty Nick’ story. They reflected on a book that they had previously read in class. The teacher and teaching assistants used very searching questioning techniques to

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The quality of teaching is good

expand pupils’ vocabulary and the high standard of work produced was as a result of exceptional progress in speaking, listening and writing.  Teachers and teaching assistants now use their accurate assessment of pupils’ progress to plan their lessons well to meet the needs of most pupils but occasionally the more-able are not challenged enough, which slows their progress. At times, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to find out things for themselves and become more independent in their learning.  The pupil-premium funding is primarily used to provide precise activities for individuals and, sometimes, groups of pupils as well as for support in the nurture group. Good relationships and tasks that are very well tailored to pupils’ different needs mean that gaps are narrowing between those pupils whose circumstances might put them at risk and their peers in school.  The headteacher has secured improvements in the consistency of teachers’ marking but time for

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils to edit and correct their work is not yet consistent throughout the school. Pupils now have opportunities to mark their own work and that of their peers. This helps them to gain a good understanding of how to reach their next steps in learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave very well together and they are polite and friendly towards staff and visitors to the school. With an atmosphere of mutual respect and compassion towards one another, the school is, as one parent put it, ‘A brilliant place.’  Pupils say they feel very safe in school and this is reflected in responses from parents who told inspectors that behaviour is much better than it used to be, and is good. Pupils are successfully taught how to measure risks and why and how to choose good behaviour.  Pupils say that bullying does not happen at St Teresa’s but they would be able to talk to any adult if they thought that this was happening to them or someone else. Incident logs show that there have been very few incidents of poor behaviour since new policies and procedures were introduced by the headteacher.  Groups of pupils in Key Stage 2 enjoy the responsibility of supporting the younger children.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

Pupils come together for collective worship where they clearly demonstrate their respect and understanding of pupils’ wide range of faiths and cultures within the school.  Pupils whose circumstances may put them and their families at risk are well cared for by the range of support within school and work with professionals beyond the school. All pupils enjoy being a part of their school community. Attendance is average and has improved since the previous inspection because of the introduction of new policies and procedures.  The improvements within the Early Years Foundation Stage are ensuring that, from an early age, children and their families value all that the school has to offer to encourage personal growth alongside academic development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The exceptional headteacher works tirelessly to improve all aspects of the school. Alongside prioritising improvements in teaching, she has secured substantial funds to develop the outdoor areas, alter the school building and to manage very well some significant changes to staffing.  All staff are dedicated and committed to providing an all-round education for pupils. This enables most pupils to reach their academic potential alongside developing their personal growth as individuals. Teaching has improved because of the headteacher’s very robust actions to remedy weaknesses in teaching.  The school’s systems to check pupils’ progress are now strong and the information is used alongside other procedures to check the quality of teaching and measure how well staff are meeting their various areas of responsibility. All staff are well supported through training opportunities both within the school and beyond.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the previous inspection there have been improvements to the outdoor area for the Early Years. There is now an excellent balance of teacher-led activities and opportunities for children to explore things for themselves both in the classroom and outdoors. The improvements are valued by parents. Consequently, the number of pupils joining the school is growing because of the school’s good reputation among parents.  The curriculum has been revised to include creative curriculum themes, and now includes an emphasis on developing basic skills through topic work, which is already having an impact on pupils’ enjoyment of learning. Pupils have many and varied opportunities beyond lessons, which include sporting, music and many other activities, and this ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong.  The support from the local authority is now ‘light touch’, providing training as and when

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The leadership and management are good

appropriate. The University of Cumbria incorporates the practices used by the school to accelerate reading skills in its teacher training programme.  The governance of the school:  The governors ensure that the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements; all staff have been vetted and trained appropriately to keep pupils safe and free from harm. They have an accurate overview of overall provision. Governors are now playing a more central role in shaping the long-term plans for the school based on how well pupils are progressing compared to other schools. They have taken important spending decisions, including creating new roles and making new appointments. There is evidence of the governing body working closely with senior leaders in relation to performance management and to improve teaching. They have also agreed and monitor the use of pupil-premium funding to ensure that all pupils at least make similar progress.

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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 119700 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 401862

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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 169 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mary Thackeray Headteacher Elaine Allen Date of previous school inspection 14 October 2009 Telephone number 01772 797397 Fax number 01772 655992 Email address head@st-teresas-pri.lancs.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

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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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