St Joseph's Catholic and CofE (VA) Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic and CofE (VA) Primary School Calver Crescent, Staveley, Chesterfield, S43 3LY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Although achievement is improving, it is not yet good. Not all pupils make the progress they should make and few pupils make rapid progress, particularly at Key Stage 2.  Attainment and progress in mathematics have declined over the last two years.  Although teaching is improving, it still needs improving in a few lessons. Teachers do not always set work that helps pupils to learn well, or tell them clearly how to improve.  Teaching assistants do not always provide consistently effective support in all subjects.  Lessons do not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to learn using modern technology.  The environment in some classrooms does not always excite pupils enough to enable them to learn well.  The governing body is not yet fully developed to provide sufficient support and carefully question the school’s leaders.  Senior leaders and the governing body do not rigorously monitor and evaluate the progress

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

of groups, for example, boys and girls in each year.

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The school has the following strengths

 The behaviour of pupils and their attitudes to learning are good. Pupils are polite and well- mannered to each other and to adults.  Every pupil is equally valued. They are well cared for and say they feel safe in school.  The subjects taught offer a good range of themes, topics and opportunities that contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Senior leaders and the governing body have demonstrated a clear commitment to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. Consequently, since the arrival of the recently seconded leaders, the quality of teaching has improved.  The reading programme has developed pupils’ reading well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons taught by eight teachers. All lessons were observed jointly with both members of the seconded leadership team.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, with staff, two members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, its improvement plan, data on pupils’ progress and pupils’ work.  The inspector took account of the 11 responses from parents recorded in the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), and the views expressed in one letter. The inspector took account of the 11 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Andrew Stafford, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Joseph’s is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is in line with the national average. The pupil premium is the additional funding provided for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals as well as children in local authority care and the children of forces families.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language are well below the national average.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, or supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are below average.  All pupils are taught on site. The school does not use alternative off-site provision to support any of its pupils.  The school has met the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Following the retirement of the previous headteacher, the local authority enabled the school to form a partnership with Bolsover Junior Church of England School, including seconding the headteacher and deputy headteacher part-time from 1 January 2013.  The local Toddler’s Group, which is not managed by the governing body, uses the school hall once a week, and is subject to a separate Ofsted inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is at least good or better in order to accelerate pupils’ progress by:  raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly in mathematics, and providing further opportunities to give pupils work with a level of difficulty that is closely matched to their abilities  giving specific comments about how pupils can improve their work and ensuring these comments are followed up consistently  developing the role of teaching assistants to enable them to provide consistently effective support to pupils in all subjects increasing the opportunities for pupils to learn using modern technology  developing classroom environments that stimulate pupils and offer richer opportunities to learn.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management at all levels, including governance, by:  developing the role of the governing body and providing appropriate training for the newly appointed governors, to enable them to provide better support for senior leaders and monitor the work of subject coordinators and the quality of teaching  making sure that the progress made by boys and girls, and other groups of pupils, is rigorously checked and evaluated in all subjects  developing the skills of teachers, subject coordinators and other adults, so that the quality of teaching improves and pupils’ achievement rises.  An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are below those which are typical for their age. The skills of some children in speaking, listening and using number are very low. Good teaching enables children to make good progress. The mainly good provision in the Reception class leads to most children achieving the level of development expected for their age by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Key Stage 1, attainment has been broadly average in recent years. In 2012, however, pupils learnt at a faster rate and progress was good, particularly in reading and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Between Years 3 and 6, pupils make the progress in English that they should, but fewer pupils make the expected progress in mathematics. Overall, only a few pupils make faster progress than expected. At the end of Year 6, levels of attainment in reading and writing are higher than in mathematics, which remains below national levels.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 An emphasis on improving pupils’ reading skills through the whole-school reading programme is successfully raising pupils’ skills in reading. The school has recently introduced strategies to improve pupils’ writing skills and there are now signs that this is starting to work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The gaps in achievement between boys and girls, including those supported by the pupil premium, vary from year to year. The pupil premium funding is used effectively to provide extra support, such as one-to-one or small-group work focusing on literacy and mathematics. As a result, most of these pupils reach broadly the same levels of attainment, and make similar progress to their classmates. Any gaps between the attainment of those pupils who are eligible for free school meals and all other pupils in the school are beginning to close. However, this improvement is not consistent across all areas and across all year groups.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The few pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar, and sometimes better, progress than their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although pupils’ achievement and rate of progress is improving, overall it requires improvement because it is not yet rapid enough, consistent across all years and strong over a sustained period.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, good teaching provides children with many opportunities to be actively involved in their lessons. For example, the recently reorganised indoor areas provide children with exciting opportunities to develop their learning through play.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teaching is organised and planned well. Pupils are given work that helps them to learn quickly, and good opportunities are provided for them to share their ideas with each other. Pupils respond well to effective questioning that encourages them to think for themselves. For example, in a mathematics lesson in Year 5, pupils were actively engaged in solving problems about situations found in everyday life. Pupils said they really enjoyed these calculations and that it helped to develop their awareness of using and applying their knowledge.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils say that they enjoy school, enjoy their lessons and feel that they are taught well.  In a few lessons where teaching is less effective, teachers do not provide work that enables all pupils to learn well enough. This is because teachers do not always set work that is hard enough for pupils of varying abilities, and their expectations of what the pupils can do are not always high enough. As a result, some pupils do not learn quickly enough.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Some classrooms and general learning areas do not show pupils’ work or provide displays that excite pupils’ imagination or develop their creativity and thinking skills well enough.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching has been enhanced by the installation of interactive whiteboards and pupils enjoy using them, for example, to demonstrate their mathematical workings during classwork. However, while the school provides opportunities for pupils to learn using this equipment, the school does not provide other modern technology to support effective learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of reading has improved and pupils’ achievement is improving as a result. Pupils throughout the school are aware of the drive to get them reading more often and more competently. In a well-organised session in Year 1, pupils were actively involved in developing their phonic skills (linking letters to the sounds they make) to read difficult words, and made good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through activities such as school assemblies, regularly celebrating pupils’ achievement through ‘Going for Green’, hearing visitors talk about their responsibilities in the community, school trips and by encouraging cooperation and group working.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although pupils’ work is regularly marked and teachers use praise effectively to encourage pupils, they do not always provide specific written comments that tell pupils what they need to do to improve. When they do provide written comments, these are not consistently followed up to ensure that pupils have benefited and made good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants are used well in some lessons to support learning, particularly for lower- ability pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. In these lessons, their contribution enables pupils to develop their skills and achieve well. However, in some lessons the use of teaching assistants is less effective and the pupils they are supporting do not make good progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are polite and well mannered. The relationships among pupils and between pupils and adults are very good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The pupils have good attitudes to learning. They are keen to participate in their lessons and they help each other through good collaboration and cooperation. This enables lessons to proceed smoothly without interruption.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe because they are well cared for by teachers and other adults. Playtimes are lively but friendly, and pupils typically behave safely in the playground at break times.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The few responses to the parental survey (Parent View) that formed part of the inspection were positive. The responses indicate parents agree that pupils behave well in school, that they are not bullied and that they are well cared for.  The school provides opportunities for pupils to develop as responsible individuals. For example, by raising money for charities, such as Big Yellow Friday, Children in Need and Race for Life, by helping develop the school parliament and by the older pupils helping those in the infant classes, pupils develop the skills of good citizenship.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has recently improved and is now in line with the national average. The school works in a close and effective partnership with the local authority to address attendance. The school has addressed punctuality effectively by asking parents to explain lateness and to make sure pupils get to school on time.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Until recently, the school’s leaders had not done enough to improve the school and raise pupils’ achievement by tackling the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection. For example, the systems for tracking pupils’ progress were imprecise and not accessible to all teachers.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The seconded headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body have accurately identified the school’s strengths and areas for further development. Raising standards further by improving the quality of teaching is the school’s main priority.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Previously, the monitoring of teaching, and feedback to teachers had insufficient impact on pupils’ learning. Recent lesson observations and newly introduced monitoring systems provide accurate information on the quality of teaching in the school. Feedback is now provided to teachers on their performance to make sure that teaching and achievement continue to improve. This information is used well by the seconded headteacher in order to provide a relevant programme of staff training and to advise the governing body about promotion and movement up the salary scale.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Through liaison with teachers at Bolsover Junior School the responsibilities of subject coordinators are being developed so that they can play their full part in driving forward school improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school did not rigorously monitor the progress made, for example, by boys and girls whose achievement in the past was inconsistent. The school’s systems for keeping a close eye on how well pupils are doing are now developing. Any current differences in pupils’ achievement are identified swiftly and action is taken. Pupils at risk of falling behind in their learning are quickly identified and additional support is provided. This shows the school’s commitment to making sure everyone has the same chance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The subjects taught meet pupils’ interests well. The school provides pupils with a variety of activities to enrich their experiences. For example, topic work, which draws subjects together, and enrichment activities, such as the trip to Chatsworth House to support their studies of the environment, provide good opportunities for pupils to develop a wide range of academic and social skills. These contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Safeguarding procedures and policies meet statutory requirements. The school has effective procedures to protect pupils, especially those whose circumstances make them most vulnerable. This is strengthened by the effective partnership and support from the local authority.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority is providing valuable advice and support in improving the school’s performance. Their support in establishing the current seconded leadership is having an impact and helping the school to develop the capacity to improve.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governors are developing a better understanding of the quality of teaching. In the past, they have not given enough support or challenge to school leaders at all levels. Vacant positions have not been filled and the school does not have a full complement of governors. Governors are now beginning to question school leaders, and are setting appropriate and challenging targets to promote school improvement. They have a developing understanding of the school’s finances and are working diligently to balance the school’s budget. Governors use the pupil premium well to provide one-to-one support and additional teaching and learning opportunities in order to improve the English and mathematics skills of those pupils at risk of falling behind. However, they do not always check and evaluate the impact of teaching and improvement strategies on the progress made by boys and girls and other groups of pupils.

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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 134773 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 406568

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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 115 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sheila Godley Headteacher Rowena Herbert (seconded headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 9 November 2010 Telephone number 01246 472798 Fax number 01246 472798 Email address info@st-josephsrccofe.derbys.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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