St William's Catholic Primary School

St William's Catholic Primary School Young Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD8 9RG

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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

p.1

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

 Despite some recent improvements, progress and standards in writing, reading and mathematics still remain too low.  Teachers do not offer appropriate challenge to middle- and lower-ability pupils to promote better attainment and progress.  Teachers do not provide pupils with targets to support their individual learning and progress.  Not all teachers have high enough expectations when teaching and marking pupils’ written work.  Marking is not consistently good across the school and pupils are not guided well enough on how to move on to the next stage of their learning.  Not all leaders, managers and governors have full responsibility for school improvement.  The governing body does not challenge school leaders sufficiently thoroughly.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Teachers challenge more-able pupils well. This has caused a considerable increase in the number of these pupils achieving higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  There is a strong and highly effective partnership between the executive headteacher and the head of school. This has had a significant impact on improving teaching.  Behaviour and safety are good, and positive attitudes to learning permeate all classes.  Relationships throughout the school are strong and everybody welcomes the diversity of cultures found within the school.  Leaders, managers and governors know their school well and use information on pupils’ progress well to focus on improvement.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in 12 lessons in all classes. Four of these lessons were observed jointly with the executive headteacher and the head of school. Inspectors observed sessions where groups of pupils were learning to read and write through a structured scheme. Inspectors also joined an assembly where pupils were practising singing. They later watched drama rehearsals.  The inspectors looked at the work in pupils’ books to consider achievement and teaching over time. This was undertaken jointly with the executive headteacher and the head of school.  Inspectors also discussed with pupils in Years 2 and 6 how they learn to read, and listened to some of them reading.  Six parents responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors spoke to some parents. Their views were considered by the inspectors alongside 10 responses from a staff questionnaire.  Inspectors spoke to pupils as well as staff, senior leaders, members of the governing body,

p.2

Information about this inspection

representatives of the local authority and the diocese, and School Improvement Partners.  A number of documents were studied, including the school’s evaluations of its performance, school development plans, external evaluations, policies, information about pupil progress, performance management files and case studies. Documents relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance were also analysed.

p.2

Inspection team

Joanna Sharpe, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Halford Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 This is a slightly smaller than average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.  A large number of pupils join and leave the school at times other than that normally expected.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly lower than average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly lower than average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is slightly lower than that found in most schools. (The pupil premium is extra funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, those children who are looked after by the local authority and children of families in the services.)  The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum

p.3

Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  For the past two years the school has been run on a day-to-day basis by the head of school. She has worked alongside, and been supported by, the executive headteacher, who is also headteacher of another Catholic school. From September 2013, the head of school will become the acting headteacher.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to raise attainment and promote faster progress of pupils, particularly in writing, by ensuring that all teachers:  challenge middle- and lower-attaining pupils appropriately  have higher expectations of punctuation and grammar when teaching and marking  mark to consistently high standards to show pupils how to improve and guide them on to the next steps of their learning  set targets for pupils in literacy and numeracy to help them know how to improve.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management including governance by ensuring that :  all leaders have greater responsibility for school improvement. An external review of governance should be undertaken, as planned, in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children join the school with starting points that are well below those of other children nationally. By the time they leave the school in Year 6, pupils reach standards that are below those of other pupils of the same age nationally.  A large number of pupils join the school at other than the usual time into both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In some year groups up to one third of the class have joined the school in Key Stage 2. These pupils, many of whom are at an early stage of learning English, generally have starting points that are well below those of other pupils their age. This has a negative effect on Year 6 test results and Year 2 outcomes.  Senior leaders have taken effective action to address the dip in standards and progress which occurred across the school in 2012. However, the standards pupils reach are still below those of other pupils of the same age.  While still needing some improvement, there has been a marked increase in 2013, in the number

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

of pupils, in all year groups, making expected progress.  Teachers challenge more-able pupils well and this has led to a dramatic improvement in the number of pupils achieving the higher Level 5 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Standards in reading have improved. This is as a result of well-targeted use of a scheme to promote pupils’ learning of the sounds that letters make, and other actions such as focused guided reading sessions. Pupils enjoy reading and the majority say that parents support them in their learning at home by listening to them read and sharing books with them.  Standards in mathematics at the end of Year 6 are higher than they have been for at least two years. Teachers’ skilled questioning promotes independent learning which has supported this progress. In a Year 2 lesson this was evident as pupils had to find out if a mathematical statement was true or false and then find their own way of proving their answer.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school is closing the gap between the standards achieved by those pupils supported through the pupil premium and other pupils. Generally they, and those who are at an early stage of learning English, make good progress. At times their progress over a very short space of time is outstanding. This clearly demonstrates the school’s ability to promote equality of opportunity.  Pupils with special educational needs are well supported both in the classroom and in smaller groups outside their class. The support they receive, often from teaching assistants, is of a high quality and is individualised to meet their particular needs.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching has improved significantly in the past 12 months and this is already having a positive impact on pupils’ standards and progress.  Teachers and teaching assistants are skilled at questioning pupils to make them think even harder. This was seen in the Reception class where adults extended children’s learning particularly well, using questioning when fishing for ducks which had numbers underneath them. Other adults were seen supporting children to speak in English through gentle questioning about things that greatly interested them.  Challenge for more-able pupils has been good and helps them make consistently good and, occasionally, outstanding progress. This has increased the numbers of pupils achieving the higher National Curriculum Levels 5 and 6. However, challenge for the middle- and lower- attaining pupils is not always enough to allow them to reach the standards of which they are

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

capable.  Teachers know their subjects well. For example, this has enabled more than three times the national percentage of more-able pupils to reach very high levels in mathematics.  All classes develop pupils’ independent thinking skills well. Both teachers and teaching assistants promote these skills using a range of strategies. In a Year 4 lesson pupils were set challenging mathematical problems tailored to their abilities. Through probing questions, peer discussion and timely intervention pupils were encouraged to think of their own ways to solve the problems.  In a Year 1 lesson the teacher highlighted any careless and inaccurate spelling, punctuation and grammar exceptionally well to promote pupils’ learning. This approach is not seen consistently enough in other classes.  Marking in books often tells pupils what they need to do to improve that particular piece of work. However, teachers’ marking does not tell pupils what they should move on to next, to keep

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

making progress. It also misses some very fundamental mistakes in punctuation and grammar made by pupils who are obviously capable of reaching higher standards.  Pupils who have literacy and numeracy targets clearly know what standard they have reached and what they must do to get to the next level. However, not enough pupils in the school have targets to help them know how to improve.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Relationships in school are strong as the school consistently fosters good relations and tackles all discrimination well. The pupils and staff all welcome the diversity they find in the school and value the contribution that everybody makes to this positive environment.  The many pupils who join the school at unusual times feel very welcome, as other pupils enjoy making new friends.  Pupils all say they feel safe. They know how to keep themselves safe and are aware of the risks they face when, for example, using the internet.  Pupils say there is occasional name-calling but that all adults deal with it effectively and incidents are not repeated.  All pupils talk about how much they enjoy their school. Year 6 pupils are excited about moving to new schools although are also reluctant to leave. Pupils comment that the school ‘feels like home’ and ‘everybody is so nice to you’.  Senior leaders have implemented a wide range of strategies to tackle the low attendance levels.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

Home visits, zero tolerance response to holiday requests and the use of a parent involvement worker have improved rates of attendance. In response, the rate of persistent absence has more than halved. To promote good attendance early in school life the school includes pre-statutory school age children in its data. This also negatively affects attendance information.  Parents spoken to and the vast majority of staff, all agree that behaviour is good.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The executive headteacher and head of school have forged an excellent partnership which has been highly effective in securing improvement.  All senior leaders and governors know their school very well. They evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses accurately. This and the implementation of effective strategies to bring about improvement demonstrate the team’s ability to maintain this improvement.  Information on pupils’ standards and progress is used well to focus senior leaders and individual teachers on where improvements need to be made. This information has also been used to promote and achieve higher standards for more-able pupils.  Extensive, rigorous monitoring by the leadership team has ensured that teachers are focused on improving their teaching. Targets for improvement are set which relate to pupils’ progress and whole-school issues. All teachers and teaching assistants have been trained in a reading and

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

writing scheme. This has had a positive impact on standards across the school.  Some leadership roles are still in their infancy and these leaders are not yet fully responsible for school improvement. This has meant the rate of improvement has not been as fast as it could have been.  The social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of pupils is a strength, as only the highest standards of care, kindness and understanding are evident across the school.  Pupils comment on their enjoyment of the curriculum. The range of opportunities ensures that the curriculum excites the pupils and meets all their needs.  Partnership work with other schools has been beneficial in raising the standard of teaching across the school.  The local authority support has been thorough and well targeted to help the school make and maintain improvement.  The governance of the school:  The governing body ensures that all safeguarding requirements are met. Its members also

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

ensure that the pupil premium funding is appropriately spent. Smaller class groups and a parent involvement worker have had a beneficial effect. Governors are knowledgeable about the school through the analysis of information about pupils’ progress. They were also aware of the weaknesses in teaching that were previously evident. However, they are aware that they have not been as effective as they could have been in supporting and challenging the school to secure improvement. The governing body has already planned a review to support it in becoming more effective.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 107330 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 412554

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

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 213 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair P Stockdale Headteacher J McManus Date of previous school inspection 3 February 2010 Telephone number 01274 545743 Fax number 01274 545743 Email address office@stwilliams.bradford.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9