St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wetherby

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wetherby Barley Fields Road, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 6PR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Pupils’ achievement is outstanding. From the time they enter school, pupils consistently make rapid progress in English and mathematics. When they leave at the end of Year 6, pupils reach standards that are significantly above average.  Teaching is outstanding and contributes strongly to the outstanding progress pupils make over time.  Lessons are exciting and well planned. Teachers have an excellent understanding of pupils’ individual needs and set work which enables them to make rapid progress. Pupils learn exceptionally well.  Teaching assistants provide high quality support for pupils’ learning. They make an excellent contribution to pupils’ progress.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy school which is why attendance is above average. Pupils thrive in a supportive and caring environment and say they always feel safe. Their enthusiasm for learning adds to the progress they make.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding both in and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

around school and they treat each other and adults with respect.  The headteacher provides strong leadership with a clear determination to continue to raise standards. He has developed a very strong team to lead teaching and the curriculum although the skills of middle leaders are not as well developed.  School self-evaluation is accurate. All leaders are highly ambitious for the school and take every opportunity to work with others to improve the school continually.  A stimulating and well planned curriculum ensures there are exciting opportunities which broaden pupils’ horizons.  The governing body has a wide range of skills, expertise and experience which helps the school enormously. It works extremely closely with the school to ensure that the needs of all pupils are met well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed eight teachers and visited 14 lessons which included a two joint lesson observation with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, members of the leadership team, English and mathematics subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinators, the Early Years Foundation Stage leader, pupils, members of the governing body and two representatives of the local authority.  The inspectors observed pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.  A range of the school’s documentation was examined, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, documents relating to monitoring and evaluation, systems for tracking children’s progress, documents regarding safeguarding and key policies.  The inspectors took account of 52 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s most recent questionnaire to parents.  The inspector analysed 19 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Sue Sharkey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector James McGrath Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is an average-sized primary school.  The majority of children are of White British heritage. A few children are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average. (The pupil premium is additional government funding provided for children in local authority care, for children from armed services families and for children known to be eligible for free school meals.)  The deputy headteacher has held this post since May 2013. Two teachers also started at the school in September 2013.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this school

 There is a breakfast and an after-school club on the school site which are not managed by the governing body. These are subject to separate inspections and reports of their quality are available on the Ofsted website.  The school has the Healthy Schools Award and Inclusion Mark.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the skills of middle leaders are further developed in order to make sure that they continue to make a significant contribution to achievement as well as teaching and learning in the school.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that are typical for children for this age. Some aspects of communication skills, including reading and writing, are sometimes below what is expected.  Children make good and for some outstanding progress from the moment they start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They develop a wide range of skills through activities that teachers and teaching assistants lead, as well as those they develop themselves. Following a visit to the Royal Horticultural Society garden at Harlow Carr, children in the Reception class worked in the school’s woodland area to build homes for animals and creatures. They worked extremely well together, sharing ideas as well as counting twigs gathered and testing the safety of the homes they had created.  Pupils continue to achieve extremely well in Key Stage 1 so that by the end of Year 2, standards

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

are significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Teacher assessment in 2013 shows that the proportion of pupils’ achieving Level 3 is also high in reading, writing and mathematics.  Outstanding progress is maintained throughout the school for all groups of pupils so that by the time pupils reach Year 6 their attainment is significantly above the national average and has been rising year-on-year.  The percentage of pupils making expected and more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics is high and well above the national average. The work in pupils’ books shows that they are continuing to make rapid progress.  More-able pupils do extremely well. For example, in the 2012 national tests and the 2013 unvalidated tests for Year 6, the percentage of pupils who achieved Level 5 was significantly above average in English and mathematics and the percentage of pupils who achieved Level 6 in

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

mathematics was high.  Across the school, pupils eligible for free school meals and pupil premium funding as well as pupils from minority ethnic groups represents a small group. They make outstanding progress so that they achieve as well as other pupils. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs do exceedingly well. They also make rapid progress because of the excellent individual and small-group teaching they receive.  The school has a strong reading culture and pupils talked about their enthusiasm for reading as well as their favourite authors. The teaching of letters and sounds is a strong feature, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, where pupils are taught to sound new words out as a way of working out unfamiliar words.  As pupils progress through the school they are confident readers and are provided with a wide range of books to read at school as well as at home. Pupils read fluently and often with great

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

expression. They use all they have learnt to tackle new words successfully.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is focused sharply on achieving a high quality of learning and pupils know exactly what they are expected to learn in lessons. There is a strong emphasis on learning through practical activities and first-hand experience which makes learning exciting for pupils.  A prominent feature of lessons seen during the inspection was pupils’ obvious love of learning. They talk excitedly about their work and are self-motivated in a desire to improve.  Teachers’ questioning is very skilful. Excellent relationships between adults and pupils ensure that pupils are very keen to respond quickly to questions as they know their answer will be valued. In a Year 5 mathematics lesson, pupils responded rapidly to the teacher’s challenge where the answers had to be written as palindromic or consecutive numbers. Pupils worked very successfully in pairs inspiring and stimulating each other until they were happy with their

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

answers. The lesson moved along at a swift pace so that pupils were engaged and motivated to work. Pupils said that mathematics lessons were always like this.  Teachers plan very stimulating activities which makes excellent use of the school grounds as well as visits both locally and further afield. These activities stimulate pupils well so that when they continue this work back in the classroom, pupils are engaged thoroughly producing work of a high standard.  Teachers use assessment information rigorously so that they plan work that matches the needs of pupils closely and build rapidly on what pupils already know and are able to do. They provide clear feedback to pupils through high quality marking and questioning which lets pupils know what they have to do next.  Teachers are extremely skilful at making sure that the skills pupils learn in English and mathematics lessons are developed fully in other subjects. This helps to ensure that pupils

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

understand completely the importance and the use of English and mathematics in their daily lives.  The teaching of reading is outstanding. It is very well supported by daily sessions of learning letters and sounds, especially in the Nursery and Reception classes and Key Stage 1. Reading at the school is regular and extremely popular.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour and attitudes of pupils to learning is exemplary. Their behaviour in lessons and around school is calm; they are extremely courteous and considerate. Pupils move around the school sensibly and playtimes are harmonious with older pupils keeping an eye on the safety of younger children.  Pupils say overwhelmingly that they feel safe in school and all parents who responded to Parent View agree. Pupils are aware of rules and routines that help them. For example, they are confident that if they have any problems they can talk with any adult in school who will sort out their concerns. Incidents of bullying are extremely rare. Pupils are acutely aware of different kinds of bullying and through their work in school they know how to handle and prevent it.  Concentration in lessons can be amazing and pupils often work in almost silence as they strive to complete work of a high standard. Pupils are very keen to learn working successfully on their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

own, in pairs or in teams.  Pupils enjoy school which is why attendance is above average. They have many opportunities to take responsibility and see the difference this makes to their school. For example, the school council was very keen to talk about helping to raise funds for their outdoor classroom. Council members understand fully the importance of being able to work outdoors through practical activities using the skills learnt in the classroom indoors.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 There is a strong sense of teamwork amongst all members of the school which has been created by the headteacher’s outstanding leadership. This provides a constant and excellent drive for continued improvement in the school.  The headteacher is extremely well supported by the recently appointed deputy headteacher. Together, they ensure that there is a clear vision and high expectation which is established firmly across all activities throughout the school. Middle leaders make a strong contribution to the school’s leadership but their skills are not yet developed fully.  Sharp self-evaluation ensures that the school has an accurate view of its performance.  Through regular and thorough checking of pupils’ progress, the school is swift to provide support for any pupils who need it and as a result has continued to raise achievement. This has contributed strongly to equal opportunities for all pupils.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school works in close partnership with the local authority, for example, working alongside the headteacher to check the quality of teaching.  The headteacher manages the performance of teachers very well. This ensures that there is a close match between how well teachers are paid and how well pupils learn. Targets set for teachers are pertinent to a school that thinks ahead and links successfully with areas identified in the school improvement plan.  The curriculum promotes high levels of achievement throughout the school and makes pupils exceptionally interested in their learning. It is vibrant, exciting and responds successfully to pupils’ needs and aspirations. Regular themed events capture the imagination and through working with specialists, for example to develop crafts, the arts, music or dance skills, the curriculum makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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The leadership and management are outstanding

development. The school is using its additional sports funding to provide coaching to help train teachers improve their teaching of physical education and sports.  The governance of the school:  Governors are experienced and provide a high level of challenge to leaders in school. They know the school exceptionally well through visiting lessons regularly and talking to pupils and staff. This helps them to keep up-to-date with the quality of teaching and how well the school is doing. Governors have very detailed knowledge of the school’s performance data and how it compares with other schools. They have a clear understanding of the school, overseeing the school’s finance very carefully. For example, checking on how the use of the pupil premium funding is making a difference to pupils. Governors have robust systems to review effectively the performance of staff, including the headteacher, and are fully involved in teachers’ levels

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The leadership and management are outstanding

of pay. The governing body ensure that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements.

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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 108020 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 429496

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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 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ellen Pearson Headteacher Stephen Nicholson Date of previous school inspection 4 February 2009 Telephone number 01937 582163 Fax number 01937 581924 Email address wetherbystjosephs@leedslearning.net 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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