All Souls' Catholic Primary School

All Souls Catholic Primary School Abercorn Road, Coventry, CV5 8ED

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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.  Pupils achieve well. By the end of Year 6, they reach standards that are well above average.  There is good progress through Key Stage 1 and even better progress towards the end of Key Stage 2. This is where the teaching encourages pupils to think for themselves.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is high due to good and outstanding teaching.  Teaching is typically good. Staff work well together, knowing which pupils to support in which lessons.  Attendance has been consistently high. Pupils enjoy coming to school, and they feel safe and secure. The school provides a caring environment for all pupils.  School leaders constantly review opportunities offered to the pupils, with more pupils taking part in a wide variety of activities.  Leadership and management, including governance, are good. The headteacher and deputy headteacher are aware of current strengths and weaknesses and have tackled

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

weaker teaching and so raised attainment.  Pupils are proud citizens of their school. They look out for each other and they behave well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. Teachers do not yet encourage pupils to develop their own ideas and then learn from their mistakes.  Children’s progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage requires improvement.  Pupils’ achievement is not consistently good or better through all year groups. Teaching does not challenge pupils quickly enough to move on to harder work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons, five of which were observed with either the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, a local authority adviser and staff.  Inspectors took account of the 48 responses to the online Parent View. They also spoke with parents and carers.  Inspectors observed the work of the school. They looked at a range of documentation, including information about pupils’ progress. They also looked at the school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Pamela Matty Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 All Souls is similar to the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  A below-average proportion of the pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. This number has risen in recent years.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by ensuring that teachers:  adapt their teaching to more quickly move pupils on to harder work  encourage pupils to think more for themselves, then challenge their thinking.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in all year groups by making sure that:  school leaders support teachers by identifying which pupils are not progressing as quickly as they should  teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage plan with even greater regard for precisely what children can already do.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress has been good through Key Stage 1, so that pupils join Key Stage 2 with above- average attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment dipped in 2013 and was average but the attainment of pupils currently in Years 1 and 2 is above average; pupils’ writing is particularly strong.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Although progress is variable through Key Stage 2, pupils leave the school with standards that are well above national averages. Better teaching, with high expectations, has enabled pupils to make faster progress in Years 5 and 6. All groups, especially the more-able pupils, are challenged to do well through skilled questioning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in other year groups is not as rapid because the teaching does not always focus on those pupils who require greater challenge.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school uses its pupil premium funding effectively. School leaders consider the needs of the pupils and spend the funding accordingly. There was only a very small number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in Year 6 last year, and it is not possible to comment on their attainment without identifying individual pupils. However, all eligible pupils in the school are currently making at least the progress they should.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement in phonics (the sounds that letters make) matches the national average. Pupils enjoy reading and talk about the selection of books they can choose. When reading, pupils understand punctuation but do not always use it effectively when reading aloud.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils achieve very well because teachers mark work thoroughly and give pupils clear feedback on what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve. Progress is faster when teaching encourages pupils to think problems through for themselves, giving prompts to improve their work even more.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards in writing have been consistently high. Every half term, teachers check pupils’ progress by analysing set pieces of writing, then use this to challenge pupils to make further improvements.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school successfully narrows the gap between the least able pupils and the rest. The progress and attainment of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is at least as good as that of other pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start in either Nursery or Reception with skills in line with those expected for their age. When they leave the Early Years Foundation Stage, they have made the progress they should, leaving with average attainment. Last year, boys’ performance exceeded that of the girls.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning activities are carefully planned, aiming to build on the current understanding of the pupils. Where the teaching is most effective, adults skilfully question pupils to extend the level of challenge.  Where the teaching is best, teachers welcome pupils’ ideas and opinions, and respond enthusiastically to them. Questions are then designed to encourage the pupils to refine their reasoning. This leads to greater challenge for the pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Progress is faster when pupils are expected to share their thoughts and ideas for further improvement with each other. They challenge each other to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan their lessons carefully, enabling them to confidently work with pupils as they explore new learning. An example of this was seen in a Year 6 writing lesson, where the teacher had confidence to model writing which incorporated pupils’ ideas. This led to the pupils being motivated in their own writing, producing work of high quality.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage gives particular attention to the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This focus on developing positive attitudes to learning prepares the children for later years in the school. However, teachers’ planning does not accurately make use of what children can currently do, which leads to activities for the children that do not always extend their learning as much as possible.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is regularly marked by teachers and teachers’ comments are read by the pupils. Where this leads to the best impact on progress, a dialogue is seen between the teacher and the pupil. Subsequent work then gives the pupil opportunities to practise new skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff are skilled in supporting learning by knowing when to support and when to leave pupils to work unaided. This encourages more independent thought. Teaching does not always get pupils working on harder tasks quickly enough.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Classroom staff plan and work effectively as a team. Adults who work with disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs know how to enable them to develop specific skills. In some lessons, progress for these children is outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, teaching can restrict opportunities for pupils to work together and share ideas. An example of this was seen in a phonics lesson, where the children did not make fast progress as they were not encouraged to share their attempts at spellings and then discuss how accurate they were.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show great pride in their school. They enjoy coming to school and talk enthusiastically about the variety of opportunities that the school offers. They value the support of staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Both in lessons and around school pupils show empathy. An example can be seen in school council meetings, where older pupils support and encourage younger volunteers by encouraging them to share their opinions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ positive attitudes and support for each other contribute greatly to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They conduct themselves well, showing mature levels of responsibility. Singing is a particular strength. The pupils are proud of their own and each other’s achievements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is consistently good or better in lessons. Teachers do not always find opportunities for pupils to work collaboratively to enable them to share and discuss personal ideas. Where this does happen, pupils learn from each other and make better progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents and carers express positive views about the school. While pupils felt secure in knowing how to deal with bullying, some parents were unsure about how effectively the school deals with bullying. The inspection team found school processes to be effective, but communication with parents does not make these clear.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show a good understanding of how to stay safe, including when using the internet and computers. They value school visits, feeling secure on them.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is high and has been consistently so over recent years. The school works with parents and carers to maintain this. In order to improve punctuality, new arrangements for welcoming pupils at the start of the school day are proving effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and other school leaders lead their respective teams effectively. The school leadership team is well supported and challenged by the deputy headteacher. This team has widened to include other staff members and their impact on improving the quality of teaching is beginning to be seen around the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is an effective system for managing the performance of staff. The headteacher and deputy headteacher use school information, together with national documents (such as the standards to support the quality of teaching), to agree challenging goals for teachers. The governing body ensures that teachers’ pay and salary progression is linked to their pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders have an accurate view of how well pupils are progressing, but do not always make use of such information to ensure teaching effectively challenges pupils in every year group.

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The leadership and management are good

 There have been recent changes in the leadership of support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. While these pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics, their individual education plans and other school documentation are not clear about what pupils should achieve by when. This means that school leaders and teachers are less effective in evaluating these pupils’ work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is effective in working with and learning from families as their children come into Nursery. The teaching team in the Early Years Foundation Stage is now considering how to make better use of this information so that children are challenged more in their learning. A current focus is making better use of the outdoor environment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority knows the school well. It has supported the school in tackling weaker teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is committed to the school. It is effectively led by the Chair of the Governing Body. It is aware of its statutory duties; for example, in ensuring that its members have completed relevant training. Every governor is expected to complete a monitoring visit each term. Such visits are then fed back at meetings, where minutes record follow-up actions. As a result of such monitoring, the governing body has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Attention to teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 has seen standards rise and be maintained.  The governing body, in collaboration with school leaders, has determined how best to spend government sports funding. The purchase of a climbing wall and development of a fitness trail has engaged the interest of pupils.  The governing body ensures that safeguarding procedures meet the requirements set out in

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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 103724 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 426938

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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 232 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Shirley Langford Headteacher Caroline Quinn Date of previous school inspection 17 October 2011 Telephone number 02476 675836 Fax number 02476 717375 Email address admin@souls.coventry.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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