St Joseph and St Teresa's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph and St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Doncaster Lane, Woodlands, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN6 7QN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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

 Not enough pupils make good progress, particularly in their writing.  Too few pupils reach the higher levels of attainment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2.  The most able pupils do not always have work that is hard enough to help them reach the higher levels of which they are capable.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not achieve well enough from starting points typical for their age.  Assessment is not always used effectively to adapt tasks so that they are at the right level of difficulty for all groups of pupils.  Teaching is not consistently good to enable all pupils to make good progress.  Pupils’ work is marked effectively but not all pupils respond to improve their subsequent work.  Subject leaders have not yet had sufficient impact on raising standards in their area of responsibility.  Governors have not acted with sufficient urgency in holding the school to account for the quality of

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

teaching and pupils’ lack of good progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The decline in standards at the end of Key Stage 1 has been arrested.  Pupils who have special educational needs or are disadvantaged receive good support. The gap between their attainment and that of their classmates is closing quickly.  Pupils learning English as an additional language receive effective bilingual support and so make good progress.  The headteacher and governors are tackling inadequate teaching effectively.  Attendance, at nearly 96%, has improved and is currently above average.  Pupils behave well and say they feel safe in school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons, four of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors made other visits to classes, scrutinised pupils’ work in their books and listened to them read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and four other governors, the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. Inspectors also had a conversation with a representative from the local authority, the Director of Education for the Diocese and a headteacher of a partner school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, and the records of how the school uses its funding, especially the funding for disadvantaged pupils and primary school sports funding. Records relating to behaviour and attendance as

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Information about this inspection

well as documents relating to safeguarding were also taken into consideration.  There were 32 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors took account of the views of parents who spoke to, or contacted, inspectors during the inspection.  The 23 responses from staff who completed Ofsted’s staff inspection questionnaires were also considered.

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Inspection team

Rajinder Harrison, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. The school is federated with Our Lady of Perpetual Help Primary School. The two schools share a governing body but both schools now have their own headteacher.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. A few are of other minority ethnic backgrounds and a small number speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  The proportion of pupils deemed disadvantaged and supported through the pupil premium is below average. These pupils include those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school has had a very high number of staff changes in the last year including at senior leadership

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Information about this school

level. The headteacher took up his post in September 2013.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by ensuring that:  expectations of all pupils throughout the school are high  pupils have work that is challenging and suitably matched to their ability levels, particularly for the most able pupils  pupils are asked questions that deepen their knowledge and understanding and pupils build on what they already know and can do effectively  pupils respond to marking and that subsequent work improves as a result  all pupils understand what they are learning and contribute fully in every lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in writing by:  ensuring pupils write at length in literacy and other subjects  checking that pupils apply their basic literacy skills accurately and produce their best work  ensuring pupils check their work before they hand it in.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by:  making subject leaders fully accountable for raising standards in their areas of responsibility  checking more rigorously that the actions taken to bring about improvement result in all pupils making good progress in every class and every subject  making sure that governors act quickly if improvements are slow to take effect.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher is securing improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement but improvement has been slow with staffing changes continuing to hamper progress.  Senior leaders, especially subject leaders, have not been in post long enough to have had sufficient impact on accelerating school improvement so that all pupils make good progress.  Leaders are checking more closely that pupils’ achievements are assessed accurately and that teachers mark pupils’ work in detail but they have not been sufficiently rigorous in checking that this results in improved teaching and learning so that all pupils achieve well.  The school’s procedures for managing the performance of teachers are thorough. Teachers are set individual targets linked to the national Teachers’ Standards and to expectations for pupils’ progress. The headteacher, along with senior leaders, the local authority and partner schools, makes regular checks on

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the quality of teaching. Staff have good opportunities to improve their skills through training and support. As a result, teaching is improving but the impact of these relatively recent improvements has yet to be fully realised in pupils’ achievement.  School improvement is strongly focused on raising standards, particularly in writing. School leaders know the school’s strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to make improvements. They are ambitious for their pupils and use the local authority and shared federation arrangements effectively to support school improvement. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1, attendance and behaviour have all improved this year. These improvements reflect the school’s capacity to improve further.  The curriculum is appropriately focused on the key skills pupils need to prepare them for the next stage of their education. However, teachers do not always build successfully on what pupils have learnt previously

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The leadership and management requires improvement

and pupils do not write at length in literacy and other subjects. Sporting and musical opportunities, such as learning to play musical instruments, and numerous clubs promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. While pupils explore other faiths and cultures through religious education, history and geography, their understanding of the diversity represented in wider, modern Britain is limited.  The primary sports funding is motivating pupils to take part in different sporting activities and events; increased levels of participation are having a positive impact on pupils’ health and well-being. In addition, staff benefit from additional training to extend their skills and improve sports provision further.  The governance of the school:  The recent review of governance has placed governors in a good position to hold staff to account for school improvement and pupils’ progress. They are now better informed about the school’s performance

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The leadership and management requires improvement

and have started to scrutinise the information about pupils’ achievement and check closely the quality of teaching. They are using their findings to challenge leaders and set targets for urgent school improvement. They oversee the funding for disadvantaged pupils and primary sports effectively and know the impact this funding is having on pupils’ achievements. Governors oversee decisions regarding teachers’ pay and make sure any changes closely reflect pupils’ progress. They know that they did not move swiftly enough to secure more rapid school improvement after the previous inspection but they have appointed a new headteacher and senior leaders and expectations are high for these leaders to do what is required to raise achievement for all pupils.  Governors make sure safeguarding procedures meet requirements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils occasionally lose interest, fall silent or chat unduly, and so contribute little in lessons. This is especially evident when they do not understand fully what they are learning or have too little to do because teachers’ expectations are not high enough. As a consequence, pupils produce work which is not their best.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe from potential dangers when using the internet and social media sites or when playing outside. Nursery children were quick to explain that washing hands after making ‘soil soup’ was very important ‘so that you don’t get bad germs and get poorly’.  Pupils are happy at school and know that staff will deal promptly with any issues. They know what constitutes bullying and say that ‘it used to happen last year but doesn’t any more’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are keen to take responsibility. For example, they enjoy helping around the school, looking after play equipment and cooperating with each other sensibly in lessons and around school.  Pupils form good relationships with others and are generally very polite, friendly and courteous. Older pupils set a good example to those new to school, particularly when showing them routines at lunchtimes. The dining hall is orderly; pupils line up and take turns well.  The headteacher has worked hard to remind parents that good attendance is important. As a result, attendance has improved, with most pupils attending regularly and arriving punctually.  Parents who completed the Parent View questionnaires were mostly very positive about pupils’ behaviour and the school’s documents indicate that there has been a marked improvement in pupils’ behaviour in the last year.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is variable. Pupils in Years 5 and 6, particularly those who have experienced inadequate teaching in the past, have gaps in their learning and so spend time making up lost ground. A few parents have, quite rightly, raised this as a concern.  The work pupils are set does not always challenge them sufficiently, particularly the most able. Pupils’ work shows that teaching over time has not promoted consistently good progress. Pupils who have gaps in their learning cannot complete subsequent work as confidently as they should in order to achieve well.  Expectations are not consistently high regarding the work pupils do. Pupils’ progress slows when they do not think carefully about their learning or do not ask questions to clarify their understanding and extend their learning.  The school now has reliable and accurate assessment information but this is not always used well enough

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

to adapt the work to best meet pupils’ needs and thus extend their learning. For example, where pupils have not fully grasped previous learning, they struggle to apply themselves confidently when facing new work. As a result, they achieve too little and make no better than expected progress.  Approaches to marking and feedback are now rigorous and help pupils to improve their work. In one or two classes, pupils are asked to respond to this feedback in subsequent work but the practice, particularly in literacy, is inconsistent and so some pupils continue to make the same errors, for example, with handwriting, presentation and spelling. Reminders that pupils check their written work before handing it in are infrequent.  Pupils do not apply basic literacy and numeracy skills regularly, particularly writing skills, in literacy work or in other subjects.  Pupils make good progress when teachers ask probing questions and give pupils time to discuss their

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

ideas. However, this high-quality questioning does not happen enough. Consequently, while pupils often complete the tasks they are set, discussion with pupils and work in their books indicate that they do not always understand what they have learnt or how it relates to what they already know.  Learning comes alive and is fun for pupils when they engage fully in activities that make them think. For example, pupils in the Year 5/6 class were both fascinated and horrified by conditions in the trenches in the First World War. The images they explored made them think deeply about what they were learning and many were moved by what they discovered. The learning in this lesson was powerful and helped pupils appreciate how fortunate they were to live in less threatening times. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was enhanced as a result.  Teaching assistants know when to intervene to support pupils who need additional help. They provide

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils with just enough guidance. This helps to motivate pupils to try harder and, once pupils realise they can do what is asked of them, they complete work successfully.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Too few pupils make good progress. Progress between year groups, classes, and groups of pupils is not yet consistently good. Not enough pupils reach the higher levels of attainment at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, especially in writing, because the work they complete lacks challenge.  Pupils’ progress in Key Stage 1 has been too slow in the last few years and standards slipped as a result. With recent improvements, especially in the teaching of literacy, current data show that almost all pupils made the progress expected of them in relation to their starting points in the last school year. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics overall are now in line with those found nationally. Standards in writing, while now broadly average, remain the lowest. Too few pupils attain at the higher levels due to lack of challenge in the activities they undertake.  Standards at the end of Key stage 2 are broadly average. However, not enough pupils make good progress

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and too few reach the higher levels of attainment, particularly in writing. Throughout the school, pupils do not write at length in literacy or other subjects in order to extend their skills effectively.  Standards in reading have risen in both key stages. A sharper focus on teaching letters and the sounds they make (phonics) has resulted in a higher proportion of pupils attaining above the expected standard in their Year 1 phonics screening check this year. In addition, pupils now have more opportunities to read at school and are being encouraged to read more often at home. Pupils are very enthusiastic about gaining the reading awards given to those who read regularly at home.  The most able pupils make no better than expected progress because they are not always challenged sufficiently to apply what they already know to new situations. For example, in mathematics, while pupils are reasonably confident in their multiplication tables, they do not always check their answers for accuracy

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

when solving two- or three-step problems and thus identify where errors have occurred.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language make good progress from their lower starting points, particularly in English, to attain standards similar to their classmates because they are supported well. The bilingual support for pupils who speak Polish is particularly effective in accelerating progress.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are also supported well and many, but not all, often achieve well from their starting points.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress because they receive the help they need to keep up with their classmates. By the end of Year 6, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in English and in mathematics is approximately one term behind other pupils in the school. This gap continues to narrow effectively as pupils move up through the school. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in comparison to other pupils

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

nationally in both English and in mathematics is also approximately one term behind by the end of Year 6.  While pupils overall make at least expected progress, the fact that some pupils, notably the most able, should achieve more if challenged fully, shows provision is not equally effective in helping all pupils to make good progress. Therefore, the school’s effectiveness in promoting equality of opportunity requires improvement.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Too few children in the last school year exceeded the levels expected for their age at the end of the Reception Year. Although actions have been taken to improve provision, it is too early to assess what impact the revised curriculum, new staff and new leadership will have on children’s achievement, but initial signs are very promising.  Children’s knowledge and skills on entry to the Nursery are at least in line with those typical for children aged three and, from these starting points, children generally make expected progress. Children new to speaking English as an additional language generally make good progress in all areas of learning because they are highly motivated to integrate quickly with their classmates, and the bilingual support they receive when they first start accelerates their progress markedly. Children with special educational needs are nurtured gently so that they gain the confidence to join in quickly too.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children settle quickly and love exploring their environment because they feel safe and secure. The cooperation between children after fewer than two weeks together is remarkable. Expectations for children to achieve well are now high and the increased emphasis on promoting children’s communication and literacy skills already shows that children are already doing well early in the term.  Well-organised activities challenge children to explore and discover and try things that are new to them. Collecting caterpillars and feeding them home made ‘soil soup’ captivated children’s fascination as they worked tirelessly to fill bowls with soil and water and ladled the ‘soup’ carefully. Similarly, children were amazed by their ability to sound out and write new letters by themselves. Learning letters and sounds was made to be fun and children contributed fully throughout.  The early years’ leader, new to the school this term, has established a productive working relationship

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The early years provision requires improvement

with staff in the early years’ team. Plans are in hand to involve parents further in supporting their children’s learning at home. Assessments of children’s ability and achievement are detailed and accurate and are being used to organise future activities for individual children. A number of children are already working at above the levels expected of them by the end of the Reception Year.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 106769 Local authority Doncaster Inspection number 442171

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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 154 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Fr Dennis Norman Headteacher Mr Terry Carroll Date of previous school inspection 27 November 2012 Telephone number 01302 723320 Fax number 01302 728011 Email address admin@st-joseph-st-teresas.doncaster.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 and 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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