St Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary School, Mawdesley

St Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, Mawdesley Ridley Lane, Mawdesley, Ormskirk, L40 3PP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 This is a warm and welcoming school where pupils are valued as individuals. Pupils are happy to come to school, and attendance is high.  From starting points that are generally at least typical for their age, pupils make good progress, consistently reaching well above average standards in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Attainment is above average in reading.  Teaching over time is good. Teachers know their pupils well and seek to provide activities to enthuse and motivate them to achieve well.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils make a positive contribution to the local community and are aware of national and international issues.  Pupils behave well and they are always courteous and polite to adults and each other. Their safety and care is of paramount importance to the school. Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents unanimously confirm this is so.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, ably supported by governors and staff, has a determined focus on continuous improvement and is keen to ensure that all pupils do as well as they possibly can.  Governors are extremely knowledgeable about the school, providing support and challenge in equal measure.  Parents are unanimous in their support for the school and appreciate that, while the school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve, it retains a nurturing ‘family’ culture where pupils can thrive.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not progress as well in reading as they do in writing and mathematics.  At times, pupils are not always given work which challenges them enough. Opportunities to respond to teachers’ marking in order to improve their work are limited.  The monitoring role of subject leaders is not developed sufficiently well to enable them to play a fuller role in whole-school improvement.  Improvement plans do not always contain specific milestones against which the school can judge the progress made and next steps necessary to reach its objectives.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in seven lessons or parts of lessons, including two observations carried out jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector heard pupils reading, looked at pupils’ workbooks and observed pupils at lunch times and during break times.  Meetings were held with pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector also reviewed the school’s website.  She took account of the 15 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View), and also of parental views taken during the inspection.  There were nine responses to the staff inspection questionnaire and these views were also taken into account by the inspector.  The inspector looked at a range of documents, including the school’s most recent data on pupils’ progress and attainment across the school, the school’s own view of its effectiveness and its plan for improvement,

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Information about this inspection

minutes of governing body meetings and information related to checks on the quality of teaching and learning.  She checked the arrangements for safeguarding pupils and looked at records relating to behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Yvonne Mills-Clare, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a very much smaller than average-sized primary school of Roman Catholic denomination.  There are three mixed-age classes. One contains children of Reception age and pupils in Years 1 and 2. Key Stage 2 has two classes, one for pupils in Years 3 and 4, the other for pupils in Years 5 and 6.  The headteacher has a significant teaching commitment.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium is well below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority).

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching in order to continue to raise achievement, by making sure that: - all pupils are challenged to reach the highest standards of which they are capable - pupils consistently have the opportunity to respond to the advice and guidance given by their teachers when marking pupils’ workbooks.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate the pace of improvement of pupils’ progress in reading, by offering more opportunities for pupils to read to adults during school time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve leadership and management by: - developing the role of subject leaders so that they are able to play a fuller role in whole-school improvement - ensuring that improvement plans contain specific milestones against which the school is able to evaluate progress and identify next steps towards its objectives.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders, including governors, have high expectations for themselves, staff and pupils. Staff are determined to ensure that pupils do the best they can and so they strive to give pupils the best academic and social education possible. Parents are particularly appreciative of this, feeling that the school takes into account the ‘whole child’, maintaining a warm, ‘extended family’ setting where their children are relaxed and happy. The school has high expectations of achievement for all.  Systems of appraisal are closely linked to the priorities of the school and the progress of its pupils. Targets set ensure that staff are held to account for the quality of their teaching and the progress their pupils make. Termly assessments are analysed by staff and leaders and support is provided for any pupils in danger of falling behind. These systems, together with observations of classroom practice provide the

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher with opportunities to identify any training or additional support that individual staff might need.  Staff morale is high and, despite the many extra responsibilities that a small school brings, subject leaders are knowledgeable about their subjects, particularly in their area of the school. However, their monitoring role is currently limited and therefore they are not always in a position to play a full role in whole-school improvement.  The school’s data for assessing pupils’ progress and attainment are used well to identify any pupil who may be in danger of falling behind. When necessary, support is swiftly put in place to ensure that all pupils continue to make good progress. This demonstrates the school’s strong commitment to equality of opportunity.  The school’s view of its performance is accurate and the school improvement plan correctly identifies its priorities. However, while it is comprehensive, it does not always document the small steps of progress it

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The leadership and management are good

needs to take, or the next steps needed to achieve its objectives. Thus evidence of progress cannot always be readily seen.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and the school has made a good start in implementing the new curriculum. It contributes very well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Assemblies and the caring ethos that pervades the school promote tolerance and empathy and prepare pupils very well for their secondary education and for their role in modern, British society. For instance, it encourages pupils to behave well and keep themselves safe and to develop good attitudes to learning through good attendance and punctuality. Pupils learn about other faiths and cultures and to be respectful and understanding of differences. They have a well-developed sense of right and wrong’. Pupils contribute well to the local area through fundraising events, knitting of blankets and scarves for the homeless and

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The leadership and management are good

participation in a range of projects and competitions.  The local authority believes that this is a good school with the capacity to continue to improve. Inspection findings support this view. Nevertheless, the local authority has provided additional support through consultants and advanced skills teachers, at the request of the school.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to provide additional support for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, the very few pupils in receipt of this funding make similar progress to that of their peers.  The primary sport funding is used well. The school employs specialist sports coaches who also offer pupils a range of extra-curricular activities and participation is competitions. These opportunities are improving their physical well-being and bringing about increased pupil participation in different sports.  The governance of the school: - The governing body is knowledgeable and well informed. It consists of a range of experienced

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The leadership and management are good

professionals with a variety of valuable skills and a pride and determination to provide the best for its pupils. They are supportive of the school, but are not afraid to challenge the leadership to ensure on- going improvement. - Governors have a good understanding of the school’s progress, reviewing data presented by the school and from external sources, while regular visits to classrooms provide an accurate view of the quality of teaching and of pupils’ progress. - Governors understand fully how performance in the classroom can affect teachers’ progression through the pay scale. They are adamant that should the occasion arise where a teacher needed additional support, they would be appropriately involved. - Governors are prudent in their spending and plan up to two years in advance to ensure that resources, both human and material, are available to support pupils’ learning. They are involved in the spending of

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The leadership and management are good

the additional monies, such as the pupil premium, keeping a careful eye on the achievement of the very few pupils entitled to the additional pupil premium funding. - The safety of pupils is of high importance and safeguarding procedures meet all statutory requirements.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are happy in school and at play, whether enjoying a game of basketball or walking quietly with their friends. When the bell rings, they line up quietly and walk sensibly into school, where they move quickly into their classrooms, refreshed and ready to learn.  Lunchtime is a real social occasion, with pupils chatting animatedly over a healthy and appetising meal.  Pupils of all ages behave well, both in lessons and around the school. Attitudes to learning are generally good and pupils are keen and eager to take part in their lessons by answering questions or offering ideas.  The school is colourful, clean and uncluttered. Classrooms display children’s work and pupils are proud of their school and of what they achieve. They are pleased to show visitors the work they have done and what they are learning.  Most pupils’ workbooks are typically neat and tidy, demonstrating the pride they take in their work and

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Behaviour

reflecting the expectations of their teachers.  Pupils are considerate, polite and friendly. Relationships within the school are strong. In assembly, for example, a heart-shaped carving in pumpkin encouraged pupils to leave messages of hope for the children of Syria on coloured paper hearts.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents are fulsome in their praise for the way the school cares for their children and ensures that they are happy. Pupils understand the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying. They say that instances of bullying are extremely rare, but they are confident that should bullying occur, it would be dealt with quickly and effectively by the adults in school.  Visitors to the school ensure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe from strangers, unsafe situations and on the roads.  Attendance is high.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils generally display positive attitudes to learning. They are conscientious and work well together.  Pupils make good and sometimes better progress, when the challenge in class requires them to reflect more fully on what they have learnt. This was particularly evident when pupils were discussing reasons why paintings of the Stone Age were from that period in history or whether they were produced in later times. This needed a range of skills and knowledge, which they had to use to reach their conclusions.  The teaching of phonics (sounds that letters make) in the early years and across Key Stage 1 ensures that children make a very positive start in their reading. Across the school, drama, reading aloud in assemblies and participation in special projects, where pupils appear ‘in court’ with scripts to read or have their writing recorded on compact disc with ‘Rock FM’ radio, enhance pupils’ enjoyment of reading and improve

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The quality of teaching is good

their progress. Pupils take books home to read with their parents, but in school time, opportunities to read with an adult, other than in guided reading sessions, are few.  The teaching of mathematics is good. Pupils develop a range of basic skills and are given ample time to consolidate them. Pupils enjoy practical and investigative mathematics lessons and mathematics is used increasingly across other areas of the curriculum, such as science and topic work.  The teaching of writing is good. Following a successful focus on writing over the last two years, attainment is well above average by the end of Key Stage 2 and progress is typically better than average. There are many opportunities to write extended pieces of work through topics and themes and work in pupils’ topic and science books is neat, demonstrating the similar high expectations in subjects other than English and mathematics.  Teachers generally have high expectations with skilful questioning to move learning forward. Strong

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The quality of teaching is good

relationships are based on mutual respect between pupils and adults and between each other. As a result, pupils generally participate well in their lessons, answering questions and offering ideas and solutions. This has an impressive impact on the good progress they make.  Pupils needing extra help are supported well by teachers and teaching assistants so that they can learn well and make similar progress to that of their classmates.  Pupils’ work is regularly marked and feedback given either verbally or by written comment. However, pupils across the school do not always have sufficient opportunities to respond to this feedback and so the value of the comment can sometimes be lost.  Teachers seek to choose activities that engage and motivate pupils to do their best. Teachers routinely prepare work for pupils at different levels of challenge. However, at times, tasks set for pupils are not demanding enough across all classes to stretch them sufficiently to ensure that they continue to make

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment varies year on year because of the very small numbers of pupils in each class and the very different make-up of each year group. Nevertheless, pupils’ current work, as well as the school’s data on pupils’ attainment and progress, show that achievement is good from their individual starting points to the end of Year 6.  Most children enter the Reception class with skills and knowledge that are at least typical for children of a similar age. They progress well and by the time they enter Year 1, almost all pupils are at expected levels, with many attaining better than this.  A seamless transition, built on teachers’ good knowledge of the children, sees them build upon this good progress, so that by the end of Year 2 standards are well above average in reading and mathematics and above average in writing.  Pupils’ attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 is typically well above average in mathematics and writing

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The achievement of pupils is good

and generally above average in reading. This represents good achievement across the school.  Although there were too few pupils in the 2014 Year 6 cohort to compare with national figures, the school’s own data and results of the tests for these pupils, suggest this trend of well-above-average standards in mathematics and writing have been maintained, with improvements also in reading. This is reflected in the current work seen in pupils’ workbooks across the school.  Typically, the proportion of pupils making expected progress is well above average, while the proportion of pupils who are doing better than this is broadly average, except in reading, where it is below. The school has recognised this and, following the 2013 Key Stage 2 results, strategies were put in place to address this. These actions are effectively raising pupils’ progress in the subject, both in the small cohort of Year 6 pupils in 2014 and in the school currently.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to reading and enjoy the books they read. Pupils in Year 2 handle dictionaries and information text confidently and read with assurance and understanding. Pupils of all ages are familiar with the strategies they need to read unfamiliar words. Older pupils talk knowledgeably about authors they like.  The most-able pupils make the same good progress as their peers do, particularly in writing and mathematics. The percentage of pupils reaching the higher Level 3 at the end of Year 2 is better than average in reading, writing and mathematics. Similarly, by the end of Key Stage 2 a greater-than-average proportion of pupils reaches the higher Level 5 in mathematics and writing. In reading the percentage is closer to average, but improving.  Pupils make good progress during their time in school. This is because learning is generally well-planned, support is well-targeted and pupils try hard and want to succeed. Some pupils do not consistently make

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The achievement of pupils is good

the rapid progress needed to reach the standards of which they are capable; this is because teachers do not always give them activities that challenge them sufficiently well and on occasion they continue with work they in which they are already fully confident.  There are very few disadvantaged pupils in the school. School data on pupils’ progress show that they make similar progress to that of their peers. The very small numbers of pupils in the school mean that comparisons in their attainment and that of other pupils are statistically unreliable.  Through well-targeted interventions and one-to-one support, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to that of their classmates. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are offered a good range of learning activities and adults regularly check on children’s progress and skills development. This has a positive impact on children’s achievement and enjoyment.  Relationships are warm and caring and children settle quickly and happily to their learning. The environment is positive and stimulating and both indoor and outdoor activities are well planned. Children regularly go to the school field and tend the garden, taking pleasure in seeing their plants grow. The sunflowers that had been harvested are now providing seeds for the birds and children packed up some ready to plant next year. This introduces pupils to nature and the environment in a fun and inspiring way.  Teaching is good and experiences provided are based on accurate assessments of what pupils can do and one of the benefits of this mixed-age setting is the flexibility of the groupings, offering children the

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The early years provision is good

opportunity to be constantly challenged and supported to enhance their learning.  The early years is led well and is managed skilfully to ensure that children have a good balance between ‘choosing times’, when children follow their interests, and when they work with adults.  Adults develop and reinforce children’s good attitudes to learning and prepare them well for their future learning.

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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 119678 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 448838

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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 54 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Philip Dawson Headteacher Patricia Coulthard Date of previous school inspection 23 March 2010 Telephone number 01704 822216 Fax number 01704 822216 Email address head@mawdesleyrc.lancs.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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