St Aloysius' Catholic Primary School

School report St Aloysius' Catholic Primary School 143 Woodstock Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 7PH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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 Good 2

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

 Teaching requires improvement. Teachers’ expectations of what all pupils can achieve are too low. Too much time is wasted during day-to-day lessons when pupils could be stretched and challenged.  Pupils do not achieve consistently well in mathematics. The end of Key Stage 2 results in 2014 dipped in all subjects. Not enough pupils in Year 1 reached the expected levels in phonics (how letters link to sounds).  Expectations of pupils with special educational needs are not high enough. Some do not make good enough progress from their starting points.  School leaders’ actions to maintain high standards and arrest the decline in results were not carried out quickly enough. As a result, standards have slipped.  Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement. Some pupils respond too slowly to instructions. Not all teachers insist upon pupils’ prompt attention, which wastes time.  Governors have not done enough to ensure that

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

high standards of teaching, achievement and behaviour are maintained by school leaders.

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The school has the following strengths

 The Early Years Foundation Stage has improved significantly since the previous inspection and is now good. Children make a good start to their education.  The headteacher has ensured that there is now a better system for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress.  The curriculum meets the pupils’ needs well.  Pupils are safe in the school. They are cared for well.  Parents, pupils and staff like the school and appreciate its strong sense of community.  The headteacher and governors have ensured that the school is now on a secure financial footing, following a period when there was a deficit budget.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out with half a day’s notice.  Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes in the school. Two lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher. Inspectors also made a number of shorter visits to lessons.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to pupils in lessons and during break and lunchtimes, and met with a group formally.  Meetings were held with teachers and middle leaders.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including records of behaviour, safeguarding and attendance; the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan; the outline of the curriculum; information related to pupils’ progress and attainment, and records of teachers’ performance management; and the governing body minutes.  Inspectors spoke to a few parents at the beginning and end of the school day. Views from 35 responses to

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Information about this inspection

the Parent View online questionnaire were taken into consideration, in addition to the school’s own surveys of parents’ views.  Inspectors evaluated pupils’ work in lessons. A sample of pupils’ work was selected by inspectors for additional scrutiny. Inspectors listened to pupils reading.  Inspectors took account of the 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Janet Pearce, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Aloysius’ Catholic Primary School is a smaller than average one-form-entry voluntary aided Catholic primary school, situated less than a mile from the centre of Oxford, in the diocese of Birmingham.  At the previous inspection in 2010, the school was judged to be good.  A higher proportion of pupils than the national average are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  A higher proportion than average speak English as an additional language, with 28 different home languages spoken in the school.  The proportion of pupils with education, care and health plans is much smaller than that found nationally.  The proportions of disadvantaged pupils who are known to be entitled to the pupil premium are much smaller than that found nationally. There are currently no looked after pupils.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school population is highly mobile, with above average numbers of pupils being admitted to the

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Information about this school

school at times other than the beginning of the school year.  The school meets the current government floor standards for pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be good or better by ensuring that teachers:  raise their expectations of all pupils and use lesson time productively, insisting that no time is wasted when pupils could be challenged or more purposeful  improve standards of pupils’ presentation and handwriting in books and folders  ensure that the teaching of phonics is consistently well taught.  Raise achievement, particularly, but not exclusively, in mathematics, by:  ensuring that all pupils are sufficiently challenged  pushing more-able pupils to pay attention to detail and accuracy  making sure that all staff convey the same high expectations of pupils who have special educational needs and that no excuses are made for slower rates of progress.  Improve behaviour by:  making sure that all staff insist upon the same high standards of behaviour day after day  insisting that pupils take more responsibility for their own behaviour and how they use their lesson time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels, by ensuring that:  checks on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress are carried out more systematically and prompt action is taken when weaknesses in performance are identified  governors challenge school leaders’ views on teaching, behaviour and progress more rigorously and gain a greater understanding of the data provided  staff and governors have opportunities to observe examples of good or better practice.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher is determined to arrest the slide in standards of attainment since the previous inspection. He has had to convince staff to change their long-held approaches to assessment. Some new systems for tracking progress have helped to identify those pupils at risk of underachievement, but some staff have been too slow to make best use of these systems in order to adjust their teaching to the needs of pupils in their classes. As a result, previously high standards of teaching and achievement have declined.  Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour are not high enough. Valuable learning time is lost because all teachers do not insist that pupils pay attention and concentrate. Behaviour is better in the Early Years Foundation Stage because staff have established good routines.  Teachers’ performance and progression up the pay scales are evaluated in terms of pupils’ results. Teachers are expected to prepare for pupils’ progress meetings and identify specific groups of pupils to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

target. Observations of teaching are also used by school leaders to determine whether teachers receive salary increases. However, checks on teaching are too infrequent to gather an accurate picture of the quality of pupils’ learning over time and school leaders have not taken urgent action when particular pupils are at risk of underachievement.  Senior and middle leaders vary in their effectiveness. Some are new in post from September 2014 and have not yet evaluated the impact of their work. For example, the literacy leader has introduced training for staff in teaching phonics, but has not yet evaluated its impact on pupils’ achievement. Leaders make sure that pupils with special educational needs are supported in lessons and attend extra programmes to help them to catch up. Nevertheless, expectations of some pupils with special educational needs are not high enough.  The Key Stage 1 leader checks teachers’ work carefully and ensures that planning takes careful account of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils’ abilities and prior attainment. However, the work of the Key Stage 2 leader has not yet been effective in raising standards in mathematics.  School leaders are able to give a full account of how the pupil premium funding has been spent to improve the results of disadvantaged pupils, but not enough has been done to measure the impact of specific programmes on particular pupils’ results.  The curriculum is a strength of the school. Teachers adapt the content to suit pupils’ interests and what they need to learn. The curriculum contributes well to the school’s focus on developing pupils’ self- awareness and spirituality. Nevertheless, not enough has been done to evaluate the impact of the new curriculum on pupils’ achievement.  School leaders are wholly committed to equality of opportunity and do not tolerate any discrimination. Understanding of differences between people underpins both the curriculum and the pastoral care within

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the school. Pupils are provided with opportunities to study different religious faiths, contributing strongly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils in Year 5 are studying Islamic art and pupils went on a school visit to a synagogue.  Parents support the school and rate its work highly. Parents are confident that the school keeps their children safe. A few parents would like better communication from the school.  Pupils have many opportunities to shine in extra-curricular activities, such as sports, music, drama and work in the church and community. Through the curriculum and enrichment activities, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The sport premium funding has been used to promote lunchtime play and develop the skills of staff. However, not enough has been done to evaluate the impact of the spending on pupils’ participation rates in sport, or measure how well it is developing staff’s skills in teaching physical education.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided minimal support for the school since the previous inspection. A recent evaluation of the school’s performance accurately identified that there had been a dip in end of Key Stage 2 results. The local authority has provided useful support for the teaching of phonics in Year 1.  Safeguarding and safer recruitment meet statutory requirements. Records of safeguarding incidents and child protection concerns are detailed and securely maintained. Concerns about pupils’ safety are shared appropriately with the local authority in a timely manner. Senior leaders and staff have a good awareness of child protection policies and procedures, and maintain vigilance over pupils’ safety and well-being.  The governance of the school:  Governors accept too readily what senior leaders tell them about the quality of teaching and pupils’ behaviour. Their expectations of what the school could achieve are too low, because their

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The leadership and management requires improvement

understanding of expected rates of progress and standards of attainment is limited.  However, some aspects of governance have been effective. For example, governors challenged and supported the headteacher through difficult but necessary decisions about the staffing structure in the school. They also ensured that the school is financially viable and no longer has a deficit budget, partly by supporting the headteacher’s decisions about staff performance management and pay progression. Governors have a sound understanding of how the funding from the pupil premium is being used to support disadvantaged pupils and are able to give a general overview of its impact. However, governors have not ensured that school leaders evaluate the impact of the pupil premium on individual pupils in order to ensure equality of opportunity.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Pupils do not always behave well in lessons. Too many pupils do not respond promptly to teachers’ instructions. Some pupils are inattentive when they should be listening to the teacher. Some lessons are unnecessarily noisy and some pupils chat when they should be working quietly.  Teachers’ management of pupils’ behaviour is inconsistent and too casual. Pupils are reminded about how to behave, but teachers do not follow up their reminders with firm insistence. As a result, pupils correct their behaviour initially, but do not sustain the improvement.  Some pupils do not always behave appropriately or respectfully on formal occasions. For example, in both assemblies observed during the inspection, some pupils were having a conversation during the formal prayers; others were watching the clock or not joining in with singing. This was not challenged by staff

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Behaviour

and instead, pupils were praised for their good behaviour.  Standards of presentation in books and uniform are not consistently high. Pupils do not take enough pride in their handwriting. Although the school has a uniform, some pupils do not wear it. For example, during the inspection, several pupils in each class and in assemblies were not in the correct school jumpers. A few pupils were wearing jeans or tracksuit bottoms instead of school trousers. Incorrect uniform is not routinely challenged by staff. Several pupils and a few parents told inspectors that they felt that the school should be stricter about uniform.  Nevertheless, pupils are generally courteous and considerate to staff and each other. They are friendly and confident. They are rightly proud of the way they look after each other and build strong relationships.  There are very few incidents of serious misbehaviour and there have been no exclusions.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ attendance is in line with national figures. However, not all pupils are punctual at the start of the school day. Although the school has taken some steps to improve punctuality, this has not been carried out with sufficient consistency.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils feel safe in school and know how to report any concerns. Parents have no concerns about pupils’ safety.  Staff follow the school’s policy and procedure when raising concerns about pupils. The school’s records of referrals to the local authority are kept securely and are regularly monitored and updated.  If bullying does occur, pupils are confident that it will be dealt with effectively. Pupils state that there is little if any racist or homophobic bullying, swearing or derogatory language.  A few pupils are overly boisterous at breaktimes and lunchtimes, including in corridors.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement, because teachers do not make effective use of time in lessons. Teachers do not expect pupils to settle to work quickly enough. Some activities go on for too long and pupils lose concentration. Some pupils are not given enough demanding work, so they finish before the end of lessons and do not have anything to do to extend their learning.  In some lessons, there is not enough new learning to challenge pupils. Sometimes, repetitive tasks leave pupils with little new to do, so they lose interest. When correcting their own or each other’s work, pupils are not given enough advice about how to improve, so their learning does not move on to the next level.  Some teachers make good use of resources to enhance learning, and most plan topics and sequences of lessons that will provoke pupils’ initial interest. Tasks and topics in lessons are enhanced by linked extra- curricular activities, which often inspire pupils to make more effort than they do in day-to-day lessons.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants support most pupils well with individual tasks. Some programmes of extra help enable pupils to catch up, particularly with literacy and when learning English as an additional language. Not all teaching assistants are confident when teaching phonics to younger pupils.  Pupils’ work is marked and most pupils feel that their teachers’ comments help them to improve and correct their work. However, some errors, such as spelling mistakes, are not routinely corrected.  Too many pupils take little care with the presentation of their work and the amount they produce in a lesson. Teachers are not always clear about what they want pupils to learn or how much to get done. The work of some more-able pupils lacks sufficient detail and is sometimes inaccurate, particularly in mathematics. Poorly presented or unfinished work is not always challenged by teachers.

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The achievement of pupils

 Achievement requires improvement because there has been a decline in overall performance at the end of Key Stage 2 over the last three years, particularly in mathematics and for the few pupils with special educational needs. Pupils in Year 1 do not achieve well in phonics, gaining results that are below the national average.  Pupils enter Year 1 with generally higher prior attainment than the national average. Over the last three years, pupils have attained results at the end of Key Stage 1 that compare favourably with national figures, particularly in reading and writing.  Pupils’ rates of progress and levels of attainment compare favourably with national figures in reading and writing. However, by the end of Key Stage 2, some pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable, particularly in mathematics. For example, some more-able pupils do not make enough progress in mathematics in order to attain the higher levels by the end of Year 6. Pupils with special educational

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The achievement of pupils

needs do not make as much progress as their peers, particularly in mathematics.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups make expected progress in line with their peers, with little variation. The very few pupils who speak English as an additional language, but do not speak English at home, do not do as well as their classmates. The very small number of disadvantaged pupils attain results in some cases that are better than other pupils in the school and nationally. There is no gap between their achievement and that of pupils who are not disadvantaged.  In the past, the school relied too much on measuring pupils’ progress by end of term assessments, so action to deal with poor performance was not taken quickly enough. The headteacher and senior leaders have now adopted a new system for tracking and analysing pupils’ progress, which enables them to identify where there are shortfalls in pupils’ progress. Pupils in Year 4, for example, are not making

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The achievement of pupils

enough progress in mathematics.  Pupils read fluently. Most enjoy reading and make good use of the school library. However, pupils told inspectors that they do not have enough advice about what to read or how to challenge themselves. Some younger pupils do not have enough opportunities to read to an adult.

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The early years provision

 Children learn well in the Reception class. The quality of teaching and the expectations of children’s behaviour are better than in the rest of the school.  Children make good progress. The school has effectively identified where there are weaknesses in the early acquisition of spoken English and introduced a specific focus on developing storytelling and a programme to support pupils’ use of mathematical language.  Careful planning of activities and exciting resources enable children to thrive. Their good progress is assessed and recorded in detail, enabling staff to identify levels of development quickly. Children know their next steps, take their learning seriously and are proud of what they are achieving.  Children are safe, behave well and expectations of their conduct are high. Staff make a point of patiently insisting that children line up quietly, follow instructions, use ‘indoor voices’ or remain silent when

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The early years provision

necessary. As a result, children learn to concentrate and are prepared well for Year 1.  Good habits are encouraged in the children on a daily basis. For example, they eat their morning snacks together around tables, in order to learn social skills and good manners.  Early reading and writing are taught well. Children enjoy reading and story times, have opportunities for writing in sentences and are firmly encouraged to hold their pencils correctly. The teaching of phonics in the Reception class has improved this year, with a closer focus on those children who speak English as an additional language.  Occasionally, there are not enough opportunities for children to speak at length or practise more sophisticated vocabulary when they are playing and learning together. Sometimes, staff miss chances to step in to extend children’s learning.  The classroom and outdoor areas are packed with interesting activities and materials to explore. However,

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The early years provision

some resources and equipment are not stored very tidily.  The Key Stage 1 and Early Years leader works effectively with the teacher in the Reception class, overseeing her work, developing her leadership skills and ensuring that children’s progress is tracked closely.

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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 123218 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 448847

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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 School Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 231 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Edward Murphy Headteacher Tom Walker Date of previous school inspection 21–22 June 2010 Telephone number 01865 311056 Fax number 01865 311056 Email address head.3842@st-aloysius.oxon.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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