St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School High Busy Lane, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 1HD

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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 Good 2 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

 Too few pupils make good progress and achieve well throughout the school. This is especially so in mathematics.  Teaching is not good enough in some classes. Work is sometimes too easy and lacks the challenge needed to help pupils to make good progress.  Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work does not always help them to improve their work.  Children in the Reception class do not make fast enough progress in mathematics, reading and writing.  Subject leaders and middle leaders have not checked well enough on the progress pupils are making, and so they are not yet contributing fully to raising standards.  There are too many governor vacancies and so the work of checking on the school’s performance falls to just a few governors. Too many of these governors lack the necessary skills to be fully effective in holding school leaders to account for raising standards.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils are exceptionally well mannered and courteous. Their behaviour in lessons and around school is exemplary. Attendance is good.  Pupils know that they are very well cared for. They feel safe and they know how to keep themselves safe in different situations.  The school is at the heart of the community. All are agreed that this is a school that cares.  The headteacher is highly ambitious for every child in the school. His commitment to the school’s vision of ‘Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day’ is bringing about improvements.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and is a particular strength of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed a range of lessons or parts of lessons. All of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders and middle leaders, staff, the Chair of the Governing Body, one current governor and a former governor.  The inspector observed the school’s work and examined a wide range of documentation that included national assessment data and the school’s assessments, the school’s own view of its work, minutes from governing body meetings, curriculum information, safeguarding information and samples of pupils’ work.  A meeting was held with the school council. The inspector listened to pupils read from Year 2 and Year 6. She spoke informally to pupils around school, at playtimes and at lunchtimes.  The inspector met with a group of parents, and took account of the 55 parental responses received at the time of the inspection from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) as well as the results of a recent

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire carried out by the school.  Account was taken of the 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Deana Aldred, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium is slightly below the national average. (The pupil premium funding is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after by the local authority.)  Most pupils are of White British heritage. There are a small number of pupils from minority ethnic groups, and a few pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The school provides full time early years provision in the Reception class.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school provides childcare at the start of each school day.  There has been a change in headteacher since the last inspection.  The headteacher delivers training to middle leaders from other schools, through the National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership offered through the National College.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to at least good in order to raise pupils’ achievement by making sure that:  pupils are given work that is hard enough and never too easy to challenge them to achieve higher standards  the marking policy is consistently applied and helps pupils to improve their work  there is effective checking on the progress pupils are making in their work during lessons, and adults intervene to extend and develop their thinking  policies to support the teaching of mathematics, reading and writing are effectively applied throughout the school so there are the highest expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the rate at which pupils learn in mathematics across the school by:  ensuring pupils have a good understanding of basic number skills, including times tables and the position of hundreds, tens, and units, and are confident in their use of mathematical vocabulary  ensuring the work given to pupils fully develops their mathematical skills, particularly those of calculation and problem solving.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics in the Reception class so that more children start in Year 1 having achieved a good level of development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance, by ensuring that:  senior leaders, subject leaders and middle leaders know how well pupils are doing in their learning, and they use this information to improve the quality of teaching so that pupils always make at least good progress  governors fill the current vacancies on the governing body, and they secure the necessary skills to successfully hold school leaders, including senior leaders, subject leaders and middle leaders, to account for the standards pupils reach. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium 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

 Since the appointment of the headteacher there has been an overall trend of improvement. He has an accurate view of how well the school is doing and how it needs to improve. However, the school is too reliant on his leadership alone to drive these improvements and so the pace of improvement has been too slow.  Subject leaders and middle leaders have not routinely checked on the progress pupils are making, and used this information to raise achievement throughout the school. The two assistant headteachers have recently been allocated dedicated time to do this, in English and mathematics, but the full impact has yet to be seen. This checking is also not yet fully effective across the early years provision.  Leaders routinely check with teachers on the progress that pupils are making and this is helping to raise standards. Arrangements for checking teachers’ performance have identified that while some teaching is

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The leadership and management requires improvement

good, there is too much which requires improvement. Individual targets are used by the headteacher and the governing body to link the quality of teaching with pay rises and promotion but these targets are not currently linked with pupils’ achievement.  The school has strong links with other Catholic schools in the area. These links are helping teachers to share best practice and so improve teaching skills.  The local authority provides support for the school, which is well regarded by staff and governors. The local authority rightly recognises that improvements are not rapid enough and a higher level of support is required.  School policies are mostly in place but not implemented consistently across all classes. This is contributing to variations in the quality of teaching, which have not been successfully addressed.  Pupils’ spiritual, social, moral, and cultural development is good. Pupils’ spirituality is strongly supported

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The leadership and management requires improvement

throughout all aspects of school life. During the inspection pupils ended their act of worship with joyous singing of ‘Sing it in the valley’. Adults and pupils are mutually respectful and they show high levels of care for each other. In lessons pupils are taught to consider moral issues, for example Year 5 and Year 6 pupils reflected upon the meaning of the words ‘justice’ and ‘injustice’ in a religious education lesson. After reflection they articulated their individual responses to examples of injustice expressed through poetry and personal diary entries. Pupils learn about cultures and faiths. They learn to speak French, greet classmates in their first language, and talk with good understanding about different faiths in Britain and around the world. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities within their school, and extend this to working with local and international charities. All of this is preparing pupils well for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupils are proud of their recent sporting achievements, particularly in competitive sport with other local school. They also enjoy the playground sports equipment, provided by the primary school sport funding, which helps them to have more active break and lunchtimes. This funding is well used by the school; it has increased the range of clubs available to pupils, introduced specialist teaching to improve skills in games such as football and basketball, and has promoted more active and healthy choices for all pupils.  The pupil premium funding has helped to improve the standards reached by disadvantaged pupils. However, disadvantaged pupils throughout the school make the same variable progress as their classmates and so their achievement is not consistently good.  Parents are highly positive about the school and rightly praise the high levels of care provided for their children. They are especially strong in their praise of the headteacher who they recognise is fully

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The leadership and management requires improvement

committed to securing the best education for their children. Parents who spoke to the inspector said that all are now welcome, ‘family worship’ here is a special occasion and is looked forward to, and parents are helped to support their children with their learning. Pupils now talk at home about what they are learning in school, and homework is well explained. This is all helping their children to do better in their lessons.  The governance of the school:  Governors are supportive of the headteacher and share his ambitions for the school. However, as there are so many governor vacancies the work of the governing body has fallen to too few governors. At times they have been overloaded and this has made it difficult for them to prioritise improving the quality of teaching and raising pupils’ achievement. There are too few governors with the necessary skills to hold school leaders, senior leaders, subject leaders and middle leaders to account for the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

necessary improvements. This means that they have relied too much on the leadership of the headteacher and so improvements have not been rapid enough.  Finances are managed effectively. Governors know the successes of the primary sport funding. They also know that there have been some improvements in the achievement of disadvantaged pupils through the support provided by the pupil premium funding.  Governors oversee the arrangements for the appraisal of teachers, and ensure that it is linked to improvements in the quality of teaching. However, they do not yet ensure that teachers and leaders are held to account for how well pupils do.  Governors ensure that safeguarding and child protection requirements are met in full.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils around school is good and at times exemplary. They are kind and caring towards each other, polite and helpful to adults. Playtimes are happy, active times with many pupils enjoying healthy snacks and games with their friends. Lunchtimes are especially well organised with all pupils eating and socialising together.  Pupils and parents strongly agree that behaviour is good. Pupils explained to the inspector how the rewards system works in the school, with the school councillors taking a lead role in agreeing the rules within each class.  Pupils behave well in lessons and want to do well in the tasks given to them, even when the work is too easy. They told the inspector that they like being challenged and having to think hard about their work. Pupils talked with enthusiasm about some of the lessons that they had particularly enjoyed, such as their work on the First World War. They were proud to show their ceramic poppies made in the style of the

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Behaviour

poppies displayed at the Tower of London. Older pupils said that they have more to learn now because in previous classes they had not worked as hard.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is shown in their good attendance.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Clear procedures are in place for ensuring pupils’ safety and to meet child protection requirements.  Pupils told the inspector that at lunchtimes they feel safer now because there are more adults with them. They say they don’t often have problems in school, but if they do they know who to speak to. All are confident that any problems are quickly resolved.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in school and in other situations. The school councillors spoke of the teaching they receive which helps them to understand the dangers of the internet and social media. Younger pupils demonstrated a good understanding of the dangers of fireworks and bonfires and how to enjoy bonfire night responsibly.  School councillors explained a strong and shared understanding of what is meant by bullying, clearly describing the different forms it can take. Pupils who spoke with the inspector said there is no bullying in

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Safety

their school. The results of a recent pupil questionnaire reported that there were a few incidents but that these were effectively dealt with.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In some classes, pupils do not make as much progress as they could because the work is too easy. They work diligently to complete any tasks set for them. During the inspection pupils were keen to be loyal to their teachers and so were reluctant to say that the work is not always challenging enough. Clearly the work in some classes does not help pupils to reach the higher standards of which they are capable, and there are too few checks in lessons on the progress they are making.  Some marking gives good guidance to pupils on how they can improve their work and pupils act upon this advice. This helps them to make good progress. However, the marking policy is not consistently applied in all classes. In some classes, marking gives praise and guidance but it seems acceptable that pupils do not use this advice to improve their work. In some books errors are not corrected.  In mathematics pupils are working hard to acquire mathematical knowledge, particularly of times tables,

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

and to become confident in skills such as calculations. Teaching is supported by a mathematics policy but this is not consistently applied across all classes. There is some good teaching of mathematics and evidence of pupils successfully applying and developing their mathematical knowledge, particularly in practical problem solving work. For example, evidence in exercise books shows that some most able pupils in Year 6 are already working at the higher levels. However, there is not enough good teaching of mathematics throughout the school and so pupils overall do not yet make good progress and achieve well.  Similarly there is inconsistent application of policies supporting the teaching of reading and writing. The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make and represent in words) is good and this is helping pupils to reach improved standards in their reading and writing. However other skills, such as handwriting

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

and comprehension skills in reading are not taught well enough.  Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs, and disadvantaged pupils all benefit from additional adult support. However, the rate of achievement is variable throughout the school for these pupils as it is for their classmates because the quality of teaching varies.  Likewise, pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are helped to make similar progress to other pupils. Those who speak English as an additional language are well supported, and pupils new to the school receive high levels of care and reassurance.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because rates of pupils’ progress are inconsistent throughout the school. Too few pupils make good progress.  Children join the Reception class with skills that are mostly typical for their age. Their skills are slightly lower in the personal and social aspects of learning, yet they quickly make gains in confidence and learn to work well with other children. During their time in the early years children do not make good enough progress, particularly in their reading, writing and mathematics. This means that a below-average proportion start in Year 1 with the skills expected for their age.  Since the previous inspection, there has been a trend of improvement in reading and writing in Key Stage 1. This has been helped by improved teaching of phonics – the knowledge of which pupils are now using well in their reading and their writing. The improved standards reached in mathematics in recent years

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

were not maintained in 2014. Too few pupils reach the higher levels, demonstrating that improvements have not been rapid enough.  Standards reached in 2014 in the end of Year 6 national tests are broadly in line with the national average. This represents improved standards and a rising trend over the past two years from standards reached by pupils in the school that were below those achieved nationally. The improvements are due to stronger leadership from the current headteacher and a drive to improve the quality of teaching. In spite of the improvements, standards remain broadly similar to those reached at the time of the previous inspection.  School data shows pupils in Year 6 to be on track to attain higher than national standards, with more pupils than previously doing better than expected. However, there are variations in the progress that pupils are making throughout school and this is linked to the variance in the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There is evidence in exercise books that shows the most able pupils in Year 6 are working at the higher levels in mathematics. However, there are too few pupils throughout school who are not working at the standards they are capable of in mathematics and therefore too few make good progress. Additionally, when work is too easy, the progress of the most able in particular is hindered.  Pupils reach average standards in reading in Year 6 and read accurately and fluently. Pupils who read with the inspector said they would like regular teaching of comprehension skills to help them to have a better understanding of the texts they read. Pupils clearly enjoy reading, and have a love of books. They talked with enthusiasm about the wider range now available to them in school and the help they receive at home.  The results of the most recent national screening check at the end of Year 1 on pupils’ knowledge of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

phonics improved to be above the national average. During the inspection younger pupils read with good levels of concentration, blending sounds to read unfamiliar words.  School data shows there is no significant difference between the attainment of pupils from different ethnic backgrounds. Those pupils who join speaking English as an additional language are seen to receive good quality support which helps them to catch up and then make similar progress to their classmates.  The data for the Year 6 tests in 2014 shows that in reading, writing and mathematics disadvantaged pupils left school with standards that were lower than other pupils. In mathematics they were about a term behind their classmates and nearly three terms behind non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. In reading, they were about a term and a half behind non-disadvantaged pupils in school, and nearly three terms behind non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. In writing they were nearly a term behind non-

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

disadvantaged pupils in school and just over a term and a half behind non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Comparison with 2013 test results show that gaps are closing, although the school’s data shows that gaps remain throughout school linked to the quality of teaching. This demonstrates that the school is not as effective as it should be in promoting equality of opportunity.  During the inspection disabled pupils and those with special educational needs were seen to be secure in their understanding of what was expected in the tasks they were completing. Consequently they worked confidently and successfully to complete these, with only a little intervention from the adults who were supporting them. Teaching assistants were effectively supporting these pupils to develop their independence and perseverance when completing tasks.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Leadership and management of early years provision requires improvement because checks on children’s progress have not been fully effective. Expectations of what children can achieve are too low, and so too few are making at least good progress. The school recognises this and is now working with a local school sharing best practice to improve provision in the early years.  Children form good relationships with each other and with staff and engage happily in the activities provided both indoors and outdoors. However, they lose interest when there is little intervention to encourage their efforts or to ask them questions to help develop their understanding and skills. In these instances, their otherwise good behaviour also deteriorates for similar reasons.  Parents who spoke to the inspector said they are happy with how well their children settle in class, and that their children look forward to coming to school. It was clear during the inspection that children feel

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The early years provision requires improvement

safe and cared for in this class.  Children enjoy learning to read and write. They enthusiastically demonstrated their understanding of the sounds letters represent, blending these to read simple words such as s_n_a_p, when reading the traditional tale of ‘The Gingerbread Man’. They were equally enthusiastic in their making of individual books in which to retell the story. They were eager to write, showing confidence in the spelling of simple words, such as ‘fox’, but there are too few opportunities for children to develop their learning, as teaching does not use what is known about children’s abilities when planning activities.  The school data shows recent improvements in the standards reached, for example in boys’ writing. Much of this is attributed to heightened expectations of what these children are capable of achieving.

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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 107348 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 448350

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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 127 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Vanda Greenwood Headteacher Simon Gallacher Date of previous school inspection 23 June 2010 Telephone number 01274 592738 Fax number 01274 593738 Email address head@stas.bradford.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

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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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