Sacred Heart Primary School

Sacred Heart Primary School Victoria Road, Tipton, DY4 8SW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is led confidently and decisively by the headteacher. She is effectively supported by a dedicated assistant headteacher, senior and subject leaders and a highly motivated staff team.  Governors, leaders and staff make outstanding contributions to the support of disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, resulting in sustained improvement in their achievement and in teaching.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding because they have hugely enthusiastic attitudes to their learning. They are respectful to each other and adults and are keen to take responsibilities within the school. Their attendance and punctuality are now excellent.  The care and safety of pupils are outstanding. The school leads the way in the local authority in its work to combat extremism.  Teaching in the school is consistently good and occasionally outstanding. Teachers have good understanding of the support needed for all pupils,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and make learning both enjoyable and challenging. Teaching assistants are particularly effective in their contributions to learning.  All pupils achieve well. The achievement of pupils in the early stages of learning English is often outstanding. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs also make exceptional progress. Most pupils reach at least average standards in writing, and increasing proportions are reaching above average levels in reading and mathematics.  Children make an excellent start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes. They make rapid strides in their communication and personal skills because of excellent leadership and teaching in the Early Years.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is yet outstanding and pupils are not yet making outstanding progress.  Pupils’ progress in writing is not as strong as it is in reading and mathematics. The presentation of some of their written work is not always as accurate as it could be.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons. Three of these were seen jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, other staff with leadership responsibilities, the parent support advisor, the Chair of the Governing Body and a school improvement officer from the local authority.  The inspector discussed teaching and pupils’ progress with class teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ books and records of their progress were examined.  The inspector listened to pupils reading and talked to them about their reading experiences.  There were no responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents. The inspector examined the school’s own survey of parent views, consisting of 67 responses in November 2014. The inspector also spoke to parents in school.  The inspector considered the 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.  A range of documentation was examined, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, and

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Information about this inspection

analysis of data showing pupils’ achievement and progress. Safeguarding arrangements, school policies, and records of checks made by school leaders on the quality of teaching were also examined.

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Inspection team

Rodney Braithwaite, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school has a Nursery which children attend part-time in the mornings. The school has four other classes, all mixed-aged, for Reception and Year 1, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6.  Almost all pupils come from a range of minority ethnic heritages. Of these, 90% are of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage. Almost all pupils speak English as an additional language. About half of the children entering the Nursery are in the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, around 20%, is above average.  Almost 60% of pupils, well above the national average, are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after or known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has a range of links to other local primary schools, including the Tipton Learning Community.  The school has a high demand for places, and the present building is scheduled for replacement with a new building in 2016, which will triple the school’s capacity.  The headteacher is the education representative for Sandwell primary schools on the steering group for ‘PREVENT’ strategies (tackling extremism).

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teachers encourage pupils to take more care with the presentation of their work and the accuracy of their recording to avoid making careless mistakes.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher leads the school very strongly with a determination that the many barriers to learning experienced by pupils will be overcome in a challenging and friendly environment in which all pupils are fully included. With the support of the assistant headteacher, she has built a highly motivated team of senior and subject leaders who manage their responsibilities with success and flair.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The leadership team has a fine track record of improving many aspects of the school consistently over several years. School leaders have been successful in getting staff to work very closely together and to share the school’s drive to provide the very best education for the pupils and prepare them for their future lives in Britain.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 A key improvement is the leadership, management and teaching of early years provision. Children make outstanding progress, often from very low skills and experiences on entry, and are prepared very effectively for life in the main school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 School leaders rigorously monitor the quality of teaching, linked to pupils’ achievement, and ensure that appropriate training is provided to continue to develop teachers’ skills. Leaders have a regular programme of lesson observations and the scrutiny of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning. Leaders carefully monitor the progress of teachers new to the school, and provide excellent support for newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Subject leaders for English and mathematics have ensured that pupils’ progress has continued to improve. This demonstrates the school’s effectiveness in reaching the targets it sets.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school’s promotion of equal opportunities and inclusion is outstanding and it is a ‘benchmark’ school in the local authority, winning several awards. The school tolerates no discrimination and pupils show respect, patience and a good capacity for hard work. They are very proud of their school and are particularly encouraged by the school’s reward systems for good work or contributions to the school community. School leaders have also been successful in bringing about a significant and sustained rise in pupils’ attendance.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has successfully introduced the new National Curriculum. Although the collection and use of assessment data has also improved, the school’s new plans for assessment are not yet fully implemented.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The new curriculum is proving successful because it is specifically adapted for the needs of the pupils, and in particular pupils with English as an additional language and disadvantaged pupils. There is strong emphasis on the promotion of British values and democracy. This is seen, for example, in the history curriculum and the visits made to different places of worship, which widen pupils’ knowledge of the diversity of British culture. Older pupils are given posts of responsibility only when they have gone through a democratic process of nomination and speaking to make their case for selection.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has used the additional sports funding to provide wider access to competitive sport. Pupils are delighted with the greatly increased opportunities they have to compete with other schools. They like to win cups, many of which are displayed in school, but equally are proud of coming ‘9th out of 24’, because they are the smallest school in the area. The school has also established links with a number of sports clubs from which they receive specialist coaching, such as in sports multi-skills.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school works effectively with the local authority, mostly by request. The school’s leadership is highly regarded by the local authority.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has been active and successful in encouraging parents to be involved with the school, particularly those for whom English is not the first language. The parent support adviser is invaluable in this area as she is a point of contact and helps parents to have more confidence in approaching the school. Parent responses indicate unanimously strong approval of the school’s leadership and management.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body under the new Chair has greatly improved its contribution to the leadership of the school since the last inspection. Governors have been involved in a wide range of training, not only from the local authority, but also from the headteacher. They now have a much greater understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Governors have far greater confidence in challenging leaders and relish the prospect of developing a new and much larger school.  Governors have received effective training in the analysis of school performance data, which has helped them to understand the progress of large groups such as disadvantaged pupils relative to other groups. They also have a clear picture of the quality of teaching. This is helping them in their decisions relating to performance management and pay awards, which are dependent upon teachers reaching targets for

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the performance of their pupils.  Governors have a high awareness of the importance of safeguarding in the school. The management of safeguarding in the school is regarded by the local authority as excellent practice and is used as a local benchmark for safeguarding provision and audit. All school policies, especially regarding child protection, are scrupulously monitored and fully in place.  Governors carefully monitor the spending of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils and for the promotion of sport and healthy living. They have a good knowledge of the outcomes of the spending and the benefits to the pupils, which are regularly checked with the senior leadership.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They have tremendous enthusiasm for learning and show great powers of concentration, listening carefully to their teachers and working quietly and quickly, whether individually or in small groups.

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Behaviour

 They discuss their learning with enthusiasm and recall and describe memorable activities such as the trips to Weston and Warwick Castle. They remember how much they enjoyed raising money in ‘fun activities’ in ‘Race at your Place’ day for Cancer Research, and one pupil summed up school by saying, ‘every day is a good memory’.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ behaviour in and out of school is outstanding. This includes the early years where children have similarly enthusiastic attitudes to learning. In spite of a small playground and no school field, pupils behave safely and with consideration outside. Lunch times in the hall are social occasions for pupils, who enjoy chatting with each other and are always well-behaved.

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Behaviour

 Members of the public, verbally and in letters, have often commented upon the excellent behaviour of the pupils when out on visits. There have been no exclusions of pupils for bad behaviour in recent years.

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Behaviour

 A feature of behaviour is the responsibility taken by pupils in Year 6, who help supervise at lunchtimes and wet playtimes, act as ‘buddies’ in the playground, and have a number of other duties to help keep the school safe. They take this very seriously, but are not bossy or unpleasant to younger pupils.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are confident that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education. They also give examples of how they are learning about the British way of life and British values. Older pupils mention how they learn about this through educational outings and, for example, mixing with the local Over-50s group. They also learn about British values in assemblies, such as the rule of law, individual liberty, tolerance and mutual respect. This contributes powerfully to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Behaviour

 Promoted robustly by the headteacher, attendance has soared in the last three years and is now above the national average. This is because the school has clearly communicated to parents the importance of their children attending school unless ill, and understanding the sanctions if pupils fail to attend or are persistently late.  Teachers and staff alike are unanimous in describing behaviour as being well-managed by the school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils have full confidence in the adults in school, and know who to turn to if they have problems. They also have a facility for writing their problems down which will be dealt with by staff.

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Safety

 A strength of the school is the meticulous attention given to identifying and dealing with children at risk of harm. The school has an excellent record of supporting vulnerable pupils with great skill and speed. The headteacher and assistant headteacher are highly skilled and experienced in dealing with safety issues concerning children.

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Safety

 The parent support adviser is highly effective in ensuring the safety of pupils in vulnerable situations, and she and the school work very closely with external agencies and social services.

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Safety

 Incidents of bullying are few and far between. Pupils unanimously stated that ‘there is no bullying here’. Older ones especially, have a good understanding of cyber-bullying. Importantly, they also understand that there are dangers of extremist views being expressed through the internet or mobile phones.

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Safety

 All staff have completed all the required training and checks, and all risk assessments are overseen carefully by the headteacher.

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Safety

 The school has earned the Sandwell Inclusion Quality mark, for its work in supporting and including pupils whatever their backgrounds, at the highest level for the last two years. Racist incidents are extremely rare, logged carefully and reported appropriately.

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Safety

 Parents and staff are unanimous in responding that pupils are safe in the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good across the school in all years, including the early years where it is outstanding. Learning is sometimes outstanding in all classes. Teachers are skilled in planning the learning in mixed-aged classes throughout the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships and mutual respect between pupils and adults are especially strong throughout the school. Rarely is a voice raised, and pupils receive sympathetic and challenging support and understanding from all the adults involved in their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations and strive to make learning enjoyable and stimulating at all times. This was seen a number of times during the inspection. For example, in the Year 5/6 class studying ‘Macbeth’, pupils took part in brief role-play of the witches meeting Macbeth and Banquo. Pupils’ thoughtful responses to questions, especially those of boys, showed an increasing understanding of the English language, as well as an insight into aspects of the British cultural heritage.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are always conscious of the learning of pupils, with the most frequently asked question in all classes being, ‘What have you learned today?’ They encourage pupils to think carefully at all times about their learning, and this increases their confidence in their speaking skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking is generally helpful in pointing the way ahead for pupils. However, pupils’ presentation of work is sometimes untidy and their spelling inaccurate; this is not picked up consistently by teachers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants are increasingly effective in improving the learning of the large number of pupils with English as an additional language. This is particularly important for younger pupils in Key Stage 1 who, although developing literacy skills quite rapidly, often struggle with the meaning of words.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff provide equally strong support for the learning of disabled pupils, those who have special needs and disadvantaged pupils. They use limited space in the school very effectively in order to teach small groups of pupils and, occasionally, pupils on a one-to-one basis.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Homework is promoted consistently through the school and helps parents to understand the learning of their children, and establish a link with staff.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers promote literacy and numeracy effectively through a good range of different subjects. This is seen most notably in pupils’ work in information and communication technology (ICT), where they develop their research skills rapidly, and in their cross-curricular work on educational visits.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well and make good progress over time. Attainment, especially for more-able pupils is showing signs of rapid improvement, whilst good teaching is ensuring that all other groups of pupils are also achieving well. As the high proportion of pupils with English as an additional language, especially those in the early stages of learning English, become more proficient in understanding the language, their attainment gathers pace.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the early years with low skills and understanding for their age. They make outstanding progress in Nursery and Reception and a majority are now reaching average standards when they enter Year 1. The standards of children leaving Reception are improving year on year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils at the end of Year 2 have not reached average standards in writing, reading and mathematics for several years. However, attainment is now clearly improving because pupils are making better progress as a result of fresh strategies introduced by leaders. As the result of the school’s intensive language support, attainment in national tests improved in 2014, and there is evidence that this improvement is continuing in each subject.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs was higher in 2014 than that of other pupils in the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Key Stage 2 in 2014, a higher proportion of pupils than found nationally reached average standards in writing, reading, mathematics and spelling, punctuation and grammar. Pupils attained particularly well in reading and the proportion reaching higher levels was above average, although it was below average in writing and mathematics. This picture has been consistent over the last three years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All pupils in Key Stage 2 make good and sometimes outstanding progress, and achieve well. Their progress in reading has been excellent and is the reason for their improved attainment. The school has targeted more-able pupils in the last year, and present data and pupils’ work indicates that more pupils than in the past are on track to reach above average standards in writing and mathematics. School leaders have set higher targets for these pupils, and teachers have raised expectations, which is showing in the learning of these pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The high proportion of disadvantaged pupils in 2014 made good and sometimes exceptional progress. At the end of Year 6, the attainment of these pupils was higher than pupils nationally in reading, below in writing by about half a term, and similar to the national figure in mathematics. Their performance cannot be compared with others in the school because there were too few of the others to give a valid comparison. The difference in attainment between these groups of pupils in other year groups narrows every year, as pupils’ understanding of English grows.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs matches the attainment of other pupils in the school. These pupils also make good or better progress consistently in all years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Staff are particularly successful in supporting the progress of pupils, again often with little English, who join in years other than the early years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy reading more and more as they grow older, and develop greater understanding and comprehension of English vocabulary. The good range of books in the school, and regular reading to adults has resulted in a significant rise in reading and comprehension standards by the end of Year 6. Pupils have also been helped by the consistent teaching of phonics throughout the school.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children start in the Nursery with skills and experience well below those typically seen for their age, especially in language and social development, and knowledge of the world. Half the children starting school are in the earliest stages of learning English and many have had little experience of learning and mixing with others before coming to school.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children make excellent progress in the Nursery and Reception classes, especially in developing their social language with each other, and learning to join in with other children. They learn to play, share and discover new and exciting activities both inside and outside their classrooms.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children maintain their early rapid rates of progress in both classes, and are expertly prepared by very effective teachers and teaching assistants for transition to Key Stage 1. All of them benefit from frequent opportunities to mix together with Year 1 pupils in a wide variety of stimulating activities.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage are outstanding. The provision for the learning and social development of the children is particularly well-planned. It takes into consideration the cramped learning areas and lack of extra space for smaller groups of children, and makes the best use of outside areas badly in need of refurbishment.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The early years leader has extensive assessment data, which is used continually to devise programmes for the individual needs of all children. Areas of slowest development, such as knowledge of the world and art and design skills, are identified at a very early stage. School data indicates that, by the end of their Reception year, most children are close to reaching the skills expected for their age in these areas.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Staff provide a vibrant and colourful learning environment where children enjoy their learning and using their new social skills. Staff make learning fun for children of all abilities, as was seen in a phonics (letters and the sounds they make) lesson, when different groups learned how to recognise and use the sounds ‘ea’ and ‘ee’.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The provision for children with English as an additional language is especially effective. This is a major element contributing to the outstanding achievement of these children throughout the Early Years. The attainment of a sizeable majority in almost all areas of learning and development are in line with national expectations by the time they enter Key Stage 1.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Teaching is consistently good and often outstanding in both classes. The understanding of children’s’ needs is a feature of the support given by all staff to the children.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The behaviour of children is outstanding, because they are always eager to learn, have great curiosity, and quickly learn to play and work happily with each other. They are very respectful of all staff, so always follow instructions carefully and without fuss. Their health, safety and well-being are the highest priority. The staff, particularly the headteacher, are rigorous in their management of safeguarding which fully meets all statutory requirements and is of the highest quality of awareness.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The school works hard to encourage parents, some of whom are reticent to approach staff, to work with the school on the education and personal development of their children. For example, the school has met with success in encouraging some fathers to come into school to spend time with their children, who show great pleasure when this happens. Parents are delighted with the start their children make at the school.

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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 135029 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 449779

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 137 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Peach Headteacher Melanie Gee Date of previous school inspection 14 July 2010 Telephone number 0121 5571511 Fax number 0121 5571668 Email address melanie.gee@sacredheart.sandwell.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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