St Richard's Catholic Primary School

School report St Richard's Catholic Primary School Cawley Road, Chichester, PO19 1XB

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, with the support of other leaders, provides clarity and purpose to the work of the school. There is a very strong team ethos and shared vision. As a result, every pupil is a valued member of the school community.  Leaders have effectively adapted the school’s provision to meet pupils’ rapidly changing needs. Pupils find lessons interesting and engaging.  Governors are effective. They challenge leaders and hold them to account effectively.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Activities are well matched to children’s needs. As a result, they make good progress.  The overall quality of teaching is good. Teachers challenge pupils of all abilities. Teachers make good use of assessment during lessons to adapt what they are doing to meet pupils’ needs.  Pupils achieve well at the school. The majority of pupils make good progress, particularly in mathematics.  Pupils consistently attain levels above the national

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils reach high standards in other subjects, such as art and physical education.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to their learning. They behave exceptionally well. Pupils from different backgrounds learn and play well together because they share the school’s ethos of respect for others.  Pupils feel safe at school. Leaders make sure that systems to keep pupils safe are effective and respond to the individual needs of pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some pupils do not make the rapid and sustained progress of which they are capable.   The use of teaching assistants is not always as effective as it could be.  Teachers’ use of assessment in the early years is not precise enough to allow children to make rapid progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons across all three key stages, three of which were joint observations with senior leaders. They also observed a whole-school assembly, listened to pupils read and scrutinised work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors met with pupils and talked with them about their work. Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documentation, including the governing body minutes; information about behaviour, safety and attendance, and the management of the performance of staff; reports from the local authority; and checks on pupils’ attainment and progress.  Inspectors took into account 71 responses from parents and carers to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and 21 questionnaires from staff. They met informally with parents at the beginning of the school

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Inspection team

Matthew Barnes, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Richard’s Catholic Primary School is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school. There are nine classes from Reception to Year 6. Since the last inspection, the school has increased in size from one class in each year group to one and a half classes. Extensive building works have taken place to provide the necessary additional classrooms.  The characteristics of the cohorts at the school have significantly changed since the last inspection. The percentage of White British pupils has decreased from around three quarters of the school in 2011 to approximately two thirds in 2014. The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased to around a third of the school population. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language makes up just under a third of the school population.  The percentage of pupils known to eligible for free school meals is much lower than the national average

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Information about this school

at just over 6%. Consequently, the proportions eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care or known to be eligible for free school meals, is also relatively low.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage attend full time.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average.  In 2014, the school met the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress so that it is rapid and sustained for the majority of pupils.  Make sure the use of teaching assistants always has a consistently effective impact on pupils’ achievement.  Sharpen teachers’ use of assessment in the early years, so that more children achieve a good level of development by the time they leave Reception.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have very successfully established a culture in which the achievement of every child matters. The headteacher, ably supported by her senior leadership team, has effectively built a strong team of staff that work well together to evaluate and improve teaching. As a result, leaders and staff expect pupils to achieve highly.  Leaders carry out a range of carefully selected and robust activities to check pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. They use this information to build accurate views of how well the school is performing. Improvement plans make a difference to the quality of learning at the school.  As a result of leaders’ effective monitoring, teaching is consistently good in all three key stages and improving further. Some teaching is outstanding. Leaders have taken decisive and effective action to increase pupils’ progress, particularly in Key Stage 2.  Equality of opportunity underpins the work of the school. This is clearly evident in the high priority leaders

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The leadership and management are good

give to meeting the needs of all groups of pupils. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. All groups of pupils are now achieving equally well, reflected in the improved progress of pupils currently in Key Stage 2. This means all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed.  The new curriculum, introduced by leaders, has already increased pupils’ interest in their learning. Pupils are positive about the choices they are offered in their learning. There are rich opportunities for pupils to apply their literacy, numeracy and communication skills in other subjects. The curriculum ensures that pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education.  Arrangements for managing the performance of staff are effective. All staff have clear targets and are clear about how they will be held to account for pupils’ progress. Alongside this robust challenge, leaders ensure that staff are supported and receive relevant training to allow them to succeed. Staff value highly

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The leadership and management are good

the work of leaders to challenge and support them. As a result, teachers are very committed to do their best for pupils at the school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very well. The school’s inclusive ethos has effectively promoted pupils’ respect for each other. Consequently, a strong sense of community runs through the school. For example, pupils of all ages make a positive contribution to collective worship. In an assembly seen by inspectors, pupils demonstrated a strong understanding of what it means to ‘serve’ and put the needs of others before their own. This reflects how pupils treat each other around the school. Pupils from all backgrounds mix very well together. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils are effective. All statutory requirements are met. Leaders ensure that all staff are aware of the latest statutory requirements and that this strengthens

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The leadership and management are good

practice at the school. Pupils are very well cared for.  Subject leaders provide effective support to the senior leadership team. They rightly carry out thorough checks on teaching and learning in their subjects. Subject leaders make a significant contribution to improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Leaders use the pupil premium grant effectively. The number of pupils eligible for the funding is generally very small in each year group. Nevertheless, leaders have improved the progress these pupils are making across the school. Disadvantaged pupils currently in Year 6 are making more rapid progress than their peers and so the gap in their attainment is narrowing.  The use of the primary sports funding is very effective. The school has been creative in its use of the money to both help improve pupils’ participation rates in, and develop the teaching of, physical education. For example, strategies to take targeted year groups on outdoor and adventurous activities have been

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The leadership and management are good

effective in increasing the participation of reluctant pupils.  The school has strong links with the local authority. Leaders have made effective use of opportunities to develop assessment, for example, using advice and guidance provided by advisers. The school also makes very good use of external agencies and consultants to help improve provision at the school.  The governance of the school:  Governors carry out their roles effectively. They support the headteacher well in setting a strategic direction for the school. They hold leaders to account effectively by asking searching questions about the school’s performance, for example when reviewing school data. They rightly triangulate what they have been told by leaders by carrying out formal and informal visits to the school. This means they are well aware of where there are strengths and weaknesses in the quality of teaching. Governors make a strong contribution to the management of performance of staff at the school. They challenge

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The leadership and management are good

appropriately the link between staff performance and pay, and ensure that only good performance is rewarded.  Governors manage the finances at the school effectively. They have a good understanding of how the pupil premium grant is spent and how well the gap is being narrowed for disadvantaged pupils. They hold leaders to account in the use of the sports premium grant well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils show very high levels of independence in lessons. They make a very positive contribution to their own learning because they listen well to their teachers and to the views of their peers, showing high levels of commitment to their work.  Pupils behave exceptionally well in and around school. They are very respectful of each other. They play and learn cooperatively, regardless of their ethnicity or background. Pupils, parents and staff agree that pupils’ behaviour is exceptionally good and well managed.  The school has robust systems in place to monitor and respond to pupils’ behaviour on the very rare occasions that incidents happen. They have improved the behaviour for the very small minority of pupils who find managing their own behaviour a challenge.  There have been no exclusions at the school over the last three years.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Owing to the high commitment of staff to teach pupils to respect one another, pupils have a very clear understanding of the different forms of bullying. Bullying is exceptionally rare at the school. On the very occasional times there have been issues, the school has responded swiftly and effectively. All pupils being treated equally underpins the work of the school. This means that discrimination is never tolerated.  There are robust systems within the school for keeping pupils safe. These include how the school assesses risks on school outings, for example. All staff are clear about their role in protecting pupils at the school and have received relevant training, including in child protection policies and practice.  Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, because they understand what risks they might face, for example when using the internet. The school makes very good use of other

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Safety

agencies to support its work in this area.  Pupils say they feel safe at the school and parents overwhelmingly share the same view.  Overall attendance rates are high. In 2014, the pupils’ attendance was well above the national average. The school responds well to issues of poor attendance, for example by working effectively to support families of pupils who are persistently absent.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is consistently good across the school, and sometimes, better. Pupils achieve well because lessons are engaging and challenging. Teachers make effective use of modelling and questioning to help pupils build on their prior learning.  Teachers’ planning reflects the school’s drive to support all groups of pupils to make good progress. Teachers carefully consider how to challenge pupils of all abilities and what is needed to allow pupils to build on what they already know. This means work is well matched to the different needs of pupils.  Pupils are encouraged to assess their own work effectively and help their peers make improvements in their learning. Teachers’ feedback ensures pupils improve their work. Leaders have rightly identified the need to continue to refine this so that more pupils make rapid progress across the school.  The teaching of reading and writing is effective. Pupils are able to apply their skills across a range of

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The quality of teaching is good

subjects. For example, pupils in the early years are already using their phonics knowledge (the sounds that letters make) to help them write. More-able pupils are particularly well taught. They are challenged throughout lessons and also benefit from targeted teaching to extend them even further. For example, a group session for some more-able Year 6 pupils allowed them to make rapid progress in their writing. Pupils were improving their use of vocabulary when writing, developing sentences such as: ‘Coruscating fire blazed before my eyes.’  Pupils make good progress in mathematics because lessons allow pupils to build on what they can already do. For example, in a Year 5 lesson, the teacher modelled how to calculate fractions of numbers effectively. The teacher gave a clear explanation which, along with precise use of mathematical imagery on the interactive whiteboard, helped all pupils understand the concept being taught. Work in books

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The quality of teaching is good

demonstrates that pupils get good opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills through a range of open-ended investigations.  The impact of teaching on achievement can be clearly seen in pupils’ books and in the good progress being made by current pupils. Teaching has not yet secured rapid and sustained progress across all year groups and so is not yet outstanding.  Teaching assistants are often effective and add value to pupils’ learning. However, there are occasions when the quality of support offered by teaching assistants limits the progress of pupils.

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is good

 Pupils make good progress from their different starting points in all three key stages at the school. This is because the quality of teaching is at least consistently good.  The proportion of children who left Reception in 2014 with a good level of development was well below the national average. However, the learning observed during the inspection, as well as the school’s own tracking of children’s achievement, demonstrates that children currently make good progress from their different starting points. More children are on track to reach a good level of development in 2015.  Pupils make excellent progress in phonics lessons in Reception and in Key Stage 1. By the end of Year 1, pupils’ results in the phonics screening check were well above the national average in 2014. Pupils’ achievement in phonics is clearly evident in how they apply their skills when reading or writing.  By the time pupils finish Key Stage 1, their attainment is far above the national average. The

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is good

proportions reaching the higher levels is particularly high. This is because pupils make very good progress during Years 1 and 2.  The attainment of pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 has been consistently above the national average. Pupils also achieve high standards in a range of subjects, for example in art, physical education and history. Pupils are, therefore, well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Pupils’ progress during Key Stage 2 has been more varied in the past. Pupils have not always attained as well as they should have. However, pupils’ current achievement is much better. For example, the school’s own data about the current Year 6 demonstrate that pupils are on track to make good progress from their starting points.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. Leaders know and analyse the needs of these pupils well. Leaders work effectively with parents to ensure that there are

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is good

strong links between what happens at school and at home. This makes sure pupils’ needs are catered for effectively.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make very good progress during the early years and Key Stage 1. Their progress then slows in Years 3 and 4 before accelerating towards the end of their time at the school. School’s tracking data show that pupils who speak English as an additional language in the current Year 6 have made better progress across Key Stage 2 than their peers. The gap between these pupils’ achievement and that of other pupils in the school is narrowing, therefore.  Results in 2014 demonstrate that more-able pupils achieve well. Leaders ensure that, as well as consistent challenge during lessons, there are opportunities for these pupils to extend their learning in targeted sessions led by a specialist teacher.  The progress of pupils eligible for pupil premium is good. They make similar progress to their peers in

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is good

the school and to pupils nationally. Their attainment is, on average, just over a term behind their peers nationally in mathematics and reading. There was no gap in their attainment in writing compared to pupils nationally. Disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 are making more rapid progress than their peers in the school.

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is good

 Provision in the early years is effective. Children benefit from enticing and stimulating activities that support their development in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.  Children take part in purposeful and engaging activities, including when having more choice about what they are learning. Teachers make good use of questioning to challenge children’s thinking and deepen their understanding. As a result, children make good progress in their Reception Year.  Teachers’ assessments are used appropriately to build up a strong picture of how well children are doing. However, assessments made are not always linked well enough to the area of learning to which they relate. This means staff do not always adapt provision quickly enough to allow pupils to make even more rapid progress.  The teaching of phonics is a particular strength in the early years. Pupils are taught precisely what

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is good

sounds letters make. As a result, pupils are already able to apply their skills competently when reading and writing. This was well demonstrated by a group of pupils who were rewriting the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. They were audibly using their phonics to form words for their writing. Consequently, their writing could be easily read by others and the children were able to write at length.  Children come into Reception with a wide variation in the skills expected for their age. Some come in with much higher skills than is typical. However, more frequently, the school has large proportions of children with skills that are much lower than you would expect for their age. Consequently, the proportion of pupils reaching a good level of development was below the national average in 2014.  Leaders have adapted provision in the early years effectively. Work in children’s journals and their achievement in lessons shows they make good progress from their starting points. Current school data

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is good

demonstrate that more children are on track to reach a good level of development in 2015.  Children who speak English as an additional language also make good progress in the Reception classes. There are very positive relationships and children play, learn and mix together very well. They behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school. Teachers help them to assess risk while they explore the world around them. They are well prepared when moving into Year 1.  There are very effective links between staff and parents. Parents make regular contributions to the school’s information about how well their child is doing. This happens, for example, through the ‘Proud Cloud’ where parents can add remarkable information about their child that has happened at home.  The leadership and management of the early years is good. Leaders have ensured that through their evaluations they have amended their provision to meet the changing needs of the cohorts that now

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is good

come into the school. This is because they carry out a similar approach to monitoring as seen in the rest of the school. Leaders, therefore, have a good understanding of the effectiveness of provision in the early years and so plans for improvement are well targeted. Leaders ensure that pupils are safe.

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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 126038 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 449321

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 249 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair J Harman Headteacher Catherine Hunn Date of previous school inspection 9 May 2007 Telephone number 01243 784549 Fax number 01243 530646 Email address office@st-richardsschool-chichester.org.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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