St Theresa's Catholic Primary School

School report St Theresa's Catholic Primary School East End Road, Finchley, London, N3 2TD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 As a result of good leadership and management, the school has tackled shortcomings in safeguarding arrangements fully. The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have made sure that systems and practices have improved and are effective. The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  The achievement of all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and disadvantaged pupils, is good. Pupils make good progress through the school and in a few classes they make very rapid progress.  Leaders, managers and governors have maintained good teaching. They have made sure that the most-able pupils are set work that is suitably demanding for their abilities.  In the good early years provision, children learn well. They are happy and enjoy the wide variety of activities they can choose in the indoor and outside areas.  Pupils behave well and are polite and friendly. They

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

are proud of their school and enthusiastic to learn. Pupils appreciate the interesting activities that the teachers set.  Pupils have a good knowledge of how to keep themselves safe from harm. For example, they know the importance of wearing sun protection and keeping in the shade when the weather is hot.  Governors work closely with school leaders. They visit the school regularly and check the quality of the school’s work. They attend training to support them in their roles and have increased the checks they make on pupils’ learning in order to help the school to continue to improve.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is encouraged strongly. Through assemblies, charity fundraising and learning about a wide range of different cultures and faiths, leaders encourage respect and tolerance successfully. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Middle leaders do not always check the impact of initiatives on improving pupils’ progress in order to make further improvements quickly.  Teachers’ comments and feedback on pupils’ work do not consistently identify what pupils should do in order to improve further, including in early years.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in Reception to Year 5. They visited parts of eight sessions, four of them jointly with senior leaders. Year 6 pupils were on a residential visit during the inspection.  The inspectors held informal discussions with groups of pupils. The inspectors also held discussions with staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. The inspectors listened to pupils reading, looked at work in pupils’ books and the school’s information showing pupils’ progress.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school, including action plans, the school’s own checks on its performance and the quality of teaching. Records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were also considered.  There were 78 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. The inspectors spoke informally with parents and considered the school’s own recent survey of parent views. The inspection took account of 26

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this school

 The school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average. The proportion who speak English as an additional language is above average. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding to give extra support to those known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after) is below average.  In 2014, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school provides full-time provision for children in one Reception class.  The school organises and manages a breakfast club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure middle leaders measure the success of actions by their impact on increasing rates of pupils’ progress within their areas of responsibility, and make any adjustments needed quickly.  Make sure that teachers’ comments on pupils’ work consistently identify what pupils need to do to improve further, including in early years.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and members of the governing body have taken swift and effective action to make sure that all aspects of the school’s safeguarding procedures and systems meet requirements. Leaders and governors have established a safeguarding culture that is robust and effective. All staff have received up-to-date training and are very clear how to respond should any incidents arise. Record-keeping is detailed and well organised. Any concerns are followed up swiftly. Records of the checks made on staff who work with pupils are appropriately maintained and updated.  Leaders, managers and governors have successfully sustained the good quality of teaching and pupils’ good behaviour since the previous inspection. Leaders check the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning regularly. Well-selected training for staff has helped to secure improvements. For example, teachers set work of differing levels of difficulty and encourage pupils to select appropriately demanding work for

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The leadership and management are good

themselves. As a result, rates of progress for the most-able pupils have increased.  Middle leaders work closely with staff within their areas of responsibility. They regularly share good practice in order to improve the quality of teaching and have introduced initiatives to support pupils’ learning in reading, writing and mathematics in particular. Sometimes, middle leaders’ evaluations of improvement initiatives are over positive when they do not take sufficient account of how successfully they increase rates of pupils’ progress. As a result, middle leaders do not always make adjustments quickly to secure further improvements.  Leaders make sure the pupil premium funding is used effectively to support the learning of eligible pupils and promote equality of opportunity successfully. Eligible pupils currently on roll typically make faster progress than other pupils at the school. As a result, gaps in the attainment of eligible pupils and the

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The leadership and management are good

others are closing.  The curriculum encourages pupils’ enjoyment of learning. Pupils appreciate the wide range of outings that the school organises including residential visits in Years 5 and 6. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is cultivated strongly through a wide range of activities such as singing, gardening, and taking responsibility as members of the eco team and school council. Older pupils run a library reading club for younger ones to help them develop their reading skills.  Leaders tackle discrimination actively and promote good working relationships throughout the school. Staff morale is high. In the online Parent View survey, the overwhelming majority of parents confirmed that their child is happy at the school. The curriculum helps pupils understand and respect other cultures and faiths, for example through exploring world religions and festivals. Pupils learn about fundamental British

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The leadership and management are good

values including democracy and tolerance. They are successfully prepared for life in modern Britain.  The local authority has supported the school effectively since the previous inspection. It has worked with school leaders and the governing body to help them address the key priorities for improvement identified at the previous inspection.  Leaders have successfully increased participation rates in sporting activities and clubs. They make effective use of the primary sport premium to provide a wide variety of sporting opportunities for pupils. Specialist sports coaches encourage pupils’ positive attitudes to keeping fit and healthy. Pupils take part in sporting competitions and are proud of their successes.  The governance of the school: The governing body has helped make sure the school has wasted no time in driving improvements to the school’s safeguarding procedures. Governors have made a point of recruiting new members with skills and

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The leadership and management are good

expertise to help the governing body support the school. Governors regularly check that safeguarding arrangements are securely in place and up to date. They work effectively to support leaders and managers in making sure that the school’s strong culture of safeguarding is securely rooted. Governors know how well the school performs and understand the assessment information that the school gathers about pupils’ achievement. They know the quality of teaching and how performance is managed. They understand the link between salary progression and key targets. Members of the governing body are aware of what is done to reward good teaching and how any underperformance has been tackled. Governors attend training to support them in their roles.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite, well-mannered and welcoming. The school site is tidy and litter free. Pupils wear their uniforms smartly and respect the school rules. They willingly take responsibility for tidying away sporting equipment quickly at the end of break times.  Pupils follow routines readily. Adults have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are keen to model the behaviour required. Occasionally, a few pupils need to be reminded of the behaviour expected. They respond readily to teachers’ prompts and guidance so that learning is not disrupted.  Pupils show caring attitudes. They understand the importance of treating others as they would like to be treated themselves. Pupils make sure that the ‘friendship stop’ in the playground works effectively so that any pupil feeling lonely is helped by the others.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good knowledge of how to keep themselves safe from harm. They take responsibility for wearing sun hats at break time. Children in Reception know that they need to apply sun cream to keep safe in the outside spaces. Themed events develop pupils’ awareness of risk and how to keep safe, for example when crossing the road, meeting strangers or on Bonfire Night.  Pupils say that any incidences of bullying are rare and are sorted out quickly, as the school’s records show. Pupils are confident that their friends and the adults will help them should any problems occur. Pupils are clear what constitutes bullying. Pupils in Year 2 made posters expressing their rejection of any bullying behaviour and the whole school has discussed how to be a good friend.  Pupils’ attendance is above average. Through regular newsletters, leaders successfully encourage pupils’

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Safety

regular attendance. Pupils know the importance of attending school every day so that they learn as much as possible.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are motivated by the activities teachers set and appreciate the engaging work they are given in reading, writing and mathematics. They are encouraged to tackle demanding tasks through choosing work of different levels of difficulty. The most able in particular appreciate the challenging tasks they can select.  Daily reading helps pupils build up their reading skills well. In Reception, children practise phonics (letters and sounds) very regularly. Throughout the school, pupils are positive about reading. They are helped to develop a love of books. Well-stocked classroom library shelves and the school’s main library make sure pupils have a wide range of texts to choose that capture their interest. Older pupils enthuse about their love of books, and the authors and types of books they prefer.  Throughout the school, teachers encourage pupils’ neat handwriting. Pupils write regularly in a range of

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The quality of teaching is good

styles and work hard to present their work neatly. They are taught to write fluently from when they join the school in the Reception class.  Teachers ask demanding questions to encourage pupils to work hard in mathematics. Pupils enjoy sharing their ideas and explaining how they reached their answers.  Teaching assistants make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning in lessons. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported effectively in class and in additional sessions with teachers so that they learn well. Pupils at an early stage of learning English are helped to build up speaking and listening skills in English and vocabulary.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly. They acknowledge what pupils have done well and set additional challenges to encourage them to think hard. The impact of teachers’ marking on pupils’ learning is not as consistently strong when pupils are not helped to understand well how to improve their work.

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is good

 Pupils make good progress and achieve well from their starting points. Standards at the end of Year 6 are typically above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. In a few classes, pupils make particularly swift progress but not consistently through the school.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They benefit from additional support in lessons as well as extra sessions effectively tailored to their needs that help them to achieve well.  In 2014, the gaps in attainment at the end of Year 6 between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils at the school and nationally increased and were wider than those found nationally. Disadvantaged pupils were eight terms behind the others at the school in mathematics, seven terms behind in reading and four terms behind in writing. Compared with other pupils nationally, pupils eligible for the pupil premium

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is good

funding were six terms behind in mathematics, five terms behind in reading and three terms behind in writing. The progress of eligible pupils was slower than other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics. In writing, they made better progress than other pupils nationally. The school’s assessment information suggests that gaps are closing because eligible pupils currently at the school make faster progress. This is as a result of successful changes to the way the pupil premium funding is used.  The achievement of the most-able pupils has improved since the previous inspection. They achieve well. Pupils are set challenging tasks to choose and consequently rates of progress for the most-able pupils have increased.

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is good

 As a result of good leadership and management, the quality of teaching in early years is good. Adults are careful to tailor activities to children’s interests and encourage children to practise writing and numbers regularly. Children were observed concentrating hard to write facts about frogs following a recent project exploring the life cycle of frogs. Other children, dressed as pirates, drew treasure maps and wrote short messages to put inside plastic bottles.  Children behave well and follow the teachers’ instructions carefully so that no time is wasted when they move from one activity to the next. Children cooperate and work well together. Two boys working in the outdoor area were focused on a numeracy activity sorting number words into the correct order. They helped one another to find the next number in the sequence and sustained their interest until they had completed the task.  Children know how to keep themselves safe. They sit calmly on the carpet and walk sensibly in the

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is good

classroom and outdoor area. Visitors help them develop an understanding of how to avoid risks in a variety of situations. Children recognise the importance of protecting themselves against the sun.  Children achieve well in the early years provision. They enjoy choosing activities in the inside and outdoor areas that hold their interest and promote their learning successfully. Children are well prepared for the start of Year 1. More children than the national average reach a good level of development, although few attain above average standards at the end of the Reception Year. Observations of children’s learning are detailed but are not always used to identify what the children need to do next to build up their skills more swiftly.

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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 101335 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 465217

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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 238 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Carroll Headteacher Maureen Kelly Date of previous school inspection 23 ‒ 24 October 2014 Telephone number 020 8346 8826 Fax number 020 8346 0215 Email address office@sttheresasbarnetmail.net 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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