Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Lockwood Road, Goldthorpe S63 9JY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is not consistently good. This means that pupils are not always able to reach the levels expected of them.  Teaching is improving but some teachers do not always set work at the right level for pupils, particularly for the most-able and those that find learning difficult.  Some teachers do not always correct pupils’ misconceptions in lessons so pupils’ progress is not as rapid as it should be.  Teachers do not always give pupils precise guidance about what they can do to improve their work. And guidance given does not always result in better learning for pupils.  The school’s evaluation of assessment information is not rigorous enough and consequently some teachers are not adapting teaching to take account of the needs of all pupils.  Although keen to make improvements, the school’s senior and middle leaders do not have the skills they need to drive change in a way that impacts on

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This is a school that requires improvement

the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.  Governors are beginning to ask challenging questions but do not always have the detailed knowledge they need to hold school leaders to account.

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The school has the following strengths

 The executive head teacher and deputy head of the federation of Corpus Christi have been effective in bringing about improvements.  Effective support and guidance for teachers has helped to improve the quality of teaching. This is particularly so in the early years and in Key Stage 1 where children make good progress.  Children in the early years make good progress as a result of good provision.  Pupils behave well in class and around school and their spiritual, moral and social development are good.  This is a very caring school. The safety and well- being of pupils is very important to all staff.

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching across Key Stage 2 to ensure that all pupils make expected progress, and some make more than expected progress, by: ensuring that all teachers have the highest expectation of pupils in terms of the quality and quantity of work produced ensuring that lessons build securely on pupils’ prior learning and help pupils to clearly understand next steps providing a better match of work to pupils’ needs, including challenge for the most-able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs making sure that pupils receive feedback in accordance with the school’s policy so that they can understand better and use teachers’ feedback to improve their work.  Improve the quality of leadership and management, by improving the analysis of school performance information to identify and provide for the needs of all groups of pupils developing senior and middle leaders to effectively judge and influence the work of others to improve

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

pupils’ learning undertaking a review of governance in order to further develop governors so that they have an accurate understanding of the work of Sacred Heart improving the attendance of pupils to increase their chances to attain well at school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders at Sacred Heart manage the day-to-day running of the school well but they do not accurately evaluate progress being made by pupils. Not enough analysis of assessment information is being done to ensure clarity about the performance of different groups of pupils.  Middle leaders are keen to make an impact but are new to leadership and as a result their ability to lead and influence teaching has been limited so far.  The executive headteacher and deputy headteacher, who have overall responsibility for the Federation of Corpus Christi, have been instrumental in driving improvement at Sacred Heart. They are skilled in evaluating the quality of teaching and learning taking place in school. However, some teaching remains less effective despite ongoing support and guidance for individual teachers.  Checks on the performance of teachers closely link the work in pupils’ books and to pupil progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Weaknesses in teaching are being tackled. Teachers are receiving effective support and underperformance is challenged.  Leaders have developed effective partnership working within the Corpus Christi federation of schools, to enable teachers to access joint training sessions and to visit other settings. As a result of this sharing of good practice, leaders have been able to improve the quality of teaching at Sacred Heart.  There have been considerable changes in staffing over the last 18 months. Despite this, school leaders have fostered a strong sense of belonging to the team and teachers echo the ambition of school leaders to help every child to reach their full potential.  The curriculum provides a broad range of subjects and experiences for pupils. Learning in science excites pupils. Pupils enthusiastically described recent learning about chemical reactions, creating ‘volcanoes’ in a science lesson.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The school uses primary sports funding to employ a physical education (PE) specialist. Pupils speak highly of opportunities in PE. Some have attended the English Institute for Sport and as a result have been inspired to take part in more sport. Many pupils come to school by bicycle or scooter, and the school has recently been awarded the bronze-level ‘Modeshift’ award encouraging the use of sustainable transport.  Pupil premium funding is used to support pupils in attending events and school trips, and also to provide the services of the parent support adviser. Pupils can recall many trips out of school, including to the national coal mining museum, that have enhanced their understanding of history, geography or religious education. Residential trips have enabled pupils to explore adventurous outdoor activities and to meet with their peers from other schools within the federation. Extra-curricular and after-school clubs are enjoyed by pupils, and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

are helping them to develop their sporting and social skills.  Through assemblies and lessons, pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is promoted well by leaders, and pupils’ understanding of life in modern Britain is good. Opportunities to learn about diverse faiths and cultures are provided, but pupils’ understanding of different families and cultures is not well developed.  The governance of the school It is sometimes difficult for governors to fully understand the progress of pupils at Sacred Heart because they are taking into account issues across all three schools. Governors have an understanding of how pupil premium funding is spent but do not always hold school leaders to account for the progress of groups of pupils, including boys, disabled pupils or those with special educational needs, or the most able. Governors meet regularly to review the performance of all schools in the federation. They have looked at

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

reports from the local authority on the performance of the school, and looked at work in pupils’ books. Governors know about the quality of teaching and the impact on external test results. They have a good overview, they understand their responsibilities for the performance of school leaders and teachers and are beginning to ask challenging questions.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding at the school is underpinned by risk assessments, procedures, policy and training, leading to a culture of vigilance. All staff have been trained, and as a result, fully understand their safeguarding duties. The parent support adviser skilfully supports school leaders to work closely with external agencies when pupils are at risk.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 There is a lack of consistency in the quality of teaching, leading to varied rates of progress across classes and subjects. While some teachers have high expectations of what pupils will learn, this is not evident in all classes.  Teaching in mathematics in most classes is helping pupils to secure basic skills. Not all teachers are able to correct misconceptions in learning and this is preventing the rapid progress of some less confident pupils.  The teaching of reading is effective in Key Stage 1. Pupils have daily lessons to learn about the sounds that letters make. These lessons support pupils effectively in reading and writing. Pupils are taught in small groups, with tasks matched closely to the needs of pupils. Less-able readers are able to draw on phonic knowledge and a range of reading strategies to help them work out new words. The teaching of reading in Key Stage 2 is improving but progress in reading is still not consistent from class to class for all groups of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

pupils.  The teaching of writing is improving. Teachers’ expectations of presentation and handwriting are becoming consistent. This is helping pupils to value the work they do in school. Some pupils have earned ‘pen licences’ for good handwriting, meaning they can use pen in all of their written work. However, because sequences of lessons are not sufficiently developing pupils’ mastery of vocabulary and use of complex sentences, too few pupils in Key Stage 2 are writing at levels expected for their age.  Additional adults are increasingly effective in their role to support groups and individual pupils. They are providing good support for pupils in small groups, helping pupils to successfully acquire basic phonics, writing and mathematical skills.  Leaders’ strong direction is leading to marking having an increasing impact on learning. In line with school policy, some pupils are responding to teachers’ marking through ‘student improvement time’ (SIT tasks) in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

which time is given to pupils to improve their work or do additional tasks. Some boys in particular are not following their teachers’ advice and this is contributing to slowing down the pace of learning.  Some teachers are providing highly stimulating, imaginative teaching which is helping pupils to learn well. In a Key Stage 1 lesson observed, a very enthusiastic input, reinforcing prior learning and key vocabulary and backed up by a short video clip, enabled pupils to talk in depth and confidently plan a piece of writing about a shipwreck.  Through Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, a small number of parents stated that they did not feel that pupils receive the right amount of homework. However, pupils explained why additional practise is helping them to improve and teachers and most parents use the new home-school record effectively to help pupils practise reading, learn spellings, key words, and times tables at home.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils display good attitudes to learning – listening well to their teachers and showing respect for other pupils in class.  The school effectively promotes pupils’ physical safety through events such as ‘safety week’ and ‘crucial crew’ where pupils get to meet representatives from the fire brigade, school nursing service and local police, for example. Through a series of lessons, pupils learn about e-safety, the dangers of drug abuse and the consequences of crime.  Pupils’ emotional wellbeing is at the heart of everything the school does. Staff display detailed knowledge of individual pupils and work closely with social care to support pupils to learn well. Pupils are frequently encouraged to reflect on their own behaviour towards others in assembly and in religious education. As a consequence, pupils say that the vast majority of pupils in school are kind and considerate.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  As a result of good behaviour, school is calm and orderly and behaviour is conducive to learning. Pupils concentrate on their work and low-level disturbance is rare.  Pupils understand the rewards and sanctions system well and are proud to report where they are on the ‘golden ladder’. Teachers are consistent in their application of the behaviour policy and consequently most pupils feel that they are dealt with fairly.  A small percentage of parents expressed concern over bullying and behaviour in school, but pupils report that they feel safe and that bullying incidents are dealt with swiftly by staff. Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Behaviour records in school show that incidences of poor behaviour and bullying have fallen this year.  Where pupils are having difficulty managing their behaviour, staff take a very considered approach, planning

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Behaviour

to meet individual needs. The parent support adviser works effectively with pupils and parents, and external agencies to remove barriers to learning.  Attendance has improved over a three-year period and the persistent absence of a few pupils has fallen. However, overall attendance remains below national averages despite efforts made by leaders and the parent support adviser to ensure that pupils come to school every day.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Pupils have not achieved as well as they should by the end of Key Stage 2 in the past two years and, as a result, achievement requires improvement.  Pupils were performing at around two terms behind their peers nationally in reading and four terms behind in writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils attained less well than other pupils in reading, and mathematics, and boys attained levels below boys nationally in mathematics. All of the most-able pupils achieved higher levels in writing and mathematics but not in reading.  The progress of current pupils in Key Stage 2 is showing a mixed picture. Gaps between pupils’ attainment compared to age-related expectations, in reading, writing and mathematics, are wide in some classes. In some classes, pupils are not making rapid enough progress and large proportions of pupils are working at levels below those expected for their age.  Disadvantaged pupils are making progress at the same rate as other pupils in Key Stage 2 but this progress

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

is below that expected of disadvantaged pupils nationally.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similarly mixed progress to other pupils across Key Stage 2. Teaching assistants are running several intervention groups to support pupils who need to catch up in phonics, reading, or mathematics. Although the school judges the success of interventions against pupil learning behaviours, it does not accurately monitor the impact of these interventions against academic improvements. Consequently, it is hard to establish how effective they are in raising attainment.  The most-able pupils in school are making at least expected progress but the lack of accurate monitoring of the progress of different groups of pupils makes it difficult for school to know if they are making more than expected progress. As a result, too few pupils attain higher levels in statutory assessments in Year 2 and

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

Year 6.  Pupils’ results from national tests show that just over half of pupils have left school ready for the next stage in their education. However, evidence in pupils’ books shows that attainment is likely to be much improved this year because greater proportions of Year 6 pupils are working at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics than in the past.  There has been an improvement in the number of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics over a three-year period. Pupils are now performing almost in line with national averages and gaps between boys and girls have almost closed.  There have been improvements in attainment at Key Stage 1 and this is now broadly in line with national averages, although boys are doing less well than girls in writing.

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Early years provision is good

 Early year’s provision is effective in helping children to grow in confidence and learn well so that they leave the Reception class ready for learning in Year 1. Children join the early years with skills and abilities below those typically seen for their age. Increasing proportions of children have left Reception at levels of development above national average over a three-year period.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the early years provision. They have helped staff to provide a welcoming learning environment where children are happy and safe. Staff have received regular training and opportunities to visit other settings in order to reflect and improve the provision at Sacred Heart.  Safeguarding in the early years is effective. School procedures for safeguarding children are followed and risk assessments are undertaken on a daily basis to ensure that all equipment is safe for children to use.

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Early years provision is good

Staff are vigilant about the safety of children using the outdoor area and hold appropriate first aid certificates.  The teaching of basic skills in Nursery is helping pupils to develop early reading and writing, to recognise numbers and count objects. Staff question children well to foster curiosity and to develop their understanding. This was observed in a printing activity where an additional adult was questioning to aid children’s recognition of shape and colour.  Staff develop children’s social skills well, supporting children when they fall out and helping them to see another child’s point of view. This skilful interaction with children makes boys, in particular, want to join activities where an adult is present.  As a result of the good teaching received in Nursery, children enter Reception at levels of development slightly below those typical for their age, but with better social skills and greater independence than those

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Early years provision is good

who have not attended Nursery.  In Reception, all children make at least typical progress, with many making more than typical progress. Last year only one fifth of children entered Reception class at typical levels but over two thirds attained a good level of development by the time they left Reception. Despite daily teaching in phonics and writing, children are less well prepared in reading and writing than in other areas of development by the end of the early years.  The Nursery and Reception teachers plan together, using assessment information, to ensure that the provision is helping children to learn new skills. They work regularly with children’s centre staff, the health visitor and speech and language therapist to ensure that they are meeting the needs of all children, including those who are vulnerable.  Additional funding provided to school for disadvantaged children is used to fund trips out of school. All

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Early years provision is good

disadvantaged children attained a good level of development last year.  Parents are welcomed into the setting and staff regularly meet with parents, both formally and informally, to ensure that information is passed on to enable children to make the most of every day. Parents are encouraged to look at the ‘Home Board’ to reinforce school learning at home. Staff share children’s targets with parents so that they can help with reading, writing or numbers. As a result of positive relationships, children quickly settle down to school life.

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School details

Unique reference number 106643 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 10000523

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 149 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair G Hannafin Executive Headteacher L Hoyle Telephone number 01709 892385 Website www.federationcc.org.uk Email address sacredheart@federationcc.org.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 April 2012

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average primary school with slightly more girls than boys on roll.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium is slightly above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  In 2014 and 2015, the school failed to meet the government’s current floor standard that sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment.  Sacred Heart is part of the Corpus Christi Catholic Federation. The executive headteacher has overall responsibility for the three schools in the federation, including Sacred Heart.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the executive headteacher and deputy headteacher of the federation, senior leaders, middle leaders, and members of the governing body.  A phone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority.  Pupils’ learning was observed in all classes. All were jointly observed with the deputy headteacher of the federation or the assistant headteacher of Sacred Heart.  The inspector took account of 17 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View). She also talked to parents at the end of the school day.  The views of staff were taken into account through a meeting and through 20 responses to the online staff questionnaire.  The inspector spoke with pupils in a meeting, in lessons and around school.

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Inspection team

Lesley Butcher, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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