Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School - the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools

Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School Ramley Road, Pennington, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 8GY

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Highly effective leadership of the headteacher, well supported by a committed governing body, has ensured that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good.  Pupils across the school make good progress in their reading, writing and mathematics skills.  Children in the early years work hard. They make good progress as a result of the interesting learning activities planned for them.  A committed group of senior leaders undertake regular checks on teaching and the work pupils do; consequently it has improved significantly.  Pupils with additional educational needs do well in lessons and make good progress because of the effective collaboration between teachers and teaching assistants.  Pupils are intensely proud of their school and they behave well.  The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. In particular, work to develop pupils’ tolerance and respect for each other is excellent.

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This is a good school

 Pupils say they feel very safe and well cared for in the school.  A curriculum that includes visits and interesting topics helps pupils to use their reading, writing and mathematics in other subjects successfully and to improve their understanding of the world.  Governors are effective and well led. They have a precise knowledge of the school and its work and hold leaders to account.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Assessment information procedures are not yet fully developed by leaders to evaluate pupils’ in- year progress rigorously.  A few pupils do not settle quickly to their work when asked to do so by their teachers and other adults.  Teaching in science is not as effective as that found in English and mathematics. This is because teacher subject knowledge is not challenging pupils enough, particularly in developing their scientific skills and understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop subject leadership in science so that teachers’ subject-specific knowledge and delivery provides learning that is as challenging as it is in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to develop how leaders use assessment information to track pupils’ rates of progress to identify and target any gaps in learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve behaviour for learning by ensuring that pupils settle quickly to their tasks and maximise their chances to learn.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The highly ambitious headteacher has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and has motivated everyone linked to the school to bring about improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Staff and parents have a great deal of respect for her and are equally committed to improving the school further.  Since the previous inspection leaders have rigorously tackled the barriers to improvement and have developed a culture where positive professional support helps teachers to improve their craft so that pupils can achieve their best.  Systems to look carefully at teaching and at the work pupils do are rigorous and effective. Clear targets are set and suitable support and training provided to ensure that teachers focus on the outcomes for all pupils. Teachers say how much they appreciate the coaching and support they have received from leaders and the opportunities to see effective practice in other schools.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Pupils study a broad range of subjects including French and the curriculum makes a strong contribution to pupils’ personal development. The subjects pupils learn are adapted to ensure that pupils of different abilities, including pupils who have special educational needs or disability and those who speak English as an additional language, achieve well. Pupils like the topics they study and particularly enjoy the books they read to widen their understanding of these areas.  Leaders have ensured that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand how the law is made and the way parliament is elected, even writing letters to the Prime Minister. They understand the range of different cultures and beliefs in the school community and say that this does not stop people from being their friends.  The school’s promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is excellent. Their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

horizons are broadened by being taken on visits and their regular participation in inter-school sporting fixtures and events supports their social skills. Powerful writing about the Beowulf saga helps pupils to reflect on the changes in the way people lived their lives in the past. The centrality of religious education (RE) to the school helps pupils have a deep understanding of the beliefs of different faiths. Pupils are clear of the importance of assembly in the school day and say how adults have time to stop and talk if they feel the need for support.  A focus by leaders has ensured that good use is made of the pupil premium funding it receives to improve the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, for example, by employing additional staff to teach small groups. This has enabled these pupils to close gaps between their attainment and that of other pupils.  The school has made highly effective use of the sports premium funding to promote sport and physical

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

health. It enables pupils to take part in a wide range of activities in the school day, develop positive attitudes to active lifestyles and to be part of local sports events.  Parents are outstandingly positive about the work of the headteacher and her staff and express high levels of satisfaction with the quality of education and care their children receive. Regular and open availability of teachers means issues are quickly tackled and information about what is being learned helps parents support learning at home. Parents with pupils new to the school describe the choice of Our Lady and St Joseph as ‘the best choice we ever made’. Another parent summed up her feelings about the school as ‘support, love and care’.  Subject leaders in English and mathematics have made a valuable contribution to the school’s improvement by working closely with the requirements of the revised national curriculum. While teachers

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

are confident in their planning in reading, writing and mathematics, more work is needed to ensure that subject-specific skills in science are strengthened.  Leaders have developed new tracking systems which allow them to check on pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. There is, however, not yet a clear understanding of the way expected and better progress is evaluated regularly throughout the year so that leaders can check if pupils are making the very best progress in each subject.  The governance of the school – Governors are effectively led, knowledgeable and totally committed to the school. They have an accurate understanding of the changes they have overseen in the school and the next steps for the school on its journey. – The governors know how well the school is performing and about the quality of teaching, learning and assessment through regular reports from the headteacher and visits to see for themselves. They

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

ensure that there is a close link between pay and performance and hold the headteacher to account through their close management of her work in the school. – The governors ensure that the school’s finances are managed well and money is spent appropriately. All governors attend training regularly. – The governors are rightly proud of their work in the school and the improvements made to pupils’ life chances as a result.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Up-to-date policies are in place and staff training is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is up to date. Checks are made when recruiting new staff and visitors to the school are carefully vetted before they can start work. Leaders work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure that pupils feel safe and are safeguarded well. Governors take their safeguarding responsibilities very seriously and have recently spent a day in school checking that all policies,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

procedures and records meet statutory requirements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 As a result of consistently good teaching, learning and assessment over time, pupils make good progress. In reading and writing particularly, teaching is structured so that pupils are able to build their vocabulary and apply this to their thinking and writing to produce high-quality work. Year 6 pupils, in particular, show perseverance and resilience when ensuring that their choices of imagery and punctuation result in quality pieces of writing.  Teachers and other adults note that training and support has been effective and this has helped them to improve their ability to plan work which challenges all pupils and to intervene quickly when they see that pupils need support.  The teaching of reading is good. Teachers make sure that the things pupils are asked to do in the early years and in Year 1 are matched well to the next steps in pupils’ understanding of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make). Pupils have regular opportunities to practise their reading and the teaching

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

of guided reading is good. Pupils who found reading difficult commented on how much teachers and other adults have helped them so that they now enjoy reading.  Since the previous inspection the teaching of mathematics has improved and pupil achievement is better. Teachers make sure that pupils develop a good understanding of mathematical processes so that they can use them to solve problems. Teachers encourage pupils to look at how they have reached solutions, so that they can learn from any mistakes they have made.  Teachers plan work which is well matched to the needs of pupils who have special educational needs or disability or who speak English as an additional language. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning well to establish that pupils understand the tasks they have been given and patiently correct misunderstandings.  The level of challenge for the most-able pupils is increasing. For example, while planning a newspaper

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

article on the story of a fox, Year 2 pupils were encouraged to make notes like real reporters, question the key witnesses (excellently played by pupils) and were enthused by the writing task, so they produced excellent non-fiction reports.  Teachers review and mark pupils’ work at regular intervals in line with the school’s policy. They encourage pupils to try their hardest and make sure that pupils’ efforts are acknowledged. Teachers’ comments are mostly detailed and precise enough to enable pupils to build on their successes and understand the next steps to take to improve their work.  While teachers’ have developed their understanding of the English and mathematics curriculum well and are confident to challenge pupils, they are not so secure in teaching science skills. This means that, while pupils enjoy learning about new facts, they are not expected to understand and practise the skills needed

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

to work and learn scientifically.  An overwhelming majority of parents agree that their children are well taught and that they make good progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupil’s personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are confident and successful learners and know what they have to do to make good progress. Pupils in Years 5 and 6, particularly, use their teacher’s comments to evaluate their own learning.  Pupils understand how people show tolerance for one another and why it would be wrong to make judgements about people because of their background or beliefs. Pupils have a strong sense of fairness and equality. One pupil said: ‘We don’t treat people differently because they are different or don’t speak our language.’ They know that some pupils need extra help but again accept them in the classroom and the playground because ‘they are just them’.  Pupils say that they feel very safe in school and parents agree, reporting that they are very happy with the ways in which their children are cared for. The school has developed pupils’ understanding of how to

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Personal development and welfare

keep themselves safe in a variety of circumstances including when online. They pointed out that they should never give out personal details and confidently told the inspector what to do if they ever felt worried by what they see online or in an email.  Pupils understand the different types of bullying and say that it is very rare in their school. They have great confidence in all the adults to resolve problems. There is a safe environment where unkind or derogatory language is not used in the school.  Pupils enjoy a variety of physical activities at break and lunchtime as well as chances to mix with their friends. Pupils of all ages play and socialise together well. Pupils know about the importance of making healthy choices in the way they live their lives and can explain the importance of exercise in a healthy lifestyle.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The majority work hard in lessons and conduct themselves well as they move around the school, for example coming and going from assembly.  At lunchtimes, most pupils are well mannered, respectful and polite. They enjoy their lunch and chat in the dining room. At playtimes, they play well with each other and when it is time to return to class they do so in an orderly fashion.  Pupils say that they look forward to coming to school. They appreciate the rewards for behaving well and for good work, which makes them want to try even harder.  Attendance rates are similar to other schools nationally. The school has effective systems in place to help secure attendance and staff ensure that all families understand the value and importance of consistently good attendance.  In lessons, most pupils are eager to learn and willing to work hard. The majority contribute well, are

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Behaviour

enthusiastic and readily engage with the tasks teachers set them, working as a whole class, on their own and in small groups. However, a few pupils are slow to settle to their tasks and can waste learning time when they do not listen carefully to their teacher or respond to instruction quickly.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 From broadly typical starting points pupils of different age groups and with different abilities achieve well in English and mathematics and progress is now consistent across the school. The proportion of pupils who reach the expected standard for their age in reading, writing, and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 is increasing. In 2015, the number of pupils attaining the expected standards was above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics, having made strong progress from their starting points. Those who join part way through the year make effective progress.  Standards for the most-able pupils have risen. In the 2015 tests for Year 6 pupils, a greater percentage of the most-able pupils achieved above-average standards in reading, mathematics and writing than found in most schools. Pupils’ work in lessons and in their books shows that more-able pupils do well across the school.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils in Year 2 now make better progress, particularly in reading and writing, and this continues the upward trend in outcomes for this year group.  Reading has strengthened across the school, with a focus on the teaching of phonics helping pupils make a good start in their knowledge of how to ‘split up’ words when they come across new vocabulary. As a result the percentage of pupils who achieve the required standard in the Year 1 phonics test has risen for the last three years, and in 2015 was well above average.  Across the school the very small numbers of disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Consequently almost all catch up with the other pupils.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve just as well as other pupils in the school and by the time they leave most have caught up to attain expected standards.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability and those who need to catch up receive well-

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Outcomes for pupils are good

planned and effective support which meets their needs. As a result, they make good progress from their starting points across all key stages.

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Early years provision is good

 Children start in the Reception Year with levels of knowledge and skills which are broadly typical for their age. They make good progress so that by the end of the year an above-average proportion reach the early learning goals in most areas of learning and development.  Effective and knowledgeable leadership of the early years has helped to introduce good systems for assessing what children can do when they join the school and monitor their progress as they learn. This allows teachers and adults to intervene where children fall behind and to provide extra challenge for children who do well. For example, adults encouraged a small group to explore how to ‘tessellate’ a woodblock floor on a platform so they could stand on it safely. As a result the children used complex language to compare shapes, described the position of the tiles and persisted so that they solved the problem.  Good teaching, learning and assessment ensure that children develop well. Children have a good range of

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Early years provision is good

activities which they enjoy both indoors and outside. Improvements in the outside space are used well to promote learning. During the inspection, children were learning about farming and growing and showed great interest in the vegetable seeds they had planted. One boy was very keen to show an inspector the beans he had planted, carefully describing how they had planted them and how they needed watering to grow. He read the labels for the other vegetables, using his recently learned phonics skills to sound out ‘beetroot’.  Staff use effective records to plan what children need to learn next to make good progress. The use of an ‘online’ information system allows parents to engage in this process, recording significant events outside school and being able to celebrate the progress made in school. Parents say they are welcomed into the school and have good opportunities to learn about how to support their children at home.

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Early years provision is good

 Children behave well. They learn cooperatively, sharing equipment and asking one another for turns with, for example, the watering can to water the seedlings.  Parents are also very clear that children are happy in school and praised the care individual children receive. Safeguarding routines are well managed and well trained and vigilant staff ensure that children are safe.  In a few areas of learning some boys do not consistently reach the same high levels of knowledge and skills as girls, but leaders recognise this and are tackling this successfully.

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School details

Unique reference number 116378 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10012290

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 109 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Allies Headteacher Kirstie Richards Telephone number 01590 672711 Website www.ourladyst-joseph.hants.sch.uk/ Email address adminoffice@ourladyst-joseph.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2014

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Information about this school

 Our Lady and St Joseph is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for looked after children) is well below average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. Approximately two in 10 pupils are from minority ethnic groups and a similar proportion speak English as an additional language.  More pupils arrive in the school part way through the taught year than in most schools.  The school met the government’s 2015 floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school meets the requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, observing parts of 13 lessons, all jointly with the headteacher. The inspector observed and spoke to pupils in the lunch hall and in the playground.  The inspector looked closely at the work in pupils’ books, listened to them read and talked to them about their work and the school. The views of pupils were also informed by 29 responses to the Ofsted pupil questionnaire.  The inspector discussed the school’s assessment information, records of the school’s monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment and a range of other documents in relation to the school’s work.  The views of parents were taken into account through conversations on the playground at the beginning of the school day. They were also gathered from five letters and 54 responses on Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.  Meetings were held with pupils, staff, the governing body and the local authority. The inspector spoke to

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Information about this inspection

the diocesan adviser on the telephone and reviewed 14 responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

David Cousins, lead inspector Ofsted 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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