Holy Name Catholic Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Anne Radford Executive Headteacher Holy Name Catholic Primary School Moss Pits Lane Liverpool L10 9LG

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 15 March 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2012.

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Through your highly effective leadership, school leaders and all staff have created a safe, caring and emotionally secure environment for your pupils. The caring and supportive ethos is fully reflected in the everyday life of the school, and is central to the school’s continuing improvement. Staff feel extremely well supported and valued by school leaders. They say that school leaders challenge them to make the school even better. Staff enjoy working in the school and staff morale is high. You have placed great emphasis on the well-being of pupils. It is no surprise that pupils say they love coming to school and enjoy learning. They are confident, respectful and behave well. Pupils are proud of what they achieve. Staff and governors are proud of them, and of the school.

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

Following your appointment as executive headteacher, you have put in place a new senior leadership team. This team has further strengthened the school. School leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of what is working and what needs to be improved. In recent years, the governors have made strategic appointments to strengthen the governing body. This has enabled them to carry out their duties even more effectively.

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

Although only 15 parents completed the Parent View survey, their responses were overwhelmingly positive. All parents agreed that their children are happy, safe, well looked after and making good progress. Parents to whom I spoke shared the same highly positive view. The school was described as ’brilliant’. You and your staff work have worked extremely hard to get more parents involved with the school. Some parents are still reluctant to join in activities, and do not yet share your aspirations for all pupils.

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

At the time of the last inspection, inspectors asked you to make sure that teachers’ ongoing assessment in lessons enabled them to meet more precisely the needs of pupils of differing abilities. Teachers now routinely assess and record pupils’ progress to plan what individual pupils need to learn next. You were also asked to improve the quality of pupils’ writing and spelling. These have been addressed. There is a strong focus on writing across the school. In 2016, the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in spelling at the end of key stage 2 was above the national figure.

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Short inspection of Holy Name Catholic Primary School

School leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Central to the school’s vigilant safeguarding culture is the way in which staff use their detailed knowledge of the pupils in order to keep them safe. School leaders understand that persistent pupil absence is a safeguarding concern and act quickly when attendance is low. Record-keeping is up to date and systematic. Staff and governors are well trained in all areas of risk to pupils. For example, staff have recently attended training on child sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. Internet safety is a priority and leaders take firm action to ensure that pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe. Pupils who are experiencing difficulties at home or at school are given high-quality pastoral support to help them overcome their problems. This support adds to pupils’ overall safety.

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Inspection findings

 Subject leadership of English and mathematics is good. Year 6 teachers have in- depth knowledge of what pupils need to know by the end of key stage 2. They use this understanding to raise expectations across the school. Subject leaders know the progress pupils make in each key stage and have taken action to make progress even better.  Subject leaders extensively research new initiatives and all staff are trained before changes are introduced. Consequently, staff are confident about teaching in new ways. Teachers quickly embed the same consistent approaches in all year groups. As a result, pupils are making increasingly rapid progress from their low starting points. For example a scheme for academic mentoring has resulted in accelerated progress in mathematics in both key stages.  Senior leaders quickly identified that although pupils had very good phonics skills, they did not all understand what they were reading. As a large number of pupils do

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Inspection findings

not read regularly at home, school staff provide pupils with regular and varied opportunities to read during the school day. For example, Years 4 and 5 pupils are trained as ‘Reading Revolutionaries’ and read with pupils from Years 1 and 2. ‘Reading Revolutionaries’ are trained how to ask questions about the book. The impact has been positive for all pupils. The progress pupils make in reading is also positively influencing their writing skills.  In both key stages 1 and 2, there is a focus on developing spoken language to support writing. The motto is, ‘If you can’t say it, you can’t write it.’ In English, teachers focus on reading, analysis and writing. This cycle has added greatly to the progress that pupils make and to the quality of work that they produce.  Teachers use rigorous systems to monitor progress. As they record pupils’ learning at the end of each unit, they quickly identify where pupils need more specific

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Inspection findings

teaching to ensure that any gaps are filled. Pupils’ progress meetings, which take place at least termly, identify pupils who are not meeting targets in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers then provide personalised interventions. Teachers teach weekly booster sessions in English and mathematics to small groups of pupils from Year 2 and Year 6. These pupils are making accelerated progress, especially the middle-ability pupils in Year 6.  In-school tracking data for 2016/17 shows that a higher percentage of pupils than in 2015/16 are on track to meet the age-related expectations in both key stages 1 and 2. You are aware that only a very small number of pupils will achieve at greater depth. Therefore you are taking actions to challenge pupils so that an increased number of pupils achieve more highly. Current in-school data shows no real difference in the progress made by boys and girls, nor in that of disadvantaged and

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Inspection findings

other pupils.  Senior leaders have placed great emphasis on raising the aspirations of pupils, promoting them as learners, teachers and future employees. For example, Year 6 pupils are given a range of responsibilities, including running the school library and calculating and reporting weekly attendance figures.  Teachers encourage Years 5 and 6 middle-ability pupils to become Maths Ambassadors. The role is to play maths games with pupils in early years and key stage 1. This has been extremely positive for both ‘teacher and learner’. Year 6 boys act as a positive role model for boys in early years. This has encouraged the boys in Nursery and Reception to join in mathematics games. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the Maths Ambassador role. Year 6 pupils feel that they have grown in confidence in their ability in mathematics.  The leadership of early years is excellent. Early years is a strength of the school.

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Inspection findings

Over half the children join the Nursery and Reception classes well below typical levels of development. Due to high expectations, pupils make rapid progress from their low starting points. Current school data shows that the difference between the progress of girls and boys is diminishing. There is no difference in the progress made by disadvantaged children.  Parental involvement is at its best in early years. You have extended the successful model of ‘stay and play’ sessions into other key stages, for example ‘stay and read’ and ‘stay and count’ sessions. Although family members attend in key stages 1 and 2, many more families take part in Nursery and Reception.  Where pupils’ attendance is an issue, school leaders are able to explain how unauthorised absence is followed up and robustly monitored. External agencies are used well to support those pupils who are persistently absent. You do not hesitate

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Inspection findings

to take further action if absence continues to be an issue.  School leaders are able to explain the personal circumstances of all pupils whose attendance is a cause for concern and the personalised actions they have taken to support children and their families. These actions often go beyond what would be reasonably expected. For example, school staff collect and drop off pupils if this enables them to attend school.  You use funding for disadvantaged pupils to provide breakfast and after-school clubs. The breakfast club has greatly enhanced the attendance and punctuality of pupils who previously were persistent absentees. Leaders and teachers have a focus on disadvantaged pupils. You allocate funding to support disadvantaged pupils in three main ways. First, personalised responses to pupils’ immediate and ongoing circumstances, for example resources provided for use at home, have enabled pupils to complete homework. Second, targeted interventions in mathematics and English

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Inspection findings

for middle-ability disadvantaged pupils have resulted in these pupils making more rapid progress. Third, the provision of activities to build self-esteem and widen the pupils’ direct experiences has had a positive impact on individuals. The school pupil premium champion was readily able to share individual case studies. According to current school data, disadvantaged pupils are making progress in line with other pupils.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the recent curriculum interventions continue to be embedded and provide greater challenge to enable pupils to achieve at greater depth  the work to promote greater parental engagement continues, especially with parents of pupils in key stages 1 and 2.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Archdiocese of Liverpool, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Liverpool. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and school leaders including the early years leader to talk about the improvements which had been made since the last inspection. I looked at the following documents: safeguarding records and recruitment and vetting procedures; your school evaluation and improvement plan; attendance data and pupils’ progress data. I held discussions with four governors, the designated safeguarding lead, the special educational needs coordinator and four teachers. I spoke with your local authority school improvement partner and discussed her report. Together, we did a learning walk of all classes and looked at a sample of pupils’ books in each class. I reviewed the staff and parent survey results.

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