More Park Catholic Primary School

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

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Mr Niall Fox Headteacher More Park Catholic Primary School Lucks Hill West Malling Kent ME19 6HN

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 13 September 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in July 2013.

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment in September 2015 you have built a strong team of teachers and support staff who work effectively to support pupils’ good achievement and well-being. You, the governors and staff team are very committed to the school’s core Catholic values. The school makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepares them for life in modern Britain. Pupils know how British values influence their lives and talk with confidence about democracy.

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

The previous inspection took place prior to the school’s conversion to academy status. At that time, inspectors identified pupils’ positive attitudes to learning, their good behaviour and attendance as strengths of the school. You have successfully maintained and built on these strengths and you are creating a culture of the highest expectations.

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

You have built a strong and effective senior leadership team which evaluates the school’s work rigorously and is highly ambitious for pupils. You have a clear vision and are relentless in your drive to improve standards, identifying the key priorities for the school to work on. For example, you acknowledge that the development of pupils’ reading skills to enable them to access fully all texts used across the curriculum is a key priority. You are developing a skilled team of middle leaders who are keen to take on the responsibility of improving pupils’ outcomes. This is further increasing the school’s capacity. At the time of the last inspection, inspectors reported that teaching did not ensure the best possible progress. You have worked effectively with senior leaders to ensure that progress for all pupils at the end of key stage 2 is at least as good as national figures and often better. Inspectors also recommended greater challenge

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

for the most able pupils and for pupils who find learning difficult, by using assessment information more effectively to plan work more precisely matched to their needs. You have introduced a robust tracking and monitoring system to ensure that each pupil is given every opportunity to succeed. The proportions of pupils reaching the expected standard have increased, showing that the strategies in place are having an impact on all pupils. In addition, the proportions of pupils working at greater depth in all subjects have also increased. However, you acknowledge that more work needs to be done to enable greater numbers of disadvantaged pupils to achieve at the higher standard and to address gender differences in some subjects. The very large majority of parents who spoke to me, or responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, are extremely positive about the school and would recommend it to others without hesitation. Parents said that their children are

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

happy and well cared for. One parent wrote: ‘The school really seems to care about its pupils and goes beyond the norm to ensure pupils develop in all aspects of life.’

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

All staff who responded to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire are proud to be part of More Park and feel that the school is well led and managed. Staff share your vision and aspirations and there is a strong sense of the staff team working together to achieve the best for pupils. Pupils are also proud of the school and of their work, which is consistently presented to a high standard.

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

Governors share your high expectations and aspirations for the social and academic success of each pupil and state the common purpose of continuing to raise standards so that the school is, ‘the best it can be’. Governors gather key information on the progress pupils make through their regular visits, meetings with staff and by talking to pupils. Governors are well informed. They are able to ask leaders challenging questions and praise them for the high quality of teaching and learning. They ensure that the school’s budget is carefully and strategically managed and closely monitor the impact of spending. You have been well supported by the trust, during your first years of headship, and continue to work closely with them to achieve your ambitions for the pupils of More Park.

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of good quality. Staff receive training on the latest requirements for safeguarding, enabling them to be clear about when and how to report any concerns they have about pupils. Recruitment and vetting procedures for the appointment of new staff follow statutory guidance closely. When required, leaders and staff work well with external professionals to support pupils’ needs. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that they are well prepared to face potential risks in society, for example by learning about internet safety. They say that there are always adults around who look after them. The school has a welcoming, large play area for breaktimes and pupils play well together across classes and age groups. Older pupils look after younger pupils well and ensure that they have someone to play with. Pupils understand the definition of bullying. They

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Short inspection of More Park Catholic Primary School

told me that bullying was uncommon at the school and that if it occurred, staff were quick to resolve any issues. Staff are available at all times to listen to pupils and help them resolve conflicts. Almost all parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire confirmed that their child feels safe at school.

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Inspection findings

 During this inspection, we looked closely at specific aspects of the school’s provision including pupils’ attendance levels. In particular, we focused on the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who were persistently absent. Leaders have worked with pupils and parents to promote the benefits of regular attendance. Consequently, attendance rates have improved over the past year and are above average for all groups of pupils.  Together, we focused on pupils’ progress, particularly the progress of the most able pupils working at greater depth. Leaders have raised teachers’ expectations of pupils’ outcomes and provided effective training to improve standards of teaching and learning. Staff meet regularly to discuss and assess pupils’ work. Teachers assess the standard of pupils’ work with accuracy as a result of their work with local schools and others within the trust. Teachers are now clear about

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Inspection findings

what they need to teach and how best to engage pupils. Consequently, the number of pupils working at greater depth has increased and at the end of key stages 1 and 2 the numbers of pupils working at the higher standards are above the national average in all subjects. However, you recognise that more work needs to be done to enable disadvantaged pupils to achieve the higher standard and to reduce the difference between girls’ and boys’ outcomes in different subjects.  We also focused on how well disadvantaged pupils achieve and how much progress they make from their starting points. You have made the progress of all disadvantaged pupils a priority and the impact of this is clear in the progress they make. While outcomes for the small groups of disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stages 1 and 2 are above national averages, your ambition is for disadvantaged pupils to be achieving at least as well as their peers across the

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Inspection findings

school. This is a key area for development this year and you have strategic plans and actions in place to achieve this.  Another focus of the inspection was the quality of the school’s curriculum. It is broad and well developed, ensuring that pupils learn effectively about a range of subjects. Religious education is a particular strength of the school. The curriculum prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. You recognise the school’s duty to promote pupils’ understanding of British values. You have been particularly proactive in promoting tolerance and diversity and have further activities planned to continue to give these issues a high profile. As well as helping pupils learn about democracy, the active school council allows pupils to express their views constructively. They learn to organise events and were keen to tell me about their charity work. Pupils enjoy the range of extra-curricular

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Inspection findings

activities and visits.  The effectiveness of the governing body was also a focus for this inspection. Governors know the school well. They make effective use of their skills and expertise to support your drive for improvement. Regular access to detailed assessment information ensures that governors ask increasingly incisive questions about the performance of different groups of pupils. There is an effective partnership between senior leaders and governors that supports the high expectations of leaders’ work. The school has recently introduced a new website, which governors and leaders know they must regularly check to ensure that it meets statutory requirements.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that teachers continue to:  provide high-quality support for disadvantaged pupils, so that they make accelerated progress in all areas of the curriculum  raise standards across the curriculum for all groups of most able pupils, so that more achieve at greater depth.

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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 Southwark, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Kent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection I met with you, the deputy headteacher, the English leader and the Mathematics leader to discuss the school’s effectiveness. I also met with a governor and a representative of the trust. I had a meeting with a group of pupils and talked with others around the school and during lessons. You accompanied me on a tour of the school. I observed teaching and learning in all seven classes and scrutinised work in a sample of pupils’ books. I examined documents, including the school’s information about safeguarding pupils, the school’s evaluation of its work and its development plans. I considered 40 responses to Parent View and spoke to a number of parents. Thirteen responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were also considered along with 45 responses to the pupil survey.

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