St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

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

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Mrs Mary Murphy Headteacher St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School Griffin Road Plumstead London SE18 7QG

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 31 October 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 November 2012.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You are committed to providing the best possible education for your pupils. You and your leaders are clear about how this can be achieved, by ensuring that the quality of teaching remains a strength of the school. Policies are revisited regularly and remind staff that pupils should achieve well. Similarly, regular monitoring of teaching and learning has a focus on high aspirations for pupils. Standards have continued to rise at the end of key stages 1 and 2 since the last inspection. You have worked effectively with governors to secure a strong staff team with high expectations. This has supported the improvement in teaching and learning, strengthening provision and improving standards.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

High expectations are evident in work produced by pupils. An example of this is the consistently well-presented handwriting. Clear presentation also supports pupils’ ability to complete calculations in mathematics and make good progress. You have ensured that progress in mathematics is strong for most pupils. Standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in mathematics are well above national averages. Most groups of pupils make steady or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this is not the case for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

Parents speak highly of you and say that pupils enjoy their time at the school. This is reflected in their attendance, which is above national average. Attendance for all groups of pupils is strong. You strive to meet the needs of all pupils by offering a broad range of experiences through school visits and specialist teaching provision.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are suitably detailed and referrals to external services are handled in a timely manner, leading to swift support for pupils who need it. Leaders make effective use of the early help provision and external agencies to support pupils and their families well. Leaders work effectively with parents and provide appropriate information regarding where additional support can be accessed.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

All staff have appropriate training and understand how to respond if concerns arise. Initial concerns are well documented and lead to swift action by the designated lead. In addition, staff and governors are trained and aware of up-to-date guidance, including the ‘Prevent’ duty.

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Short inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

Parents are overwhelming positive about pupils being safe in school. Time and support is given internally to pupils who need it. In addition to this, pupils are trained how to be safe when using the internet. Posters reminding pupils what to do are on display throughout school.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, you suggested three areas where the school’s strengths could be seen. The first was the high standards reached in writing from pupils’ different starting points. At the end of key stages 1 and 2, pupils reach standards that are above national averages. In the 2017 writing assessments, all groups of pupils made good progress. Physical actions while rehearsing writing engage pupils well and support learning. One pupil said, ‘Actions help you to remember the story.’ This was apparent when pupils were writing.  Attractive displays provide effective prompts and support for pupils when writing, which they use effectively. Pupils’ writing on display is well presented. Pupils take pride in their writing and handwriting is consistently neat. Work seen in books shows that the most able make good progress and apply skills effectively. However, pupils of a lower ability or those who have SEN and/or disabilities do

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Inspection findings

not make good progress in their writing. In the early years, children have opportunities to write outside. In the home corner, they are encouraged to write phone messages and prescriptions for the baby. There are, however, no opportunities for pupils to write independently in their literacy books. All examples seen showed children copying the writing of the teacher.  Our second focus was to explore how leaders ensured that pupils had access to a broad, wide and deep curriculum. Leaders and governors talked about the many trips pupils enjoyed, which enhanced their learning. Music, art and physical education are taught by specialist teachers in school. During the inspection, I explored pupils’ learning in the wider curriculum by looking at work in music and art. Around one in every six pupils receive individual instrumental tuition, and the school has a choir and a brass band. This experience helps pupils to develop their

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Inspection findings

confidence and self-esteem.  The proportions of pupils with SEN and/or disabilities and those eligible for the pupil premium who take part in instrumental tuition is impressive. Proportions are the same in the instrumental music tuition cohort as they are across the school as a whole. Some pupils do very well in music and receive a scholarship to go on and pursue this interest. Governors and parents speak highly of this opportunity. However, classroom music provision is not nearly as strong. Work seen during visits shows that standards and expectations are too low. For example, Year 5 and 6 pupils learning three notes on the recorder were not challenged.  Displays in the art room show that pupils have the opportunity to work with different media. Art books show that skills are developed, leading to a final product. In some cases the work produced is of a high standard, for example the three-dimensional work in Years 5 and 6. Discussions with staff acknowledge that

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Inspection findings

pupils are working towards the same outcome within the short lesson. There is little evidence that pupils are given the opportunity to explore and develop their own ideas. Not all pupils get the opportunity to complete their artwork due to time restrictions. This means that pupils who work at a slower pace do not get the opportunity to produce a final product.  Our final focus was to evaluate the effectiveness of inclusion in supporting all groups to make good progress. Leaders effectively allocate the pupil premium funding, resulting in pupils having a range of support. This ensures that disadvantaged pupils’ progress is similar to that of their peers. Leaders have a commitment to the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and they attend well. Support has been effective in reducing the number of vulnerable pupils who are persistently absent from school.  Leaders work effectively with parents when pupils are identified as having SEN

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Inspection findings

and/or disabilities. The majority of support for these pupils takes place within their own classrooms so that they can learn alongside their peers. Additional adults are allocated to provide support for pupils to help them to learn within class. Support observed during visits was appropriate to the needs of the pupils. However, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make enough progress. This is because there is a lack of challenge and expectation based on previous end of key stage assessments.

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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

 teachers provide challenging opportunities for pupils of all abilities to explore and develop ideas across the wider curriculum  assessment is used consistently well to inform planning, so that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress  children in early years are encouraged to write independently from when they begin 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 Greenwich. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I had discussions with leaders about their evaluation of the school and what they considered to be the current strengths of the school. These in turn became the focus of the discussion with governors. I looked at the school’s assessment information and the end-of-year national assessment results. I looked at documentation, including the self-evaluation report, the school development plan and relevant behaviour records. I visited classrooms with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, speaking with pupils and looking at their work. I spoke to parents about the work of the school and how they felt that the school kept pupils safe. I reviewed the 18 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 17 responses to the staff survey. I also read the written comments provided by parents on the day of the inspection. I reviewed a large sample of books. I met with the assistant headteacher to discuss safeguarding and inclusion.

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