St Winefride's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

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

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Mrs Louise Walsh Interim Headteacher St Winefride’s Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy St Paul’s Avenue Wibsey Bradford West Yorkshire BD6 1SR

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Academy

Following my visit to the school on 3 April 2019, 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 March 2013.

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Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school over recent years. The school converted to an academy in October 2016. The previous headteacher retired in December 2018. Governors appointed the substantive deputy headteacher as interim headteacher, and the substantive assistant headteacher as interim deputy headteacher. A new executive headteacher has been appointed and will join the school in June 2019.

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Academy

Over time, staffing in the school has been stable. Since 2016, leaders accurately identified and prioritised the areas for improvement. They invested heavily in the professional development of staff at all levels, including middle leadership positions. Currently the school has five specialist leaders in education (SLEs): the interim headteacher, the interim deputy headteacher, the phase leader for key stage 1, the special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) coordinator and the leader of information and communication technology. As a result, leadership and management and teaching and learning have been strengthened further.

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Academy

You, your deputy headteacher and your extended leadership team have established a clear vision and show determination and commitment to continue to improve the school. One of the strengths of the school is the ethos based on teamwork. School leaders and staff put pupils at the heart of what they do. Staff focus not only on the progress of pupils, but also on their whole school experience. As a result, outcomes of pupils overall are strong. Governance makes a strong contribution to the school. Over recent years, there have been some changes in the membership of the governing body, to strengthen the range of knowledge and expertise available. The chair of governors leads the governing body well. Governors have a wide range of skills. They are proud of and passionate about their school and are routinely involved in school life. Governors provide appropriate challenge and support to leaders and know the strengths and

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Academy

weaknesses of the school well. They work collaboratively with other governing bodies in the trust and in the Catholic Schools Partnership Teaching School Alliance (CSPTSA).

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Academy

Over recent years, the school has improved the quality of teaching by ensuring that all lessons include activities that cater for the needs of all pupils, particularly the most able. Leaders have also ensured that teachers challenge all pupils and provide more opportunities for pupils to work independently and take more responsibility for their own learning. Leaders have raised staff expectations about the quality of teaching and learning and focused strongly on the professional development of staff. Staff have ongoing opportunities to observe and share good practice, not only within your school, but also through effective collaboration with other schools. School leaders evaluate the impact of their actions through frequent monitoring of teaching and learning. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning has improved over time.

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Academy

Since 2016, school leaders have put in place systems for monitoring all aspects of school performance. The school has a range of systems for monitoring pupils’ progress, performance management, the quality of teaching and learning, the provision for pupils with SEND, and safeguarding arrangements. Leaders ensure that staff have appropriate training on all these systems and that they are easily accessible. As a result, teachers use this information effectively to plan activities that match the needs of all pupils, including the most able, and monitor closely the progress all pupils make. Consequently, pupils who underachieve are quickly identified and support is put in place for those who need it.

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Academy

You and your staff have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed. Weekly safeguarding meetings and updates mean that there is a strong safeguarding culture in the school. Staff know the pupils well and know what to do if they have any concerns. The monitoring of pupils’ welfare is comprehensive. Your safeguarding governor, who is also the chair of the governing body, monitors all areas of safeguarding thoroughly. As the designated safeguarding leader and together with your knowledgeable business manager, you ensure that you carry out appropriate checks on the suitability of all staff. All staff and governors receive appropriate and up-to-date training in child protection, mainly through training provided by the local authority and the trust. Staff are vigilant and report all concerns raised about pupils.

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Academy

Pupils say that they feel safe in school and know whom to go to if they have any worries. During the inspection, pupils could articulate clearly what they must do to stay safe online. They also report that bullying is rare and that when it does happen, teachers deal with it effectively. Inspection evidence and the views of staff and most parents and carers also support this view. Pupils are polite, interact and play well with each other, and are respectful to each other and to staff. The vast majority of parents are very supportive of the school, your leadership and the dedication and support their children receive from staff. Some parents told me that their children ‘love going to school here’. The relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. As a result, behaviour in lessons and conduct around the school environment are exemplary.

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Inspection findings

 Over recent years, leaders have put in place thorough systems for monitoring the progress pupils make. Since your appointment, you have raised expectations of what pupils can achieve even further. There are clear lines of accountability between classroom teachers, phase leaders and senior leaders. Staff meet regularly to discuss the progress of pupils and put in place support for pupils who underperform. Senior leaders monitor the impact of this support closely. The introductions of the school’s ‘5 phase plan’, an initiative that links reading to writing, and the mastery curriculum in mathematics, are paying dividends across all key stages. As a result, outcomes of pupils at the end of key stage 2 in reading and writing are improving and in mathematics they remain strong.  Since 2016, the proportions of pupils achieving the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 and greater depth at the end

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Inspection findings

of key stage 1 have been increasing year on year. In 2018, the progress made by pupils in mathematics at the end of Year 6 was above the national average, and the progress made in reading and writing was broadly in line with the national averages. However, the progress made, and the attainment reached, by disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics were both below the national averages.  School assessment information, inspection evidence, scrutiny of pupils’ work and visits to lessons indicate that the progress and attainment of current pupils in Year 6, including boys and the most able pupils, in reading and writing have improved. Although improving, the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils in reading and writing remain below those of other pupils in the school.  Over time, leaders have raised the expectations of the quality of teaching and learning across the whole school. Senior leaders have focused on providing

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Inspection findings

opportunities for staff to learn from good practice through both peer observations and links with other schools. Staff have received appropriate training to improve their practice. School leaders have refined and strengthened the monitoring systems. Scrutiny of the findings from these systems shows that the quality of teaching is good and better in the vast majority of lessons.  During our joint visits to lessons, you and I were able to confirm that questioning is effective and challenges pupils of all abilities, including the most able. From our observations and through looking at pupils’ work, we were also able to confirm that teachers encourage and provide pupils with opportunities to work independently. For example, during our visits to classrooms, pupils in Year 4 were working confidently in researching and drafting the biography of a world leader. Similarly, pupils in Year 6 were able to critically evaluate and articulate

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Inspection findings

clearly the differences between facts and fiction. Leaders reviewed the school’s assessment policy. The standard of pupils’ presentation of their work is good and pupils know what to do to improve their work.  Staff ensure that pupils have effective skills in phonics to improve their reading. Pupils, including the lower-attaining pupils, use their phonics skills well to read unfamiliar or difficult words. This contributes well to pupils’ confidence and enjoyment of reading. I was able to confirm this when I listened to pupils read.  You and your staff work hard to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. You have raised the profile of attendance across the school. The attendance of pupils is monitored closely, and support is provided to those pupils and their families who need it. The overall rate of attendance of pupils currently in the school is in line with the national average. The rate of persistent absence is just above the

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Inspection findings

national average. The rates of absence and persistent absence of disadvantaged pupils are above the national averages.  The support leaders provide to pupils who struggle to meet the school’s high expectations of behaviour is strong. Even so, the number of fixed-term exclusions is higher than the national average. Your analysis of attendance and absence, as well as your analysis of incidents of inappropriate behaviour, are not accurate enough to enable you to evaluate the impact of actions taken to support different groups of pupils, including disadvantaged 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 progress disadvantaged pupils make at the end of key stage 2 in reading and writing continues to improve  the analysis of attendance and behaviour of pupils is more accurate, so that leaders can better evaluate the impact of their actions on different groups of pupils  the attendance and persistent absence of disadvantaged pupils improve further.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the chief executive officer of Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Academy Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Leeds (RC), the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bradford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and your deputy headteacher, staff and governors. I also held discussions with the director of the CSPTSA. I spoke to a range of pupils and parents. I listened to several pupils read. You and I together conducted tours of the school and observations of lessons, looking at pupils’ work and observing their learning. I also conducted a scrutiny of pupils’ work in a range of subjects with senior leaders. I scrutinised and evaluated a range of documents relating to safeguarding, assessment, behaviour, attendance, parents’ views, and school improvement. I also took account of the 48 extended responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

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