Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Holy Family Catholic Primary School High Street, Langley, Slough, Berkshire SL3 8NF

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders have demonstrated sustained tenacity and determination in their drive to provide the best possible education for pupils.  Staff, parents, carers and governors form a strong united team, who fully endorse senior leaders’ ambition to ‘value, inspire and challenge every child and adult’ at this school.  The school’s Catholic values permeate every aspect of its work. All pupils and staff are respected and known as individuals, creating a safe, inclusive family ethos, in which pupils flourish.  Consistently strong teaching and learning enable pupils to thrive academically. Staff have high expectations. Their subject knowledge is strong because they have had regular training and professional development.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They are interested in lessons and work hard, always trying to do their best. Work in their books is beautifully presented, reflecting great care and pride in their work.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Outcomes at the end of key stage 2 have continued to improve substantially. Pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics have all risen year-on-year. Progress in writing and mathematics was well above the national averages in 2018.  Behaviour around the school and at breaktimes is impeccable. Pupils are well mannered, thoughtful and welcoming, including to others who are new to the school.  Pupils achieve very strong outcomes in phonics as a result of precise, accurate teaching from when they start in school.  Children get off to an excellent start in the early years. They make outstanding progress, including those who start school at a very early stage of speaking English as an additional language.  The curriculum enables pupils to achieve high standards in a range of subjects. In particular, the quality of pupils’ work in science and religious education (RE) is extremely high.  Leaders have started an in-depth review of the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

curriculum to ensure that pupils achieve consistently high standards across all subjects.  Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Staff have an in-depth understanding of their needs and provide excellent support, enabling pupils to make strong progress.  Leaders and governors have not checked regularly that all the information on the school’s website is up to date.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to review and develop the curriculum so that it delivers consistently strong outcomes for pupils across all subjects.  Ensure that the school’s website is regularly reviewed so that information is always up to date.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

 Senior leaders have led a sustained, uncompromising drive for excellence in all aspects of the school’s work. They work with great determination towards their stated goals: ‘To value, inspire and challenge every child and adult; to remove barriers for pupils, and enable all to achieve their full potential.’ Staff fully endorse this ambition and work hard to achieve it.  The school’s Catholic values and caring ethos permeate every aspect of its work. This has created an atmosphere in which all pupils are nurtured and valued. Pupils flourish at this school. This is as true for their personal and social development as it is for their excellent academic achievement.  Leaders have an incisive, accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. They use a wide range of evidence when evaluating the school’s effectiveness. Plans for improvement are ambitious and reflect leadership’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

continual, aspirational drive for the best possible education for pupils.  Senior leaders understand the various needs of families and pupils in this diverse, inclusive community. Staff focus on enabling vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils to achieve well and overcome any barriers to learning. The needs of these pupils are so well known because leaders track their outcomes forensically and move quickly to help them catch up if they fall behind. The additional funding for these pupils is used very effectively. As a result, disadvantaged pupils typically achieve as well as others in the school.  The same detailed understanding of pupils’ needs, and determination to deliver high- quality provision, characterises the school’s work for pupils with SEND. Pupils who need additional help receive targeted support and the effective involvement of external agencies.  Informed debate and rigorous professional discussion help leaders to reach decisions

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

about how to secure further improvements in the school’s curriculum or approaches to teaching. Senior leaders ensure that new initiatives are researched thoroughly and, where possible, a consensus is reached before changes are made. Leaders monitor new initiatives carefully to check that they are having the desired impact.  Leadership responsibilities are shared widely across the school. Leaders at all levels have a strong understanding of their area of responsibility and speak knowledgeably about the improvements they have brought about. This distributed leadership has had a significantly positive impact on the school’s capacity for further improvement. If members of staff move on, there is always someone ready to take on their responsibilities.  All staff benefit from regular training and opportunities for professional development. These ensure that all staff have a deep understanding of the age group they are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

working with, and the subjects or interventions they are teaching. Several leaders are enrolled on nationally recognised courses in school leadership.  Staff’s morale is high. This is a happy school, where all staff are appreciated. One said: ‘The school is nurturing, not just for the children but for the staff. I feel valued.’ Others made similar positive comments. All who responded to the Ofsted staff survey agreed that they feel proud to be part of the Holy Family team and enjoy working at the school.  Parents are fulsome in their praise for the school. All agree that pupils are happy and safe in school. Many parents used the Ofsted questionnaire’s free-text facility to praise the school for its work. For example, one parent wrote: ‘[Children] receive an incredibly enriching curriculum. The staff work tirelessly and with great enthusiasm to inspire and motivate the pupils. My children have had marvellous opportunities and experiences

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

that they will never forget.’ This was typical of the many responses received.  Real-life experiences are a feature of the school’s broad and highly effective curriculum. Visitors in school and trips to exciting places all add to pupils’ interest and enthusiasm because they open a fascinating window on the world. For example, in Year 6, pupils visited the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge to bring their learning about the Second World War to life. Later, a navigator on a wartime Lancaster bomber came to the school to share his experience. Such enrichment helps to make learning memorable, deepens pupils’ understanding and sparks their curiosity.  Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values, including a robust appreciation of democracy. This was illustrated by Year 3 pupils comparing the British parliamentary system to that of Ancient Greece and explaining clearly which they felt

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

was fairer.  The curriculum provides extremely well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils’ work in RE is of an extremely high standard. As well as gaining a comprehensive understanding of their Catholic faith, its festivals and traditions, pupils learn about a range of other faiths and beliefs.  The physical education (PE) and sport premium received by the school is spent well and helps pupils to follow active lifestyles. There is a vast array of clubs outside of the school day. These include gymnastics, gardening, badminton and ‘bouncing’ clubs, all of which are well attended.  Leaders are currently reviewing the curriculum in depth to ensure that learning not only interests pupils, but that it leads to consistently high outcomes in all subjects.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have a very strong understanding of the school and share senior leaders’ ambitions and high expectations for all aspects of its work. They know the school well and check carefully that what they are told is accurate.  They visit the school regularly and talk with pupils and staff to check that all are safe and their well-being is being carefully considered. This has played a part in securing the retention of staff and the stability of the school.  Governors bring a wide range of skills and experience to their role. They undertake training to further equip them for governance and its responsibilities. They hold leaders closely to account, ask probing questions and provide effective support. Governors have a strong grasp of the school’s published performance information. They use this to challenge senior leaders and plan for further improvement.  Although governors undertake checks on the school’s work, including safeguarding,

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Governance of the school

they have not checked the school’s website carefully. Some required information was out of date, as were other documents, such as the information for new parents.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The designated safeguarding lead and the deputy designated safeguarding leads are trained thoroughly in all areas of safeguarding. They are well equipped to lead this aspect of the school’s work. Policies, procedures and protocols all contribute to the school’s culture of continual vigilance. As soon as a person enters the school building, staff check their identity and require them to read a summary of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.  Safeguarding training for all staff and volunteers is up to date and equips them to recognise and report any concerns promptly, however small they may appear to be at first. Staff have a robust knowledge of the signs and indicators of abuse, including those that suggest pupils may be at risk of radicalisation or female genital mutilation.  The school has secure systems in place to safeguard the most vulnerable pupils. In its

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Safeguarding

work to keep pupils safe, the school makes sure that families who need additional help have appropriate support from outside agencies.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

 Teachers have consistently high expectations for pupils, including pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, and pupils who speak English as an additional language. Classrooms are busy, industrious places where staff and pupils strive to do their best. This is reflected in pupils’ immaculately presented work, in English and mathematics and across the whole curriculum.  Teachers and teaching assistants have strong subject knowledge, as a result of thorough, carefully targeted professional development. This equips staff to offer incisive advice and guidance to pupils, and to ask searching questions that probe their understanding. Expert specialist teaching in some subjects, including music, French, PE and computing, contributes to pupils achieving high standards in a wide range of subjects.  There is a consistent approach to teaching across the school. Leaders provide time for teachers to work together each week. Teachers plan lessons collaboratively, discussing

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

different approaches to teaching and learning, and drawing on their training and research. This results in a united, aspirational teaching team who are constantly seeking ways to further improve their effectiveness.  A school-wide reading scheme ensures that pupils achieve consistently high standards. The teaching of phonics, which begins as soon as children start school, is extremely effective and equips pupils to be highly competent readers. Teachers introduce pupils to a wide range of genres and it is evident that pupils have an avid interest in books. Pupils’ enthusiasm for reading is illustrated by the school council arranging for a trolley full of books to be available on the playground at lunchtimes.  The teaching of writing is closely linked with reading. Pupils’ immersion in high-quality texts helps to equip them with a wide vocabulary and a clear understanding of what constitutes excellent writing. They become increasingly fluent and confident as writers.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

They spell and punctuate their written work accurately and use beautiful joined handwriting because their teachers insist they do. Teachers are determined that all pupils should master these important skills at an early stage.  In mathematics, teachers use detailed assessments to gain an accurate picture of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding. They identify where pupils have gaps and address these promptly, including there and then in lessons. Where pupils have clearly understood, teachers move them quickly on to more challenging work. Pupils regularly solve multi-step problems and tasks that require them to think carefully and reason mathematically.  Pupils develop their skills and knowledge very well across the curriculum because teachers plan lessons that build these sequentially and systematically. Teachers present new ideas in ways that interest and challenge pupils. This enables them to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

make excellent progress in a wide range of subjects.  For example, in a science topic, pupils spent time discovering how different materials react when mixed with water, including when each mixture is heated. Teachers introduced pupils to the right technical vocabulary to describe the processes at work. Pupils finally set up and ran an experiment to extract salt from a saline solution, recording their work meticulously. They went on to apply their knowledge to explain the processes within the water cycle.  Teachers provide pupils with age-appropriate homework to further strengthen their skills. Pupils read regularly, practise spellings and number facts, and take their learning further at home.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils love coming to school. They enjoy being part of this warm and inclusive community. Several pupils described the school as being like ‘a family’. Parents and staff echoed the same view. One parent praised ‘the beautiful family atmosphere’ at the school. Another described it as ‘a home from home’. This happy, inclusive ethos ensures that pupils feel safe and valued.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and work hard to do their best. They are wholly positive about the school, saying that teachers make learning interesting and challenging. One explained that lessons are ‘never too easy for anyone, which means we always learn’.  Behaviour in lessons is impeccable. Pupils work as well individually as they do when they work with a partner or in a group. They are respectful, listening carefully and politely to others’ ideas. For example, in one lesson, pupils were trying to help Ernest

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Personal development and welfare

Shackleton decide whether to leave his stricken ship to seek help. Pupils argued persuasively from both sides, some giving reasons to go and others to stay. Throughout this activity, pupils listened to each other, respecting the different ideas of their classmates, while holding firmly to their own views.  The curriculum provides particularly well for pupils’ social and moral development. It helps them to understand challenging and sensitive subjects, such as the work of hospices. Pupils showed powerful levels of empathy and understanding in relation to death and the needs of dying people and their families.  Senior leaders show a deep understanding of the pressures that some pupils face, and the anxiety that these can bring. They provide carefully targeted support to strengthen pupils’ mental and emotional well-being. This has had a marked impact on individuals, improving their confidence and ability to cope with life’s stresses.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils have a thorough understanding of bullying and its many guises, including cyber bullying. One pupil explained that bullies ‘try to mess with your emotions’. Pupils were firm in their view that bullying is rare in the school and teachers are ‘quick to sort it out before it gets serious’.  Pupils feel completely safe in school. They learn how to stay safe in a range of situations, including on the road, when riding bicycles and if caught in a fire. They have a strong understanding of e-safety. One pupil explained how we should be suspicious of insecure websites, describing them as ‘those that do not have a locked padlock in the address bar’. Another explained the risks associated with hackers. Pupils understand how to behave responsibly online and are quick to seek help from an adult if they meet anything unexpected or worrying.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils’ behaviour around school, including at breaktimes, is exemplary. They are confident, thoughtful and warmly welcoming to visitors and those pupils who start midway through the academic year. The same polite and respectful behaviour seen in class is mirrored on the playground at lunchtimes and breaktimes. In the dining hall, pupils talk together in a friendly atmosphere. Any minor upsets are quickly spotted and dealt with by the staff on duty.  Staff understand the importance of developing pupils’ character. One parent recognised this, saying: ‘This school spends time on developing behaviour characteristics that make the children at the school well behaved, well mannered and supportive and protective of their peers.’  Where a pupil’s behaviour falls below the school’s high expectations, leaders take swift and decisive action. They leave no stone unturned in enabling pupils to improve their

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Behaviour

behaviour. Pupils who move to the school with identified behavioural needs make rapid improvements. This reflects the high expectations of teachers and the well-targeted support for individuals.  Pupils’ attendance is consistently above the national average. Few are persistently absent. This academic year, persistent absence has further improved as a result of senior leaders’ relentless drive to ensure that all pupils benefit from regular attendance. Pupils are always punctual.

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

 Current pupils are making outstanding progress, not only in reading, writing and mathematics, but also in a range of subjects across the curriculum. This is true for all pupils, including the most able, disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.  Outcomes at the end of Year 6 have improved year-on-year in all subjects. In 2018, pupils’ progress in mathematics was well above the national average. This was also true for writing, where the school’s progress was in the top 10% nationally. Progress in reading was also above the national average.  This outstanding progress is reflected in pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportions of pupils who achieved the expected standards in all three subjects have been consistently well above the national average for the past three years. The proportions of pupils who achieved the higher standards have also been high and these have increased year-on-year. In 2018, nearly a quarter of all

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

pupils achieved the higher standards in all three subjects at the end of Year 6.  Pupils also achieve well and make strong progress in key stage 1. Although outcomes dipped slightly in 2018, this was as a result of a cohort of pupils with low prior attainment. This year, attainment at the end of Year 2 is higher in all subjects, especially at the greater depth standard.  The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check has been consistently high and has risen steadily in recent years. In 2018, over 90% of pupils achieved this standard, which is well above the national average. This academic year the proportion has increased further. All pupils have reached the required standard by the end of Year 2. Outcomes in reading across the school are very strong.  Writing throughout the school is of very high quality. From their individual starting points, pupils make consistently excellent progress.

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

 A coherent, systematic and well-planned mathematics curriculum ensures that all pupils, whatever their starting points, are stretched and challenged. Every pupil, including the most able and disadvantaged, makes the same strong progress and many attain the higher standards in mathematics.  Pupils achieve as well in a range of subjects as they do in English and mathematics. This is evident from examples of pupils’ work in foundation subjects and from conversations with pupils. Their achievement is particularly strong in RE and science.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Leaders of the early years have high expectations for children. All are unswerving in their drive for continual improvement, determined that children should have the best possible start.  Children make outstanding progress in the early years. Outcomes have risen in the last two years and in 2018 were above the national average. Outcomes this year continue to be at a similar high standard. Many children start school with skills that are below those typical for their age. This includes a high proportion of children who are at a very early stage of speaking English as an additional language. However, they catch up quickly and the great majority are thoroughly prepared for the demands of Year 1.  From the moment they enter Nursery, teachers and support staff start to equip children with the early skills needed for reading, writing and mathematics. Teaching is clear and accurate, using children’s interests to capture their attention.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Teachers and support staff systematically check children’s understanding. Where there are gaps in children’s learning, teachers recognise these and address them promptly. Similarly, staff recognise and respond quickly when children require greater challenge. This high-quality teaching continues consistently throughout the early years.  Staff use spoken language accurately and expect children to do the same. For example, when writing a recipe, the teacher clearly modelled how to use time connectives. Also, in Nursery, a boy was using some binoculars but mispronounced the word. A teaching assistant noticed this and took time to help him to say it correctly.  The classrooms and outdoor areas are planned with great care so that children have access to all areas of the early years curriculum. Everywhere they go, children are surrounded by imaginative opportunities for reading, writing and learning about

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Early years provision Outstanding

numbers and shapes. Staff constantly seek to enrich children’s learning, encouraging them to apply their skills independently.  Children are eager, confident explorers who have excellent attitudes to learning. Activities captivate their interest and they become absorbed in their learning. Their behaviour is of a consistently high standard. They play happily together, share and take turns. Classroom routines are thoroughly embedded so children move from one activity to another smoothly and without fuss. As a result, no time is wasted.  Children are well cared for and are safe in school. The same strong, caring relationships that characterise the provision in the rest of the school are securely in place in the early years. Teachers and support staff all know children as individuals, leading to strong relationships in a safe and secure environment. All welfare requirements are fully met, including the need to have staff trained in paediatric first

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Early years provision Outstanding

aid.  Parents are very happy with the excellent start that their children receive. One spoke for many, saying: ‘I am amazed at how much he has learned, and how his teachers encourage him to push himself. I feel like my child is part of a very special school.’  Links between home and school are strong. Parents contribute to their children’s learning records with examples of what they have achieved at home. This helps to form a detailed and comprehensive picture of children’s achievements.  Leaders make sure that there are effective transition arrangements when children start school. These ensure that they settle quickly, are happy and confident. Teachers also work closely with staff in Year 1 to make sure that children move into key stage 1 smoothly and there is no disruption to their learning.

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School details

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

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.holyfamilycatholicschool.org.uk/

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School details

Email address school.admin@holyfamilycatholicschool.org. uk Date of previous inspection 22 May 2018

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Information about this school

 Holy Family Catholic Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. There are 15 classes, two for each year group from Reception to Year 6, and one Nursery class.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well below the national average. Levels of deprivation are similar to those seen nationally.  Around 30% of pupils are of White British heritage. Pupils are from many different minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.  Holy Family Catholic Primary School is a voluntary-aided Catholic school. Its last section 48 inspection was in March 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed teaching and learning in all classes and in a range of subjects. Most of these observations were conducted jointly with a member of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors spoke with many pupils during the inspection to gather their views of the school. They spoke to pupils in lessons, informally at breaktime and lunchtime, and as pupils moved around the school. The lead inspector also met with a representative group of 10 pupils. Inspectors observed behaviour in lessons and at other times.  Inspectors heard pupils from key stages 1 and 2 read and talked to them about reading.  The inspection team met with the headteacher and senior leaders to discuss various aspects of the school’s work, including: their self-evaluation; plans for further development; the curriculum; and outcomes for pupils.  Meetings were also held with subject leaders for English, mathematics, history, science

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Information about this inspection

and PE. Inspectors had separate meetings with the early years leader and the deputy headteacher, who is also the special educational needs coordinator. As part of the meeting about pupils’ outcomes, the pupil premium champion explained the impact of the use of the additional funding on disadvantaged pupils’ progress. An inspector also met with two newly qualified teachers. In addition, a meeting was held with a group of six staff, including teachers, teaching assistants and a member of the office team.  The inspection team carried out a detailed scrutiny of the work of pupils from all year groups, including all prior attainment groups. This also encompassed the work of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. This was carried out with a number of middle and senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with three governors and a representative of the local authority. He also spoke to a member of the local diocese on the telephone.

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Information about this inspection

 A range of documentation was scrutinised, including: leaders’ evaluation of the school’s own performance; school development planning; and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also reviewed information about safeguarding and pupils’ attendance, including the single central record of recruitment checks on people who work in the school.  Inspectors spoke to parents before school and considered 59 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 36 free-text comments. They also took account of 58 responses to the pupil survey and 30 responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors met with a wide range of staff to seek their views and gauge their understanding of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

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Inspection team

Bruce Waelend, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Krista Dawkins 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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