St Michael and St John's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clitheroe

Inspection of St Michael and St John’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Clitheroe Lowergate, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 1AG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is high. Staff ensure that all pupils feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud and very enthusiastic about their school. They behave well at playtime and are sensible as they move around school. Even though the playground is small, pupils have fun and play safely. They told us that there is little name-calling or bullying. Staff deal with any incidents well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils listen to adults and behave well. Relationships are positive and teachers’ expectations of behaviour are high. Staff make sure that the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well. Pupils work hard in lessons. They are keen to learn in each subject. They do well in science, geography and religious education (RE). However, in reading, mathematics, history and art, pupils do not do as well as they can.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they enjoy many activities after school. These include music and various sports. Pupils’ personal development is a priority. Pupils have many opportunities to develop their character, such as in the role of playground leader.

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better?

Pupils do not achieve as well as they can. In some subjects, staff organise pupils’ learning well. In science, geography and RE, teachers know exactly what pupils need to learn and when. For example, in geography in key stage2, pupils learn about a map of Britain before going on to learn how to find places using the points of a compass. However, the way leaders organise other subjects, especially reading, mathematics, h istory and art, does not help pupils to know more and remember more. Teachers are sometimes not sure what to teach.

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better?

In reading, children in early years learn phonics quickly. Their teachers are well trained and allow no children to fall behind. In Years 1 and 2, pupils continue to build their knowledge of phonics. Sometimes, however, the books that they read do not match the sounds that they are learning. There are not enough good-quality books available to the pupils. This results in some pupils not doing as well as they can in reading by the end of key stage 1.

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better?

As pupils move through key stage 2, their teachers provide opportunities for them to read. Many pupils read fluently and with understanding. However, some teachers do not follow the plan for what to teach pupils and when. This means that some pupils do not know enough to be able to move on to the next step in their learning. They lack confidence and do not achieve as well as they can.

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better?

The plan for teaching mathematics helps the pupils to develop calculation skills. Pupils are keen to learn their multiplication tables. However, t eachers do not consistently help pupils to use this knowledge to have a go at mathematical problems Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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Teachers understand how to adapt their plans for pupils with SEND. As a result, these pupils gain confidence and are successful in learning what they should.

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The curriculum that leaders provide supports pupils’ personal development. They have many opportunities to learn about moral issues. As school chaplains, prefects and members of the school council, pupils carry out their roles in a grown-up way. Through subjects such as RE and music, pupils think about other cultures and countries in the world. They learn about how to respect other religions and people who are different from themselves.

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Children get off to a good start in Reception. They settle quickly and learn the class routines. They play well with their friends and concentrate on their activities.

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Staff focus on helping children to speak, read and write. Teachers put words and pictures around the room to help children to learn to communicate and use language. On a visit to the Reception class, I saw children in a role-play area learning new words such as ‘reception’ as they played in the ‘doctor’s surgery’. In mathematics, children know how to order numbers and talk about several shapes. They have the knowledge and skills they need to move into Year 1.

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Leaders and governors understand what they need to do to improve the school. They work positively with other schools to provide staff with a range of training. Staff told us that they feel part of a team. Leaders ensure that parents and carers are welcome to visit the school. Parents are confident that their children are happy and cared for.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The leadership team has made safeguarding a high priority. Leaders have ensured that all staff and governors have thorough training in safeguarding. This includes issues such as neglect. Leaders provide regular updates to staff and governors on safeguarding issues.

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Safeguarding

Staff are vigilant in spotting and then following up any safeguarding issues. Leaders work with the local authority to ensure that all pupils get the help that they need.

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Safeguarding

Pupils told us that they feel safe. They benefit from lessons on how to keep themselves healthy. They learn a lot about how to stay safe, particularly when working or playing online. Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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What does the school need to do to improve?

 Many pupils are enjoying new reading books in key stage 2 and are benefiting from more regular reading. Children begin to learn phonics as soon as they start Reception. However, the books that pupils in key stage 1 read do not consistently match the sounds and letters that they are learning. Also, the curriculum the children experience is not consistently implemented. As the pupils move through school, the curriculum is not providing pupils with sufficient opportunities to develop their reading skills. Therefore, the school needs to ensure that all pupils learn to read accurately, fluently and with comprehension.  The mathematics curriculum sometimes does not ensure that pupils can automatically recall basic mathematical knowledge and skills. As a result, pupils in some year groups find it hard to move on to the next step in their learning. The school needs to ensure that pupils gain knowledge in mathematics in a

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What does the school need to do to improve?

systematic way so that they know more and remember more.  In some other areas of the curriculum, such as history and art, it is not clear what pupils need to learn and when. The subject leaders of history and art need to ensure that all staff understand what they need to teach and in what order. They also need to make sure that teachers check that pupils get better at remembering what they teach them.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10087729 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 April 2015

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Information about this school

 The school is a voluntary-aided Roman Catholic primary school.  The school had an inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in March 2016.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, acting deputy headteacher and members of the senior leadership team. We met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. We also met with a representative of the local authority.  We looked in detail at reading, mathematics, science and geography. This involved a meeting with each subject leader, visits to lessons, speaking with pupils and teachers, and looking at the work in pupils’ books.  To inspect safeguarding, we looked at safeguarding and child protection policies. We reviewed the school’s record of checks on the suitability of staff and governors. We met with the designated safeguarding leader. We spoke to staff and pupils about keeping safe. Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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 We listened to pupils read, scrutinised their work and talked informally with them at breaktimes. The views of pupils were also considered during more formal discussions with inspectors.  We considered the five responses from staff and the 27 responses from parents to the Ofsted online questionnaires.  We looked at individual letters from parents sent to the school during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Andrew Morley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Aleksandra Hartshorne Ofsted Inspector Clitheroe 1–2 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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