Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School Piccadilly, Bulwell, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG6 9FN

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Outcome

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. Typically, pupils enjoy school. They are respectful towards others. This includes those whose beliefs or home life may be different from their own. Pupils told me that they ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. Every pupil I spoke with said that there are adults they can talk to if they have any worries. Pupils felt that bullying did not really happen but, if it did, an adult would deal with it quickly. Pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s motto, ‘Learn to love, love to learn’, is threaded through everything the school does. Staff have high expectations of what pupils will achieve and how they will behave. Pupils live up to these expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to contribute to their local community. For example, they bake cakes for the drop-in centre and raise money for a local homeless charity. They can take part in lots of different events during their time at the school. These include road safety competitions, sporting events and residential visits.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Almost without exception, parents and carers said that they would recommend the school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to do well. By the time they leave the school, pupils have achieved well and are ready to start their secondary education. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In mathematics, teachers are clear about exactly what pupils must learn. They help them to remember it. Pupils use what they have learned to help them tackle new things in mathematics. For example, I saw pupils using their knowledge of numbers over 100,000. 5–6 November 2019

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They set the numbers out carefully in columns to help them to solve problems linked to a budget. Teachers keep a close check on what pupils can do. They provide extra help for pupils who need it.

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Leaders make sure that pupils learn to read. All pupils have joined the local public library. A new school library has recently been completed. Staff encourage pupils to enjoy reading. At playtime, staff read their own books and invite pupils to bring their books and join them. Leaders have recently improved the way that phonics is taught. Staff have received some training and leaders have plans to provide more. Teachers make sure that pupils get off to a flying start with learning phonics right from when children join the school in the early years. In Nursery, children learn to listen carefully to different sounds. Leaders have made sure that the books pupils are given to read contain the sounds that they have been learning. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to read the books fluently.

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Leaders have written plans that set out what pupils will learn in each subject in every class. Some subjects, such as science, are planned in greater detail than others. Not all subject plans make it clear to teachers which is the most important knowledge and vocabulary that pupils must remember in the longer term.

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Children get off to a good start in the early years. Leaders take time to get to know the children before they start school. They use what they know to help children settle quickly into school life. Staff set clear routines for children to follow. Children join in with their lessons enthusiastically. Children who speak English as an additional language are helped to master the English language quickly.

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Pupils behave well in class. They have good attitudes to learning. Lessons are not disturbed by poor behaviour. I saw no low-level disruption during my visits to lessons. Pupils told me that this is typical.

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Leaders provide a very wide range of opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the classroom. I heard a group of pupils singing ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ as they prepared to take part in a music festival. The pupils’ singing was a joy to hear. Leaders make sure that all pupils in key stage 2 represent their school at least once. Pupils recently raised funds for books and a laptop for a school in Tanzania.

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Leaders and governors know the school well. They are mindful of staff’s workload. They adapt policies and procedures to make sure that staff can make the best use of their time, in the best interests of the pupils. Staff appreciate this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a high priority for all staff. Leaders make the necessary checks so they know that staff are suitable to work with children. Leaders provide staff with the necessary up-to-date training. Staff know how to report a concern about a pupil’s welfare, if one arises. Leaders provide support for pupils and their families. 5–6 November 2019

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Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe, for example through visitors from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the fire service. Pupils know how to use modern technology safely.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have set out, for each subject and every class, what pupils will learn and the order in which they will learn it. Most subjects are planned in detail. Leaders should make sure that all subjects are planned in full detail for all ages from the early years through to Year 6. They should ensure that it is clear exactly what knowledge and vocabulary pupils must learn and remember in the long term.  Leaders have recently sharpened their approach to teaching phonics. They have provided staff with some training. They have made sure that the books pupils are given to read match the sounds they know. Leaders should now ensure that the approach to teaching phonics is fully implemented and embedded.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 10–11 March 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 5–6 November 2019

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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. 5–6 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110155 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 March 2016

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Information about this school

 Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School is part of Our Lady of Lourdes multi-academy trust. The school joined the trust when it formed on 1 September 2018.  The substantive headteacher is currently the executive headteacher of this school and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, which is part of the same trust. This is not a permanent arrangement. The school’s deputy headteacher has taken up the post of head of school and another member of staff has been appointed as the assistant headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, I focused closely on reading, mathematics and science. This included speaking with leaders, visiting lessons, looking at pupils’ books with leaders, talking to pupils about their work and talking to teachers. I also looked at subject plans for a range of other subjects with leaders.  I met with the executive headteacher, the head of school, the leader for the provision for pupils with SEND and the joint leaders of the early years. I met with a group of staff and a group of pupils. I spoke with pupils on both playgrounds as I observed their behaviour at lunchtime. 5–6 November 2019

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 I met with representatives from the local governing body, including the chair. During the same meeting, I spoke with the chief executive officer of the trust and the director of performance and standards. I spoke by telephone with the school’s improvement partner.  I spoke with parents at the end of the school day and took account of the 41 responses to the online survey, Parent View. I also took account of the 43 responses to the online pupil survey and the 24 responses to the online staff survey.  I examined a range of documentation, including the school’s plans for improvement and its self-evaluation. I scrutinised minutes of governors’ meetings. I considered a range of documentation relating to safeguarding, including the school’s single central record of recruitment checks. I considered the school’s most-recent published performance data and the information available on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Di Mullan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 5–6 November 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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