St Bede's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Bede’s Catholic Primary School Wortley Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S61 1PD

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Outcome

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this school. One pupil summed it up by saying, ‘I feel the school is like a family.’ Parents and carers are very positive, making comments such as, ‘My children never complain about coming to school.’ They know they can talk to any member of staff if they ever feel they have a problem.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they feel completely safe in the school and bullying is very rare. They are taught not to just avoid risk but to manage it. They say that some of the best things about the school are the many sports that they do during the day and after school. They feel lucky that the sports facilities are so good. They enjoy singing in the choirs and playing musical instruments. Many take on roles and responsibilities, like joining the school council or becoming head boy or girl.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite to each other and to adults. At lunchtimes, older pupils are sports leaders. They make sure that all pupils play team games and have someone to play with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In class, teachers work pupils hard. Pupils like this and love a challenge. Pupils enjoy reading and many read for pleasure both at school and at home.

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

The headteacher and her senior team know the school well. They know which areas are strong and which need further development. They have been very successful in ensuring that there is a caring ethos. As a result, staff make comments such as ‘I absolutely love everything about this place.’ Pupils say, ‘It’s like having a second family.’

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

School leaders put reading as their top priority. Phonics is taught well, starting in the Nursery class. Leaders have made sure that the curriculum very clearly states what pupils should learn at each stage in Reception and Year 1. This makes it easy to see which pupils need more support. Pupils’ progress is tracked carefully so that any pupils who fall behind are helped to catch up. Before long, children have mastered phonics and begin 26–27 November 2019

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reading freely. Most older pupils enjoy reading for pleasure and listening to the stories that their teacher reads to them each day in class. Staff have had good training in phonics. Those new to the school or in the early stages of their career have good opportunities to observe and learn from the best. Leaders are aware that poor seating arrangements and limited practice in forming letters correctly means that some pupils get off to a slower start in writing.

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Leaders are working hard to develop subjects beyond reading, writing and mathematics. The physical education (PE) curriculum is strong. The PE curriculum leader and two specialist teachers have excellent subject knowledge. Their expertise has really helped other teachers to improve their skills. The headteacher has invested in making the PE facilities superb. In some subjects, such as history, this work is still in the early stages of development.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support. Outside agencies are brought in to make assessments or advise teachers. Teaching assistants support pupils well, while also making sure that pupils become confident, independent learners.

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In the early years, adults make sure that children achieve well. For example, children learn to choose their own snacks and put their own outdoor clothing on. They learn to help each other, for example by building a tower in the construction area. Children soon become confident in counting and mathematics. Adults make sure that children have a lot of fun, while also learning. This gets them to enjoy school from the very start.

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Governors know the school well. They have good skills to support and challenge school leaders. All governors are passionate about making the school the best it can be.

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Pupils are able to discuss issues maturely and thoughtfully. They appreciate each other’s differences as well as similarities. They respect cultures and faiths that might not be their own. One pupil said, ‘Everyone is unique, skin colour is not important.’

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Pupils love music. Many play musical instruments or sing. During the inspection, pupils sang a song from ‘Annie’ enthusiastically. They learn about democracy, for example by holding school elections. Pupils who are candidates submit a manifesto to make changes to the school. Pupils learn about those less fortunate than themselves, raising money for different charities.

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Pupils behave well. They are polite and considerate. They say that bullying is very rare, which is also clear in the school’s own records. Pupils feel that there is always someone to talk to, particularly in the ‘Rainbows’ session. This supports pupils by giving them an opportunity to talk about difficult topics such as divorce or bereavement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a good culture of safeguarding in the school. All staff, including lunchtime 26–27 November 2019

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supervisors, are well aware of what they must do if they have any concerns about pupils. Their training is thorough and regular. Records are detailed. Any concerns are followed up straight away by consulting parents or outside agencies if necessary.

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Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet. All pupils say that there is always an adult to turn to if they have any concerns or worries.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils do not apply their phonic knowledge as well to writing as they do to reading. Teachers help pupils to learn to read using phonics effectively, but pupils do not apply this knowledge as well in writing. Leaders should ensure that pupils are seated well to write effectively. They should ensure that pupils are given the right direction to hold pencils and form letters correctly.  All subject leaders have high expectations in their subjects, but are at different stages of developing the curriculum. In some subjects, leaders are still developing their curriculum plans to make sure that pupils’ knowledge is sequenced in a logical order. They are also still in the process of training staff. Subject leaders need to complete their curriculum plans, ensure that any gaps in teachers’ knowledge are addressed and quality assure teaching in their subjects.

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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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school to be good in April 2013.

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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. 26–27 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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110829 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.stbedescatholicprimary.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 April 2016

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.  Most pupils are of White British backgrounds. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is higher than the national average of other schools around the country.

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Information about this inspection

 I held meetings with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. I met with four members of the governing body and several groups of children. I met with leaders responsible for safeguarding and the special educational needs coordinator.  I held discussions with lunchtime supervisors, office staff, teachers and teaching assistants about the actions that they take to keep pupils safe.  I looked in detail at early reading and phonics, physical education and history. I talked to leaders about their curriculum plans. I visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and discussed this with them. I also talked to pupils about what they knew and remembered in these subjects. I listened to pupils read. 26–27 November 2019

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 I looked at a range of documentation, including safeguarding documents, the school’s self-evaluation, development plans and information on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Robert Jones, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26–27 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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