St William's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St William’s Catholic Primary School Young Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD8 9RG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 26–27 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Catholic values are at the heart of everything in the school. All staff promote love, respect and kindness. Pupils are well behaved. They develop empathy for one another. Older pupils often support and care for younger pupils. Pupils are happy. They are proud to be part of the St William’s community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel safe in school. They know there are lots of adults to support them if they ever have any worries. However, some say there is a small amount of bullying in school which does not always get reported to these adults. A small number of parents expressed concerns about the way leaders deal with bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of all pupils. Pupils respond well to this and work hard. They enjoy the opportunities they have for leadership. Pupils are proud to be play leaders, school council representatives and Mini Vinnies. They regularly organise events to support a range of charities. Many spoke with enthusiasm about how they learn from visitors, visits and clubs. Pupils have lots of opportunities to try new things. For example, all pupils in Year 4 are learning to play the flute.

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better?

Leaders are redesigning the curriculum. They want to be sure that it is right for their pupils. Plans for some subjects, such as English, mathematics and music, show how work is sequenced. It is clear how pupils will build on their learning, year on year. However, the curriculum is not well enough planned and sequenced in some subjects, such as history and geography. Nevertheless, it is clear from leaders’ actions that they are in the process of bringing this about.

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better?

Children get off to a flying start in the early years. Staff are ambitious for all children. They believe that all can succeed with the right support. They provide opportunities for children to explore and investigate. For example, some were delighted to discover that if they mixed blue and yellow paint they could make green. Staff encourage children to be independent. Children regularly choose how and where they want to learn. They are able to select the things they want to use. Most are able to tidy up when they have finished. There is a strong focus on the development of speaking and listening. Staff are very skilled in the use of questioning to extend learning.

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better?

Leaders make sure that reading has a high priority throughout the school. The phonics programme is well structured. Staff are well trained. They deliver lessons in ways which keep pupils focused on learning. The books that pupils use to practise their reading are well matched to their phonics knowledge. Most pupils quickly develop the skills they need to become fluent readers. Any who struggle get effective support. Staff make sure that pupils understand new words and phrases. The school’s libraries are well stocked with high-quality books. Staff regularly read to pupils. This is helping pupils to develop a love of reading. 26–27 November 2019

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Work in mathematics is well sequenced. Teachers carefully check pupils’ understanding. They act quickly to address misconceptions. They adapt their plans to fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Pupils have opportunities to apply their skills to solve problems. Most confidently use mathematical vocabulary correctly.

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Leaders have raised the profile of attendance. They challenge parents when attendance is a concern. However, some parents do not support the school in this. Attendance improved over the last academic year. This year the improvement is not as strong.

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Staff have high expectations of behaviour. Pupils show respect for adults and each other. They cooperate well together. Most always do their best, whether they are working or playing. Learning is rarely interrupted by poor behaviour.

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Personal development is a strength of the school. Pupils have a good understanding of British values. They have many opportunities to explore different faiths and cultures and to celebrate diversity. Staff promote physical and mental health. For example, they encourage pupils to be active in physical education lessons and at breaktimes.

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The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has improved. Careful thought and planning by leaders have made sure these pupils have the support they need. They can now access the full curriculum alongside their peers.

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Leaders have a strong, ambitious vision for the future of the school. They have taken effective action to improve the quality of education. Governors provide leaders with an appropriate balance of challenge and support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make appropriate checks to ensure that all adults in school are suitable to work with children. All staff are well trained. Leaders set a weekly question for staff. This enables regular discussion of safeguarding knowledge and understanding. This means all staff know what to look out for and how to report any worries. Record- keeping is thorough. The designated safeguarding lead is tenacious in following up concerns. Most parents say they know their children are safe and well cared for. Pupils learn how to recognise potential risks. They cover topics such as road safety, stranger danger and cyber bullying. 26–27 November 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently coherently planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken to plan the curriculum in some subjects that they are in the process of bringing this about. Current outline plans do show what must be taught in each subject in each year group. However, in some subjects, such as history, these need to be expanded upon so that they give more detail and make the sequence of learning clear.  Attendance needs to improve. Leaders need to continue to remove some of the barriers that are preventing improvements in attendance. This includes helping parents to understand the importance of regular school attendance and punctuality.

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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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110555 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Patricia Stockdale

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4–5 July 2017

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school is a Catholic voluntary controlled school. The last section 48 inspection took place in June 2018.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than the national average.

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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, assistant headteacher, early years leader, SEND coordinator and some subject leaders.  We met with a representative from the local authority and a representative from the diocese.  The arrangements for safeguarding were checked. This included checks on the single central record, staff training and safeguarding records.  We discussed the school’s records on attendance and behaviour with leaders. 26–27 November 2019

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 We analysed the school’s self-evaluation document and plans for improvement.  We met with two members of the governing body and looked at the minutes of governing body meetings.  We talked informally with pupils in lessons and at breaktimes. We also met formally with groups of pupils.  We talked to a number of parents as they dropped their children off at the start of the school day. We also took account of the nine responses to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View, and the 84 responses to a recent school survey.  The subjects considered as part of this inspection were reading, mathematics, music and history. Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects. This entailed meeting with senior leaders, subject leaders and teachers; looking at curriculum plans; visiting lessons; speaking to pupils about their learning and scrutinising pupils’ work. We also listened to pupils read and observed a teacher

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Inspection team

Chris Cook, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lesley Bowyer 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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