St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Yeathouse Road, Frizington, Cumbria CA26 3PX

p.1

Outcome

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

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. They thoroughly enjoy their time here. Staff develop warm and caring relationships with pupils. Parents and carers appreciate the individual care that pupils receive. Pupils like being in this small school because everyone knows and respects each other.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard and concentrate on their learning in lessons. Teachers make sure that pupils learn well in all subjects. They make good use of the local community to enrich pupils’ learning. Pupils excel in their artwork. They are proud to display their work, alongside that of local artists, in the village hall.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers have high expectations of how pupils should behave around school. Pupils behave well in lessons and on the playground. They are helpful and kind to each other. Teachers encourage older pupils to take on extra responsibilities. For example, older pupils read to younger pupils at playtime. Pupils told us that they feel safe in school. They are adamant that bullying rarely happens. If it does happen, they say that teachers act quickly so that it stops.

p.1

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

The new headteacher has quickly established what the school does well and what it could do better. She has developed an ambitious curriculum. In subjects like reading, mathematics and art, detailed plans set out how and what pupils will learn. Teachers know what to teach and when to teach it. Pupils achieve well in these subjects because their learning builds on what they already know. In other subjects like history and geography, teachers are using new plans which carefully lay out the sequence of learning. Leaders have adapted these plans to make good use of the local area to bring pupils’ learning to life.

p.1

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

Pupils have a daily phonics lesson. Adults check the progress that pupils make through the well-planned phonics programme. They ensure that pupils gain the skills they need to read fluently. If pupils fall behind, they receive support and catch up quickly. Pupils read 11 December 2019

p.1

2

books that are well matched to the sounds they know. In 2019, every child achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.

p.2

2

The new headteacher has made reading for pleasure a key priority. Older pupils read books together to improve their comprehension skills. The library has been recently refurbished. The books have been carefully arranged so that pupils know how to select a book which is right for them. Pupils told us that it is now easier to choose a book that is at the right level.

p.2

2

In art and design, the curriculum leader has a clear plan that shows what pupils need to learn and when. For example, in painting, younger pupils explore colour mixing. Older pupils use a range of painting techniques to create more detailed pieces of work. As a result, pupils produce high-quality artwork which is displayed around the school. The leader uses her expertise to teach all age groups and supports the work of other staff.

p.2

2

In mathematics, pupils use previous learning to help them understand new topics. For example, pupils told us that they had to remember how to do column subtraction in order to do the task they were working on. Teachers continually check pupils’ progress through the mathematics curriculum. If pupils fall behind, good-quality support helps them to catch up. Most pupils achieve the expected standard by the end of key stage 2.

p.2

2

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive personalised support from adults. They access the same curriculum as everyone else. Parents of pupils with SEND commented positively on recent changes to SEND provision.

p.2

2

Children settle well into the early years. They are well cared for by adults. They settle quickly into school routines. Adults use stimulating learning areas to develop children’s skills and knowledge. Children read, write and practise their numbers every day. This ensures that children are well prepared for their learning in Year 1.

p.2

2

Pupils’ personal development is promoted well. They take part in many sports. They know how to keep themselves healthy through physical exercise and eating the right food. Older pupils run a tuck shop. They promote healthy eating to other pupils. They make healthy food, like bread and overnight oats, to sell alongside fruit and vegetables.

p.2

2

Governors have successfully managed a period of instability in the school’s leadership team. They are supportive of the new headteacher and her ambitions for the school. Staff are proud to work at the school. They know that the headteacher cares about their workloads and well-being.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.2

Safeguarding

Leaders check carefully on the suitability of adults to work with pupils. Staff understand the risks that pupils may face, and are vigilant. They know pupils and their families very well. Staff have been well trained to spot the signs of abuse, and know who to tell if they 11 December 2019

p.2

3

Leaders teach pupils how to stay safe through a well-planned programme of activities. Pupils feel confident about sharing any worries with staff. Pupils know how to use the internet safely.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Until recently, the curriculum was not coherently planned and sequenced in a minority of subjects, such as geography and history. In these subjects, pupils’ learning did not always build on what they knew or remembered. Leaders should ensure that recent improvements to plans become embedded so that they match the strong practice seen in art and design. This will enable pupils to know and remember more in all subjects. Ofsted’s transition arrangements were used in this inspection to confirm that pupils benefit from a good quality of education.

p.3

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.

p.3

Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School to be good on 19–20 May 2015.

p.3

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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

p.3

4

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

4

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. 11 December 2019

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10087700 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Website www.stjosephs- catholicprimaryfrizington.co.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 May 2015

p.5

Information about this school

 A new headteacher was appointed in September 2019.  The school is a Catholic voluntary aided school. It is part of the Diocese of Lancaster. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on 7 June 2016.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher.  We met with three representatives of the governing body and one representative from the local authority.  We considered reading, mathematics, and art and design as part of the inspection. We interviewed curriculum leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited lessons and talked to teachers and support staff about their work. We observed pupils reading, looked at pupils’ work in books and talked to them about their learning.  We spoke to several parents at the start of the school day. The views of 14 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered.  We considered the views of staff through Ofsted’s survey. 11 December 2019

p.5

6

 We talked to groups of pupils to seek their views about what it is like to attend the school. No pupils responded to Ofsted’s online survey.

p.6

Inspection team

Garry White, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Ian Hardman Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 December 2019

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

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 .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7