St Wulstan's and St Edmund's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

Inspection of St Wulstan’s and St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery Poulton Road, Fleetwood, Lancashire FY7 7JY

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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 Previous inspection grade Requires improvement Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff make this a friendly and welcoming school. Staff and pupils treat each other with kindness and respect. The pupils that we spoke to told us that bullying is rare. Parents and carers as well as school records support this view. Pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The vast majority of pupils and their parents are glowing about the impact of the headteacher. Pupils told us how behaviour has improved in lessons and during breaks. Following a series of different headteachers, one parent commented that ‘the stability is now there which was previously missing’. Many families share this view.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In recent years, not enough pupils have achieved as well as they should in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6. This is because the curriculum was not planned well enough. Pupils are enthusiastic learners. They say that teachers make learning fun. Pupils know that teachers want them to do well. Pupils enjoy the wide range of books and stories that teachers share with them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to contribute to school life. Older pupils take on a wide range of leadership roles in the school. Pupils enjoy the range of clubs such as choir and sports. They develop as caring and thoughtful individuals.

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better?

The school has undergone changes in staffing in the last 18 months. This means that some subject leaders are new to their roles. The headteacher and the local authority have provided training. This has enabled staff to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to lead subjects across the curriculum. Leaders are developing ways to check that the curriculum is effective in helping pupils know more and remember more.

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better?

The headteacher has provided strong leadership in early years. Following a dip in the proportion of children ready for Year 1 in 2019, children are now achieving well in the Reception class. They develop their skills across different areas of learning. Adults introduce new words to children. For example, staff modelled the appropriate use of ‘longer’ and ‘shorter’ when playing with equipment outdoors. Across the school, teachers revisit new vocabulary with pupils to help them to remember what they have learned.

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better?

Leaders make sure that pupils read with an adult often. The proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the phonics screening check was below the national figure in 2019. Pupils falling behind in their reading are now given a range of effective support to help them catch up. This is recent, but there is evidence of rapid improvement. Teaching builds on the letters and sounds that pupils already know. In Reception and Year 1, leaders now ensure that pupils’ reading books match the sounds that they are learning. This is improving pupils’ progress in early Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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reading. Leaders provide training for teachers and teaching assistants. There is now a consistent approach when teaching phonics. This begins in the Reception class. Leaders need to check that the recent changes in the approach to reading are sustained so that more pupils develop a love of reading.

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Leaders have recently revised curriculum plans. These plans set out the learning that they want pupils to know, remember and use in their future learning. In recent years, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been much lower than that of other pupils nationally by the time they leave Year 6. Teachers’ planning in these subjects is reversing this trend. In some subjects other than English and mathematics, teachers’ planning lacks details about how pupils will develop their learning over time. Staff are working together to further improve plans in these subjects.

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The headteacher works with staff to identify those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders provide staff with training, so that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum. Several pupils need intense support in building their resilience for learning. These pupils access the nurture group before joining other pupils in their class. Staff work with a raft of external agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND get the support that they need.

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Leaders ensure that there is effective provision for pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. For example, pupils learn about a range of faiths, including Islam and Hinduism. Pupils were clear that discrimination is not acceptable. Leaders plan a range of visits to museums and places of interest. Staff create memorable experiences for pupils. Pupils talked about the thrill of competing in a dance competition at Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

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Pupils are polite. They behave well in lessons, so everyone can learn. They move around the school calmly. Members of the school council worked with leaders to improve the equipment available during breaks and lunchtimes. Pupils know how staff expect them to behave. From Reception, children listen carefully to adults’ instructions.

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Pupils enjoy school life. Attendance has reflected the national average, and is improving. The need for exclusions is declining. The family support worker helps pupils and their families to access the help that they need.

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Governors know the school well. They share the headteacher’s vision to further develop the curriculum. Governors use their skills to provide regular challenge and support for leaders. However, governors do not have a systematic approach to checking how well the school is doing compared to other schools nationally.

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Leaders place a high priority on staff well-being. Staff are unanimous in reporting that they feel valued by leaders. Teachers appreciate how the headteacher has taken steps to reduce their workload. Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders give staff regular training and updates. This means everyone knows how to check for signs that a pupil may be at risk. Leaders and staff take the right actions when necessary. Staff work closely with external agencies and professionals. This helps pupils get the support that they need. Leaders make the relevant checks on staff and visitors to ensure that they pose no threat to pupils’ safety and well-being.

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Safeguarding

Staff teach pupils about the risks that they might face in their everyday lives, including when using technology. Pupils know who to go to if they are worried about anything.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 By the time they leave Year 6, pupils’ attainment in reading has been weak. Leaders need to pay close attention to ensuring that the recent improvements made in how reading is taught are sustained. This is so that more pupils develop a genuine love of reading and achieve well.  Many subject leaders are new to their roles. Senior leaders are planning further training for subject leaders to develop expertise in their areas of responsibility. Clarity is needed around the responsibilities of senior leaders and those of subject leaders in checking how well pupils are progressing through the intended curriculum.  Foundation subject leaders have planned the learning in their areas of responsibility for the first year of a two-year cycle. Their planning needs to be completed so that checks can be made to ensure that the requirements of the national curriculum are being fully met. This is to ensure that pupils are fully

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

prepared for the next stage in their education.  Governors do not have a systematic approach to checking the effectiveness of the school’s curriculum. This means they cannot check how well the school is doing compared to other schools nationally. Governors need to develop the skills to assess how well pupils are achieving.

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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. Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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

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If you are the school and you are 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. Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121981 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 Steve McLaughlin

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School details

Website http://www.st-wulstans- rc12.lancsngfl.ac.uk Date of previous inspection 18 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Over several years, numerous headteachers have led this school. The present headteacher, who was appointed in September 2018, has brought much-needed stability.  In recent years, many pupils experienced disruption to learning due to instability in staffing across several year groups. This is no longer the case.  The last section 48 inspection was on 27 February 2019.

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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 and other members of the senior leadership team.  We held meetings with five members of the governing body.  We checked the safeguarding policies and procedures and the single central record. We met with leaders, staff and pupils to check how effective safeguarding is in the school. Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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 We met with parents at the school gate to seek their views. We also considered the responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, including free-text responses.  We also spoke to staff to seek their views of the school. We considered the responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff.  We spoke with a representative from the local authority.  We examined a range of documents. These included minutes of the governing body meetings and safeguarding documentation. We met with leaders, staff and pupils to check how effective safeguarding is in the school.  During the inspection, we spoke with pupils informally and in meetings. We observed lunchtime.  We considered reading, writing, mathematics and history as part of this inspection. For each of these subjects, inspection activities included discussions with leaders, visits to lessons, discussions with teachers, scrutiny of pupils’ work

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and discussions with pupils about their learning. In reading, we also observed members of staff listening to pupils read.  We scrutinised the work of pupils with SEND in subjects across the curriculum.

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Shutt Ofsted Inspector Nursery 11–12 February 2020

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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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