Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Suzanne Walker Sacred Heart RC Primary School Knutsford Road Gorton Manchester M18 7NJ

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Subject inspection of Sacred Heart RC Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 5 March 2020, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. The findings do not change the overall effectiveness judgement of outstanding from the last section 5 inspection.

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Subject inspection of Sacred Heart RC Primary School

This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for a no formal designation inspection of schools. The inspection was carried out to enable Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector to better understand the quality of education in specific subjects provided by outstanding primary schools. The subject in focus was languages.

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Main findings

Spanish has been an important part of the curriculum at your school for several years. Current pupils in Year 6 have been studying Spanish since they started Year 3. All key stage 2 pupils have a 30-minute Spanish lesson each week. This includes pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Spanish teaching is coordinated by a specialist who is a native speaker.

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Main findings

Curriculum plans are well sequenced and logical. They help class teachers to know what Spanish to teach pupils and in what order. This is particularly the case for vocabulary and grammar. Pupils study a wide range of different topics in Spanish during their time at school. The specialist teacher has a strong understanding of what progress looks like in languages. Curriculum plans are ambitious. They match the ambition of the national curriculum in several aspects. Specifically, simple grammar and the development of more complex sentence structures are well planned. Planning is less precise around the differences between English and Spanish spelling. As a result, pupils do not always know how words should be pronounced.

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Main findings

Although curriculum planning is clear and precise, pupils are not keeping up. Pupils do not remember the vocabulary or the grammar that they have been taught in lessons. They do not, therefore, build on their knowledge over time. They become confused when the lesson content becomes more complicated. Your leaders do not check on how effectively the Spanish curriculum is delivered.

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Main findings

Consequently, pupils are only able to recall some random nouns and simple words, such as numbers and colours. They can participate only in a few rehearsed question and answer exchanges. With support, they can write simple paragraphs. This is done as a ‘cut and paste’ activity. However, pupils have little understanding of Spanish sentence structure. Pupils do not keep up with the ambition of the curriculum.

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Main findings

Pupils do not have their own books or vocabulary records, except in Year 6. This is making it hard for pupils to know what they are supposed to remember. Class teachers do not routinely practise Spanish during the week to help to embed vocabulary in pupils’ minds.

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Main findings

You are aware that there is still some work to do as far as Spanish is concerned. A senior colleague from another school is spending two weeks with you as part of her own professional development. Her project is to support your plans to develop the Spanish curriculum. This was a strategic move.

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Main findings

The languages development plan is closely aligned to whole-school improvement planning. As part of your monitoring of the curriculum, you take pupils’ views of the subject into consideration. Plans for professional development in Spanish are in place. You are in a strong position to continue to develop Spanish at school.

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Evidence

I met with you to discuss the place of languages in the curriculum. I also met with your deputy headteacher, your acting assistant headteacher and your teacher of Spanish. I visited Spanish lessons in Year 4 and Year 5. I looked at the work that pupils produce in Spanish, including from the lessons that I visited. I spoke with two groups of pupils from the lessons that I visited about their learning in Spanish. I evaluated the curriculum plans for Spanish. I spoke about the curriculum with the Spanish teacher whose lessons I visited.

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Context

Sacred Heart RC Primary School is a larger than average primary school. There are currently 315 pupils on roll. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to free school meals is above average. The proportion of pupils with SEND, including pupils with education, health and care plans, is above average.

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Context

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Salford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Manchester. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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