Saint Augustine Webster Catholic Voluntary Academy

Inspection of Saint Augustine Webster Catholic Voluntary Academy Baildon Road, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, DN15 8BU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Inadequate 9–10 June 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an improving school. Pupils feel safe and say that they are well supported by the adults that work with and care for them. Pupils told inspectors that bullying rarely ever happens but that it is dealt with quickly if it does.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers support pupils to be responsible and respectful members of society. There is a strong, inclusive ethos. Pupils are accepting of differences. One pupil said, ‘It doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Everybody should be treated with respect.’ Leaders have created a strong culture of care and support. Pupils who struggle with their behaviour get the help they need. Saint Augustine Webster is an inclusive school to attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults deal with disruptive behaviour with increased consistency. Pupils are clear about what is expected of them and they are rising to staff’s raised expectations. As a result, behaviour in lessons is calm and settled. However, at other times in the school day, such as playtimes, the behaviour of some older pupils can become quite boisterous.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning and the challenges that teachers set them.

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better?

Leaders have acted quickly to make the necessary improvements to the curriculum. Leaders know the barriers to learning that pupils face. As a result, new curriculum plans have been introduced in subjects such as science, computing and history. These plans are bringing much improved sequencing and progression to pupils’ learning. Leaders have structured learning carefully in these subjects so that new vocabulary does not overload pupils’ memory. Leaders ensure that the curriculum contains more opportunities to revise and revisit previous learning. This is helping knowledge to stick.

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better?

Leaders’ plans to develop subject leaders have been adversely affected by COVID-19 (coronavirus). The training that leaders had planned was halted and so subject leaders have not yet been able to monitor their curriculum plans in enough detail. More recently, leaders have begun to use evidence from pupils’ work to understand how and what pupils are remembering. Leaders are developing their plans to assess what pupils know and can do in all areas of the curriculum. In subjects such as mathematics, these plans are further along. In other subjects such as history, plans are very new and not yet embedded. A lack of assessment information combined with limited subject monitoring means that subject leaders are not clear about the impact of the curriculum in their subject.

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better?

Leaders have identified language as a barrier to learning for many pupils. As a result, the newly introduced curriculum plans have a clear focus on teaching new vocabulary. Recently introduced initiatives such as ‘knowledge notes’ are helping 9–10 June 2021

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pupils to becoming familiar with subject-specific vocabulary. However, this is inconsistent across the curriculum. In reading, for example, adults do not explain words with the accuracy required to help pupils understand what they mean. Opportunities to develop pupils’ vocabulary are regularly missed.

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Reading and phonics remain a high priority for the school. Leaders have reorganised reading books so that they are more accurately matched to the sounds that pupils know. Teachers and teaching assistants have received recent training on leaders’ chosen phonics programme. However, not all adults have the phonics knowledge and skills needed to support pupils effectively.

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The newly created inclusion team is improving the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have brought together staff expertise in behaviour, speech and language, and social and emotional needs. Extra support is given to the pupils that need it and this is helping them to access the curriculum. Leaders have started to improve communication between home and school. Parents of pupils with education, health and care plans now receive weekly updates about their child’s progress. Leaders are drawing on the support of an experienced special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) from another school to develop target-setting for pupils with SEND. However, current targets are not precise enough and they are not checked with the rigour required.

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Pupils speak with confidence about the fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, and tolerance. When discussing these themes with an inspector one pupil said, ‘It doesn’t matter what colour you are or what belief you hold, all that matters is your heart, you need to have a kind heart.’ Leaders make adjustments to ensure that pupils of all religions and beliefs feel fully included during classroom prayers. Leaders’ response to COVID-19 has limited some of the wider opportunities that pupils usually receive. Important roles, such as the pupil school council, have also stopped. Pupils would like greater opportunities to contribute to the life of the school.

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The early years leader has developed the curriculum around themes such as festivals and special days. Leaders use books to engage children with their learning. Reading and sharing stories has a high profile in the early years classroom. Leaders ensure that mathematics and phonics are taught to pupils every day. Teaching is focused on what children need to learn. Leaders in the early years use the same approach to teaching mathematics as the rest of the school. However, when adults are supporting children they are not effectively expanding children’s vocabulary. Adults do not consistently use and model the language that children need to learn. This means that children are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they could be.

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Leaders are working closely with the local authority, trustees and partner schools to bring about improvements. The Catholic Life and Strategic Standards Board (CLSSB) provides appropriate challenge to leaders during meetings and visits to the school. New trust leaders have joined the board to increase its capacity and bring specialist knowledge on topics such as safeguarding and the curriculum. 9–10 June 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There has been close collaboration between the trust, local authority and school leaders to ensure that arrangements for safeguarding have improved significantly. Two safeguarding reviews have been conducted by the local authority in this academic year. Leaders have addressed the actions identified at these reviews.

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Safeguarding

All staff record incidents thoroughly and in a timely way. Staff are confident in identifying and reporting concerns if they have them.

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Safeguarding

All staff now receive the training they need to keep children safe.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding has a high profile in school. Pupils who may be at risk are being supported effectively by leaders and specialist outside agencies.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some adults do not have the skills to support pupils in the early stages of reading with the precision required. This means that, although phonics teaching overall has improved, some pupils do not get off to as good a start in reading as they could. Leaders should ensure that all staff are appropriately trained so that they have the phonics knowledge to effectively support pupils who are in the early stages of reading.  Although systems to support pupils with SEND have improved, the monitoring of targets for pupils with SEND is not yet rigorous enough. Leaders need to ensure that all pupils with SEND are accurately identified, targets are well matched and that they are monitored with rigour so that the impact on pupils’ outcomes can be accurately measured.  Despite leaders having plans to strengthen subject leadership, COVID-19 has hindered leaders’ training in this area. Subject leaders do not have a clear enough

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

view of the effectiveness of the curriculum in their subjects. Leaders need to embed and improve assessment in all areas of the curriculum so that gaps in pupils’ learning are identified and addressed.  Plans to rapidly increase pupils’ vocabulary development are not consistently implemented across the school. Pupils’ vocabulary is therefore more limited in some areas than others. Leaders should ensure that new vocabulary is taught with greater accuracy and more consistency in all subjects and all year groups. 9–10 June 2021

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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 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 here .

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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. 9–10 June 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10184624 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority Catholic Life and Strategic Standards Board Chair of the governing body Mrs Moira Dales

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 March 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school became a member of the St Thérèse of Lisieux Catholic Multi-Academy Trust in September 2018.  A new headteacher joined the school in September 2020.  The trust’s senior director of performance and standards is currently the chair of the CLSSB.  Leaders were dealing with higher than usual staff absence at the time of this inspection.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.  All pupils have experienced repeated ‘bubble’ closures, caused by COVID-19.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. Inspectors deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act. 9–10 June 2021

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This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school, and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

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In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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 Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, assistant headteacher and acting deputy headteacher. Inspectors met with the acting SENCo and members of the inclusion team.  Inspectors looked in detail at reading, mathematics, science, computing and history. Inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ books and talked to pupils and teachers. Curriculum leaders were involved in the activities with inspectors.  Inspectors listened to pupils read to a familiar adult and visited phonics lessons.  Inspectors met with the chief executive officer of the St Thérèse of Lisieux Catholic Multi-Academy Trust and the senior director of performance and standards.  Inspectors met with representatives of the CLSSB, including the committee member with responsibility for safeguarding.  Inspectors spoke with a selection of parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors considered the 28 responses that were received through Ofsted’s

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Parent View questionnaire as well as the 17 free-text responses. Inspectors also considered the 22 responses that were received through the Ofsted staff questionnaire.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during lesson visits, at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors scrutinised the school’s safeguarding documentation and behaviour and attendance information.  Inspectors held a telephone interview with the local authority school improvement officer.

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Carl Sugden Ofsted Inspector 9–10 June 2021

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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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