St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Coppull

Inspection of a good school: St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, Coppull Spendmore Lane, Coppull, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 5DH

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Outcome

St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, Coppull, continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school is a calm and caring place in which to learn. The environment that leaders have created embodies the school’s Christian values. Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they enjoy attending school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that teachers expect them to work hard in lessons. They said that they like the changes that have happened in some subjects, such as mathematics, that make learning interesting and challenging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They are polite, courteous and show respect for each other and adults. They play happily with their friends. Pupils said that staff listen to them and help them to sort out any worries or concerns. They know staff will help them to resolve any arguments between friends. Pupils are confident that staff would stop any bullying if such incidents occurred.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions, pupils enjoyed a variety of sporting clubs. Plans are in place to reintroduce these shortly. Meanwhile, pupils enjoy ‘feel good Fridays’, when everyone can take part in exciting activities, such as farm visits and wall climbing challenges. These activities help to develop pupils’ resilience, teamwork and confidence.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers think highly of the care and education that their children receive.

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

Although pupils typically achieve well, leaders recognised that the curriculum did not always allow pupils to systematically develop their knowledge over time. This has led to a review of curriculum planning. Leaders have forged ahead in some subjects. For example, the curriculum plans for English, mathematics and physical education (PE) clearly set out the 22 June 2021

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content that pupils should learn and the order in which it should be taught. For instance, in PE, pupils build on their movement and gymnastic skills from early years to Year 6. However, not all subjects are planned with the same precise detail. At times, this prevents pupils from gaining the key knowledge that they need to have before they move on to new ideas.

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Leaders have ensured that teaching pupils to become fluent and confident readers is a priority. Recent changes in the approach to teaching phonics in the early years have been embraced by well-trained staff. This ensures that children in the Reception Year get off to a good start in learning the sounds that letters represent. Pupils in key stage 1 enjoy reading books that are closely matched to the sounds that they have learned. Leaders take swift action to support any pupils who are struggling to read. This helps them to catch up quickly. Most pupils in key stage 2 are keen readers. They talk confidently about the types of books they like to read and their favourite authors.

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Training for staff has ensured that they have up-to-date subject knowledge to teach many areas of the curriculum. Leaders and teachers know how well pupils are achieving. They use this information well to make appropriate amendments to the curriculum and to revisit subject content to help pupils remember what they have learned. For instance, in mathematics, teachers routinely practise multiplication tables to enhance pupils’ fluency in mental arithmetic.

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Pupils, including children in early years, rarely experience any disruption in lessons due to poor behaviour. Well-established routines ensure that the school is a calm and purposeful environment. Leaders have appropriate strategies in place to help the few pupils who find engaging in learning more difficult to get the help that they need.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well, so that they can learn alongside their peers. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) carefully ensures that these pupils receive extra help when it is needed. The SENCo works with teachers to help them adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. As a result, these pupils achieve well.

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Prior to the start of the pandemic, pupils had access to a wide range of clubs, trips and visitors, such as local fire and police officers. These activities supported pupils’ personal development well. Leaders have plans to safely resume these activities at the start of the new academic year.

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Governors know the school’s strengths and the priorities for development. They are also fully aware of the impact that the pandemic has had on the school’s staff and pupils. Governors act as a critical friend, providing support and challenge to leaders in equal measure. They use their professional knowledge effectively to hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions.

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Staff share leaders’ ambitions for all pupils to succeed. Staff are proud to work at the school and morale is high. They appreciate how leaders carefully consider staff’s workload and well-being when planning activities to further improve the school. 22 June 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Up-to-date training ensures that all staff and governors are knowledgeable about the potential risks to pupils’ safety and well-being. Staff are vigilant. They know the appropriate actions to take if they have concerns about any pupil. Leaders act appropriately on concerns, working in partnership with parents to ensure that pupils and their families receive the help that they need.

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Safeguarding

Governors have established an appropriate system to filter and monitor the use of the school’s internet connection. Leaders use this well to check on any suspicious activities to help prevent pupils from coming to harm when they are learning online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some curriculum plans do not clearly define what leaders expect pupils to know and when they should know it. This hinders pupils from building on their learning as they move through topics and year groups. Leaders should complete their review of curriculum planning for all subjects. This will enable teachers to systematically teach the knowledge that pupils need to progress through the curriculum.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The transition arrangements were used on this inspection to confirm that pupils benefit from a good-quality education.

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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 or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2016. 22 June 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Parent View 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. 22 June 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Elizabeth Somers

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School details

Website http://www.st-oswalds.lancs.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 June 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there has been considerable change to the governing body, including the appointment of a new chair.  There have been significant staff changes since the last inspection. A new headteacher took up his post at the school in January 2021. An acting executive headteacher oversaw the school on a part-time basis for one term from September 2020. A new SENCo has been appointed recently.  This is a Catholic school. The last section 48 inspection to evaluate the school’s Christian religious character, carried out by the Archdiocese of Liverpool, was in June 2019. There is currently no planned date for the next section 48 inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, inspectors spoke with pupils about their work and school life. They spoke with the chair of governors and four members of the governing body. They 22 June 2021

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also spoke with the headteacher, SENCo and school bursar. Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation related to the work of the school, and scrutinised documentation relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors held telephone conversations with representatives of the local authority and the Archdiocese of Liverpool.  Inspectors considered the 37 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 35 free-text comments. They also spoke with parents at the start of the school day. They considered the 10 responses to the staff survey and the 85 responses to the pupil survey. An inspector also held a telephone conversation with a parent.  During the inspection, inspectors conducted deep dives in early reading, mathematics and PE. They met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and spoke to pupils about their learning. They also looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.

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Inspection team

John Nixon, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janette Walker Her Majesty’s Inspector 22 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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