St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School Etherow Street, Dulwich, London SE22 0LA

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 November 2021

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils really enjoy their learning in this school. The appreciate the positive relationships that they have with adults. Pupils talked about the school values of consideration, achievement, respect and effort. Staff reward pupils regularly when they live up to these values. Pupils also recognise each other on their ‘class board’. Staff introduced this following the ‘one kind word’ initiative in anti-bullying week. Leaders rewarded all pupils recently to recognise their resilience and hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and value their school community. They are polite and courteous to each other. Pupils are considerate of the feelings of others. They know that bullying is not tolerated. Staff respond swiftly if pupils have any concerns about this. Staff are ambitious for all pupils and have high expectations of them. They refer to no ‘glass ceilings’ in their classrooms. Staff check that pupils have the right support strategies to help with their learning. This helps to ensure that pupils can meet the high expectations set of them. Pupils are enthusiastic and interested in their learning. They have access to a broad range of experiences. Leaders have focused on the development of the whole child.

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

Reading is enjoyed and celebrated across the school, leaders and teachers prioritise it. Those who teach reading are knowledgeable and confident. They follow a well-planned phonics programme. This begins from the early years. Staff match books carefully to the sounds that pupils know. Teachers respond effectively to those pupils who are falling behind and provide effective intervention allowing pupils to catch-up quickly. All pupils have new learning introduced at the same time. Pupils who need additional support receive intervention activities within the classroom. Older pupils speak confidently about the books that they are reading.

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

Teachers follow a well-planned mathematics curriculum. The key information that pupils need to know is clearly identified. This helps staff to build on pupils’ prior learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 completing work on ratio could link their understanding back to 24 and 25 November 2021

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work done on simple and complex fractions and integers. This prior knowledge supports pupils in their current learning. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps. In the early years, children become familiar with numbers through various activities. Staff plan purposeful tasks for children to learn basic mathematical skills. Careful planning means there is a smooth transition between the early years and Year 1.

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Pupils study a broad range of subjects. These include subjects such as French, history, geography, art and music. The aims and objectives of these subjects are clear. Leaders speak about how learning in the early years feeds into Year 1. For example, in history pupils study celebration as part of their early years learning. This then links to their first unit in Year 1 which is on the Notting Hill Carnival. However, the key content that pupils need to know is not always clearly identified. As a consequence, pupils are not building their subject understanding over time.

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Pupils enjoy their learning and behave well in lessons. Teachers know the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and make sure that they can access the curriculum. The ambitions of the curriculum remain the same. Pupils with SEND achieve as highly as other pupils.

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Leaders have put careful thought into supporting pupils with gaps in their knowledge due to COVID-19. Teachers ensure that missed learning builds into current learning. For example, in mathematics, pupils revised volume and estimation to support more challenging work on mass and capacity.

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Teachers use the school’s assessment routines effectively in English and mathematics. However, assessment strategies in other subjects need more thought. Pupils are not always clear about their next steps in these areas.

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Teachers feel valued by leaders. They appreciate leaders’ efforts to reduce workload. Staff are proud to be a part of the school community.

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Pupils appreciate the opportunities to learn about the world around them. For example, pupils drew poppies for a display on Remembrance Sunday. They understood the importance of remembrance and explained what it meant to them. Year 6 pupils built on this work by completing artwork inspired by Charles Mackesy on the theme of remembrance. Leaders have consulted with parents about pupils’ relationships, sex and health education. Pupils are taught about healthy relationships and the differences between people, such as different religious beliefs and backgrounds.

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Pupils have a wide variety of opportunities outside of lessons to choose from. Many take part in after-school activities such as dodgeball, Spanish and gymnastics.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know their pupils very well and are aware of their needs. Staff have recently focused on mental health. Pupils could talk about the work that they had done on 24 and 25 November 2021

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managing stress. Pupils feel nurtured and supported in school. They are confident about how to keep safe online. The school makes use of other agencies when required.

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Staff are knowledgeable about how to report any concerns that they may have. They know to report anything they notice that might indicate a pupil is at risk, even if it may seem small. Staff could speak clearly about the training they had received and how it impacted their practice.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, curriculum planning and assessment are not as effective as in English and mathematics. Plans do not clearly identify and carefully sequence the component knowledge pupils need. Assessment is not always used to find out exactly what pupils know. This means that pupils do not build up their knowledge and skills as well as in English and mathematics. Leaders’ plans to improve this have been interrupted by COVID-19. For this reason, the transition statements have been applied. Leaders should ensure that all curriculum plans are carefully designed and that assessment is used effectively in all subjects.

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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, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted 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. 24 and 25 November 2021

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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. 24 and 25 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200370 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 Rachel Stenfalt and Paul Taylor

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher has been in post since September 2018.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.  The school is a Catholic primary school and had its most recent section 48 inspection on 13 June 2017.  The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspector spoke to the headteacher and the senior leadership team.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 24 and 25 November 2021

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 The inspector also looked at other curriculum plans and spoke to the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising records and through discussions with leaders, staff and pupils.  The views of pupils, parents and staff were considered. These were gathered through discussions and responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Sophie Healey-Welch, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 24 and 25 November 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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