St Lawrence Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Lawrence Catholic Primary School High Street, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 4FH

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 January 2022

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Outcome

St Lawrence Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at St Lawrence Catholic Primary School. Their teachers are kind and caring. A parent said, reflecting the view of many, ‘It is like dropping our children off with family each day.’ Pupils are proud of their school and its facilities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined that all pupils achieve well and access a wide range of opportunities. Teachers provide after-school clubs, including cooking, sewing, choir and percussion. Every teacher in the school is involved with at least one club. Pupils are also able to try alternative sports not covered within the curriculum, such as table tennis and boccia.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take a lead on many aspects of school life. The ‘Little Larries’ tend to the prayer garden. They help to weed the flower beds and make sure it is kept neat and tidy. Other responsibilities include sorting donations of food and clothing for local families. Each class has a digital ambassador. These work alongside the computing staff leader to ensure everyone uses technology safely.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is very strong. They are polite and courteous to each other in lessons and the playground. Poor behaviour or bullying rarely happens, but pupils explained how it would be sorted if it occurred.

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

Leaders have developed a curriculum which helps pupils to learn knowledge in a logical order. Their intention is for pupils to leave school with the knowledge and skills to ‘be successful in an ever-changing world’. Curriculum plans provide regular opportunities for pupils to revisit and deepen key learning. For example, in computing, pupils in Year 2 learn how to input simple data into cells on a spreadsheet. In Year 3, they learn how to add notations, and in Year 4, they manipulate spreadsheet data using formulas. In early mathematics, teachers focus on helping pupils to count and learn key number facts. For instance, in the Reception Year, pupils count to four and represent four cubes in different patterns. This helps pupils recognise all the different ways the quantity four can be 11 and 12 January 2022

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formed. In Nursery, the classroom is organised to give pupils lots of opportunity to explore numbers. Key mathematical language like ‘less’, ‘many’ and ‘more’ are displayed and referred to.

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Leaders support teachers with their own subject knowledge. Teachers are consequently clear on how learning builds and what they are preparing pupils for next. Most pupils learn English as an additional language. This sometimes means vocabulary is a barrier for pupils when applying new knowledge. For instance, in mathematics, pupils in Year 2 needed to understand the word ‘pair’ to use their knowledge of division. Teachers check what pupils remember during lessons and revisit previous learning at the start of each session. If pupils fall behind, additional support helps them to fill gaps in learning.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified early. Leaders liaise swiftly with external agencies to ensure pupils are assessed and access the support they need. Leaders have employed their own speech and language and occupational therapists to help staff support pupils with SEND. This has meant pupils with SEND successfully access the same curriculum as their peers.

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Leaders train all staff to teach phonics well. Pupils start learning sounds from the beginning of the Reception Year. They learn sounds systematically and quickly apply this knowledge to reading words in books. Teachers and staff help pupils to catch up through additional phonics lessons. By the end of Year 2, all pupils read fluently.

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Leaders recently purchased new reading books. These books help pupils read with fluency and confidence as they can be accurately matched to the sounds pupils learn. However, a small number of staff are less skilled in selecting the right books for pupils.

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Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is positive. They are engaged across all areas of the curriculum. Low-level disruption is rare. This means that pupils achieve well in all subjects, as the curriculum is taught effectively without distraction.

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Pupils learn about different religions and respect difference in many ways. For example, they learn about different types of family. The school’s motto and ethos are centred around being kind. Leaders and staff teach pupils to share with those less fortunate. Pupils show kindness through their actions.

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Staff are positive about support received from leaders and governors for their well-being. They said leaders helped reduce workload in a number of ways.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure pupils are safe. All staff understand and act on the latest safeguarding guidance. This is because leaders provide regular training. All staff know to be vigilant for changes in pupils’ behaviour, for example, as this may indicate a child needs help. 11 and 12 January 2022

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Pupils learn about potential dangers inside and outside of school. They know how to stay safe travelling between home and school. They also learn about fake news and how to stay safe online.

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Leaders work alongside local safeguarding partners and external agencies. They secure any additional help pupils may need.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Although the school has invested in new texts, in a small number of cases, pupils at the early stages of learning to read are not given books that closely match the sounds they have learned. This makes it difficult for them to build their confidence and read fluently. Leaders should make sure that, when learning to read, all pupils read books that are carefully chosen to match the phonics they know.

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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 January 2013.

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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.

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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. 11 and 12 January 2022

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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. 11 and 12 January 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211443 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 February 2017, 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 2017.  A new building is currently being constructed on site. This will provide four new classrooms to replace older accommodation.

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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.  During the inspection, the inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and class teachers.  The inspector held meetings with the chair and vice chair of the governing body. She also held telephone calls with representatives from the local authority and the diocese.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and computing. 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. 11 and 12 January 2022

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 The inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding policies and practices, including safeguarding checks on staff. She talked with staff and pupils about the school’s safeguarding culture.  Responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and parents were also considered.

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Inspection team

Alison Colenso, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 January 2022

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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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