Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Holy Family Catholic Primary School Kirton Lane, Stainforth, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN7 5BL

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Outcome

Holy Family Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Holy Family Catholic Primary School, pupils and staff live out their mission statement of ‘Learning together, playing together, praying together.’ Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are polite, courteous and welcoming. There is a calm and purposeful working atmosphere throughout the school. Leaders set high expectations for pupils, both academically and socially. Pupils enjoy their learning and achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are excited to come to school. They are happy and feel safe. Pupils understand and respond well to the consistent use of rewards and sanctions. Staff deal with the very rare occasions of inappropriate behaviour swiftly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders empower pupils to be active citizens. Most recently, pupils have raised money for their chosen local charity. Leaders provide a wide range of responsibilities which help develop pupils’ leadership skills effectively. Pupils benefit from fulfilling roles of responsibility, such as the head and deputy head boy and girl, on the school council or as senior prefects, who are in charge of the prefects and buddies.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The pupils experience a wide range of enriching educational activities. For example, during the inspection pupils visited a mosque and a Sikh temple. These educational visits develop pupils’ learning about world faiths extremely well.

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

Leaders have implemented a well-planned, ambitious curriculum. Curriculum planning clearly sets out the knowledge, skills and vocabulary leaders expect pupils to learn in each subject throughout the school. Leaders invest heavily in high-quality training for teachers and teaching assistants. Staff have an expert understanding of teaching phonics, mathematics and history. During lessons, staff are quick to correct any pupil 7 and 8 June 2022

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misconceptions. Teachers and leaders check gaps in pupils’ knowledge and ensure that they are addressed. Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to revisit previous learning. For example, each mathematics lesson starts with a ‘fluency’ section in which pupils use their prior learning. Pupils recall many previous topics in detail. For example, in history, pupils in Year 2 enthusiastically recalled their learning about the Great Fire of London in Year 1. Staff in the early years communicate well with children. They extend pupils’ vocabulary effectively. For example, children use appropriate vocabulary to describe their learning in mathematics. Staff provide purposeful and exciting activities to engage children in learning successfully.

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Pupils are extremely well behaved. They display excellent attitudes to learning. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, older pupils look after younger pupils with great care. The pupil sports leaders provide a range of activities which keep pupils busy and active during breaktimes.

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Taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Many are absent because of holidays taken in term time. These pupils miss out on too much learning. Leaders take effective action to encourage pupils’ regular attendance. For example, staff successfully seek sponsorship from local businesses to provide high-quality raffle prizes to reward pupils who attend regularly.

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Teachers and support staff have strong expertise in teaching early reading. They use the phonics scheme with great consistency. Books and activities are closely matched to the phonics needs of the pupils. Pupils have a secure knowledge of phonics. They read accurately. When pupils need to catch up, they quickly receive the additional help they require. Reading has a high priority in the school. The pupil ‘reading leadership team’ meets fortnightly to plan ways to enhance reading activity in school. Activities such as ‘bookswap’ and ‘reading battles’ have a significant impact on pupils’ engagement with reading. Leaders also encourage pupils to read regularly by giving out various rewards, such as weekly trophies.

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The highly skilled and knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works with class teachers to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The effective plans that are put in place set out the precise support that pupils with SEND need. Staff have high expectations for pupils with SEND. Teachers include these pupils within lessons well. Pupils with SEND make strong progress towards their targets.

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Leaders have thoroughly and carefully planned all subjects in the wider curriculum. Pupils have regular relationships and sex education lessons. Topics cover aspects of religious understanding, personal well-being, relationships and keeping safe. Pupils have a thorough knowledge of these topics, including an understanding of the risks they may face both online and offline. Many pupils attend the wide range of after-school clubs on offer, such as sports and drama.

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Trustees have a deep knowledge of the school. They ensure that the school is well led and managed. Leaders at all levels appreciate the support and guidance they receive. Leaders and staff feel highly valued. They appreciate the continuing professional 7 and 8 June 2022

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development and coaching that they access. Leaders provide strong support for staff with their workload. This was summarised by one member of staff who commented that leaders are ‘exceptionally considerate’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff are very well trained. The safeguarding lead sends teachers and support staff ‘one-minute guides’ each week. These guides keep staff well informed. Staff know how to raise concerns. Leaders identify pupils at risk and secure the help pupils need. Staff know their families well. They act in the best interests of pupils. For example, when appropriate, staff will collect pupils from home and bring them to school. If there is no reason given for a pupil’s absence, leaders undertake home visits to check on the pupil’s well-being. Staff complete the necessary checks to ensure that adults are safe to work in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. These pupils miss out on essential learning and have gaps in their knowledge. Leaders must build on the actions they already take to improve pupils’ attendance swiftly and effectively.

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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 predecessor school, Holy Family Catholic Primary School, to be good in October 2010.

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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. 7 and 8 June 2022

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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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. 7 and 8 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226901 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Holy Family Catholic Primary School is a stand-alone academy. The executive headteacher leads two additional schools.  The head of school took up post in September 2021.  Leaders run a breakfast club.  The school does not use alternative provision.  A section 48 inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of Holy Family Catholic Primary School as a Catholic school took place in February 2016. The timing of the next section 48 inspection will be determined by guidance in the National Catholic School Inspection Framework. A date has not yet been set.

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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 leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held several meetings with the executive headteacher and head of school during the inspection. 7 and 8 June 2022

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 The inspector met with the early years leader, the SENCo and leaders responsible for pupils’ personal development.  The inspector met with two trustees and spoke with an adviser from the local authority and the diocesan director of education.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school.  Safeguarding documentation and records for behaviour and attendance were checked.  The inspector spoke with some parents at the end of the school day.  The inspector reviewed the four responses received through the Ofsted online

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questionnaire, Parent View. The inspector considered the 11 responses received through Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during lesson visits and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. The inspector spoke to groups of pupils about their views on behaviour and the wider experiences they receive at school.

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Inspection team

Kate Williamson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 June 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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