St Joseph and St Theresa Catholic Primary

Inspection of St Joseph and St Theresa Catholic Primary High Street, Chasetown, Burntwood, Staffordshire WS7 3XL

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 13 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, staff, parents and carers are all proud to be part of the school community. Leaders have created a school which values all individuals and provides support for those who need it. Staff know pupils and families very well. Pupils feel happy and safe here. They have a range of adults who they know will help them if they need it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations, and support pupils to achieve them. This helps pupils to achieve well. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. They welcome everyone and treat them equally. As one pupil said, ‘In this school, people get on with each other and show respect.’ Pupils are polite to visitors, staff and fellow pupils, and they behave well. If bullying does happen, adults deal with it quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders offer many wider opportunities for pupils. Pupils take on different roles and responsibilities across the school, including being part of the digital leadership team. They recognise the importance of their work to the school and the wider community. Events such as singing for local residents and charity fundraising provide opportunities for pupils to play an active role in the wider community.

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better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have ensured that pupils’ learning is well sequenced, starting in the early years. Teachers are clear about what to teach.

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better?

Teachers use a range of different ways to check what pupils have understood. This includes ‘do it now tasks’. However, in a small number of subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with work that helps them to remember the key knowledge. When this happens, pupils find it hard to recall their learning. For example, some pupils found it difficult to recall key learning in geography and confused it with work completed in history.

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better?

Leaders have trained staff to enable them to identify pupils with SEND quickly. Teachers provide these pupils with well-planned support to help them access learning. Leaders check the support pupils with SEND receive to make sure that it helps them to make progress. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

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better?

Leaders have prioritised reading. Pupils talk positively about the books they read. Pupil reading ambassadors support younger pupils to develop a love of reading through shared reading time. Recent staff training has supported most staff to teach phonics well. However, the subject knowledge of a very small number of staff is not secure. They do not identify opportunities to embed pupils’ learning. This means that some pupils do not make as much progress as they could when learning to read. Leaders use assessment well to check that the extra support provided for 30 November and 1 December 2022

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pupils at the early stages of reading helps them to develop into confident and fluent readers.

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Leaders place a high emphasis on including pupils in all aspects of school life. Pupils know that the job of the school council is to ‘make decisions to make school better’. They talk maturely about their roles, and value kindness. Teachers model their expectations of pupils well. Other responsibilities, such as ‘Mini Vinnies’, support pupils’ understanding of their role as a citizen in modern Britain. Pupils involved in roles such as these take their responsibilities seriously. They enjoy attending the wide range of clubs on offer, such as netball, gymnastics and archery. Older pupils value the trips offered to them, such as overnight residential visits.

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Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils behave well, and this means that learning is rarely disrupted. They understand the importance of rules and understand the consequences if their behaviour falls below expectations. Leaders offer well-planned support for pupils with low attendance. This helps pupils to attend school regularly.

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Staff enjoy working here and value leaders’ support, especially when it concerns workload. Staff value the way that leaders promote their well-being and appreciate that decisions made are in the best interests of the pupils. Governors are fully involved in the life of the school. Leaders provide governors with a range of information about the school. This enables governors to have a detailed understanding of the school’s effectiveness.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff, including governors, receive safeguarding training. All staff know how to identify any concerns they might have about pupils. Staff report concerns promptly, and leaders act quickly to address these. Leaders challenge external agencies if they feel that support is not meeting pupils’ needs.

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Safeguarding

Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They know the importance of not sharing information online. They also know that adults at school will help them if they need it, including responding to any worries they have.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not consistently provide activities that help pupils to embed and remember key knowledge. As a result, pupils find it hard to remember what they have learned. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide pupils with work that enables them to know and remember key knowledge in all subjects. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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 Some staff’s subject knowledge in phonics is not secure. This does not enable them to identify when learning needs to be further embedded. Leaders should provide further training and support to enable all staff to teach phonics well.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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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. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website http://www.st-joseph-st- theresa.staffs.sch.uk/ Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school received its last section 48 inspection of church schools on 27 and 28 June 2019. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The next inspection will be within eight years of the last section 48 inspection.  The school is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. Inspectors spoke with a representative from the local authority and the diocese, and with members of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. Meetings were also held with curriculum leaders and the SEND coordinator. Inspectors also met with a range of other staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, reading, geography and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.  A range of documentation was also scrutinised, including leaders’ plans to improve the school and the school website. Minutes from governors’ meetings were also reviewed.  When inspecting safeguarding, inspectors considered the school’s safeguarding policy and spoke with staff and pupils about safeguarding. The lead inspector

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spoke with leaders about how safeguarding concerns and incidents are reported.  Inspectors took account of parents’ comments and responses in Ofsted Parent View. Comments in pupil and staff surveys were also considered.

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Inspection team

Michelle Bishton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Allyson Brown Ofsted Inspector 30 November and 1 December 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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