St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Chatsworth Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3QR

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 December 2022

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this inclusive and welcoming school. They are polite and courteous. Pupils treat everyone equally and with respect. They talk confidently about the school’s values and Catholic ethos. Pupils understand how these values help them to be kind, caring and understanding of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Disruption is rare. Pupils respond well to the clear structures and routines that are in place. There is a calm and purposeful environment in classrooms and around the school. This starts in the early years. Children are eager to learn. They listen carefully to instructions and encourage one another to set a positive example.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. Relationships with staff are warm and respectful. Pupils know there are staff who will listen to them if they need to share their worries. They say that bullying does not happen. If it did occur, they are confident that adults would deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of clubs such as singing, football and dodgeball. They value the many opportunities they have to become members of the school council or chaplaincy team. Pupils say that these roles make the school a better place and enable them to help others.

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

Leaders and staff have high expectations for what all pupils can achieve, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language. Leaders accurately understand the school’s strengths and have created a curriculum that is designed well.

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

Staff and pupils share a love of reading. Pupils say that reading takes them away to a ‘different place’. They understand how the books they read, such as ‘Windrush Child’, help them to build their knowledge of diversity and inclusion. All staff benefit from the training 13 and 14 December 2022

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they receive to teach phonics and reading well. Children begin phonics as soon as they start school. They develop their language skills and learn early sounds well. Books match the sounds that pupils are learning, which helps them to gain confidence. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly. Pupils read a wide range of texts with increasing accuracy and fluency as they move through the school.

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The mathematics curriculum is well planned and carefully sequenced. Teachers provide clear explanations. They ensure that pupils routinely practise important mathematical knowledge. This starts in the early years. Children use their knowledge of early number well to describe number patterns. Older pupils build on this. For example, they confidently explain their thinking when converting fractions.

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Pupils learn well in most of the wider curriculum subjects. In geography, for example, leaders have identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers make accurate checks to find out how well pupils understand what they are learning. Pupils develop a strong understanding of the features of volcanoes and earthquakes because of this. However, this is not the case in some other areas of the curriculum. Pupils are not clear what they are learning and they struggle to remember what they have been taught. Teachers do not routinely check what pupils know well enough before moving on to new learning. This makes it difficult for pupils to build their knowledge.

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Leaders are ambitious for what pupils with SEND can achieve. They work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that these pupils receive the help they need. Pupils’ plans are precise. Staff work together to ensure that pupils are well supported. As a result, these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers and show increasing levels of independence.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They enjoy their learning and understand the importance of making the right choices. This starts in the early years. Children follow the school routines and play well together.

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Leaders support pupils’ personal development well. This is closely linked to the school’s values and ‘elli’ characters. Pupils understand how this helps them to become confident and resilient. They know what it means to be a good friend. Pupils talk confidently about respect and tolerance. They develop their sense of character by picking up litter in the local community and raising money for charities.

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Governors have a clear understanding of their roles. They ask challenging questions to help the school to improve. The newly appointed chair and vice chair understand their roles well. Staff enjoy working at the school and feel valued. They appreciate the way in which leaders listen to their views and consider their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 December 2022

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Leaders ensure there is a clear safeguarding culture across the school. They know their vulnerable pupils and their families well. Leaders provide staff with up-to-date safeguarding training. Staff understand how to identify any signs of concern and to report them quickly because of this. Leaders work well with a range of external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families receive the help they need.

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Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in the real and online world. They understand the importance of not sharing personal information online.

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Leaders make the right safeguarding checks during recruitment. However, they do not make sure that they record these checks with accuracy on the single central record.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the curriculum is not consistently strong across all subjects. Some pupils are unclear on what they are learning. Assessment is not used effectively to ascertain what pupils know and remember and to decide next steps in learning. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and do not build their knowledge well over time. Leaders need to ensure that teachers use assessment effectively across all subjects and use this information to inform future learning.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2017.

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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. 13 and 14 December 2022

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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. 13 and 14 December 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10212363 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-josephs-pri.bristol.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 January 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a voluntary-aided Roman Catholic school which is part of the Diocese of Clifton. The last section 48 inspection took place in March 2017, where the school was judged to be good.  There have been some changes to the governing body since the last inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  There is a before- and after-school club managed by the governing body.

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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 met with the headteacher, subject leaders, staff, pupils and governors. He had telephone conversations with the early reading lead, special educational needs coordinator, a representative from Bristol local authority and a representative from the Diocese of Clifton. 13 and 14 December 2022

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning.  The inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  The inspector considered how well the school protects pupils and keeps them safe. He met with the designated safeguarding lead to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding. The inspector also scrutinised the school’s single central record.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Additionally, the inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. He also took into consideration the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 13 and 14 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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