Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Warton

Inspection of a good school: Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Warton Lytham Road, Warton, Preston, Lancashire PR4 1AD

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Outcome

Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Warton continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Holy Family is a caring, supportive school where everyone is valued and accepted for who they are.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and academic success. Lessons and playtimes are calm and orderly. Children in the early years settle quickly into the routines that teachers provide for them. Pupils are polite and kind. They look after each other and show care and consideration towards adults. Leaders deal with bullying and name-calling effectively. This helps pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning and rise to the challenge of the ambitious curriculum which leaders provide. As a result, they achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and carers appreciate the wide range of extra opportunities on offer. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), take an active role in school life. Parents value the way in which adults help their children.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. They have organised learning so that pupils usually build incrementally on what they already know, from the early years to Year 6. Children in the early years get off to a good start with reading and mathematics. In most subjects, leaders have ensured that the curriculum contains the key knowledge that they want pupils to learn. Adults check regularly that pupils learn and remember this knowledge over time. However, in a small number of subjects, this key knowledge has not been as well defined by leaders. This makes it more difficult for teachers to make sure that teaching and assessment strategies are clearly focused on the most important knowledge that pupils need to know in readiness for future learning.

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

In lessons, teachers check regularly to make sure that pupils understand the lesson content. In most subjects, when pupils need extra support, they receive this immediately. This allows pupils to keep up with the curriculum. 21 February 2023

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Leaders are skilled in identifying pupils with SEND. They work with staff to ensure that pupils with SEND can learn the curriculum alongside their classmates. Staff provide strong care and support for these pupils.

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Leaders have made reading a priority. Teachers put in place a phonics programme from the start of the Reception class. All staff are trained well to teach this with confidence. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they learn in class. Any pupils who struggle, or fall behind, receive immediate help to catch up. This means that pupils quickly gain the phonic knowledge they need to become confident and fluent readers. Many pupils in key stage 2 continue to benefit from skilled teaching in reading. However, those pupils who find reading more difficult do not get the full support they need.

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Children in the early years enjoy listening to stories. Leaders have chosen carefully the stories that they want children to know and remember. Teachers read these books over and over again. However, leaders have not thought as carefully about the key texts and authors which are important for older pupils to experience. Less skilled readers have a limited choice of books from which to choose. These pupils’ love of reading is hampered by this lack of choice.

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Pupils behave well, both in and out of lessons. Staff have established a positive climate for learning. Low-level disruption rarely disturbs learning.

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Pupils attend lots of clubs and have a variety of responsibilities. For example, pupils in the older year groups lead worship on a regular basis. Older pupils have the responsibility to look after and help younger pupils. They do this exceptionally well.

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Governors offer useful support and challenge and aim to do all they can to help pupils progress. They have a good understanding of pupils’ outcomes but have not checked that the curriculum in a small number of subjects is meeting pupils’ needs.

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Staff are proud to work at Holy Family. Leaders work hard to make workload reasonable. Leaders are considerate of staff’s well-being. They say that leaders are understanding, supportive and approachable.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know their school and the area it serves well. They use regular training updates to ensure that keeping pupils safe remains a high priority for all staff. Staff understand the need to be vigilant. They pass on any worries that they may have about a pupil’s welfare quickly. Leaders follow up on these concerns diligently. They work effectively with other agencies and support parents and carers when required.

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Safeguarding

Leaders also ensure that the curriculum teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe in the community. For example, in computing, pupils learn about how to stay safe when working online. 21 February 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, leaders, including those in the early years, are not clear enough about the essential knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that the activities that pupils undertake and the assessment strategies that teachers use are not always focused effectively on the key building blocks of knowledge that pupils need for their future learning. Leaders should ensure that, in these subjects, the most important knowledge that pupils should secure is identified and taught well so that pupils can deepen their understanding of these subjects over time.  Some older pupils in key stage 2 do not have sufficient support to develop their reading skills. This means that they do not develop fluency and the skills needed to tackle more complex texts. Leaders should ensure that the implementation of the reading curriculum meets the needs of all pupils  Leaders do not provide older pupils who find reading difficult enough opportunities to

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

access the breadth of texts needed to develop a love of reading. Leaders should ensure that older pupils who struggle with reading have the opportunity to access a broader range of texts.

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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 the school to be good in October 2015.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 21 February 2023

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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. 21 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 29 November 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Diocese of Lancaster. The previous section 48 inspection was carried out in June 2019.  Leaders do not use any alternative provision.  A new headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.

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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.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, subject leaders and other members of staff.  Inspectors also spoke with members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to pupils about their experience of school and their views on behaviour and bullying. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes. 21 February 2023

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 Inspectors reviewed a wide range of evidence, including leaders’ self-evaluation documents, improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings and records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors checked the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures and the single central record. Inspectors met with leaders, staff and pupils to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors listened to pupils read to a trusted adult.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. There were no responses to the pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Tanya Hughes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Claire Hollister Ofsted Inspector 21 February 2023

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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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