St Mary's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy

Inspection of a good school: St Mary's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy Sancton Road, Market Weighton, York, North Yorkshire YO43 3DB

p.1

Outcome

St Mary's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and learning with their friends. They attend very well. Pupils are friendly, polite and respectful to each other and to adults. They are kind to each other and play well together in the extensive and well-equipped playground.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave very well. The school is a calm and orderly environment that is well looked after. Bullying is rare. Leaders do not tolerate it. Pupils know that if they are worried, there are staff that will help them. They have great trust in staff.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils speak knowledgeably about modern Britain and its values. They make positive contributions to school life. For example, school councillors help with charity work and some older pupils help newcomers settle into school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of all pupils and are ambitious for them. Teachers plan lessons that encourage all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to contribute well. Pupils say learning is fun.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher and staff are highly respected by parents, carers and pupils. Parents appreciate the work that the school is doing for their children. Parents and pupils say the school has a ‘family feel’ and staff care for each individual pupil. This is a school at the heart of its community.

p.1

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

Leaders have planned a well-organised curriculum. It develops pupils’ knowledge and expertise across a broad range of subjects. It is carefully sequenced from early years to Year 6. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. Pupils with SEND and those who speak 6 June 2023

p.1

2

English as an additional language follow the same curriculum as others. Parents appreciate the very effective support given to these pupils.

p.2

2

Leaders have provided high-quality training to make sure staff that are experts in teaching phonics and reading. Children in early years and key stage 1 learn new sounds quickly and remember them very well. Books are well matched to the sounds pupils are learning. ‘Not one minute is lost’ in providing very skilful support for pupils who find phonics and reading more difficult. These pupils are catching up quickly and are starting to read fluently. Teachers skilfully encourage pupils to use their phonics knowledge to help them spell words accurately.

p.2

2

There are fabulous displays in classrooms and corridors to promote reading. Many pupils are avid readers. Pupils say they love ‘unwrapping a good book from the school’s treasure chests of one hundred good books to read.’ At lunchtime, older pupils read fluently and with good intonation to groups of younger children. Parents make a significant contribution to pupils’ reading. They understand how their children learn to read in school and make sure there is regular reading at home.

p.2

2

Children in early years cooperate well together. Staff plan learning activities to develop children’s communication skills and independence. These activities interest the children indoors and outdoors. Children in Nursery learn how to describe shapes such as circles and rectangles. In Reception, they confidently measure and describe lengths and heights. Adults link these activities to the story at the end of the day. This helps the children to remember earlier learning. Children behave well and enjoy learning.

p.2

2

Subject leaders have organised the curriculum in mathematics and history in a logical way. They have comprehensive plans for teaching mixed-age classes. Teachers have a very clear understanding of what they want pupils to know. They explain work clearly so that pupils understand what they have to do. They ask searching questions to check pupils’ understanding, especially in mathematics. Their assessment of pupils’ learning in mathematics identifies gaps in pupils’ knowledge that need to be revisited. In history, the checking of what pupils know varies. Even though pupils learn well, there are gaps in some pupils’ knowledge.

p.2

2

Pupils believe that people should be treated equally. They know that all families are not the same. They say, ‘It doesn’t matter. Love is the most important thing.’ Equality and diversity are promoted throughout the curriculum. Leaders make sure that reading books reflect these themes. Pupils speak confidently about healthy lifestyles. They have a good understanding of diet, exercise and spending time outdoors. Pupils are well aware that smoking and drugs are not part of a healthy lifestyle.

p.2

2

Staff enjoy working in the school. Leaders have realistic expectations of their workload. Staff say they are treated fairly and with respect. Subject leaders and staff are positive about the training and support given by the new trust. The trust board has effective systems in place to hold leaders to account for the quality of their work. 6 June 2023

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are vigilant and knowledgeable about how to keep children safe. They ensure that any concerns they have are shared with leaders. Leaders work with parents and external agencies to make sure pupils are safe. Thorough checks are made on the suitability of adults to work with pupils. Leaders and the trust check the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding procedures regularly.

p.3

Safeguarding

Pupils are well aware of risks they might face online and how to manage these risks. They learn about road safety and how to stay safe when out of school.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, assessment of pupils’ learning is variable. Subject leaders have not supported the development of teachers’ assessment skills well enough in these foundation subjects. This means that in some subjects, some pupils are not reaching leaders’ ambitious goals. Senior leaders should develop the role of subject leaders so that they can support staff in assessing pupils’ learning accurately, to fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge and deepen their understanding.

p.3

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.

p.3

Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Mary’s Market Weighton Roman Catholic Primary School, to be good in November 2017.

p.3

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 6 June 2023

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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. 6 June 2023

p.4

School details

Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire

p.5

School details

Inspection number 10268752 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.5

Information about this school

 The school joined St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic Academy Trust in September 2022. When its predecessor school, St Mary’s Market Weighton Roman Catholic Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted in November 2017, it was judged to be good overall.  The most recent diocesan inspection of the school took place in May 2018.  The school does not use any alternative education provision.

p.5

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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. The lead inspector held discussions with the chair of trustees, the chair of the local scrutiny board and members of the trust’s central team.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with curriculum leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about 6 June 2023

p.5

6

their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also listened to some pupils read.  The inspectors reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including the single central record of recruitment checks. They met with the designated safeguarding leader to check how leaders record and respond to safeguarding concerns. They checked the safeguarding and welfare requirements for children in the early years. Inspectors spoke with staff about safeguarding and child protection. The inspectors spoke to pupils about safety and how they learn to stay safe.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the day. They spoke to pupils about their views on behaviour in school. The inspector considered how the school supports pupils’ personal development.  The inspectors spoke with a number of parents at the start and end of the day. They analysed responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors

p.6

Inspection team

Jim McGrath, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Emma Watson Ofsted Inspector 6 June 2023

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7