St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley

Inspection of a good school: St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley Southgate Drive, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 6HD

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Outcome

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a truly inclusive school where pupils are happy to attend and the older pupils ‘don’t want to leave’. Pupils are proud of their achievements and are keen to explain what makes the school special. They talk with confidence about the importance of good manners, committing acts of kindness for one another and making sure that everyone in their school community is taken care of.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have the chance to take on a range of responsibilities, which they take seriously. These include being well-being ambassadors, members of the eco- and RE councils, play leaders and pet monitors. They think carefully about the work they get to do and are thinking all the time about how they can make things even better. For example, one member of the eco-council has his eye on developing a school compost area from food waste.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave especially well in this school. They move purposefully and quietly around the school site and are keen to get to lessons. This is not because it is policed by staff, but because it is what they do here. If bullying happens, which is very rare, pupils are confident that it is dealt with quickly by staff.

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

Curriculum plans have been thought out carefully, identifying the knowledge and skills that all pupils need to know, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These are mapped right from early years so that solid foundations for learning are established and then built on.

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

Teaching is engaging and interesting. Pupils achieve well as a result. They are keen to ask and answer questions and are encouraged to think. For example, in mathematics, pupils were challenged to think not just about a common error, but why it might be made so that it could be avoided in the future. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Pupils can talk with confidence about their current learning. However, they are not consistently able to remember some of their learning in the longer term. Leaders have already recognised this as something they need to address.

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Early reading is taught well. Staff enthuse children about reading and pick up on misconceptions quickly so that children develop their confidence. Additional support is put in place for those who need more opportunities to practise so that they become fluent readers. The recently redeveloped library is an inviting space that pupils enjoy.

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Behaviour in lessons is especially calm and focused. Right from early years, children are keen and engaged, and staff are quick to re-focus any small loss of concentration so that the learning environment remains purposeful. There are strong systems and routines in place across the school that pupils know well. For example, the use of traffic lights in the music room helps pupils know precisely when they can play and when they need to listen. This kind of careful thinking by staff is what characterises the school and supports pupils to behave and get on with each other consistently well. The recently introduced ‘circle of friends’ programme with the learning mentor is one example of helping pupils to make and sustain healthy friendships.

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Leaders have taken significant strides to identify how to support pupils with SEND. There is now a robust system in place to identify pupils’ needs and to ensure that provision is put in place swiftly. For those with more significant needs, adapted programmes help support them in their learning. This includes the use of ‘bucket time’ sessions, which support some of the youngest pupils in learning how to regulate their own behaviour, as well as the ‘zen den’ as a space where pupils can find a quiet space if they need one. However, leaders recognise there is more to do in this area. While staff have been trained to ensure that pupils’ needs are met in the classroom, leaders know that they need to develop their communication with parents and carers so that all work together effectively.

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The provision for pupils’ wider development in the school is very strong. Pupils know the importance of good manners, demonstrating this daily. They enjoy a wide variety of clubs, including for basketball, gymnastics and robotics, as well as a number of choirs. Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities outside school, including visits to museums, residential trips and visitors to the school.

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Leaders are reflective and make considered plans to develop the school while also ensuring the well-being of staff. They, alongside governors, carefully evaluate their actions to ensure that these have the impact they want them to.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive appropriate training so they know how to identify and refer any pupils who might be at risk. They know their pupils well, and there are detailed records kept of any concerns. Concerns are acted on quickly, and leaders liaise well with external agencies as needed. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe. They know their concerns and 11 and 12 July 2023

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worries will be dealt with; for example, they can feed them to ‘Winston the Worry Monster’, and staff will help them.

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Leaders complete appropriate checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. Governors know their safeguarding responsibilities and hold leaders to account well.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ improvements to support pupils with SEND are not implemented by staff as consistently well as they could be. This means that not all pupils with SEND benefit from precise adaptations to teaching. Leaders must ensure that all staff know how to adapt their teaching effectively and follow the agreed processes consistently, ensuring that parents are involved in this process.  Leaders have identified the small steps of knowledge and skills in each subject for their curriculum maps. However, there is not yet in place a systematic process for supporting pupils to retain their learning in the longer term. Leaders need to ensure that this part of their curriculum thinking is established and understood by all staff.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2018.

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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. 11 and 12 July 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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 and 19 April 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  This Catholic school is part of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The most recent section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character took place in March 2022.  The school has had some changes in school leadership since the previous inspection, including the headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers and pupils. The lead inspector met with the members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The inspector also held telephone conversations with a representative from the diocese and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample 11 and 12 July 2023

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of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to some pupils reading aloud to adults they knew.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector held meetings with safeguarding leaders, the governing body, teachers and pupils. The inspector scrutinised the single central record and checked safeguarding records.  The inspector took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and minutes of governing body meetings.  The inspector spoke with pupils about their experience of the school and took account of parent and staff views through conversations and responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Marian Feeley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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