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

Inspection of St George’s Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy Overdale, Eastfield, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 3RE

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The executive headteacher of this school is Andrew Krlic. The school is part of St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the interim chief executive officer, Karen Siedle, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Laws. academy 26 and 27 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where pupils are happy. Staff make everyone feel welcome. Pupils feel safe because of the care they receive. Staff understand pupils’ individual needs and how to support them. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Respectful relationships between pupils and staff help pupils to feel valued.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils to achieve well. They have designed a curriculum to include exciting learning experiences. For example, older pupils enjoy taking part in the ‘Big Dig’ in Scarborough Old Town. This helps pupils to learn how historians study the past and to value their local community. Pupils are keen to learn. They listen in lessons and want to do well. Pupils achieve well from their starting points over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a range of opportunities to help pupils to become respectful citizens. They make sure that pupils are involved in looking after their local community. For example, pupils worked together to repair a damaged bus shelter. Leaders make sure that all pupils develop their talents and interests. Many pupils learn to play a musical instrument. Pupils enjoy performing in public. They recently performed their own musical compositions at York Minster.

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better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum to ensure that all pupils gain the knowledge they need to succeed. The sequence of knowledge from Nursery to Year 6 ensures that pupils in mixed-age classes build knowledge over time. Teachers identify the most important knowledge that pupils must know. Regular practice helps pupils to remember this knowledge. For example, in mathematics in early years, children sing songs and rhymes, such as ‘Once I caught a fish alive’, to help them to count. This knowledge helps older pupils learn to count in twos and fives later in school. Teachers ensure that pupils revisit previous learning before moving on to new content. For instance, in physical education (PE), pupils recap how to find space in tag rugby before learning to defend.

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better?

In early years, staff model the vocabulary they want children to learn. They repeat back what children are saying before adding new vocabulary. Staff are quick to correct children’s mispronunciation of new words. This is helping children to build their vocabulary accurately. However, in some subjects, including mathematics, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 do not consistently receive such timely feedback. This means that some pupils need to catch up later.

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better?

Right from the start, in the early years, children learn to read accurately. Staff have expert knowledge to teach the phonics programme. This ensures that pupils learn the letters and the sounds that they make. As a result, pupils become fluent readers. Meticulous checks are made on pupils’ phonic knowledge. These checks academy 26 and 27 September 2023

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help staff to know the precise support that pupils need to be able to catch up. Reading books match the sounds and words that pupils need to practise. Pupils enjoy choosing from the wide range of books in school. Pupils like reading books that link to the historical periods they study, such as ‘Freedom’, a novel about the transatlantic slave trade set in the eighteenth century.

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Children learn to write in the early years. Staff help children to learn to form their letters with precision. Children often practise writing the letters and words that they have learned in phonics lessons. However, some older pupils struggle to use this knowledge to write with accuracy. These pupils struggle to write fluently and to write and spell what they want to say.

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Leaders work well with external professionals to get support for pupils with SEND. For example, speech and language specialists share important information with staff. This helps staff to understand how best to meet pupils’ individual needs. Pupils with SEND are well supported to access the whole curriculum. They achieve well.

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Some pupils leave and arrive at the school mid-year. Staff make sure that all pupils are welcomed and supported to learn the school’s behavioural expectations. This starts in early years, where children are helped to manage strong emotions. As a result, pupils are well prepared for learning. Pupils understand that they need to attend school regularly to be successful. They enjoy the year group races to achieve 100% attendance. Despite leaders’ efforts to encourage pupils to attend, some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. These pupils miss out on important learning.

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Pupils enjoy the many clubs and educational experiences on offer. These include, computing club, gymnastics and meeting with a local member of parliament to help them to understand democracy. Opportunities to be sports leaders, house captains and buddies help pupils to learn to cooperate with each other.

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Governors and trustees ensure that the actions that leaders take are to the benefit of all pupils. Leaders make practical changes to policies to ensure that staff manage their workload. Staff appreciate the actions that leaders take.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some areas of the curriculum, misconceptions are addressed less effectively than in others. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should work with teachers to improve the ways that they use assessment to address misconceptions across all subjects. academy 26 and 27 September 2023

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 Some pupils are unable to use the sounds and words they have learned through their phonics teaching to support their writing. This means that some pupils find writing difficult and find it hard to express their ideas in writing. Leaders should further support pupils to improve their writing by better teaching transcription alongside phonics. This will help to overcome barriers to writing for some pupils.  Some pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. This means that they miss out on important learning. Leaders should build on their strategies to improve attendance so that more pupils attend school regularly.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). academy 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough. Its most recent section 48 inspection was in March 2019.  The school converted to become part of St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic Academy Trust in September 2022 following the closure of its previous trust.  When the school’s predecessor school, St George’s Roman Catholic Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school does not currently 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. academy 26 and 27 September 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke to senior leaders, including the headteacher and special educational needs coordinator. The lead inspector also spoke to the chair of the trust and the chair of the local governing body. The lead inspector held an online meeting with the deputy director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.

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 The lead inspector also looked at samples of pupils’ writing.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; met with the designated safeguarding leads to review records; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector reviewed a range of school documents and policies, including curriculum policies for all subjects.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors gained the views of pupils and staff by speaking to them during lessons, meetings and at breaktimes.

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Deb James Ofsted Inspector academy 26 and 27 September 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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