Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

Inspection of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Hanham Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8PX

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 18 and 19 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Our Lady of Lourdes are happy to come to school. They have positive attitudes towards their learning and towards each other. Adults know the pupils well. As soon as children begin in Reception Year, they are well cared for and feel safe. Parents appreciate this, as well as the ‘happy and encouraging staff’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is aspirational for all pupils. However, the quality of education that pupils receive is not yet good enough. The curriculum design and implementation are priorities. Pupils do not build their knowledge well over time in a range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are purposeful and calm. Pupils say they can concentrate on their learning because of this. Pupils are respectful towards one another and adults. The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. The clear rules, ‘be safe, ready and respectful’, are intertwined with the school’s values. Pupils respond well to these during lessons and social times.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have many opportunities to develop as a responsible citizen. They understand the democratic process for the election of house captains, as well as the important role some pupils have as an anti-bullying ambassador.

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better?

The school has experienced a period of turbulence in staffing. This has impacted on the school’s aim to make the necessary improvements in the quality of education. The school is ambitious for all pupils to receive a high-quality education. It has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses. It recognises that there is more work needed to ensure that pupils build their knowledge well across the curriculum.

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better?

The school has prioritised early reading. As soon as children start in Reception Year they learn to read. Staff ensure that pupils receive phonics teaching that matches their needs well. Books match the sounds pupils know. This helps all pupils, including those who struggle to read, to develop fluency and confidence. The robust assessment system ensures that pupils who have gaps in the sounds they know, or who are at risk of falling behind, are quickly identified. Extra support helps these pupils to catch up. However, reading beyond phonics is not well developed. Older pupils do not have the necessary reading skills and knowledge they need to develop their understanding or infer from the texts they read. This means that some pupils are not well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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better?

The school does not know how the subject design and implementation in some subjects help pupils to know and remember more. Gaps pupils have in their knowledge are not identified accurately. For example, in science, some pupils do not understand the different food groups they have learned previously, or the important factors required when working scientifically. This means that pupils do not build knowledge well and that gaps in learning persist. 18 and 19 October 2023

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Pupils’ ongoing understanding is not checked effectively. In mathematics, for example, pupils confidently complete their work, but sometimes misconceptions are not addressed and teachers miss opportunities to deepen pupils’ knowledge and to get them to tackle more complex concepts. Some pupils say that the work is sometimes too easy for them.

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The school identifies pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities accurately. A range of useful resources and effective support from adults enable these pupils to access learning alongside their peers.

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The curriculum for pupils to understand the world around them is carefully designed. Pupils recognise that everyone is unique and that all are equally important. Pupils understand and learn from other faiths and cultures that are different from their own. They embrace difference and say, ‘The world is pretty special because we are all different.’

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Pupils are keen to learn. They understand the school’s values and ethos. From Reception Year, children follow the routines straight away and learn the expectations quickly. They know the difference between right and wrong. Attendance is a priority for the school. Most pupils attend well. The school is supporting some families to ensure they attend school on a regular basis effectively.

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Governors support the well-being of staff across the school. However, they do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities. This means that they do not provide the level of challenge the school needs to ensure that pupils receive a high-quality education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not fully defined the reading curriculum beyond phonics. It is not clear what pupils need to learn and by when. Therefore, pupils do not build the knowledge and skills they need to read well. The school should ensure that the reading curriculum beyond phonics identifies the important knowledge and skills that support all pupils to read confidently and understand what they have read, so that they are well prepared for the next stage in their education.  In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment with enough precision to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge or support them to deepen their understanding. As a result, pupils do not build knowledge well. The school needs to ensure that teachers check pupils’ understanding systematically and address misconceptions so that pupils develop a depth of understanding across all curriculum subjects. 18 and 19 October 2023

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 The school does not know how effectively some subjects are designed and implemented. As a result, there is not an accurate view of what pupils know and remember, or any gaps they have. The school needs to ensure that the quality of design and implementation in all subjects is evaluated accurately.  Governors do not have a sufficient depth of understanding of the quality of education pupils receive. Over time, they have not challenged the school sufficiently about the quality of education. Governors need to ensure that they gain a clear oversight of the effectiveness of the quality of education and hold the school to account for improving it.

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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). 18 and 19 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.ourladyoflourdesprimaryschool.org. uk Date of previous inspection 20 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been many changes to staffing. The headteacher and the deputy headteacher took up their substantive posts in September 2023.  The school is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton. The last section 48 inspection of the school was carried out in May 2022. The school was judged to be good overall.  The school does not use 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. 18 and 19 October 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, including art and design and science.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1,2 and 3 read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, subject leaders and other school staff.  The lead inspector met with governors and with representatives from the local authority and diocese.  The lead inspector considered key documentation, including the school’s development plan and the school’s self-evaluation.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during social times. An inspector met with leaders to discuss and scrutinise how they respond to behaviour incidents and pupils’ attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text replies. Inspectors spoke with parents at the beginning of the school day. They also considered responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Wendy D’Arcy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah O’Donnell Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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