St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow

Inspection of a good school: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow St Joseph’s Way, Hedworth, Jarrow, Tyne and Wear NE32 4PJ

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2023

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Outcome

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Paul Craig. This school is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Brendan Tapping, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Daniel O’Mahoney.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their school. They thrive in its well-ordered environment. Pupils enjoy the informative and attractive displays. Reading lies at the heart of school. Pupils eagerly describe reading timelines, class novels and the book vending machine. Older pupils work as ‘superstar readers’ and support other pupils’ reading.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils play an active role in everyday school life. The school council helped devise the house system in which points accumulate into pounds for local charities. Pupils strive to win the ‘kindness award’ for being unknowingly spotted demonstrating this virtue. Parents and carers are very supportive of the school. Many parents speak positively about the school. These views are typified by this comment, ‘Fantastic little school at the heart of our community.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in and around school is excellent. Relationships are warm and caring. Pupils’ trust and respect for adults, and each other, is evident. Pupils listen attentively to each other in class. Pupils are safe at this school. Pupils appreciate the strong support they get from their friends and the adults in the school. Pupils understand bullying but are adamant it is not an issue. Pupils know adults react swiftly and positively when they raise concerns. The ‘St Joseph’s Standard’ is one that promotes excellence in all aspects of school life, including work in books. Pupils endeavour to match these very high expectations. Their attitudes and demeanour, as well as written work, are of a very high quality. 18 and 19 October 2023

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

Pupils are enthused by the school’s ambitious curriculum. Resources stimulate imagination and curiosity. Pupils work hard, try their best and have excellent attitudes in lessons. The school splits up pupils’ planned learning into short units. In each unit, it is very clear what key learning pupils must remember. Pupils’ previous learning is revisited regularly. Staff emphasise to pupils the subject vocabulary they need to use. Over time, pupils learn how to investigate and analyse subjects confidently.

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

The school ensures that staff regularly check what pupils know and can do. In lessons, staff are quick to identify, and correct, any misunderstandings pupils may have. Extra support is given to pupils who need it.

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

In a few subjects, the essential knowledge pupils must learn is not as clear to pupils as it needs to be. In these subjects, some pupils have difficulty learning, and remembering, new content.

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

The school is quick to identify pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This includes children in the early years, and those with speech and language needs. Pupils with SEND benefit from additional adult support. Staff make appropriate adaptations for pupils with SEND. These adaptations include writing slopes, computers to record work, plastic pencil grips and ear defenders. This is an inclusive school where no- one misses out and all are valued.

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

Children in Nursery and Reception quickly start to learn to read. Songs and rhymes, and listening to stories, kick start their love of books. Well-trained staff deliver phonics in a structured, systematic way. Pupils use books to practise reading that match the sounds they know. Pupils use phonics confidently. Pupils quickly become skilled writers. Reception children’s writing is neat with letters formed correctly. There is a well-stocked library, which is carefully maintained by pupil librarians. The school’s reading clubs maintain pupils’ enthusiasm for reading.

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

The school supports pupils’ broader development extremely well. Pupils know they can approach a trusted adult over any issue, big or small. The child well-being leader encourages pupils to talk about their concerns. Pupils are always able to share their worries and seek support. The school has ‘Wellbeing warriors’ who are trained to support, befriend, and play with anyone feeling alone or upset.

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

The school ensures that pupils experience the rich cultural, and natural, heritage of their local area. Pupils enjoy trips to local museums, historical buildings, festivals and theatres. These trips and residential stays enhance pupils’ all-round development. Pupils elect their peers to roles of responsibility such as head girl and boy, house captains and school council members. There are ‘Eco-councillors’ who care for the school environment through energy saving and litter picking. There is no shortage of volunteers to serve and clear away at lunchtime. The school celebrates a wide range of religious festivals, including Chinese New Year, Diwali and Eid. 18 and 19 October 2023

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The school has a positive and trusting culture among adults. The school promotes staff’s health and well-being. The local governing committee challenges and supports the school very well. Local governors are directly involved in checking on improvement actions. There is strong communication between the school’s local governors and the trust board. The school contributes positively to the work of the trust.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A few foundation subjects are not as well structured as they need to be. In these subjects, the main ideas that link knowledge, and the most important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember, are unclear for pupils. This is limiting pupils’ capacity to know and remember more. The school needs to make sure that all subjects are equally well mapped out so that pupils can learn equally well across the whole curriculum.

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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 judged the predecessor school, St Joseph’s RC Voluntary Aided Primary School, to be good in January 2013.

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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. 18 and 19 October 2023

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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 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

Chair of local governing committee Ailine Gibson

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School converted to become an academy in December 2020.  The school is part of the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.  The school is a Roman Catholic primary school within the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in February 2018.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher took up their roles after the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this graded inspection under section 8 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, senior leaders, early years leader, subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. The inspectors also met with teachers, teaching assistants and a range of other staff.  The inspector met four members of the local governing committee, including the chair. He also spoke to the trust’s school improvement leader and a trust director.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils and teachers and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The inspector looked at curriculum documents and spoke to leaders about a range of other curriculum subjects.  The inspector listened to a range of pupils read from different year groups.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lesson visits, at breaktime and at lunchtime. He spoke to pupils about their views of behaviour. A group of pupils gave the inspector a tour of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector considered the well-being and workload of staff. He took note of the

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responses and comments from Ofsted’s staff survey, including comments made by staff about their well-being.

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Inspection team

Phil Scott, lead inspector 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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