Catherine Junior School

Inspection of Catherine Junior School Brandon Street, Leicester, Leicestershire LE4 6AZ

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 25 and 26 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of the school. They like the family feeling. Pupils are cared for well. Staff provide strong pastoral care. Relationships are positive. The school has a respectful culture.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very welcoming, friendly and courteous. They get on well with each other. The school sets high expectations for behaviour. Routines are very well established. Behaviour is good. Pupils feel safe and are happy. They understand the importance of the school’s ‘helping hand’ and the five trusted adults they can share worries with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. The school is calm and focused. Pupils engage well with their work. They are keen to learn. Pupils understand and live the ‘Catherine Code’ of being ‘supportive, thoughtful, respectful, valued, motivated, collaborative, enthusiastic and resilient’. Staff nurture these values.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many parents and carers value the school. One parent, typical of many, commented, ‘The teachers encourage children to learn about and appreciate the different cultures in the area.’ Pupils have many opportunities to learn about difference, respect and equality.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a strong community ethos. Staff foster a sense of belonging and purpose. Both pupils and staff embody the school’s motto, ‘Together we can do it!’

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better?

The school has an ambitious curriculum, with a strong focus on developing pupils’ oracy. Leaders ensure that pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) and those who are new to English are supported to develop their knowledge of English. These pupils learn to speak, read and write English well.

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better?

The school has developed ambitious subject curriculums, including for mathematics, science, art, geography and religious education. Leaders identify the key knowledge that pupils must learn, including by when this should be learned. For example, the curriculum for geography carefully builds mapwork knowledge and skills. Pupils enthusiastically recall their geography learning. Teachers check pupils’ learning. However, not all aspects of assessment are fully developed in all subjects. Not all aspects of the English, mathematics and other subject curriculums are fully embedded.

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better?

Leaders have prioritised reading. The school supports pupils who are at an early stage of reading by providing targeted phonics teaching. Trained staff enable pupils to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to become fluent readers.

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better?

Systems are in place to ensure provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers adapt their teaching to enable pupils with SEND 25 and 26 October 2023

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to learn well. For example, staff provide apparatus in mathematics and tools to help develop pupils’ writing skills.

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The school’s published outcomes for 2022 and 2023 are not reflective of the curriculum that current pupils are learning. A significant proportion of pupils start their time at the school after their peers. Many pupils have significant gaps in their learning. Many pupils are new to English and speak EAL. The school’s provision for these pupils has improved in the last year. Pupils’ learning is improving as a result.

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Leaders set high expectations for pupils’ attendance. Staff support and challenge parents whose children do not attend often enough. Consequently, absences are reducing, especially for pupils who are absent too often. Leaders strive for even higher attendance.

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The school has developed a comprehensive personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. This includes age-appropriate sex education for older pupils and relationships education for all. Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles. They learn about potential risks and how to keep themselves safe when, for example, online.

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Difference is celebrated. Pupils learn about a range of religions. They have opportunities to reflect upon their own and others’ feelings and beliefs. Pupils gain an appreciation of environmental issues. They like to use the ‘peace garden’. They develop an understanding of democracy through the election of the ‘Pupil Leadership Team’. They deepen their understanding of right and wrong. Pupils are prepared well for life in Britain.

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Leaders know the school’s strengths and tackle the areas for improvement. They are mindful of staff workload and manage change effectively. Governors fulfil their responsibilities. They are supportive and appropriately challenging of leaders. Staff are proud of the school.

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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 embedded the implementation of the planned curriculum in all subjects. As a result, not all pupils gain as well as they could from the well- sequenced and progressive subject curriculums. The school should ensure that all pupils benefit from the implementation of the planned curriculums, enabling pupils to know, remember and do more over time.  The school ensures that formative assessment is well established in lessons. However, summative assessment is not in place for all foundation subjects. As a 25 and 26 October 2023

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result, staff do not fully appreciate pupils’ long-term learning. The school should ensure that staff are able to use summative assessment information to plan for the next steps in pupils’ learning.

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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). 25 and 26 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.catherine-jun.leicester.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up the substantive post in May 2021. New deputy and assistant headteachers have been appointed since then.  The school does not use the services 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 judgment about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 the following subjects: reading, English, mathematics, geography and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, 25 and 26 October 2023

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spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They listened to pupils read.  Inspectors looked at a range of other subjects, including PSHE, science, art, French, physical education, religious education, design and technology, music and history. They visited lessons and reviewed curriculum planning and samples of pupils’ work with leaders.  Inspectors met formally with groups of pupils to talk about the quality of education and other aspects of school life. They spoke with staff and pupils informally.  Inspectors met with the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator and reviewed provision for pupils with SEND.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, pupils and parents; reviewed safeguarding records; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture of safeguarding that puts pupils’ needs

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first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation. They looked at the school’s website and published information about the school’s provisions, policies, self- evaluation and development plan.  Inspectors considered the views of parents who completed Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. They reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Chris Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian McNeilly Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 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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