St Charles Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Charles Catholic Primary School 83 St Charles Square, London W10 6EB

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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Outcome

St Charles Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish in this nurturing and welcoming school. Leaders make sure that everyone matters and is treated equally. Pupils are safe and happy, knowing that trusted adults will help them with any worries. They benefit from the high expectations of all school leaders and staff. The school is a close and harmonious community, where older pupils take good care of the younger ones. The school’s strong values shine through in daily life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in this school, both during lessons and at playtimes. They play well together outside, show good manners and are polite throughout the day. Pupils respect each other. Staff encourage pupils to appreciate the views of others from different backgrounds and faiths. Behaviour is managed sensitively and with care so that learning is not disrupted.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love to take on a wide range of responsibilities, such as being part of the chaplaincy team, a school councillor, or a play leader. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive skilled and effective support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback about the school. Many parents wrote and spoke about how ‘The school has a lovely, family feel’.

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

The school’s curriculum is sequenced well from early years to Year 6. It is ambitious and relevant to the pupils at the school. For example, pupils learn about local history and make links with the community. In a few subjects, curricular thinking has not precisely identified the important content pupils need to learn. This means some pupils do not build knowledge and deepen their understanding as well as they could.

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

Teachers present information to pupils clearly. They use resources effectively to support all pupils in their learning. On occasion, teaching does not check on what pupils know and remember securely. This leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge, understanding and readiness 14 and 15 November 2023

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for future content. Pupils with SEND are supported well through careful planning and adaptations to the curriculum where necessary. Parents of pupils with SEND value the communications they receive and their involvement in discussions about their children’s education.

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Pupils enjoy reading and quickly become skilled and fluent readers. From the moment they start school, in early years, children learn how to read using phonics confidently. Staff deliver this phonics programme with expertise, and children enjoy learning new sounds in stories and rhymes. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the sounds that they have learned. If pupils fall behind, they get the support that they need to catch up quickly.

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Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics. The standard of pupils’ handwriting is, from an early age, exceptional. Pupils can learn a wide range of musical instruments, take part in a choir and love to sing in assemblies. Staff make sure that pupils learn about important individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.

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Attendance is rigorously monitored and given a high priority. Pupils’ personal development is a notable strength. Pupils plan and run their own activities to raise funds for the school and their chosen charities. The school council helps to improve the environment. The school chaplaincy is currently designing a new outdoor prayer area. The school provides high-quality pastoral support to pupils. They are taught to manage risk and keep safe, including when online. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and of growing up.

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A wide range of outings and visitors help to enrich the wider curriculum. For example, pupils in Year 6 visited the Houses of Parliament. The whole school recently celebrated ‘Windrush 75’, utilising the close local links to this area by hosting calypso workshops, visits from diverse authors, including Caribbean poets, and theatre workshops. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 recently competed in the Grenfell Athletic Tournament.

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Governors are committed and know the school well. They ensure that they have the information they need to hold leaders to account and plan for the future. They visit the school regularly and talk to staff and pupils. Staff enjoy working here and receive strong support from leaders for their well-being. The school has close links with parents and the local community and engages with them thoughtfully.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few foundation subjects, leaders have not identified the important content pupils need to learn precisely. This means some pupils do not build knowledge and deepen their understanding as well as they could. The school needs to make sure that the 14 and 15 November 2023

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important knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn are sequenced to help pupils build this securely over time.  On occasion, teaching does not make secure checks on what pupils know and remember. This means that, occasionally, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding about how to access new learning confidently. The school needs to make sure that teaching uses assessment information to identify and address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge to ensure they are fully ready for future learning.

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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 school to be good in March 2014.

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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.

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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). 14 and 15 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-chairs of governing body Marie Costigan and Simon Enright

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Head of school

Date of previous inspection 28 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In January 2021, the school joined a hard federation with another local primary school. The school is now part of the St Charles and St Mary’s Catholic Primary Schools Federation.  The executive headteacher was appointed in April 2020 and leads both schools in the federation.  The governing body was restructured following the federation. Both schools in the federation share a joint governing body.  The school is a Roman Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Westminster. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in June 2018.  The school runs a breakfast club and joint after-school club with the federated school.  The school uses no alternative provision. 14 and 15 November 2023

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the head of school and other school leaders. He held discussions with the co-chairs and other members of the governing body, the school improvement partner and a representative from the diocese.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, considered the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also considered the curriculum in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of school 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 met with parents at the start of the school day and considered the views of parents and staff, including through responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Sean Flood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 November 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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