St Bridget's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Bridget’s Catholic Primary School St Bridget’s Lane, Egremont, Cumbria CA22 2BD

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 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 Previous inspection grade Good 15 and 16 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, are proud to attend this welcoming and caring school. They form positive, respectful relationships with staff and with each other. Through their roles as ambassadors and beacons, pupils delight in helping others. They said that the school is a happy, positive place where everyone is welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has embedded routines and expectations that help pupils to behave well in lessons, at social times and when moving around the school. Pupils are polite and considerate. They relish in opportunities to find out more about the wider world. For instance, pupils enjoy engaging with trusted members of the local community and finding out about different religions. Pupils celebrate and value diversity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to follow their interests and to develop further their talents. They attend a range of clubs, including choir, cookery and football. Pupils enjoy taking part in local performances and sporting competitions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what all pupils can achieve, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff support pupils well to remember the knowledge that they need for future learning. As a result, pupils typically live up to the school’s expectations and they achieve well across the curriculum.

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better?

Pupils benefit from a broad, ambitious and interesting curriculum. This curriculum is delivered well by staff to enable pupils to build up their knowledge securely through small, well-ordered steps. This enables pupils to achieve well. Staff use the information that they gather from their checks on pupils’ learning to identify any missing knowledge that pupils may have. This helps staff to make any necessary changes to subsequent learning.

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better?

In most subjects, the school has a clear overview of how well pupils are learning the curriculum from the early years to Year 6. This helps the school to ensure that the curriculums in these subjects are preparing pupils well for the next stage of their learning. However, in a small number of subjects, the school is less clear about how well children’s learning in the early years is preparing them for future learning.

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better?

Children in the early years, including two-year olds, are supported to feel safe and secure by nurturing staff. Children in the Nursery class enjoy joining in with rhymes and storytelling. In their play, children confidently use the new vocabulary that the school has taught them. Children’s communication and language skills develop well over time.

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better?

The school promotes a love of reading right from the start of the Nursery class. Pupils of all ages enjoy the stories that staff read to them. Pupils told inspectors that 15 and 16 November 2023

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they enjoy taking books home to share with their families. Pupils in key stage 2 said that reading opens them up to a new world, enabling them to imagine that they are there.

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The school’s phonics programme helps pupils to learn sounds and letters quickly from the start of the Reception class. Staff receive training to ensure that they have the expertise to teach the phonics programme effectively. The books that pupils read are well-matched to their phonics knowledge. This supports pupils to develop their fluency and confidence in reading. Those pupils who need extra support with their reading receive it quickly. Pupils achieve well in reading, including those with SEND.

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Staff identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly. The school works effectively with a range of professionals and parents and carers to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the help that they need to progress well through the curriculum. These pupils achieve similarly well to other pupils in school.

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The attendance of all pupils is a high priority for the school. Most pupils have high rates of attendance. The school engages well with parents to support pupils to attend school regularly. The school’s work to improve the attendance of those pupils who do not attend as regularly as they should is having a positive impact over time.

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Pupils develop positive attitudes to their learning. They concentrate diligently in lessons and persevere when they find things difficult. Pupils are proud of their achievements and they were keen to share these with staff and with visitors.

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The school supports pupils’ personal development through a range of experiences designed to develop their interests and aspirations. Pupils learn about the importance of equality and diversity in age-appropriate ways and this helps them to broaden their understanding of the wider world. The school also supports pupils to develop their awareness of their community. For instance, pupils pick up litter in the local area and take part in community events such as Remembrance Sunday.

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The school has considered the implications for staff’s workload when introducing changes to the curriculum. Staff are given the training and support that they require to carry out their roles effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school does not have a clear enough overview of how well children in the early years are learning. This makes it more difficult for the school to check that the curriculum in these subjects is preparing children sufficiently well for the next stage of their education. The school should ensure 15 and 16 November 2023

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that it has a well-developed understanding of how successfully the curriculum in each subject is preparing children for their next steps.

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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). 15 and 16 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-bridgets-pri.cumbria.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A deputy headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.  The school is part of the Diocese of Lancaster. Its most recent section 48 inspection took place in October 2018. The next inspection will be scheduled to take place prior to October 2026.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils.  The school has provision for two-year old children.  The school operates a breakfast club and an after-school club.

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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. 15 and 16 November 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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, the chair of governors, other governors and a range of staff at the school. The inspectors also met with representatives of the local authority and of the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  Inspectors visited the breakfast club and observed pupils at breaktime, lunchtime and when moving around the school.  Inspectors spoke to leaders about pupils’ personal, social, health and economic education.  Inspectors spoke to parents on the playground and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views about school life.  The inspectors reviewed a wide range of documents, including those related to the governance of the school.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for pupils.

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Inspection team

Liz Dayton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Amanda Whittingham Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 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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