St Bernadette Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Bernadette Catholic Primary School 160 Long Lane, Hillingdon, Uxbridge UB10 0EH

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 2023

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming school. Pupils are encouraged to be positive role models for the future. The school values, including care, honesty, respect, inspiration, spirituality and tolerance, are demonstrated by the pupils. Pupils are proud of their school and its inclusivity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school aspires for every child to thrive. Leaders have designed a curriculum that gives pupils a wide range of knowledge, skills and experiences. Adults have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils behave well and follow the rules well. Pupils make sure that they are ready to learn and be respectful. Classrooms are calm and quiet places where pupils can learn effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They are confident to share any worries and know that they can always tell a trusted adult. Well-being is an important part of school culture. For example, a team that works to support pupils’ mental health.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on extra responsibilities, such as being members of the school and eco council. They enjoy the wide range of clubs, especially the school choir. All pupils have the opportunity to compete against other schools in sports, including football, netball and Boccia.

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

The school has high ambitions for pupils. The school has designed and implemented a curriculum that has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. Leaders have thought carefully about the key knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn. This has been carefully sequenced so that pupils can build on what they already know. For example, in physical education (PE), pupils learn to apply and develop their ball handling skills in competitive games. In the early years, children get off to a good start to their education. Adults plan 15 and 16 November 2023

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activities that help to develop children’s language and knowledge of numbers and counting.

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Typically, teachers check that pupils can recall key subject content. They identify any misconceptions in a timely way. In mathematics, pupils are given opportunities daily to practice key facts, such as counting, number bonds and times tables. This is helping to improve pupils’ knowledge and skills. This starts in the early years, where children enjoyed a number hunt, looking for numbered frogs hidden outside. Leaders analyse pupils’ assessment information. However, this is not routine in all subjects. This means that the school does not have an accurate view of pupil performance and gaps in some subjects.

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Pupils work hard and concentrate on their learning. In early years, staff encourage positive interactions with children. This helps them to follow routines and instructions well.

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The school instils a love of reading. A new phonics scheme has recently been introduced that has made a positive impact. All staff have been trained to be reading experts and there is consistency in the teaching of phonics. Regular checks of pupils’ reading enables additional support to be put in place for those pupils who are finding reading difficult. Books that pupils are given to read closely match their phonics understanding. Teachers carefully choose the books they read in class so that pupils experience a wide range of authors, themes and genres. Pupils enjoy reading and speak excitedly about the books they are reading.

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The school has high ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff adapt their teaching, such as breaking learning into smaller chunks, to ensure that pupils with SEND learn successfully.

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Leaders plan for pupils’ wider development effectively. Pupils regularly learn about important information that will help to prepare them for the future. The personal, social, health and economic curriculum (PSHE) ensures that pupils are aware of healthy relationships and how to look after themselves. Staff encourage pupils to make responsible choices about how they live their life and how they contribute to their community. The curriculum is enhanced by a range of educational visits, such as to the Battle of Britain bunker and a residential to a retreat centre.

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Governors provide effective support and challenge. They know what the school’s key priorities are and visit regularly to check the impact of actions taken. Staff, including those at the beginning of their teaching career, feel valued and well supported. All staff feel that leaders support their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 15 and 16 November 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s use of assessment is at an early stage of development in some subjects. This means that, sometimes, gaps in pupils’ learning are not identified precisely. The school needs to ensure that assessment is used consistently in all subjects to identify how well pupils learn so that they are fully ready for future content.

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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 January 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 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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provision

Appropriate authority The governing body

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provision

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is designated as having a religious character. The school is in the Diocese of Westminster. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school was carried out in January 2020.  Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.  The school provides a breakfast club and an after-school club for pupils who attend the school.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 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 this evaluation of the school. 15 and 16 November 2023

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 The inspector met with the executive headteacher, head of school and other senior leaders. The inspector met with the chair of governors, two other governors and spoke with the local authority representative on the telephone.  The inspector did deep dives in early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the inspector 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. The inspector also considered pupils’ learning in other subjects, including computing, history and PSHE.  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 met with groups of pupils across the school. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons

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and at breaktimes and lunchtimes was observed. In addition, the inspector met with pupils formally and informally to hear their views.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and staff survey, and to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector spoke to a range of staff about the school’s work, including about safeguarding, workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Nicholas Cornell, lead inspector 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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