St John Vianney Catholic Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St John Vianney Catholic Primary School Mount Nod Way, Mount Nod, Coventry, West Midlands CV5 7GX

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be outstanding if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Veronica Gosling. This school is part of Holy Cross Catholic Multi Academy Company (MAC), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The MAC is run by the Catholic Senior Executive Leader, Marina Kelly, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by John Teahan.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A quote from St John Vianney to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ underpins the ethos of the school and sets an expectation of love and respect. This expectation is regularly mentioned by both pupils and staff. It is linked to pupils’ learning, behaviour and relationships. Pupils enjoy their learning and are rightly proud of their wonderful school. Pupils have very positive relationships with staff. Parents say that their children are happy to go to school and talk excitedly about their school day when they get home. Pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

High expectations have been set for all pupils. Pupils understand these expectations and respond by working hard in lessons. The strong relationships between staff and pupils support pupils to gain confidence and resilience. Pupils readily respond to questions and are willing to explain how they arrived at an answer without worrying about getting it wrong. They accept that mistakes help everyone to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in early years settle quickly and make good progress. The recently created Nursery class is bright and welcoming. The curriculum has been carefully planned to give children an exciting start to their school life and it prepares them exceptionally well for later learning. 19 and 20 March 2024

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

The school has revised its curriculum and continues to make effective changes for the benefit of all pupils. Subject leaders have clearly identified the most important information that pupils should learn. This enables teachers to deliver lessons with confidence, and they have a high level of subject knowledge. Staff effectively adapt work so that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access the same curriculum. Pupils with SEND have their needs identified and met very well. Teachers consistently use effective strategies to ensure that all pupils, including children in early years, remember new knowledge and can build on it. This means that pupils achieve very well. For example, in the mathematics curriculum, teachers deliver engaging lessons and pupils are effectively challenged to deepen their knowledge.

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

The school has made reading a priority. Children begin to learn letters and their sounds as soon as they enter Nursery. This means that they get off to a flying start in learning to read when they enter Reception. Adults quickly identify any children who find it difficult to keep up and support them to catch up. From this very positive start reading continues to have a high profile throughout the school. The school encourages parents to help their children through advice on the website, workshops and reading cafés. Pupil reading ambassadors help to run the visiting book fair. They work with staff to create new opportunities to celebrate the importance of reading. The emphasis on vocabulary, including a ‘word of the week’ in each class from Reception to Year 6, engages pupils and enables them to read and understand increasingly complex texts.

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

Pupils agree that behaviour across the school is excellent. If problems do arise, pupils trust adults to deal with them promptly. The school’s approach to behaviour teaches pupils to understand and manage their own emotions and actions. Respect for everyone underpins everything in school. Pupils respect other pupils’ right to a good education. This leads to calm and purposeful lessons, where pupils show extremely positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils work together in pairs or groups and readily help each other.

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

The school’s extremely high aspirations for pupils’ wider development are evident in all aspects of school life. The personal development curriculum includes a wealth of additional activities, including visits, external speakers and links with charitable organisations. These broaden pupils’ experiences and inspire them to do more and find out more. In assemblies, they explore their own opinions and learn how to express them effectively through debate. Parents express their appreciation for the high level of care, nurture and academic excellence the school provides.

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

Governors are actively involved in the school. They bring a variety of skills with which to challenge and support school leaders. They play a significant role in the school’s continuing improvement. Trust leaders provide valuable opportunities for staff to work with other local schools to share expertise and learn together. Staff work together as a team and feel valued. The school carefully considers staff workload and involves staff in new initiatives. Staff appreciate the support the school gives them. 19 and 20 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, to be good in October 2011.

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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). 19 and 20 March 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St John Vianney Catholic Primary School converted to become an academy school in September 2019. When its predecessor school, St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of the Holy Cross Catholic Multi-Academy Company which contains seven schools.  St John Vianney Catholic Primary School is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The school received its last section 48 inspection of church schools in November 2022.  The school does not use alternative provisions.

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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 headteacher and deputy headteacher. She also met with 19 and 20 March 2024

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governors and executive leaders of the trust and spoke with representatives of the local authority and the diocese.  The inspector focused on the following deep dives: early reading, mathematics and history. The inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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 teaching staff to talk about the curriculum, staff workload and the behaviour and personal development of pupils. She also met with pupils to talk about their learning and well-being.  The inspector observed a selection of pupils reading to members of staff. Other pupils

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were heard reading during lessons.  The inspector considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and plans for improvement. Records of attendance and behaviour incidents were also considered.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime and lunchtime. She gathered pupils’ views about behaviour, welfare and bullying.  The inspector spoke to parents before school and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and the free-text comments

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Inspection team

Anne Potter, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 March 2024

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