St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Malvern

Inspection of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Newtown Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 1PF

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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 16 and 17 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is a happy and friendly community where pupils feel safe. The school sets clear routines and expectations for all pupils. Staff consistently follow the school’s approach: ‘be ready, be safe, be respectful’. Pupils know the school rules and know the consequences of not following the high expectations set. Pupils live up to the school’s expectations and behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful of the school’s culture. The school’s value of ‘eloquent and truthful’ helps pupils to think about how their words are perceived by others. On rare occasions when behaviour is not as expected, restorative conversations help pupils to consider the impact of their actions or words on others. House points motivate pupils to try their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school works hard to ensure that pupils attend well. Recent work is further improving attendance rates so that more pupils now attend school regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well, particularly in reading. During lessons, pupils are attentive and focus on their learning well. They are eager to complete the highly engaging work set. If pupils get stuck, staff have strategies to help pupils resolve any difficulties they may have, for instance by using the working wall or looking back at previous learning.

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better?

The school offers an ambitious curriculum to all pupils. In most subjects, the curriculum builds in a logical order so that pupils gain the knowledge and skills they need for future success. However, this is not the case in a few subjects.

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better?

Staff are highly skilled. Teachers engage pupils well in lessons. They make regular checks on how effectively pupils are learning the curriculum. Any gaps in learning are identified and addressed. Pupils’ written work is of a high quality. Children in the early years get off to a great start. They learn important skills of turn-taking, sharing and working together. Moreover, they have opportunities to develop early writing, number and reading skills. This prepares children well for the next stage of their learning.

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better?

The school promotes reading well. Various activities such as book clubs, world book day, reading to the school dog and visits to the school library help pupils to develop a love of reading. Staff teach early reading effectively. They ensure that pupils practise reading books that match the sounds they are learning. Any pupil who falls behind is swiftly identified and given the support they need to catch up quickly. However, at times, pupils’ misconceptions are not picked up and addressed quickly enough in lessons.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well in school. Any pupil with additional needs is quickly identified and receives the help 16 and 17 April 2024

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and support needed to be successful in school. There is a strong collaboration with external agencies to ensure that specialist professional support is available for those pupils who require it. Parents are extremely positive about the support their children receive.

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There are a range of clubs to help pupils to develop new talents and interests. These include sports clubs, mindfulness, drama, construction, coding and film club. In addition to these clubs, events such as the history workshops, and visits to the farm and local historic buildings, help to deepen pupils’ understanding of various topics. Pupils learn about how to keep safe when out and about and online. They know about the importance of healthy and safe relationships and learn the qualities of a good friend. Pupils know how to seek help if they feel unsafe.

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The school pays serious attention to pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn to be active citizens by fundraising for local charities or collecting food for the local foodbank. Through taking on various responsibilities within the school, such as being ‘playground pals’, lunchtime monitors, or assisting with assemblies, pupils develop important leadership and teamwork skills . Pupils know that they have the right to be heard. They voice their opinions and views through the work of the school council. By linking with a Tanzanian school, pupils learn about what life is like in Tanzania. During multi-faith week, pupils enjoy finding out about festivals such as Chinese New Year, Eid and Sukkot and what they mean to different cultures. Pupils learn about their own and other faiths. All of this prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

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Leaders, including governors, are ambitious for all pupils. They set the right priorities for the school. Governors hold the headteacher to account effectively for the performance of the school. Staff are highly positive about the support from leaders to manage their workload and well-being.

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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 subjects, the progression of knowledge and skills is not as clear as it could be. This means that teaching does not always build on prior knowledge. As a result, pupils do not consistently build on prior learning in order to deepen their knowledge in these subjects. The school should make sure that the progression of knowledge and skills is clear so that learning builds up over time.  At times, adults do not identify and address quickly enough pupils’ misconceptions when learning to read. When this happens, pupils do not make the progress they should. The school should make sure misconceptions are addressed quickly so that pupils achieve well. 16 and 17 April 2024

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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). 16 and 17 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Christopher Park

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for its pupils.  The school operates a pre-school provision for two- and three-year-old children.  St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is a much smaller than average primary school. There are fluctuating cohorts of pupils.  The school’s most recent Section 48 was in July 2023.

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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.  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. 16 and 17 April 2024

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, computing, history and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of sessions, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work and held discussions with leaders about the art and geography curriculum.  The inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult and reviewed reading resources.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation on the school’s website.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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.

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 The inspectors observed pupils in lessons and at other times during the day.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated safeguarding leader, curriculum leaders and members of the governing body. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the diocese and the local authority.  The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View, pupil surveys and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Lorraine Lord, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Liz Vautier-Thomas Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 April 2024

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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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