St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy George Avenue, Birkby, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD2 2BJ

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Inspection dates: 30 April and 1 May 2024

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Outcome

St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Rebecca Holmes. This school is part of The Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the interim chief executive officer, Rachel McEvoy, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Antonia Dorsey.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this caring school. They delight in welcoming visitors. Pupils politely ask how visitors are and are quick to engage in friendly conversation.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement. Pupils respond to this well. They actively engage in their learning and are keen to share their ideas. For example, in phonics lessons, pupils love to spot familiar words. They are keen to take risks in sharing their ideas. Even if pupils are not sure of an answer, they will try. Pupils achieve well in end of key stage tests and assessments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a trusted adult in the school. They know bullying sometimes happens, but the school takes this very seriously. Pupils are safe in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their school environment. The extensive school grounds give pupils opportunities to play. They make good use of the climbing equipment, use tricycles in early years and play an array of different sports. Children in early years enjoy their weekly visit to the local allotment. They learn about how produce grows. Older pupils enjoy their Year 6 residential. The planned trips and visits give pupils a broad and enriching experience.

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

The school’s broad and ambitious curriculum gives pupils a positive educational experience. In mathematics, teachers ensure that pupils can make links with their previous learning. For example, pupils in Year 5 understand how their learning in long multiplication helps them with their recent topic of multiplying fractions. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities have support, when needed, from well- 30 April and 1 May 2024

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trained adults. The school ensures that they access the same ambitious curriculum.

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The precise teaching of phonics ensures that pupils learn to read quickly. Skilled adults ensure pupils learn consistently well. The tracking of pupils’ progress ensures that those who need support receive this quickly. ‘Keep-up’ interventions help pupils to quickly close any gaps in their knowledge. Reading books are well matched to pupils’ reading stage. These provide a high level of challenge but ensure that pupils are successful in their reading. Pupils enjoy reading and like to borrow books from the school library. They also experience a wide range of texts in class. This includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Pupils in Year 3 enjoy reading ‘The Boy Who Biked the World’ and Year 6 pupils enjoy ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’.

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The foundation subjects benefit from focused curriculum planning. The school ensures that there is suitable progression at every stage of pupils’ learning. Children in early years learn about their school as part of understanding the world. Year 2 pupils understand the local area and its place in the UK during geography lessons. Pupils can recall recent knowledge well. For example, pupils in Year 4 describe the link between Europe, Asia and Russia. Regular checks on recent learning are effective. However, in some foundation subjects, it is not clear how the school assesses what pupils have remembered over time. Arrangements to check pupils’ retention of their learning at the end of units of work are not fully established.

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Children in early years have a positive start to their school life. Adult-led activities support children in learning key knowledge. Children have opportunities to practise their learning in carefully planned activities. This includes using the arts and crafts station. Children enjoy ‘drawing club’. The recent focus on the story ‘Poles Apart’ provides a stimulus for children to practise their writing. They enjoy writing a postcard from a country the polar bear visited. Other opportunities to write in mark-making activities support children to build strong foundations for future learning.

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The school carefully plans opportunities to support pupils’ personal development. The curriculum gives pupils a broad understanding of the world they live in. All pupils study a unit of work on living in the community. Pupils excitedly describe different trips and visits. This includes a visit in Year 1 to an aquarium and a visit in Year 3 to a Buddhist temple.

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Pupils are proud to take on leadership roles in the school. The ‘Mini Vinnies’ write to residents at the local residential home. The pupil well-being champions enjoy organising a bingo morning for parents. The ‘care for nature’ group is keen to make the school as eco- friendly as possible.

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The school, local academy committee, trust and diocese are united in their vision to provide pupils with a positive faith-based education. Staff in the school know that their workload and well-being are considered. Staff enjoy working at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the end points that pupils reach in their learning are not always assessed. This means that the school is not clear on what pupils remember over time. The school needs to ensure that its approach to summative assessment clearly identifies what pupils have remembered over time in all subjects.

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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 Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, to be good in October 2018.

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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). 30 April and 1 May 2024

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School details

CEO of the trust Rachel McEvoy (Interim CEO)

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school is designated as having a religious character. It is inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The last section 48 inspection of the school was in November 2018.

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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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, geography and mathematics. 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 30 April and 1 May 2024

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learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also discussed the curriculum in art.  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 the chair of the trust board. The inspector also met with members of the local academy committee, including the chair.  The inspector spoke with the director of education for the Diocese of Leeds.  The inspector met with the chief executive officer.  The inspector reviewed a range of school documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans.  The inspector considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View. The views of pupils were considered

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through meetings held with them.  The inspector considered the views of staff through meetings and through their responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Andrew Gibbins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 30 April and 1 May 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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