St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School Five Oaks Close, St John’s, Woking, Surrey GU21 8TU

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The head of school is Catherine Grace and the executive headteacher is Kate Licence. This school is part of Xavier Catholic Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, James Kibble, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Peter O’Brien. 21 and 22 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a highly inclusive school where pupils benefit from an excellent quality of education. The school has very high expectations of pupils, who strive to meet them. Pupils achieve exceptionally well and benefit hugely from the warm and respectful relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are consistently thoughtful, kind and considerate towards each other and adults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the time they start in Reception, children are taught the importance of being resilient and curious. They are confident to ask for help if they have any worries. Skilled staff ensure pupils think about the feelings behind their behaviour so that they can self-regulate effectively. Consequently, pupils feel safe and very happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils embrace roles of responsibility and make meaningful contributions to the school community, for example by becoming well-being ambassadors or eco- warriors. Pupils are proud of their roles because they understand the value of helping others. Pupils know that their views contribute to making their school a better place. They share their views and opinions with staff to bring about change, such as making the school more sustainable.

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better?

Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum. The school has identified the important knowledge that must be taught and when. From Reception to Year 6, pupils learn in small steps, which builds their understanding of each subject securely. Teachers’ subject expertise is very well developed. Pupils learn important technical words for every subject. This starts in the early years, where expert provision helps pupils communicate with each other very effectively. Pupils practise vocabulary with talk partners and in class discussions, which helps to deepen their understanding further.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) flourish at this school. Staff collaborate with outside professionals and with parents and carers to build the right educational support for pupils. This work begins successfully in the early years. It is highly effective in helping pupils to overcome barriers to learning. Teachers use assessment well by regularly checking what pupils have remembered and what needs to be re-taught. The impact of this high-quality provision is reflected in the impressive standards that pupils, including the relatively small number of disadvantaged pupils, achieve in end of key stage 2 tests.

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better?

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. The teaching of phonics is clear and systematic and precisely matches pupils’ needs. Staff are expert teachers of reading. They identify any pupils who are falling behind and provide expert and effective support when required. Pupils practise their phonics by reading books that contain sounds that they know. The school fosters a real love of reading and books in pupils. 21 and 22 May 2024

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Behaviour is excellent and pupils have impressive attitudes to learning. All pupils know and live up to the school’s high expectations. In the Reception class, children learn and play cooperatively. They move from one activity to the other seamlessly and develop strong social and emotional skills. Pupils show high levels of motivation to learn more. The school works positively with families to ensure pupils come to school regularly. As a result, all groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, have very high attendance.

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The detailed programme for personal development permeates other areas of the curriculum and helps pupils thrive. This enables pupils to connect their learning through deliberately planned experiences. For instance, pupils learn about the Victorians through a visit to the Milestones Museum, and they learn about sustainability by visiting a local recycling centre. There is an impressive range of carefully planned school clubs, attended by all groups of pupils, which broaden their talents and interests. For example, chess club is attended by a wide range of pupils and helps them to think more deeply about different ways of approaching a problem.

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Leaders at all levels, including trustees and local governors, share an ambitious vision for the school. The extensive expertise in the trust helps to challenge and support the school successfully. They work closely with the school on key aspects of the running of this school, such as SEND, the curriculum, and learning and teaching. This level of rigour supports the consistently high standards in the school. The school has ensured that staff get high-quality training that enables them to teach the curriculum exceptionally well. Staff appreciate how their workload and well- being are a priority. As a result, staff at the school feel extremely well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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How can I feedback 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 feedback 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 21 and 22 May 2024

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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). 21 and 22 May 2024

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CEO of the trust

Website www.sthugh-of-lincoln.surrey.sch.uk

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CEO of the trust

Date of previous inspection 28 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The head of school was appointed in September 2022.  This is a below-average size primary school.  This school is a part of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust.  The school is part of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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. 21 and 22 May 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector also met with the representatives of the local governing board and the deputy chair of trustees. Inspectors also met with the trust’s chief executive officer.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, Latin and art. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. Inspectors also visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including the free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey and gathered the views of both staff and pupils

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throughout the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of local governing board meetings and records of attendance and behaviour incidents.

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Inspection team

Neil Pilsworth, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joyce Lydford Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 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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