St Winifred's RC Primary School

Inspection of school: St Winifred’s RC Primary School Newstead Road, Lee, London SE12 0SJ

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Outcome

St Winifred’s RC Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy, positive learning community for pupils. Pupils enjoy being at school and make positive progress. Pupils’ experience reflects the school’s core rules: to be ‘ready, respectful, safe’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils in all areas of their learning, starting in the early years. Pupils work hard and want to do well. They behave sensibly, are polite and show positive attitudes towards their learning. Pupils understand their responsibility to behave with kindness and respect. This is underpinned by the school’s Catholic ethos. Pupils said that bullying is not tolerated. On the rare occasions bullying does happen, staff deal with it quickly. This helps to ensure that pupils are kept safe and feel safe in school. One pupil summed up the view held by many: ‘We know to be kind to each other here’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All subjects contribute to the school’s wide enrichment offer. There is an impressive range of sports available, including archery, and strong arts provision. A significant number of pupils benefit from individual music tuition.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are successfully prepared for their next steps at secondary school. By the end of Year 6, they have a well-developed body of knowledge in a range of subjects, especially reading and mathematics.

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

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a curriculum that matches the breadth and scope of the national curriculum. Leaders have carefully set out the knowledge that they want pupils to learn, including in the early years provision. The curriculum in early years is designed so that children receive the right foundations to be successful in their learning in subsequent year groups. This ambition is supported by a very well-resourced and engaging learning environment. 15 and 16 May 2024

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Leaders prioritise reading from the moment children start school. The early reading curriculum is well structured and ambitious. As a result, a very large majority of pupils develop the phonics knowledge they need to read confidently and accurately. Leaders make sure that books and other reading materials are carefully matched to the sounds that pupils learn. Teachers are able to spot and support pupils who are falling behind. Reading is well resourced, including having a member of staff in the library to develop pupils’ reading habits. Pupils enjoy reading, and by the end of Year 6, they have read a wide range of books and texts.

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The curriculum in most subjects is well designed. It includes carefully selected opportunities for pupils to revisit important knowledge. In mathematics and phonics, for example, pupils regularly recap prior learning. This provides pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, with a solid foundation to build on for future learning. Leaders are developing strategies to ensure that this happens in other subjects with the same level of consistency.

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Curriculum thinking is more established in some subjects than others. In a few areas, such as history and science, leaders are in the process of making sure that the curriculum gives pupils the building blocks of knowledge that they need to learn the subject successfully. This affects how well pupils’ knowledge increases over time. Pupils, too, find it harder to learn, remember and write about these subjects. Leaders are in the process of completing their work on the curriculum. They have clear plans to check how well the changes they make are working in practice.

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Leaders provide teachers with helpful and regular training to support them in delivering the curriculum. This enables teachers to develop secure subject knowledge. Leaders make sure that teachers tackle any gaps or misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge. This includes for those pupils with SEND. However, sometimes teachers do not use what they know about pupils’ learning in order to ensure that pupils build on what they have been taught previously. When this happens, it makes it harder for pupils to deepen their understanding successfully.

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Staff expect pupils to behave well and to concentrate on their work. They deal with any off-task behaviour quickly and effectively. This ensures that classrooms are calm and purposeful places to learn. The promotion of positive relationships is a strength of the school. Leaders prioritise attendance and communicate clear expectations to families about its importance. As a result, pupils are punctual and attend well.

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The school provides a range of experiences to support pupils’ wider development. These include taking on leadership responsibilities, such as being classroom monitors or buddy readers. Pupils support their community through charitable acts such as raising money for the local foodbank. Staff offer a wide range of after-school activities, including sports and creative clubs. Pupils enjoy attending these and commented that the clubs help them to explore their different talents and interests.

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Leaders and governors help staff manage their workload effectively. They promote staff well-being with thought and care. Staff said that they appreciate the support provided by school leaders. 15 and 16 May 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A few subjects are at an earlier stage of design and implementation in the school’s review of the curriculum. In these instances, assessment is not used precisely to check what pupils know. As a result, errors are not consistently identified or addressed, leading to tasks being set that do not focus on the key knowledge still to be embedded. This results in gaps in some pupils’ understanding. The school should ensure that staff have sufficient subject knowledge across the curriculum to check pupils’ understanding so that adaptations can be made where needed.

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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 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 SEND; pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local 15 and 16 May 2024

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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 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 October 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a school that opened in April 2016. The infant and junior schools amalgamated to become one school.  The school has a Roman Catholic religious character. The most recent section 48 inspection took place in February 2020.  The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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 school leaders and has taken that into account in this evaluation of the school. 15 and 16 May 2024

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 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders, including those responsible for safeguarding. He met with a representative of the local authority as well as with members of the local governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science, history. This involved discussions with curriculum leaders and teachers, visits to lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils. Other subjects were also considered.  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 considered the replies to Ofsted Parent View and the online surveys for pupils and staff.

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Inspection team

David Boyle, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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