St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School St Anthony’s Drive, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire PR2 3SQ

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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 21 and 22 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this welcoming school. They enjoy learning and socialising with their friends. Pupils respect and value diversity. They are quick to help and support each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high aspirations for pupils’ achievement. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are positive about school and their learning. Typically, they achieve well. Year 6 pupils are well prepared for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well during lessons and at playtimes. They are kind to one another. Pupils relish the praise and rewards that they receive for following the school’s rules.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a rich set of experiences that go beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they spoke excitedly about gymnastics, cycling and orienteering, as well as city visits and residential trips. These experiences enable pupils to develop exciting new interests and find unexplored talents.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils excel in their various roles. These responsibilities include acting as head pupils, prayer leaders and fairtrade warriors. Pupils learn to care for animals, including the school’s therapy dog. Older pupils organise clubs for their younger peers. Pupils make a tangible contribution to school life through these roles. This contributes strongly to pupils’ personal development.

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better?

Following the previous inspection, the school has successfully revised the curriculum to ensure that it is well organised. This enables children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 to build up their knowledge logically and securely.

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better?

Improvements to the curriculum have ensured that staff have greater clarity about the important learning that they should focus on within their classes. Typically, staff explain new concepts clearly and use a range of strategies to check pupils’ understanding. However, in a small number of subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and subject-specific vocabulary, due to weaknesses in the previous curriculum. This sometimes makes it difficult for these pupils to make connections between their existing knowledge and new learning.

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better?

The school is in the early stages of implementing the revised curriculums. Even so, staff have embraced the expectations of the new curriculum. In the main, staff select activities that enable pupils to develop their knowledge in a logical and coherent way. Nevertheless, from time to time, the activities that some staff choose to deliver curriculum content do not support pupils to deepen their knowledge as well as they could. Occasionally, this hinders how well some pupils, including those with SEND, learn. 21 and 22 May 2024

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Reading is important in this school. Pupils read from a wide range of interesting books. Staff have received suitable training to deliver the phonics programme effectively. Pupils read from books that match their current phonics knowledge. Staff have the expertise that they need to identify when pupils find reading difficult. If this happens, pupils receive the help that they need to catch up quickly. As a result, most pupils learn to read with fluency and accuracy.

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Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. The school identifies pupils’ additional needs swiftly. Staff are well trained to adapt their delivery of the curriculum. This means that pupils with SEND can learn well alongside their classmates.

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There is an atmosphere of calm and order around school. Pupils work well together on tasks during lessons. Children in the early years enjoy learning new things and take an active part in their own learning. The school is reviewing its actions to promote higher rates of attendance at school. Although this work is in its infancy, in the main, most pupils attend school regularly.

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The school places a great emphasis on pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy learning about different cultures, religions and families that make up modern Britain. They know how to keep themselves safe while online and how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. Pupils are well prepared for their future lives.

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Governors understand their statutory duties and fulfil their responsibilities well. They assure themselves about the quality of education that pupils receive by supporting and challenging the school well. The school is considerate of staff’s workload and well-being. For example, it considers how best to implement new initiatives without overburdening staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and subject-specific vocabulary, due to weaknesses in the previous curriculum. This makes it difficult for them to make connections when they learn new content. The school should ensure that it identifies the remaining gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding, so that they can successfully build on prior knowledge when learning new concepts.  On occasion, the activities that staff select to deliver the curriculum do not help pupils to deepen their knowledge as effectively as they could. This hinders some pupils, including those with SEND, from learning all that they should. The school 21 and 22 May 2024

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should equip staff to design learning activities that support pupils to acquire knowledge well so that they know and remember more across the curriculum.

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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). 21 and 22 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This Roman Catholic school is in the Diocese of Lancaster. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in June 2018. The next section 48 inspection is due to take place from September 2024.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed. The headteacher took up post in April 2023.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 21 and 22 May 2024

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and the senior leadership team. The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also spoke with representatives of the local authority and of the diocese.  The lead inspector met with the special educational needs coordinator to help to evaluate the provision for pupils with SEND.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, computing, science and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. They spoke to pupils about their learning in these subjects and looked at samples of their work.

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 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.  Inspectors had discussions with groups of pupils about their experience of school. Inspectors also spoke with pupils in meetings and around school at lunchtimes and breaktimes.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments. Inspectors also spoke with some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were

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no responses to consider from Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Dickinson 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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