St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy

Inspection of St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy Hullenedge Road, Elland, West Yorkshire HX5 0QY

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The acting headteacher of this school is Alexandra Hudson-Crook. 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 chief executive officer, Robert Pritchard, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Antonia Dorsey.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School to be requires improvement in 2019, before it opened as an academy. 18 and 19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

St Patrick’s Primary Academy is a warm, welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils are kind and tolerant towards each other. Staff and pupils respect each other. Bullying is not tolerated. Pupils are happy and safe. Families are welcomed into school regularly. Parents value the community feel of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over time, leaders have ensured that pupils achieve well. In most subjects, pupils achieve in line with national averages. They are ready for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is adapted well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the opportunity to become leaders in school. They become school councillors, Peace Ambassadors and Worship Monitors. The school has a head boy and girl who lead alongside the school council. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the range of clubs that they can attend. These include choir, fencing and bush craft. Older pupils learned a range of new skills on a recent residential visit to the Lake District. Pupils have visited Chester Zoo, Wales and Howarth to support their learning. Leaders have developed a bespoke personal development curriculum based on Catholic virtues. The school wants pupils to become global citizens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend school well. The school supports families and ensures that pupils come to school regularly.

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better?

The phonics scheme is well embedded. Staff lead phonics sessions effectively. The phonics leader coaches staff who deliver phonics lessons to ensure they are well taught. Pupils are familiar with the routines and structure of the lessons. They use what they learn to read words that they have not seen before. Pupils achieve in line with national averages. Where pupils fall behind, effective intervention lessons ensure they catch up quickly. As pupils finish the phonics scheme, they move on to spelling and comprehension lessons. These help pupils to develop fluency and understand what they are reading. Staff ensure that pupils know the meaning of new words. They are skilled at checking pupils’ understanding of the books that they read. Pupils enjoy reading. They can explain the reasons for choosing the books that they do.

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better?

Mathematics is taught confidently across the school. Leaders carefully consider what they want pupils to learn in mixed-age classes. This ensures that pupils build on their prior knowledge. Leaders have adopted a mastery approach to maths teaching. This has had an impact on how well pupils achieve. Pupils’ outcomes are above national averages. Lessons are adapted well for pupils with SEND. Additional resources and adult support help pupils to learn.

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better?

Most foundation subjects have a well-developed curriculum. The school has identified the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn. Teachers have well- 18 and 19 June 2024

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developed subject knowledge and teach with confidence. This helps pupils to achieve well. The bespoke personal development curriculum is based on Catholic virtues and the life of Jesus. Pupils develop resilience and become kind people. However, pupils have limited knowledge about other faiths and cultures. The school has identified where the curriculum for religious education could be improved and are taking steps to address this.

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Pupils behave well. They are polite and friendly. The behaviour policy is adapted well for pupils with SEND. However, the general behaviour policy is not applied consistently across school. Pupils do not always know what is expected of them. This causes confusion as pupils do not have consistency of expectations, rewards and sanctions as they move through school.

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The early years environment effectively supports children’s learning. The school has recently seen an increase in children starting school who do not speak English. Picture prompts and key vocabulary displays help children to settle quickly. They begin to learn new vocabulary as soon as they begin at the school. Nursery and Reception children often play together. Staff ensure that pupils in Reception are ready for key stage 1. Children have play sessions and visits to Year 1 to build their confidence. The environment helps pupils to make connections in their learning. For example, after a geography lesson about Halifax and towns, Reception children independently began to paint pictures of their homes and buildings. They built models of buildings in Halifax in the construction area. Adults supported children in writing about Halifax. Children show high levels of concentration. They apply themselves to activities for sustained periods of time.

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Leaders at all levels support the school well. This includes support from specialist teachers in the trust, governors, trustees and the Catholic Diocese of Leeds. The school welcomes this support. Staff are happy to work in this school. They told inspectors that leaders have built an extremely positive culture across the whole school. They feel valued and want the best for the pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is a lack of clarity around school rules and expectations. The behaviour policy is applied inconsistently. Pupils do not always know what is expected of them. Pupils would benefit from clear school rules and expectations for clarity and fairness as they move through the school.  Pupils do not have a clear understanding of the different religions and cultures that exist within and beyond their community. As a result, they do not understand 18 and 19 June 2024

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as much as they should about the different groups of people in modern Britain. The school should ensure that pupils learn about other faiths and cultures to broaden their knowledge of the world.

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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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy is part of the Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust, which consists of 15 schools in total. The school converted to become an academy in July 2021.  The school is part of the Diocese of Leeds.  The school provides before- and after-school wraparound provision for pupils.  There are no pupils attending 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

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pan- demic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 18 and 19 June 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, curriculum leaders, and other school staff. They also met with the chair of the board of trustees, CEO, a representative from the Diocese and the board of governors, including the chair.  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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, 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 their work.

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 Inspectors reviewed school documentation, spoke to staff with different responsibilities and had discussions with pupils about aspects of school life.  Inspectors considered the responses, including the free-text comments, to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View and spoke to a sample of parents. Inspectors also considered responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Helen Haunch, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Smith Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 June 2024

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