St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy

Inspection of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary Academy Healds Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF13 4HY

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Claire Bulloch. This school is part of 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. 24 and 25 September 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe and well cared for at this school. Families speak highly of the warm and positive atmosphere that staff provide. Adults listen to pupils and are always on hand to help and support them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a positive approach to managing behaviour. Adults encourage pupils, who in turn want to try their best while they are at school. Pupils understand the core values that are central to their school. They behave respectfully to one another. The school’s clear rules and routines help to create calm classrooms, where pupils can focus on their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils at the school, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils rise to these expectations and, as a result, an increasing number of pupils now meet the school’s high expectations for their academic success.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the opportunity of taking on leadership roles. They are proud to be well- being champions, school councillors and faith leaders. Pupils recognise the importance of caring for one another. They play an integral role in making the school a happy place to be.

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

The school has successfully developed a positive reading culture. Pupils at the school enjoy reading and recognise why it is important to practise. Pupils at the early stages of reading benefit from the schools structured approach to help them learn to read new words. For those younger pupils at risk of falling behind, support is in place to help them to catch up. Books that pupils read are well matched to the sounds they know. Leaders have developed a sequenced reading curriculum that continues into key stage 2. This ensures that most pupils develop the knowledge they need to become confident readers in readiness for secondary school.

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

In core subjects such as mathematics and reading, staff make checks on what pupils know and remember. However, on occasion, staff do not address promptly the gaps and misunderstandings that some pupils develop in their learning. This means that some pupils, including those with SEND, move on to new learning before they are ready.

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

The school has developed a well-organised curriculum in the majority of foundation subjects, such as physical education (PE). In PE lessons, pupils quickly learn new skills and build on these, for example controlling a football by dribbling. However, the curriculum in a few subject areas is still in development. In these subjects, the essential knowledge that pupils should know and remember has not been accurately identified. As a result, the sequence of learning is not always planned clearly enough. This makes it harder for teachers to design learning that helps pupils to build on what they already know. 24 and 25 September 2024

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Children in the early years quickly form warm relationships with the adults who care for them. They are starting to establish friendships with one another, playing together and sharing resources. However, the quality of the curriculum in the early years is variable. It does not identify clearly the knowledge that staff need to teach or take into account children’s varied starting points. As a result, some children are taught new knowledge before they have the basic skills and understanding that they need.

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Pupils are taught how to stay physically and mentally healthy, and how to stay safe online. They learn about differences in culture, background and faith. The school prioritises visits to different places of worship in every year group so that pupils develop a knowledge of and respect for other religions. Pupils are accepting of these differences.

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The school provides a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities for pupils. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about attending art club, singing, football and cooking. They are proud that some of their suggestions for clubs are now in place. Leaders ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to make the most of this offer.

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Pupils attend well. This is a result of the vigilance of leaders and the strong relationships between staff and families. The school supports families to address barriers to attendance where needed.

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The school academy council and the trust have a clear understanding of their roles in regard to ensuring that pupils are safe. Staff feel very well supported by leaders and are proud to work at St Joseph’s. Parents and carers are positive about the school, noting communication with them is effective and timely.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, staff do not consistently identify and rectify the gaps and misconceptions in some pupils’ knowledge. This means that these pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. The school should support staff in identifying and addressing gaps in pupils’ learning to ensure new learning builds on what pupils know and can do.  In a few subjects, the curriculum is not fully clear or carefully sequenced. This means pupils do not learn the curriculum’s essential concepts successfully. The school needs to ensure important curriculum concepts are well sequenced and sufficiently clear so that teachers can implement the intended curriculum successfully.  In some of the curriculum areas in the early years, the key information that children should know is unclear and does not reflect their starting points. This makes it difficult for staff to understand which key concepts to introduce, explain and check that

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children remember so they can move children’s learning on. The school should identify with greater clarity the foundational knowledge that staff in the early years will teach and assess.

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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). 24 and 25 September 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This Catholic primary school is part of the Diocese of Leeds. The last section 48 inspection took place in January 2023.  The school joined the Blessed Peter Snow Catholic Academy Trust in October 2021.  The school does not use 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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 24 and 25 September 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders. An inspector also met with members of the local academy council and the trust. This included the chair of the academy council, the chair of the trust board and the trust CEO.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. In addition, a sample of pupils’ work in art and design and history were reviewed. Discussions were held with the art and design and history subject leaders.

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 The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  The inspectors observed pupils during social times and spoke with pupils and leaders about pupils’ behaviour and attendance and opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  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 considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration the responses to the surveys for staff.

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Inspection team

Sarah Gordon, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shameem Hussain Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 September 2024

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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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