St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy High Busy Lane, Shipley, West Yorkshire BD18 1HD

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Outcome

St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy, has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Ashley Wilkinson . This school is part of Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Multi Academy Trust , which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the acting chief executive officer, Chris Hanson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Joe McDonnell.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in this caring and welcoming school. The school’s mission statement ‘Let your words teach and your actions speak’ is at the very heart of the school’s ethos. Older pupils readily act as role models to younger pupils. They behave well because it is simply the right thing to do. Many pupils contribute to school life by organising events, including a harvest appeal. These opportunities support pupils to see the importance of helping others within the community and beyond.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Behaviour in lessons and at social times is consistently positive. Pupils are taught routines and expectations from the early years. The strong culture of equality, justice and fairness helps everyone to feel happy and valued. Pupils also develop an age-appropriate understanding of how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff share the same high aspirations. All pupils benefit from a broad and ambitious curriculum. Pupils achieve well over the course of their time in school. They enjoy coming to school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. They happily work alongside their peers and play a full part in the life of the school. 8 October 2024

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

The school has taken steps to strengthen the curriculum in recent years. The revised curriculum is well thought out and sequenced to enable pupils to build on previous learning. Staff demonstrate secure subject knowledge in most subjects. Pupils enjoy their learning. Teachers regularly revisit important knowledge so that pupils remember it long term. They check pupils’ understanding and address any gaps in learning swiftly and effectively. Some subject curriculums are now well developed, such as art, design, and history. Pupils achieve well in these lessons. They talk enthusiastically about what they have learned in history and proudly share their sketch books and finished pieces of work to showcase their accomplishments. A small number of subjects are yet to be reviewed. As a result, pupils are less enthusiastic about their learning in these lessons and the knowledge that they remember is variable.

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

Children make a positive start in the early years. They are happy and confident. Children benefit from the calm learning environment and the nurturing approach of adults. Staff readily engage in conversations with children to develop their spoken language and vocabulary.

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

In reading, writing and mathematics, most pupils achieve well. Published results in national assessments at the end of key stage 2 are consistently above the national average in recent years. Pupils with SEND achieve well, because staff work together to identify needs before adapting tasks to help them.

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

Learning to read is a priority. Well-trained staff deliver highly effective phonics lessons. Phonics teaching starts as soon as children enter school in Reception. Staff quickly identify pupils who may be at risk of falling behind. Timely interventions help pupils to catch up quickly. As a result, pupils become fluent, confident readers who love to talk about the books they are reading.

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

Pupils are taught to form their letters correctly, to spell the words they can read and to write simple sentences during phonics lessons. However, some children in Reception do not have the level of physical development required to write with tools provided. Some pupils in key stage 1 make errors with their letter formation and spelling because they have not been given sufficient opportunity to practise. As a result, some pupils find more complex writing tasks such as stories and descriptions too difficult. They say they do not enjoy writing.

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

Mathematics is taught consistently well across school. Pupils enjoy applying their mathematical knowledge to tricky problems. Leaders have recently identified a need to strengthen pupils’ recall of multiplication facts and have put steps in place to address this.

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

The school supports pupils’ personal development well. It encourages pupils to try new activities such as martial arts. The curriculum for personal, social and health education is well considered. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of how to stay safe. They appreciate others’ differences and understand fundamental British values. 8 October 2024

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The school works effectively with parents and carers to ensure that pupils attend school. As a result, most pupils attend regularly. However, a small group of pupils are absent too often. They do not achieve as well as their peers because they miss essential learning.

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Staff enjoy working at the school. They are dedicated to help every pupil to succeed in their learning. They feel that leaders, including those responsible for governance, are supportive and are mindful of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The English curriculum does not outline the small steps necessary to support pupils at the early stages of writing. Some pupils are given writing tasks beyond their stage of development. Some pupils say that they do not enjoy writing because it is too difficult. The school should ensure that the English curriculum is effectively sequenced to support the teaching of early writing.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 predecessor school, St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in November 2016. 8 October 2024

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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). 8 October 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Multi Academy Trust.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school has a Roman Catholic denomination. The school is part of the Diocese of Leeds. The most recent section 48 inspection took place in February 2023. The next inspection should take place by February 2028.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point in time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 8 October 2024

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, curriculum leaders, the chair of trustees, senior trust leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors focused inspection activity on the following groups of subjects: early English and mathematics, history, art and design, and a modern foreign language (French). For each group of subjects, the inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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’ interest first.  Throughout the inspection, inspectors met with groups of staff.  Inspectors spoke to a range of parents and took account of responses to the Ofsted

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Parent View survey and the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nick Coates Ofsted Inspector 8 October 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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