St Monica's RC Primary School

Inspection of a school judged Good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Monica's RC Primary School Cannon Road, Southgate, London N14 7HE

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 October 2024

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Outcome

St Monica's RC Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are friendly, safe and happy. The school provides them with many opportunities to build their interests and independence. Pupils appreciate this and enjoy school as a result. Staff treat pupils with kindness and take the time to understand their needs. There are many ways pupils contribute to the school and wider community including taking on leadership roles. For example, they proudly partner with charities and pupils raise funds and then take donations of food to the local food bank for the benefit of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for their pupils. They expect them to become fluent readers, capable mathematicians and to use advanced vocabulary. This is evident when speaking with pupils who can confidently explain what they know and understand. All pupils including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can access the same learning. Pupils are given appropriate work that matches the high expectations of the curriculum and many pupils achieve well by the time they complete Year 6.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils' attitudes in class are positive and respectful. They show an interest in the topics they are being taught because they are keen to learn. Teachers trust them to complete tasks and pupils are in established routines that lead to a productive learning atmosphere.

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

The school's leaders are swift to identify and respond to any gaps in the quality of education on offer. They have recently strengthened the school's approach to teaching pupils to read. This includes additional help for those who need it and working with parents to extend this effort at home. Staff have been well trained in their subject areas and provide a consistent learning experience to pupils that builds on what they know. 15 and 16 October 2024

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Teachers prioritise ensuring that pupils can explain what they have learned. For example, in history pupils correctly use subject specific vocabulary when discussing artefacts of the Mayan civilization or ‘Caliphs’ of the Abbasid Empire. Pupils with SEND are able to learn to the same level as their peers. This is as a result of well-chosen resources and the proactive way that the school identifies who to help and how.

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Pupils are encouraged to discuss their thinking with each other from a young age. They show high levels of oracy and are confident speakers. In the early years, they share their ideas by taking turns when speaking and listening to one another. Children respond well to the clear behaviour routines and expectations that are in place.

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The school has an ambitious curriculum in place for pupils. They learn and remember the curriculum well across many subjects. This is because teachers take the time to remind pupils of their prior learning. In mathematics pupils are taught to calculate challenging computations with accuracy. However, pupils struggle to apply this knowledge to problems. They sometimes use an incorrect approach which is not consistently corrected. This then leads to pupils developing misconceptions.

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In the classroom pupils behave with maturity and focus on their learning. They are calm and attentive, following the instructions of adults. This starts in the early years, where pupils learn and enjoy the routine of the day. It is rare to see lessons disrupted and the clear high expectations of staff are well understood by pupils. Outside of lessons pupils usually play well together and make the most of activities that the school arranges. At lunchtime, a strong team of pupil leaders ensure that younger pupils feel integrated and have someone to talk to. However, a small number of pupils do not follow the school's high behaviour expectations during break and lunchtimes. When this happens, physical and immature behaviour sometimes occurs.

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The school has put in place a rich and effective offer for pupils' personal development. The curriculum for relationships and health education (RHE) is built upon by a broader offer from the school. Pupils learn about other cultures and events in the world alongside knowing the notion of voting and democracy, for example. Opportunities such as the Forest School are provided to all pupils where they learn about safety and positive mental health. The school organises many lunchtime and after school clubs including a choir, netball, gardening, cooking club, football, gymnastics, chess and a magic club. Pupils participate well and enjoy the new interests that they can explore.

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Staff value the positive working environment that exists and the impact this has on their well-being. They appreciate the open communication and support available to them. Those responsible for governance understand their school well, holding leaders to account to drive swift improvement and keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 15 and 16 October 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, pupils struggle to apply the mathematical procedures they have learned. These errors are not consistently identified and this leads to gaps in their conceptual understanding. The school should ensure that pupils are able to correctly select and apply the methods they have learned so that they can problem solve successfully, and therefore demonstrate their conceptual understanding.  Sometimes, the behaviour of a few pupils does not meet the school’s high expectations. This means that low-level incidents can occur during playtimes. The school should reinforce its expectations and ensure that pupils consistently meet the standards set by the school’s behaviour policy.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in July 2015.

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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. 15 and 16 October 2024

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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). 15 and 16 October 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided school within the Archdiocese of Westminster. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in March 2020.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, senior staff as well as members of the governing body. The inspector also spoke to a representative from the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work. 15 and 16 October 2024

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 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 views of parents, pupils, and staff, including through responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Karim Ismail, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 15 and 16 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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