St Bede's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St Bede’s Catholic Primary School Wortley Road, Kimberworth, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S61 1PD

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 October 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Amanda Wassell. This school is part of St Francis Catholic Multi 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 Siobhan Kent, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Martin McDonagh. 15 and 16 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish in the nurturing and supportive environment at this school. They behave extremely well. Pupils enjoy positive and respectful relationships with adults and each other. Pupils understand and live by the school’s ‘5 Promises’ of respect, perseverance, care, honesty and faith. Pupils are polite and well mannered. In lessons, pupils try their best and are proud of the work they do. They share their work confidently with visitors. Children in the early years settle well. They enjoy exploring the natural resources in their classroom and outdoors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They know that staff will quickly deal with incidents of unkindness. The school has a welcoming and inclusive culture. Pupils are accepting and tolerant of others. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve well by the end of key stage 2.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to stay healthy. They enjoy taking part in sports clubs. Some pupils enjoy the ‘Young Voices’ club. They then take part in a national choir event. Pupils attend a residential in Year 6. Members of the pupil parliament visited London. This enabled them to recreate a true reflection of the UK’s Parliament in school. Older pupils support younger pupils by becoming play leaders. They are excellent role models.

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

The vast majority of parents and carers appreciate the care that staff show to pupils in the school. One parent summed up the views of many, saying, ‘This is a warm, friendly and happy school.’ The school recently experienced a traumatic difficult event. The caring and sensitive response from leaders was greatly appreciated by the local community.

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

Over time, the school has introduced changes in all subjects. The curriculum is ambitious. The school has high aspirations for all pupils. The changes have had a very positive impact on the academic achievement of pupils in most subjects, including mathematics and reading, which are firmly embedded. In these subjects, staff have strong subject knowledge and deliver lessons with confidence. In a small number of subjects, the curriculum has very recently been changed. Staff have not yet been trained on some of the key concepts and skills that should be taught. Leaders have identified training that will ensure clarity in all subjects.

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

In the early years, children make good progress from their starting points. Staff ensure that children quickly increase their vocabulary. Children in the Reception class practise writing and spelling the words they learn. They learn to socialise and play together.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified. The school adapts teaching. Additional adult support enables most pupils with SEND to learn alongside their peers. The school does not yet assess the progress that some pupils with SEND are making effectively. This means that the small-step targets that some pupils need cannot be put into place. It is not yet clear how well some pupils with SEND achieve. 15 and 16 October 2024

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There is a sharp focus on the teaching of early reading. The phonics programme is delivered consistently by all staff. Pupils are familiar with, and enjoy, the routines in lessons. The school shares phonics books and resources with families. This means that parents and carers know how to support their child’s learning at home. Additional support is put in place for those pupils who fall behind. This enables them to catch up quickly. Reading is promoted across the whole school. Pupils love reading. All pupils enjoy it when teachers read to them. In turn, they read with increasing fluency and expression when reading aloud.

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The school has worked tirelessly to ensure that pupils’ attendance is high. Leaders help families address any barriers to attendance. Pupils want to come to school and enjoy their time there. As a result, they attend school regularly and on time. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere throughout the school. Pupils take responsibility for their learning and want to do well.

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The school’s ethos permeates all areas of everyday life here. Through prayer and assemblies, pupils come together in faith. The school has close relationships with the church nearby. The religious character of the school has a positive impact on how pupils act and behave. Pupils take part in community care activities at a local care home. They attend trips linked to their learning. Pupils learn life skills, such as wallpapering and cooking.

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Governors and trust staff support the school well. They have a robust oversight of the strategies the school puts in place to drive further improvements. They provide support for the workload and well-being of staff in the school. Staff agree that the school is considerate of their workload and work–life balance.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment for pupils with SEND is not yet fully developed. It is unclear how well pupils with SEND achieve currently. Leaders need to ensure that staff can measure clear progress for SEND pupils against small-step, SMART targets.  In some subjects where the curriculum has very recently been changed, some key skills and concepts have not yet been made clear for teachers. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the knowledge they need to teach all areas of the curriculum as effectively as in the well-established areas of the curriculum.

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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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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). 15 and 16 October 2024

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School details

Website www.stbedescatholicprimary.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 November 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust.  The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.  The school provides a breakfast club for pupils.  The last section 48 religious inspection of the school took place in 2016.  A new leadership structure has been in place from September 2024.

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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. 15 and 16 October 2024

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 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and other members of staff.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and a parent governor. She also spoke on the telephone with a representative of the Diocese of Hallam and the chair of the trustee board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed

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the teaching of writing across the school and looked at samples of work.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during visits to classrooms, during breaktimes and as pupils moved around the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 Parent View, including the free-text comments. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils. An inspector spoke to parents and carers at the end of the day to gather their views and opinions about the school.

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Inspection team

Helen Haunch, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Millard Ofsted 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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