Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Paul Dugdale Headteacher Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School Gibfield Road Colne Lancashire BB8 8JT

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and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 30 October 2024, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, governors, the local authority and the diocese the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, met with pupils and staff and reviewed a range of documentation. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

The school should take further action to:

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

 improve further how teachers use assessment information to adapt their teaching so that they can better address gaps in pupils learning  refine and strengthen the support that is in place for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to ensure that they learn as well as they should  use the improved information that is gathered on behaviour trends to enhance the support that is provided for pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed, and the senior leadership team has been restructured.

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Main findings

The school has taken positive action to bring about improvement. This has been done in a measured and considered manner to make sure that improvements are embedded and sustainable. Despite a time of substantial change, the school has duly considered staff’s workload and well-being. It has taken effective action to build and strengthen meaningful engagement with staff. For example, the school has recently consulted with staff on the new behaviour policy. As a result, staff have greater confidence that the school listens to their views and acts on their concerns. This has boosted staff morale. Staff feel better supported in managing pupils’ behaviour and improving their teaching practices.

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Main findings

The school has renewed its systems to evaluate how well the curriculum is delivered. It has also taken part in external audits of different subjects to determine how well teachers are checking that pupils are learning all that they should. This has led to a revised programme of training that is aimed at better equipping teachers with effective strategies to check what pupils know and can do. There is a growing understanding among teachers of how to use the information from their assessment activities to shape their delivery of the curriculum. Nonetheless, in some subjects, this practice is further developed than in others. This means that the gaps in pupils’ learning are not addressed consistently well.

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Main findings

The school has taken decisive action to improve how pupils with SEND are supported to access the curriculum. For instance, the school has changed how pupils are grouped in classes and improved the information that is provided to teachers about pupils’ additional needs. Staff have begun to receive research-based training about how to tailor learning activities to help pupils with SEND learn better. As a result, some staff are increasingly confident in adapting their teaching for pupils with SEND. However, some of this training is at the early stages of implementation. This means that some staff are not as adept at making sure that pupils with SEND can access their learning.

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Main findings

Reading continues to have a high priority. The school offers a range of strategies to identify and support pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge. This support is having a positive impact on pupils across school. Most pupils develop confidence and fluency in reading.

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Main findings

Alongside changes to the quality of education, swift and realistic actions have been taken to improve other areas of the school. The school has revised the behaviour policy to help staff to raise their expectations of pupils’ behaviour. As part of this work, the school has liaised closely with parents and carers, staff and pupils to gain their views on how to promote positive conduct.

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Main findings

The school has also strengthened the staffing structure to help teachers to manage pupils’ behaviour well. In turn, pupils are responding to the school routines better than in the past. Although some pupils continue to disrupt learning, teachers are being supported to address such incidents more effectively. There has also been a considerable reduction in the number of negative behaviour incidents across the school. The previously high number of suspensions is reducing. The school has put strong systems in place to gather more relevant and useful information about behaviour and attendance. However, it is in the early stages of using this information to enhance the support for pupils who present challenging behaviour.

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Main findings

The school has harnessed support from a local trust and other external organisations to build leadership capacity. The school is realistic about how systems are refined and implemented. This ensures that the improvements to the quality of education and pupils’ behaviour are sustainable and effective. The school has identified that the current building work and some historical staffing issues have been a barrier to some aspects of its work to improve the school. As a result, the school is keeping a close watch on the impact of their actions to make sure that it stays on track with the priorities identified in the improvement plan. The governing body values the additional information that they receive about the school’s work. This has strengthened their oversight and enhanced the support and challenge that they offer.

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Main findings

The school is embracing the support that it is receiving from the local authority, the diocese and a local trust. This has helped the school to bring about improvements to systems and procedures and to improve key aspects of the school.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of governors, the director of education for the Diocese of Salford, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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