St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Harold Street, Jarrow, Tyne and Wear NE32 3AJ

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Outcome

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Mark Hurst. This school is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Brendan Tapping, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Daniel O’Mahoney.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s Catholic values inform every aspect of school life. The school is welcoming and kind to all pupils. There is a true spirit of community at the school. Staff care for pupils and their families. They form trusting relationships with parents and carers. The school works in partnership with parents to achieve the best for pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils work hard in lessons. They ask questions to deepen and extend their learning. Pupils achieve well. The school gives pupils the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils show kindness and respect to all. This is a calm and orderly school. Pupils behave sensibly outside of lessons. In lessons, they focus on their work and pay close attention to their teachers’ instructions. The school has established a positive culture in which pupils can thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school does much work to develop pupils’ character. Pupils learn how to become resilient and learn from their mistakes. Moreover, the school gives pupils responsibility through a variety of leadership roles. These roles include house captains, reading buddies and playground and digital leaders. Pupils enjoy contributing to the life of the school. 5 and 6 November 2024

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

The school has established a broad and ambitious curriculum. In subjects such as science and geography, pupils learn to think and work like subject specialists. Pupils build a coherent body of knowledge as they progress through the school. The school adapts the curriculum to meet the needs of its pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as their peers. The school identifies pupils’ needs well. It provides pupils with SEND with the specific support they require. Pupils with SEND achieve well from their individual starting points.

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

The school prioritises reading. From Reception, children learn to read using phonics. Teachers and other adults teach phonics well. This helps pupils to become confident and fluent readers. Pupils who need extra help with reading get it. This helps them to catch up with their peers. In Reception and key stage 1, pupils gain the basic mathematical knowledge they need to achieve well at key stage 2. However, some pupils’ handwriting does not develop as quickly as it could. Some pupils move on to more complex writing tasks before they have mastered the foundations of writing.

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

Teachers have a secure subject knowledge. They present information with clarity and build on what pupils already know. This helps pupils to remember what they have learned. However, sometimes teachers do not adapt teaching with enough expertise. Some pupils need more time to secure their knowledge before moving on to the next stage of learning. Other pupils need more opportunities to extend their learning.

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

The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance. It communicates these expectations clearly to parents and pupils. The school works in close partnership with families to remove barriers to pupils’ attendance. Pupils attend well. They understand the importance of good attendance and enjoy the rewards that come with good attendance.

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

In the early years, the school establishes a clear set of behaviour routines. Children respond well to these routines. They sit cross-legged on the floor, line up to leave the classroom, and pay attention to their teacher. They are kind to each other and learn and play happily together. As children move into key stage 1, the school builds on these foundations of positive behaviour. Pupils begin to take on greater responsibility for their own behaviour. They also support the well-being of other pupils.

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

The school has developed a comprehensive and age-appropriate personal development programme. Pupils learn about important issues such as relationships and equality and diversity. They learn about other faiths and celebrate different cultures. The school is raising pupils’ aspirations through its work on careers. It invites visitors into school from a range of jobs and professions. Pupils have enjoyed visits from a police officer, architect, poet and landscape gardener. They complete written reflections on their learning from such visits.

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

The school has acted effectively to sustain and improve the quality of provision for pupils. It works with appropriate urgency and rigour in seeking continuous improvement. The trust supports the school well, for example with regard to curriculum development and 5 and 6 November 2024

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attendance. Trustees and local governors perform their respective duties well. They hold school leaders to account. Trustees exercise appropriate strategic oversight. Staff enjoy working at the school. The school values its staff. It prioritises staff 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)

 Sometimes, teachers move on to the next stage of learning before some pupils have secured relevant foundational knowledge. In addition, teachers do not always extend learning for those pupils who quickly secure foundational knowledge. This means that some pupils find it difficult to understand new learning, while others are not given sufficient opportunities to deepen their learning. The school should ensure that it provides teachers with the professional development they need to adapt teaching to meet the needs of all pupils.  Some pupils do not secure fluency in transcription soon enough. This means they find it difficult to succeed when they move on to writing composition. The school should ensure that it provides extra help with transcription for these pupils. Support should be provided in a timely and systematic manner so that these pupils quickly secure their transcription skills.

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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. 5 and 6 November 2024

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Bede’s RC Primary School, Jarrow, to be good for overall effectiveness in November 2017.

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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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.  The school uses one registered provider of alternative provision.  The school is a Roman Catholic school in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.  The school’s last section 48 inspection took place in June 2018. Section 48 inspections were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and restarted in September 2021. The school’s next section 48 inspection is due by June 2026.  St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow converted to become an academy school in October 2021. When its predecessor school, St Bede’s RC Primary School, Jarrow, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 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 has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and chief standards officer from the trust. The inspector spoke to the acting vice chair of the board of trustees and a representative from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The inspector also met with the chair of the local governing body and a member of the local governing body.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector spoke to school leaders about behaviour, attendance and pupils’ personal development. The inspector also spoke to pupils about behaviour, attendance and personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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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 responses to Ofsted’s surveys for pupils and staff, and to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Ian Rawstorne, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 5 and 6 November 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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