St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton Shepherd Cross Street, Halliwell, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 3EJ

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 November 2024

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Outcome

St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton 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 are happy and settle well at this inviting and caring school. They enjoy seeing their friends and teachers each day. Pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly so that they can learn and prepare for their future lives. For example, they spoke of pursuing careers in sports, design, policing and law.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high aspirations for pupils’ achievement. This includes for those who speak English as an additional language and for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Typically, pupils achieve well. They appreciate recognition for trying their best, such as by being chosen as ‘golden child’ and ‘star of the week’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They enjoy chatting and playing with their friends during social times. Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning. They know what the school expects of them in terms of their behaviour, such as to be kind and helpful to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides well for pupils’ wider development. Pupils particularly relish regular opportunities to learn outdoors, which help them to develop their self-confidence and teamwork skills. Trips, including to museums, places of worship, a computing centre and another local school, enhance the curriculum. Pupils enjoy participating in sports events, including in dance, lacrosse, hockey and swimming. They attend science, art, cooking, drumming and football clubs. 19 and 20 November 2024

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

The governing body works well with the school. It provides effective support and challenge, with a shared focus on continuing to improve the quality of education that the school provides for pupils.

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

The school has adopted a broad and ambitious curriculum that matches the breadth of the national curriculum. Starting from the early years through to Year 6, pupils work towards ambitious curriculum goals. They learn well across a range of subjects.

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

Teachers benefit from a well-thought-out programme of training and support. This helps them to develop their knowledge of the subjects that they teach. For the most part, teachers implement subject curriculums well. For example, they choose suitable learning activities during lessons. However, from time to time, staff’s explanations of new concepts and ideas are not clear, and they do not check pupils’ understanding of new learning carefully enough. This means that some pupils develop misunderstandings and make some mistakes that are not corrected.

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

The school identifies pupils’ additional needs early. It has effective strategies to support pupils with SEND. This includes working closely with a range of external professionals, and parents and carers. Pupils in the ‘nurture’ classroom benefit from relationships with caring staff, who help them to self-regulate their emotions and to be ready to learn.

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

Staff foster pupils’ love of reading in many ways. The books in the curriculum reflect the diversity of the school’s community. Each class chooses a selection of ‘favourite books’ to read through the year. The school has a new, well-stocked library and reading areas in classrooms. In their roles on the ‘GIFT’ team, pupils read stories to their peers each week.

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

Pupils begin to learn phonics from the start of the Reception Year. Well-trained staff follow the phonics programme well. Pupils practise their reading by using books that contain the sounds that they already know. Most develop into assured readers. Nonetheless, at times, some pupils at an earlier stage of learning to read do not receive consistently effective support. This occasionally slows these pupils in learning to read fluently and accurately.

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

Pupils are polite, respectful and well mannered to each other and towards adults. They attend school regularly. For a small number of pupils whose attendance levels and punctuality are not as high, the school works well with families and external agencies. This joined-up approach is helping these pupils to attend school more regularly.

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

Pupils learn how to be safe and healthy. Visitors to the school develop pupils’ knowledge of important matters such as toothbrushing, puberty and fire safety. Pupils know that they can make a positive difference in school and beyond. For example, they value leading whole-school worship in their roles as ‘CARITAS’ members. Eco-warriors help to look after the local environment, such as by litter picking, and prefects help their peers at lunchtime. Pupils raise money for charities and collect provisions for local food banks. 19 and 20 November 2024

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The school supports staff in fulfilling their roles well, for example by providing teachers with additional time to refine subject curriculums. Staff know that the school considers their views. They value working as part of a close-knit team, which they described as ‘fantastic’ and ‘like a family’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, staff do not provide clear explanations of new learning, and they do not check carefully enough what pupils have understood. This means that some pupils develop some misunderstandings and make mistakes that go unaddressed. The school should ensure that staff better support pupils to understand new content, to help them to know and remember more.  The support for some pupils at an earlier stage of reading is not fully effective. This means that these pupils do not become fluent and accurate readers as quickly as they could. The school should support staff in delivering effective early reading strategies consistently well.

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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 school to be good for overall effectiveness in September 2019. 19 and 20 November 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). 19 and 20 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 September 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, a new chair of governors has been appointed.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.  This Roman Catholic school is in the Diocese of Salford. The school’s last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, was in January 2024. The next section 48 inspection will be due before January 2029.  The school makes use of one unregistered alternative provider and one registered alternative provider for a small number of pupils.

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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 has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school. 19 and 20 November 2024

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 reading with a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school, including at breakfast club, at playtime and during lunchtime.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other school leaders. He held a meeting with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector spoke with representatives of the local authority and of the diocese.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record and took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils. He considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation documents, improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings and documents pertaining to pupils’ behaviour and levels of attendance.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. He spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.

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Inspection team

David Lobodzinski, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 November 2024

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