Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

Inspection of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Trittiford Road, Yardley Wood, Birmingham, West Midlands B13 0EU

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

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since September 2014. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 7 and 8 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this warm and welcoming school. They enjoy their learning and strive to live up to the school’s high expectations. They are helped to do this through a culture of support and encouragement. Pupils achieve well in most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well during most aspects of the school day. This is evident in classrooms and in the way pupils move around the school calmly and sensibly. Pupils feel safe at school. They know when and how to seek help. They trust staff to take them seriously and to sort out any problems if they arise.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in the wide range of clubs and activities. They develop a strong sense of responsibility taking on many different ambassador roles. Their ideas are valued and acted on. For example, reading ambassadors support the school’s ‘book swap’ and subject ambassadors help staff to reward other pupils for high-quality work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Recent staffing changes in the early years have led to a period of instability. Positive changes are being made. However, the curriculum is not delivered as intended in some areas. As a result, children do not get off to the strongest start as they are not fully settled into the school’s routines and expectations.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum. The key knowledge and subject specific vocabulary that pupils should learn in each subject has been carefully identified. Parents and carers appreciate the curriculum workshops on offer that help them to understand how to support their children’s learning. In many subjects, pupils secure a strong body of knowledge over time. In these subjects, staff use a range of strategies to check what pupils have understood so that any misunderstandings that some pupils develop in their learning are addressed promptly. This helps pupils to reach high standards in their learning over time.

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

However, at times, in a small number of subjects, the curriculum is not delivered as the school intends. When this happens, staff do not teach pupils to develop the identified skills in sufficient depth and do not highlight the subject-specific vocabulary pupils should learn. As a result, work is not of the high standards seen in most subjects and pupils’ knowledge and understanding are less secure.

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

Reading is a key area of focus for the school. By the time pupils leave the school, they achieve extremely well. The school has put in place a phonics programme that builds pupils’ phonics knowledge well over time. Staff swiftly identify anyone falling behind with the programme and put in place effective support. This helps pupils to become confident and fluent readers. However, in the early years, this programme is not being delivered as intended. Some children are not having enough opportunities to practise the new sounds they have learned. This slows down their learning. 7 and 8 January 2025

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported to work on learning tasks alongside their peers. The school identifies and meets their needs to enable them to achieve well. Teachers make sure that pupils with SEND are aware of what they are learning. This helps pupils to understand what is coming next. Pupils have access to a range of resources to support their learning. For example, mathematics ‘toolkit bags’ provide pupils with physical prompts to help them understand their learning.

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Pupils are courteous and behave well. Their positive attitudes to learning are reflected in their high rates of attendance. They follow instructions with thought and care. They have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. However, in the early years, the routines and expectations for participation have not been fully established. This means that children are not always engaged purposely with learning activities.

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The personal development of pupils is well considered. Pupils have a strong understanding of being healthy, both physically and mentally. They develop a strong understanding of relationship equalities and fundamental British values. There are many effective systems in place that support pupils’ pastoral needs. They know how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils learn throughout the curriculum about different careers, and they experience a wealth of educational visits to broaden their horizons. This helps them to be aspirational about their futures.

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Governors have the right skills to challenge and support the school. Their work is effective. The school prioritises staff’s well-being and considers their workload carefully. Staff feel listened to. They collaborate on improvements to the curriculum and carry out their roles with enjoyment and pride.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Children in the early years are not well enough prepared for the next stages of their education. The expectations for participation and the learning activities that staff design do not ensure that children consistently practise and apply their new learning. The school should ensure that staff receive training to enable them to implement a curriculum in the early years that helps children to be well prepared for their next steps.  In a minority of subjects, teachers do not design activities with sufficient depth in order to meet the aims of the ambitious curriculum. This means that pupils do not have a firm enough understanding of important concepts and subject-specific vocabulary. The school should ensure that the work that teachers give to pupils is closely matched to the aims of the intended curriculum. 7 and 8 January 2025

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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). 7 and 8 January 2025

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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 2014 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher and chair of governors have joined the school.  The school is within the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Its most recent section 48 inspection under the Education Act for schools of a religious character was carried out in November 2019. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The next inspection will be within eight years of the last section 48 inspection.  The school operates a before- and after-school provision.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 7 and 8 January 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body. Minutes of governing body meetings were also scrutinised.  The lead inspector talked to representatives from the local authority and the diocese.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and design technology. 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 a sample of pupils’ work.

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 Inspectors also examined pupils’ work in science and modern foreign languages.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspectors looked at records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.  The inspectors spoke with several groups of pupils and observed their behaviour at breaktime and lunchtime.  The inspectors met with groups of staff and pupils and considered the opinions expressed through the online surveys.  The inspectors met some parents at the start of the day and had regard to the views

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expressed through the online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Cathy Young, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Harjit Chahal Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 January 2025

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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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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