St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Consett

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Consett Stanley Street, Consett, County Durham DH8 6LN

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 February 2025

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Outcome

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

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Jennifer Gill. The school is part of Bishop Wilkinson 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), Nick Hurn, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Cllr Martin Gannon.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, enthusiastic and motivated to learn. They take pride in the many democratically elected roles and responsibilities they have. ‘Friendship fixers’ support their friends to resolve disagreements at breaktimes. Sports leaders enjoy organising activities for the younger pupils. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils feed their concerns to the ‘worry monsters’ in school, confident that teachers will sort these out quickly. Pupils feel respected, safe and supported.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils. The school has worked well to improve the quality of education on offer. Current pupils are benefiting from improvements to the curriculum and teaching. They remember much of the important knowledge and many of the skills that they have been taught.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are calm and purposeful places where learning takes place without interruption. Pupils rightly say that bullying is rare. They appreciate how adults in school help them to resolve disagreements. Pupils enjoy earning the many certificates and trophies that recognise the effort they make with their work. All staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Children are taught to be ready, respectful and safe as soon as they start school. 18 and 19 February 2025

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

Leaders have taken the school through a period of rapid curriculum change. Staff are positive about the improvements. They appreciate that their workload and well-being have been considered when changes have been introduced. Leaders, including governors, regularly check the impact of school improvement work. By working in partnership, all leaders are clear on the improvements the changes have made for pupils.

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

A school-wide focus on mathematical fluency is addressing previous gaps in pupils’ multiplication skills. These gaps were reflected in the low outcomes that previous cohorts of pupils achieved in national tests at key stage 2. The recently introduced mathematics curriculum is ambitious. It provides pupils with plenty of opportunities to revisit what they have learned. Pupils are quickly becoming confident and proficient mathematicians. Children in the early years enjoy comparing and adding numbers as they play. Adults in the Nursery and Reception classes constantly encourage children to develop their mathematical vocabulary by comparing the length, height and size of objects. Outside, children’s enthusiasm for mathematics was seen as they threw bean bags into hoops and compared their scores using precise mathematical language. Such approaches are giving current pupils a strong mathematics foundation.

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

The school has recently introduced a new, ambitious English curriculum that prioritises high-quality literature. This has placed reading at the heart of the school’s curriculum, raised teachers’ expectations and improved pupils’ work. However, the high expectations teachers have of pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar in English are not yet in place across all subjects. This results in inconsistencies in the quality of pupils’ writing in other subjects.

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

Teachers are skilled at delivering the school’s phonics programme. When pupils find reading difficult, staff provide effective support to help these pupils to become confident readers. Nearly all pupils can read fluently by the end of key stage 1. Teachers make regular checks on pupils’ knowledge of the sounds they have learned. However, these are not as effective as they should be. Sometimes, pupils’ gaps are not addressed, and they are moved on before they have mastered some sounds. Consequently, pupils are not always able to use their phonics knowledge accurately when they write.

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

Pupils study a curriculum that is highly ambitious. In history and geography, high-quality resources motivate and engage pupils to learn about the world around them and the past. Subject-specific vocabulary is prioritised and expertly modelled by teachers. This helps pupils to remember new learning. In geography, for example, pupils could talk in detail and with confidence about the process of deposition and erosion on the Welsh coast.

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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 supported very well. The school identifies pupils’ needs quickly and gives these pupils the extra help they need. Learning is adapted appropriately to enable pupils with SEND to learn the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs receive the additional support they need in the nurture group. 18 and 19 February 2025

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Leaders have taken effective action to reduce pupils’ absence. The school regularly communicates the importance of high attendance to pupils and their parents and carers. The school takes appropriate and timely action when concerns arise. This includes working in partnership with parents to understand reasons for absence and to help overcome the barriers that exist. Over time, pupils’ attendance has risen.

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The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development is well considered. The recently introduced ‘St Patrick’s Passport’ has increased the wider opportunities that pupils receive. For example, pupils in Year 5 relished the recent theatre visit to see ‘The Tempest’. Older pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and of the many different types of families that exist today. They can talk in detail about the importance of equality, respect and tolerance. ‘Marvellous Mondays’ provide regular opportunities to revisit key topics, such as online safety, British values and the school’s behaviour expectations. Pupils’ understanding of these themes is well developed.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils’ misunderstandings in their phonics knowledge are not addressed speedily enough. This means pupils are moved before they have mastered sounds and letters, and they make mistakes in their spelling. The school should ensure that teachers are supported to better check pupils’ phonics knowledge so that they can identify and address any gaps before moving pupils on.  The quality of pupils’ written work is variable. The high expectations seen in pupils’ English books are not in place across all subjects. This is reflected in inconsistencies in pupils’ use of grammar, spelling and punctuation, which undermine how well they express their ideas in other subjects. The school should ensure that pupils are encouraged to sustain high standards in the quality of their written work across all curriculum areas.

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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 18 and 19 February 2025

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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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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in December 2014.

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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). 18 and 19 February 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Consett converted to become an academy school in February 2022. When its predecessor school, St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school joined Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust in February 2022.  The school is a Catholic school in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The most recent section 48 inspection for schools with religious character took place in November 2017. The school’s next section 48 inspection will take place within five academic years.  The school runs a before- and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 18 and 19 February 2025

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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 this evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher for the school. The inspector also met with a range of teaching and support staff to discuss workload and well-being.  The inspector met with the trust senior director of performance and standards, the vice-chair of the board of trustees and the chair of the local governing committee.  The inspector met with the director of education for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector met with leaders who are responsible for attendance, behaviour and pupils’ 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 reviewed responses to Ofsted’s survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View, and considered responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 February 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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