St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bridgwater

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Bridgwater Park Avenue, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 7EE

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 February 2025

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Outcome

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

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Alison Frost. This school is part of The Dunstan Catholic Educational 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), Helen Taylor, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Catherine Christie.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of this school. They demonstrate the school’s values of ‘stewardship, respect, curiosity, forgiveness and love’ in their work and actions. Pupils know that by following the school’s values, they help to make the school a safe and happy place.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm place. Pupils are polite and friendly. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and they communicate these consistently. Pupils behave well in and outside of the classrooms. They move around in an orderly manner. From the Reception Year, children pay attention to staff and follow routines well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have positive relationships with staff and each other. Pupils know staff will help them. Through the school’s buddy group system, pupils share their concerns with their trusted adult who makes sure they get help. This supports pupils to manage their feelings and settle in well to the school day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils and what they can achieve. It has designed an ambitious curriculum. Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum and in national tests in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Most pupils are well prepared for their next stage of learning. 25 and 26 February 2025

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

There is a clear order to the teaching of reading. From the start of the Reception Year, children begin to build their knowledge of sounds. They use this to blend sounds into words. As they move through the reading curriculum pupils build on this knowledge to read and write words with more complex spelling patterns. Staff provide additional support to pupils who are at risk of falling behind with their reading. Extra reading practice helps pupils to build fluency and confidence. As a result, by the time they enter key stage 2, most pupils are competent readers.

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

The mathematics curriculum is well designed. Pupils build their knowledge in a logical order. Staff check pupils’ understanding. They help pupils correct any misconceptions they have. Pupils develop a strong knowledge of numerical facts. The work pupils complete helps them remember these facts with ease. This supports pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge to solve problems effectively.

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

Recently, the school has worked at pace to review and redesign the wider school curriculum. The curriculum is designed from the early years foundations stage onwards. It details the essential knowledge that pupils will build as they move through it. The curriculum identifies the vocabulary that pupils need to know and the skills they will build and return to. This helps pupils effectively gain new subject knowledge over time.

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

In most subjects, the work pupils complete helps them to secure and apply their knowledge. For example, in geography, Year 2 pupils share their understanding of ‘why our world is wonderful’. However, some curriculum subjects are newly designed. In these subjects, teachers have not developed tasks to check how well pupils have secured their knowledge over time. Consequently, pupils do not learn as well, and teachers are not clear where pupils’ gaps in knowledge are.

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

The school understands the needs and barriers pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have. Teachers are developing their skills to adapt work to help pupils with SEND to be successful. However, the school does not identify clearly enough the specific support pupils with SEND need to achieve their individual targets. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not progress well against their individual needs.

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

Pupils focus well during lessons and there is no disruption. They work hard and remain engaged. They listen well and are keen to share their ideas. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the new curriculum. Some pupils can link this to their previous knowledge.

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

Pupils are proud of the many leadership roles they hold. They value the opportunities they have to make a positive difference to the school. For instance, pupils help to care for the school environment. Older pupils support younger pupils to have happy and active playtimes. This helps children in the Reception Year to settle in well. Pupils who are well- being champions help to make sure pupils share their feelings and receive support from staff to manage their emotions. 25 and 26 February 2025

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The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of the wider world. Pupils find out about the work of international charities, and they raise money to support children living in poverty.

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The trust has an accurate understanding of the school. It works in partnership with the school to check the effectiveness of the school’s work. Staff feel well supported in teaching the new curriculum. They value the support they receive to manage their workload during this time of change.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. This is because pupils’ individual plans lack precision. Targets do not identify the specific support that pupils with SEND need to be successful. The trust should develop staff’s knowledge and understanding of effective target setting so the barriers and/or gaps that pupils with SEND have reduce over time.  Some of the wider curriculum is in its early stages of implementation. In these subjects, task choices do not support pupils to learn well or help teachers to check how well pupils have secured new knowledge. As a result, pupils do not have a deep knowledge of concepts in these subjects, and teachers are not clear about where pupils’ gaps in knowledge are. The trust should further refine the curriculum and design tasks that support pupils to learn new knowledge securely and address any gaps in knowledge.

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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 25 and 26 February 2025

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in October 2019.

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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). 25 and 26 February 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in September 2024.  The school is part of The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust.  St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School converted to become an academy school in March 2022. When its predecessor school, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school is a Catholic school in the Diocese of Clifton. The most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in January 2024. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school provides a breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education 25 and 26 February 2025

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, other leaders and staff.  The inspector met with the CEO, trustees and members of the governing body, including the chair.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning, heard pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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.

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 The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspector also considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments, and Ofsted’s survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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