The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School

Inspection of The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School Kingsland Gardens, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN2 7BH

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

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The headteacher of this school is Carmel Dodds. This school is part of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust (OLICAT), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the strategic executive lead, Tony Bishop, and overseen by a board of directors, chaired by Christopher Donnellan. 4 and 5 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School. The school’s ‘virtues’ of faith, hope, forgiveness, love and trust are tangible and lived throughout the school. Pupils feel valued, listened to and safe. They are polite and respectful and welcome new friends to the school. Pupils learn and play harmoniously together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is aspirational for pupils’ achievements. Pupils study a wide range of interesting topics and read books that enthuse them to learn new and ambitious vocabulary. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have the same opportunities as their peers and are well supported to be successful. Pupils try hard and achieve well. Pupils are enthused by the enriching experiences that the school provides. These include learning outdoors and in the community, visiting museums, participating in sports events and learning to play musical instruments. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils enjoy making their own contribution to school life, for instance, as junior leaders and ‘eco stewards’. Pupils aim to show kindness and to be resilient. They are proud to earn virtue tokens for doing this. All this prepares pupils well for their next steps.

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

The school’s curriculum is ambitious and engaging. It is well structured. In all subjects, the school has identified precisely what pupils will learn and when they will learn it. There are many opportunities to revisit important concepts. This is built carefully right from the start of the Reception class. This helps pupils to gain and retain new knowledge over time.

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

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and most present concepts clearly. Teachers provide interesting activities and opportunities for pupils to practise skills they have learned. Leaders have ensured that teachers check pupils’ learning rigorously in reading, writing and mathematics. Staff use this information effectively to address any knowledge gaps and misconceptions. However, this is not done consistently well in some other subjects. In these subjects, pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they could.

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

Reading is a constant priority in the school. Phonics is taught well right from the start. This includes a sharp focus on supporting weaker readers to catch up quickly. Pupils read often from books that are well matched to the sounds they know. This helps them to become confident and fluent readers.

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

Pupils learn demanding vocabulary through the wide range of texts that the school has placed at the heart of the curriculum. Teachers support pupils to structure their written and oral responses well. This starts with communication and language being threaded through in the Nursery and Reception classes. This is helpful for all pupils, but particularly the many pupils in the school who speak English as an additional language (EAL). Pupils 4 and 5 March 2025

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use increasingly sophisticated language in their spoken and written explanations as they move through the school. They become confident communicators.

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The school is currently developing leadership of the wider curriculum. However, in some subjects, the school does not have a secure understanding of how well pupils are learning. In these subjects, the school does not have the information it needs to make improvements in a timely way.

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The school takes seriously its duty to ensure that everyone is included. It precisely identifies pupils’ additional needs and puts in place support to help pupils with SEND learn successfully alongside their peers. Staff make careful adaptions to teaching, so pupils achieve well.

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Opportunities to promote pupils’ well-being are woven through everything the school does. Pupils learn to respect and appreciate difference, including different cultures, beliefs and family structures. They learn about making healthy and safe choices. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain .

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Pupils show positive attitudes to all aspects of school life. The school has put in place careful procedures, so pupils new to the school get off to a strong start. Pupils move around the school calmly and follow routines and instructions without fuss. The school keeps the importance of attendance in parents’ and carers’ minds. The school is approachable and offers tailored support to families when needed. Rates of absence and persistent absence are dropping. Parents are universally appreciative of the school and the positive impact of its nurturing ethos on their children.

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Staff feel valued and enjoy working at the school. They appreciate leaders’ actions to consider staff’s workload and to respect their health and well-being.

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The trust’s collaborative support is a strength. Leaders and staff appreciate the opportunities for training that help them in their work to provide pupils with the best education possible. Local governors and trustees are knowledgeable and passionate about the school and are integral to this endeavour.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects and sometimes in the early years, staff’s checks on pupils’ knowledge do not spot pupils’ misunderstandings or learning gaps. This means staff do not routinely make appropriate decisions about pupils’ next learning steps to ensure that 4 and 5 March 2025

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they gain knowledge securely. The school should support staff to use assessment information effectively so that pupils achieve well in all subjects.  The school does not have as secure an understanding of how well pupils are learning in some subjects compared to others. This means they do not have as full a picture of where to make improvements. The school should ensure that they check how well pupils are learning across subjects, so they better understand where they might need to make necessary improvements.

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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). 4 and 5 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority Board of directors

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School details

CEO of the trust Tony Bishop (strategic executive lead)

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School details

Website www.thegoodshepherdcatholicprimaryscho ol.org.uk Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 June 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust (OLICAT), formed in February 2020.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school’s most recent section 48 inspection, which is an inspection of the school’s religious character, took place in June 2024.  The school runs a breakfast club on the school site.

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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 4 and 5 March 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 second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, staff, the chair and vice chair of directors, the strategic executive lead, the chair of the local academy committee and other committee members.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, physical education and history. 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 samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also met with subject leaders and reviewed samples of pupils’ work in other subjects.

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 Inspectors met with leaders responsible for pupils’ behaviour and attendance and pupils’ personal development. They also met with leaders responsible for the provision for pupils with SEND.  Inspectors met formally and informally with groups of pupils.  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.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. They met with parents in person at the school gates. Inspectors also considered responses to the online surveys for staff.

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Inspection team

Mandy Wilding, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Pearson Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 March 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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