Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School

Address: Winchfield Drive, Harborne, Birmingham, West Midlands, B17 8TR Unique reference number (URN): 141484

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have a determined approach to maintaining pupils’ high attendance. Attendance is everybody’s responsibility at Our Lady of Fatima. Leaders understand the barriers some families face to regular attendance and reduce them. They monitor attendance daily and take swift action, when patterns change. Staff are advocates of regular attendance in class. As a result, pupils’ attendance is above the national average. Persistent absence is notably low. Pupils who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities attend well, and in line with the attendance of all pupils nationally.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils are kind, polite and respectful. Leaders set high expectations for behaviour. Staff apply the systems well and use them consistently. Pupils know what the behaviour expectations are. They follow rules and enjoy the rewards given for positive choices. For example, the end of year raffle is a highlight for pupils. In lessons, most pupils listen carefully to their teachers. They show positive attitudes to their learning. They enjoy playtimes and interact cooperatively with their peers. Pupils are caring towards each other. If they fall out, they trust adults to deal with issues fairly. Leaders provide effective support to pupils who need to improve their behaviour. They make adaptations, where needed, and this helps pupils to make better choices.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Inclusion is a strength of the school. Leaders have established a strong culture of inclusion. This ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils are well supported. There are robust systems in place to ensure pupils' needs are identified quickly. Pupils with SEND benefit from carefully tailored plans to support their learning. These are used alongside a range of adaptations that effectively reduce barriers to learning. As a result, they make secure progress towards their targets. Leaders track progress effectively. Staff are proactive and provide feedback to support leaders’ decisions. This joined-up approach ensures leaders can confidently adjust the provision to ensure the greatest impact.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use additional funding to maximise the impact on pupils’ learning and development. Disadvantaged pupils benefit from support for their learning and wellbeing. Leaders ensure that all pupils enjoy enrichment opportunities. They use some of this funding to remove any financial barriers. Leaders and governors check this funding is making a positive difference to these pupils. They track its impact effectively. When needed, leaders engage external professionals and specialists to provide extra support for pupils. Staff receive effective training. This ensures they have the skills they need to support pupils effectively in class.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders provide a comprehensive personal development programme. The wellbeing of pupils is given the highest priority. Personal, social, health and economic education gives pupils the knowledge they need to keep themselves healthy and safe in an age-appropriate way, including online safety. Pupils understand the importance of healthy and respectful

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Expected standard

Pupils have a secure and detailed knowledge across the personal development programme. This includes a deep knowledge of fundamental British values. Pupils know how these help communities to live together effectively. They are respectful of each other and different faiths and cultures. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Expected standard

The pastoral offer in school is highly effective. Staff offer a range of strategies to reduce any barriers that pupils may face to positive wellbeing. They teach pupils how to manage their emotions and seek help from staff when they need it. For example, pupils learn breathing techniques to help them regulate their heart rate. Leaders rigorously monitor the impact of the pastoral offer. This ensures it continues to have a positive impact on pupils.

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Expected standard

There is a carefully designed enrichment programme. Leaders check to make sure that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are involved. Visits are linked to the curriculum. These include trips to a stone age village, art galleries and fossil workshops at a local university. Pupils look forward to the residential trip in Year 6. This opportunity helps them to develop independence and confidence before they move to secondary school. Extra-curricular activities are wide ranging. Pupils help to choose which clubs run, including glow in the dark dodgeball and magical maths. They are also given opportunities to hold leadership responsibilities in school. For example, health and safety officers, school council and 'Mini Vinnies'. Pupils relish these opportunities. They talk confidently about how they have affected school decisions. Pupils are proud of the positive changes they have made through their leadership roles.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, pupils achieve well across the school. Pupils who are disadvantaged, and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make secure progress from their individual starting points. Over the last 3 years, pupils' results in national tests at the end of Year 6 have been close to, or above, national figures in all areas. This includes pupils who are disadvantaged. Leaders have rightly focused on phonics, where outcomes at the end of Year 1 in previous years are lower than they would like. This is beginning to have an impact.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders recognise that while achievement at the end of key stage 2 is positive, this is not always matched by the quality of work in books. In some classes, foundational skills are not always addressed, particularly in handwriting, spelling and grammatical features. This impacts on the quality of work some pupils produce in the wider curriculum. By the time they leave the school, pupils typically acquire the knowledge required for their next steps in education.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have focused on developing the curriculum following the previous inspection. As a result, pupils follow a broad and well-sequenced curriculum. Leaders have set out clear plans for each subject. This identifies the important knowledge pupils need to learn and the order in which they learn it. Leaders ensure that staff have the subject knowledge they need to teach the curriculum. They make regular checks on the impact of the curriculum. Leaders know where teaching is less consistent and are providing support and training where needed.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Reading is a priority. Pupils have access to a wide range of books across the curriculum. This helps them to develop a love of reading. Staff typically teach the phonics programme well. Pupils who find reading difficult have extra sessions to help them catch up.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers explain new ideas clearly and make checks on pupils understanding in most lessons. However, in some classes, these checks are not made routinely. This means when some pupils make errors in basic skills they persist over time. Teachers use questions to help pupils think more deeply. They make appropriate adaptations to tasks so that all pupils can succeed. Pupils with barriers to their learning access the full curriculum alongside their peers.

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Early years Expected standard

Children in the early years make a positive start to their education. They benefit from a warm and welcoming environment, where they feel safe and confident. Staff have established clear routines. Children arrive calmly and settle to their learning quickly. The curriculum is well sequenced and broken down into small steps. It carefully builds the knowledge and skills the children need. This means all children typically make good progress from their starting points and are ready for Year 1.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the early years environment is well organised and language rich. Through indoor and outdoor provision, children access a range of activities. These encourage exploration across all areas of learning. Stories and rhymes form a central part of the curriculum. Children move confidently between activities and engage purposefully with the environment. Staff interact with children well. They model language and some use questions to extend children’s thinking. However, sometimes, opportunities to deepen children’s understanding are missed.

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Early years Expected standard

Staff know their children well and target those who need extra help effectively. They identify needs early and adapt activities so all children can take part. They track the children’s engagement in tasks. This ensures they all access the full curriculum. Staff check what children know and use this information to provide extra support or tailored next steps.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders hold pupils’ interests at the heart of everything they do. They think carefully about how their decisions affect disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This ensures that their decisions have a positive impact across all pupils. Leaders set clear expectations for teaching and behaviour. They are role models within their school. Leaders have accurately identified the school’s strengths and areas for development. Their actions are well considered and effective. For example, improvements to the writing curriculum have made a positive impact on pupils’ work. They regularly check the impact of their actions and refine provision where needed. However, their actions are yet to have an impact on the quality of pupils' work in the wider curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors and directors are proud to be a part of the school. They carry out their statutory duties effectively. This includes safeguarding and monitoring the impact of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. They receive regular information about the school. This helps them to check the impact of leaders’ actions.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with a wide range of professional learning that builds knowledge over time. Training matches the needs of the school and individual staff. This is well received by staff and ensures they have the skills they need to support pupils effectively. Leaders carefully consider staff wellbeing when they make decisions. They make sure that they have time to embed new processes. This helps staff to manage their workload and they appreciate this. Parents are typically positive about the school and the communication they receive about their children.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils love coming to school and attend well. They quickly develop a sense of belonging in this inclusive school, where every child is known. Staff greet pupils warmly when they arrive. Most pupils arrive on time. They settle quickly into established routines. This helps them to begin their learning without delay.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils and staff ‘live, love and learn’ harmoniously together. Everyone has high aspirations for what pupils can achieve. Pupils understand that if they work hard, they will succeed. In lessons, pupils listen carefully and complete the work given to them. In most cases, pupils show pride in their work. Staff act quickly to remove any barriers to learning and wellbeing, including for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, by the time they leave, they are well prepared for the next stage of education.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities outside of the taught curriculum. Many learn to play a musical instrument and take part in performances. This develops pupils’ confidence. Pupils also develop an understanding of their place in the wider world. They do this through fundraising, community litter picks and seed planting in the prayer garden. Pupils care about the world around them and act responsibly as global citizens. Pupils behave well and feel safe in school. They have trusted adults they can turn to if they need help. They know adults will respond quickly, for example, if bullying occurs.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils know how to stay safe and look after their mental health. They have a range of strategies to help themselves to stay focused in class, through their individual and class ‘toolkits’. Older pupils understand their responsibility to act as role models for younger pupils. By the time they leave for secondary school, pupils are confident, resilient and ready for life in modern Britain.

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Team inspectors:

Lynda Townsend, Ofsted Inspector Karen O'Keefe, Ofsted Inspector

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that teaching approaches and expectations are consistent across the school and subjects so that pupils produce high-quality work routinely. Leaders should make sure that teachers check and address errors in pupils' work more precisely so that these do not become embedded over time. Leaders should strengthen the consistency of high-quality staff–child interactions across the early years, ensuring that all staff use questioning and vocabulary modelling that deepens learning.

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About this inspection

This school is part of The Emmaus Catholic Multi Academy Company, which means that other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Suzanne Horan, and overseen by a board of directors, chaired by Joanna Griffin. The school also has a local governing body. This is chaired by Matthew Higgins.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the school leaders, staff, parents, children, representatives of both the archdiocese, the CEO, governors, directors and the trust's school improvement lead and inclusion lead during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Catholic religious character. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham. The most recent section 48 inspection, which is an inspection of the school’s religious character, took place in February 2022.

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About this inspection

The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 14 July 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 77% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 73% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 54% 46% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 62% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 54% 59% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) S 59% S ‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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