St Joseph's Catholic Infants School

ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC INFANTS’ SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 30 –31 October 2001

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ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC INFANTS’ SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC INFANTS’ SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Pitman Street Wyndham Road Camberwell London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Rev Father David Gibbons

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: June 1997 St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 21661 Peter Belfield Registered inspector 19692 Robert Folks Lay inspector 8867 Rebecca Russell Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Sandfield Educational Consultants 8 Spenbeck Drive Allestree Derby DE22 2UH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 5

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REPORT CONTENTS

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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REPORT CONTENTS

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 16

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REPORT CONTENTS

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 17 St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants is a voluntary aided school situated in Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark. The school, which is over-subscribed, is smaller than most primary schools and has 178 pupils in six classes. The attainment of the pupils when they start in the Reception class covers a wide range and is broadly average overall. Three quarters of the pupils belong to minority ethnic groups and they are learning English as an additional language . A fifth of these pupils (20 per cent) are at an early stage of becoming bilingual. Almost half of the pupils (46 per cent) are entitled to free school meals, which is above the national average. Thirty-six per cent of the pupils are included on the school’s register of special educational needs. One of the pupils has a Statement of Special Educational Needs. In recent years the school has admitted a growing number of pupils from refugee families.

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

St. Joseph’s Infants is a very effective school where pupils achieve high standards in reading writing and mathematics. The quality of teaching is very good. The headteacher, governors, staff and parents work closely together to achieve the school aim of meeting the particular needs of all of the pupils . The school gives very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The headteacher provides excellent leadership. She has a clear vision of what sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision and the school’s ethos strongly supports teaching and learning. • The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the teaching. The teachers plan well and have high expectations of the pupils. • The school offers a wide range of stimulating learning activities that provides for the pupils’ high achievement. All pupils including those with special educational needs and English as an additional language make very good progress. • The pupils behave very well in and around the school and they have very good attitudes to their work. They enjoy school and their attendance is very good. • The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide makes a very positive contribution to the pupils’ achievements.

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What could be improved

• The resources for information and communication technology need to be used more effectively to support the pupils’ work in other subjects and to improve their skills in word processing and handling data. • The work planned for the Reception pupils needs to be planned consistently across the two classes and matched more closely to the Foundation Stage curriculum. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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What could be improved

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

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What could be improved

The school has made very good progress since the last inspection in 1997. All of the key issues from the last inspection have been addressed successfully. The results achieved by pupils in the national tests at age 7 have risen steadily and have remained very high when compared to those of similar schools. The quality of teaching has improved and the behaviour of the pupils is very good. Assessment procedures have developed and are used consistently by all teachers St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 7 to target the work of the pupils. The school has excellent and productive links with parents and the parents are clear about how they can help and influence their children’s learning.

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What could be improved

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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What could be improved

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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What could be improved

Reading B A B A* well above average above average A B Writing C A B A* average below average C D Mathematics A A A A* well below average E

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What could be improved

These results relate to the pupils who took the tests in 2001. They show that the pupils’ performance in mathematics was well above the national average and above average in reading and writing. The pupils’ performance in all three subjects, when compared with similar schools, was very high. Overall the standards achieved by pupils have improved steadily over the last three years and are now above or well above the national average.

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What could be improved

The work that the pupils were doing during the inspection confirms this picture of high standards. The pupils achieve very good standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The pupils develop as very competent readers; they enjoy reading for pleasure and have a very good understanding of what they read. The standards of writing are very good and the pupils are able to write for a variety of purposes. Literacy skills are developed very effectively across the curriculum in subjects such as history, geography and religious education. The pupils have a very good understanding of numbers and calculate mentally both quickly and accurately. The provision for those pupils with special needs and those who are learning English as an additional language is a strength of the school and the pupils make very good progress in relation to their prior attainment. These pupils are regularly taught in small groups and significant gains are made in their speaking, reading and writing

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What could be improved

skills. They are supported very effectively in class lessons by classroom assistants who are clear about what the pupils are to learn.

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What could be improved

The children in the reception classes are making good progress. By the time they are ready to start in Year 1 the majority of the children achieve well and attain the early learning goals in all of the areas of learning. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 8

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. The pupils are enthusiastic learners and are very keen to improve.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. The pupils respond very well to the high expectations of their teachers and other staff.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good. The pupils work and play together very well. Many opportunities are provided for them to accept responsibility and the school keeps careful records of the pupils’ individual development.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Very good. Attendance levels are well above the national average and both parents and the school ensure that the pupils are punctual.

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Aspect Comment

The pupils’ attitudes to school, their personal development and their behaviour are significant strengths. They are sensible, polite, helpful and mature for their age. They are eager to come to school and are keen to help each other. They willingly take on responsibility and the school sets individual goals for improvement in the Autumn term, reviews them in the Spring term and reports the progress made by each pupil in the annual reports to parents. The pupils have warm relationships with the adults in the school.

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Aspect Comment

Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2

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Aspect Comment

Quality of teaching Good Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Aspect Comment

The quality of teaching is very good overall and has improved since the last inspection. The teachers have high expectations of the pupils’ work and behaviour. They plan interesting lessons, with work that is appropriate for pupils of all abilities. The teachers are very skilled in identifying and meeting the needs of all of the pupils. Those who are learning English as an additional language are supported well as are the pupils who may have additional special educational needs. Classroom support assistants are knowledgeable and deployed effectively to ensure that those pupils who are at an early stage of language acquisition are able to work alongside their peers. There is a very good working atmosphere in the classrooms. The teachers make very good use of their assessments to plan work that builds very well on what the pupils already know and can do. All pupils achieve well. It is a measure of the successful teaching that so many of the pupils with English as an

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Aspect Comment

additional language and those with special educational needs do so well in the national tests for seven year olds. Both the teacher and the pupils are well aware of the targets for learning and the work is challenging. The teachers use questions that promote the pupils’ thinking and accelerate their rate of learning. The pupils St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 9 are interested in their work and keen to succeed. They make very good progress in their learning in lessons and over time. The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, including literacy and numeracy is very effective. The extent to which the teachers in the Reception classes plan their work together and make use of the curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage requires further development.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The curriculum promotes high achievement and provides a full range of learning experiences that are rich and stimulating. The curriculum in Reception classes, although effective, does not follow closely enough the national guidance for the Foundation Stage.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Excellent. The pupils are very well supported. They make very good progress and achieve well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. The school provides a good start for the pupils who are learning to be bilingual and ensures that the pupils have full access to the curriculum. The pupils are provided with a high level of support that enables them to make very good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Many opportunities are provided for the pupils to learn how to become caring, effective members of the community.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school places a very high priority on the pupils’ well being. They receive very good guidance and support.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum is very good. Literacy and numeracy are given a high priority and the curriculum is enriched by interesting work in art, music, history, geography and religious education. Visits and visitors to the school enhance the curriculum provision and make a significant contribution to the pupils’ personal, social and cultural development. The assessment of the pupil’s achievement is excellent. The resources for information and communication technology need to be used more effectively to support the pupils’ work in other subjects and to improve their skills in word processing and handling data. The school has a very wide range of regular, consistent and very productive links with parents; they help to ensure that the parents are involved in the life of the school and their children's learning. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Excellent. The headteacher and senior staff share a common purpose and put the pupils and their achievements first. The way the performance of the school is analysed results in appropriate action being taken to raise standards and to improve the quality of education provided. The monitoring of teaching and learning has a very positive impact on standards.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are fully involved in the life of the school and strongly committed to its improvement. They fulfil all of their responsibilities.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The work of the school is fully and thoroughly monitored. It results in appropriate action being taken to raise standards and to improve the quality of education provided.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. The time, money, people and specific grants are used very effectively and the school gives very good value for money.

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Aspect Comment

The leadership of the senior staff is a strength of the school. The headteacher, together with the strong team of teachers, is very skilled in ensuring that the pupils achieve their best. The role of parents in supporting their children’s education is seen by the headteacher as crucial and she ensures that they are able to make a very significant contribution to their children’s learning. The governors are committed and keen for the school to do well. In relation to the principles of best value, the school compares its standards with others, evaluates its performance very effectively, consults parents about proposed changes and attempts to get the best value from all of its spending.

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Aspect Comment

PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

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Aspect Comment

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • The high standards attained by their children. • They believe the school to be well led and managed. • Their children enjoy school. • The standards of behaviour. • The good teaching. • The school expects children to work hard and try their best. • The school helps their children to become mature and responsible. • The parents feel that the school works very closely with them, is approachable and provides good information. • They are happy with the homework St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 11 provided for their children.

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Aspect Comment

The inspection team strongly endorses the parents’ positive views. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 12

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

and the school’s ethos strongly supports teaching and learning.

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

The headteacher works very successfully towards common goals with staff, parents and governors. This clear vision pervades all aspects of the school. With the support of the governors and staff, she creates an ethos that strongly supports achievement and learning. The headteacher has high expectations of staff and pupils. She is totally committed to a partnership with the parents that involves them in working with the school to improve their children’s performance. The way the parents support their children’s education is seen by headteacher as the key to high standards . It is working well. The parents ensure that homework is completed on time and they willingly attend the many functions and meetings that are arranged for them.

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

All of the staff work as a team and are clear about the school’s priorities. The monitoring of teaching and learning is extensive and very effective and has been a regular feature of the school’s work for a number of years. It has underpinned the improvements in the quality of teaching since the last inspection and the year-on- year rise in pupils’ achievements. The range of monitoring is comprehensive with all co-ordinators undertaking lesson observations. Very effective assessment procedures ensure that the teachers have clear information about the pupils’ strengths and weaknesses. They then target the weaknesses very carefully to ensure that the pupils make progress. Standards have remained high and the pupils achieve particularly well in relation to their prior attainment. The headteacher targets groups of pupils to improve their writing skills and teaches them herself.

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

The school improvement plan sets out clearly what needs to be done and how the school will judge what has been achieved. The school analyses data from national tests and other sources and the information is used very effectively to set targets for the pupils’ learning. Early identification of the pupils’ needs is a strength of the school. This enables support to be put in place at an early stage, particularly for those pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language. The school makes very good use of the additional grants it receives. The ethnic minority achievement grant (EMTAG) helps the school to fund the employment of classroom support assistants. The level of support provided for these pupils is a significant strength of the school and an appropriate balance of withdrawing pupils and support within the classroom works well. The Excellence in Cities grant has enabled the school to appoint a member of staff who works closely

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

with teachers in Year 2. This has been particularly helpful to those pupils who lack concentration or have emotional problems.

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sort of school St. Joseph’s should be. Staff and governors share this vision

The governors are committed to improving the school. There are appropriate committees in place to monitor the school’s work and they function well. The governors have a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and some have been in post for many years. All have detailed knowledge of the workings of the school and they are appropriately involved in setting the school’s objectives. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 13

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

teaching. The teachers plan well and have high expectations of the pupils .

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

The teachers have high expectations of what the pupils can achieve. This results in high standards of work and behaviour and the standards achieved in the school have improved year-on-year. In the national tests in 2001 the pupils’ performance in mathematics was well above the national average and above average in reading and writing. The results were very high when compared with those in similar schools. A school achievement award was received from the DfES for consistently good results over the last three years. Taking the three years 1999 – 2001 together, the performance of the St Joseph’s pupils is equivalent to an advantage of more than a term in reading, almost a term in writing and by one and a half terms in mathematics. Given that the pupils’ attainment is broadly average when they start in the Reception class, they make very good progress across the school. The school attributes these high standards to the very clear emphasis that is given to the teaching of reading, writing and

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

mathematics within a broad and balanced curriculum. This is so. The basic skills are taught very effectively. There is a very good working atmosphere in the classrooms and the teachers are very enthusiastic. The work is challenging and the teachers make very good use of their assessments when planning future work.

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

Most of the lessons observed during the inspection were excellent or very good and the teachers’ planning reflected the careful use of assessment. In a mathematics lesson in Year 2, the teacher had very clear targets for the pupils to improve their understanding of solving real- life problems. She was adept at getting the pupils to find answers to problems using different methods and they were excited by their success. The lesson moved along at a fast pace and the teacher’s enthusiasm and good humour kept the pupils interested and motivated. After the very successful whole class session, the pupils worked on a range of activities that consolidated their earlier learning. In a guided reading session in Year 1, the pupils learned quickly how to gain an understanding of the plot in a book by scanning the illustrations. The teacher moved briskly on and used letter glove puppets to improve the pupils’ skills in

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

devising short words. The practical involvement of the pupils as they lined up the puppets kept them motivated and challenged them. A common feature of much of the teaching is the very good lesson planning that identifies clearly what the pupils are to learn. This is linked directly to assessments of the pupils’ previous learning and their targets.

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

The structure of the Literacy and Numeracy Hour is used well in the teaching of English and mathematics, beginning with some whole class teaching followed by group tasks. In the excellent and very good lessons the whole class teaching observed had good pace; relationships with the pupils were very good and the texts used in the Literacy Hour captured the pupils’ interest. In a lesson in Year 2, poems read from A Pocket full of Liquorice were used well to teach the children how to identify different rhyming patterns. The word and sentence level work was very good indeed. Targeted questions that took account of the pupils’ varying abilities kept them very attentive and enabled them to extend simple sentences into complex ones. The teachers are adept at combining seeing and hearing with reading and writing. In so many of the lessons observed, the high expectations of the teacher resulted in the pupils achieving well and making very good progress. The school brings excitement to

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The pupils achieve high standards because of the very good quality of the

English, mathematics and science in the weeks that are devoted solely to these subjects. Book- week is supported enthusiastically by parents when everybody dresses up as a character from a book. Science and maths trails are laid around the school and the school is inundated with visitors who come to share their work with the pupils. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 14 Opportunities to extend and reinforce literacy and numeracy are not overlooked in the other subjects, with the pupils writing vivid accounts of the Fire of London, investigating the role of drugs and how they are used in medicine and recording information about the locality.

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

The curriculum promotes high achievement and provides a full range of learning experiences that are rich and stimulating. It includes very good provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral and personal and social development. The rich and varied experiences offered to all of the pupils provide a solid foundation on which the pupils develop a love of learning and gain insights into the wider world. The school achieves a very effective balance between the teaching of literacy and numeracy and the development of the pupils’ personal, social and intellectual skills through other subjects. The work is carefully planned so that, wherever possible, links are made between subjects and the subject requirements are covered in sufficient depth. Additionally, the school has successfully introduced ‘special weeks’, where once a term for one week, all the activities are planned around books, mathematics and science. Special events take place, visitors are

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

invited to perform or to talk to the pupils and parents are also involved. In Book Week puppeteers and drama groups perform for pupils and their parents. During the ‘Maths Week’ , pupils, parents and teachers followed a mathematics trail around the school. This helped to raise the pupils’ awareness of mathematics in every day situations and made their learning more interesting and meaningful. A part-time music specialist is employed to teach music to all classes. She helps to organise regular performances and the pupils play a wide range of percussion instruments. A wealth of additional opportunities to further broaden the curriculum are provided through visits out-of-school and include local museums, seasonal visits to local parks, the science museum, London art galleries, the theatre and a trip to the seaside. The school has excellent assessment procedures that are applied consistently by all

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

teachers in reading, writing and mathematics. They are the key to the high standards of teaching and learning and the very good progress that the pupils make. All the teachers and classroom assistants make day-to-day assessments of the pupils’ learning. The teachers make excellent use of these assessments to guide curricular planning and to target the work of groups and individual pupils through their detailed curriculum and lesson planning. Each half-term the pupils are tested and weaknesses are identified and targeted for improvement. An individual portfolio is kept for every pupil and contains samples of work in each subject that have been assessed against national curriculum levels. A screening test in listening and phonic skills and writing is carried out on all Year 1 pupils to determine how well they are progressing. The pupils who require additional support are identified and taught in small groups. The system is very successful in enabling the pupils to

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

improve the standards of their work. Pupils’ work and test papers are carefully analysed to identify areas of weakness and the information is used very effectively in planning future work. The wide range of assessment procedures are rigorous and effective and play a key part in the very good standards that the pupils’ achieve. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 15 The provision for those pupils with special educational needs is excellent. Class teachers are closely involved in identifying the needs of all children in their class and are quick to alert the headteacher and special educational needs co-ordinator of any problems. Support is provided for any pupil who is under-performing, sometimes within the classroom, sometimes in small withdrawal groups under the guidance of the co-ordinator. Precise individual education plans are drawn up for all pupils needing extra support and their progress is carefully monitored and their

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

plans are regularly reviewed. The parents are kept fully informed and their help is enlisted in supporting the work of the school at home.

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

The school has a large number of pupils for whom English is an additional language and makes very good provision for their learning. In her initial, pre-school interview with the parents, the headteacher establishes which language is spoken in the child’s home in order to provide a place in a class where there are other pupils who speak the same language. These pupils are welcomed into the school and most settle quickly and begin to make rapid progress in learning to speak English. Teachers are very skilled at identifying when there is need for extra support and there are very good procedures in place for providing it. The deputy headteacher works with small groups of pupils in a carefully planned programme of support. In an excellent lesson observed during the inspection the pupils were being taught how to use singular and plural words. The newly introduced words were constantly repeated and the pupils were encouraged to use them. Classroom assistants are

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educational needs and English as an additional language make very good

skilled in helping the pupils to learn alongside their peers and they work closely with teachers in planning the work that is to be covered The school has provided very good support for those pupils who are at an early stage of acquiring English by appointing a bilingual support assistant.

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The pupils behave very well in and around the school and they have very good

attitudes to their work. They enjoy school and their attendance is very good.

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The pupils behave very well in and around the school and they have very good

The pupils have very good attitudes to learning. They enjoy coming to school, show a keen interest in all that goes on in their classroom and respond eagerly during class discussions. In an excellent lesson in a Reception class the children listen very attentively to the story Wishy Washy Day and answered questions enthusiastically. They worked diligently in groups and made discernible gains in their knowledge of the letter sounds that were covered. There is a wonderful feeling of ‘family’ throughout the school led by the headteacher. Pupils readily accept the idea that they both learn from, and help each other. Many examples of children and adults working together in close co-operation were observed during the inspection. These positive attitudes result in very good behaviour and the school is a calm and orderly place. A good range of opportunities promotes pupils’ personal development. Pupils respond very well to the teachers’ high expectations,

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The pupils behave very well in and around the school and they have very good

acknowledge that rules are for their own safety and that of others and willingly carry out class and school routines. Relationships between pupils and adults are very good and visitors to the school are welcomed with great courtesy. The pupils thrive in this positive atmosphere and rapidly develop their self-confidence – they know they will be listened to and their views will be valued and considered. They eagerly accept responsibility and take pleasure in performing tasks around the school. Older pupils help with assemblies, clear up after lunch and look after younger children during playtimes.

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The pupils behave very well in and around the school and they have very good

Attendance levels, already well above average in 2000, have improved still further and are now very high when compared with the national picture. This reflects both St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 16 the enthusiasm that the pupils have for learning and the joint efforts of the school and parents to ensure that they have few days off.

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

makes a very positive contribution to the pupils’ achievements.

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

The headteacher states that the support of parents is key to achieving high standards. Since the last inspection, the school has developed excellent links with the parents.

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

The parents’ meeting and the questionnaires received, illustrate the strength of feeling that the parents have in their support for the school. They are extremely pleased with the progress that their children are making in the school and were delighted to provide examples of this at their pre-inspection meeting. They feel that the school achieves very high standards. They are very confident that their children are being taught well and that the ethos of the school ensures that their personal development is given a high priority.

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

This close liaison with the parents is developed from an early stage and parents are invited into the school well before their children are admitted. An initial meeting is held with individual parents to learn more about each child. Following this, a meeting is held with all parents to discuss the school’s policies and to inform them of the school’s expectations of its partnership with parents. A third meeting is held when the child starts in the Reception class at which the headteacher explains the curriculum that will be covered. Samples of the pupils’ work from Reception to the end of Year 2 are shared with parents at this time so that they are aware of the school’s ultimate goals and its expectations. Reading records are also shared and the parents are provided with helpful Starting Packs and encouraged to take part in parents and children together (PACT).

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

This early contact reaps dividends and the parents at their meeting described how well the partnership with the school works. Homework is provided regularly and parents willingly provide appropriate support at home. The systems for exchanging information between home and the school work very well. Written information is of high quality. The parents are kept well-informed of developments, school events and key dates through regular newsletters. Annual reports to parents on their children’s progress are very clear and provide detailed information about the children’s achievements and contain the targets for future learning. The parents appreciate this. Consultations are held three times a year and the parents of Year 2 pupils meet with teachers to discuss the possible levels that the pupils can achieve and how the parents can help them. One of the best examples of the close relationships with parents is at the beginning of the school day. All of the staff go

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

out to meet the pupils and the parents. Here they are able to talk to the parents and make arrangements to discuss any problems that may have arisen. The school arranges curriculum evenings in reading, writing and mathematics that are very well attended by parents. Curriculum focus weeks involve parents in aspects of the pupils’ work such as art, music, health and technology. Parents, pupils and teachers raise significant levels of funds for charities and learning resources.

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The partnership with parents is very strong and the support they provide

Parents are extremely supportive of the school in lots of other ways and they help in lessons, and with educational visits and clubs. They strongly support all school events including fund-raising. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 17 WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

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more effectively to support the pupils’ work in other subjects and to improve

their skills in word processing and handling data.

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more effectively to support the pupils’ work in other subjects and to improve

The school has made good use of its information and communication technology resources and the scrutiny of past work indicates that the pupils achieved standards of work appropriate for their age. However, computer facilities have been recently upgraded and a networked system of equipment has been installed across the school. New software has been provided with the new equipment. Many of the staff are unfamiliar with the new software and lack confidence in using it. To overcome these difficulties appropriate training needs to be provided. The pupils’ skills are variable and there is a need to teach skills progressively across the school and to devise an assessment recording system that identifies what the pupils can do and what they need to do next. The scheme of work is in need of review so that the newly available software can be matched to different year groups.

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across the two classes and matched more closely to the Foundation Stage

The pupils make good progress in the Reception classes in the early skills of reading, writing and mathematics. The work covered is largely planned from the National Curriculum but there is a need to follow closely the steps set out in the Foundation Stage Curriculum to ensure that the content of the early learning goals is fully covered. A new teacher has very recently been appointed and there is currently insufficient amount of joint planning to ensure consistency in the provision made in these classes.

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across the two classes and matched more closely to the Foundation Stage

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 18 To raise standards and further improve the quality of education offered by the school, the headteacher, staff and governors should:

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across the two classes and matched more closely to the Foundation Stage

(1) provide appropriate in-service training for teachers so that they are more confident in using the new computer system and the new software associated with it;

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across the two classes and matched more closely to the Foundation Stage

(2) ensure that the work planned for those pupils in the Reception classes follows more closely the national guidance for the Foundation Stage Curriculum and is planned jointly by the two class teachers.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 8

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage 15 39 15 31 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. [When the total number is substantially less than 100, add] Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than one [two, three, etc] percentage point[s]. [Where the total is close to or greater than 100, use only the first sentence.]

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 178

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 69 FTE means full-time equivalent. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 19 Special educational needs YR – Y2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 64

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

English as an additional language No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 134

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 11

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 10

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 20 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 32 27 59

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 26 31 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 25 26 26

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 87 (91) 97 (90) 97 (98) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (83) 91 (90)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 30 30 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 26 26 26

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 95 (88) 95 (95) 97 (95) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 21 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – Caribbean heritage 13 Black – Caribbean heritage

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – African heritage 103 Black – African heritage

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Any other minority ethnic group 16 Other minority ethnic groups This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers and classes Financial information

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 8 Financial year 200/2001

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22.2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total income 523,648

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 8 Total expenditure 532,867

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 175.5 Expenditure per pupil 2,994

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Balance brought forward from previous year 28,258 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 1 FTE means full-time equivalent. St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 22 Results of the survey of parents and carers

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of responses in each category

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

My child is making good progress in school. 76 21 3

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Behaviour in the school is good. 82 13 1 4

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 71 21 3 1 4

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 81 17 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 77 22 1 2

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 88 12

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school works closely with parents. 88 11 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school is well led and managed. 90 9 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 86 13 1

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 51 33 4 1 11 St. Joseph’s Catholic Infants’ School - 23

p.22