St Paschal Baylon Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School

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104679 Unique Reference Number Liverpool LEA 277205 Inspection number 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006 Inspection dates Ms Gina White HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools the authority to inspect any school in England. The inspection is to be treated as a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Chelwood Avenue School address Primary Type of school Liverpool Voluntary aided School category Merseyside L16 2LN 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0151 7220464 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 7221712 Fax number 341 Number on roll Joan Brookman Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Paula Aziz Headteacher 3 July 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277205 7 June 2006 - 4 to 11 8 June 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. During the inspection, lessons were visited and meetings were held with pupils, staff, governors and a representative of the local authority. The school's self-evaluation document provided crucial evidence in shaping the inspection. Around 44 per cent of parents returned a questionnaire and these views were taken into account.

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Description of the school

This is a slightly larger than average primary school with a distinctly Catholic ethos. A popular and oversubscribed school, most pupils come from relatively advantaged homes. Around 12 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average. Most pupils are from a White British background and none speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The school has gained many awards for its achievements including a Healthy Schools award (2005), the Inclusion Charter Mark (2005) and the Basic Skills Quality Mark (2006).

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Pupils and staff work very hard to make it a friendly and happy place to learn where all are included, valued and respected. 'Our children are happy and can't wait to get to school each morning.' 'Our school is special because it is friendly and we care for each other - we love it.' Many comments like the ones above testify that in pupils' and parents' eyes St Paschal Baylon is a special place to be. The headteacher's leadership is excellent. She has carefully maintained established strengths in achieving high standards and promoting Christian values while improving the school further. She is held in high regard and respected by staff for her ideas and initiatives. She has introduced major changes in teaching styles and in developing pupils' independence in learning. The success of this is clearly recognised by all associated with the school. Many echo a comment by one parent, 'developments over the last three years have made a good school great.'

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Grade: 1

Teachers have readily participated in training and introduced the new approaches effectively to make learning even more stimulating and engaging. Pupils can see the improvements: 'lessons are fun, golden time is fantastic!' This sense of fun and excitement about the school is firmly set from the outset of the day. A number of parents describe their children as 'racing to school' ready and eager to participate in a whole school session of exercises and dancing together on the playground. The enthusiasm with which they participate is fantastic. Enjoying and achieving is at the heart of this school. Most pupils make good and in some cases outstanding progress and achieve very high standards. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress both socially and academically as a result of the school's excellent care and support. All children are considered special and their individual gifts and talents are carefully nurtured. Teachers and support staff

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Grade: 1

have earned the trust and confidence of children and parents alike who report, 'staff go out of their way to support my child'. Partnerships with parents, support services, the church and other schools are excellent. The school is a focal point for the community. Strategic partnerships with the nearby nursery and with other providers ensure breakfast clubs and the extensive range of after school activities contribute effectively to providing wrap around care for children. Children's behaviour during the inspection was exemplary in lessons and around the school. They know and uphold the schools' 'golden rules' and respect and share the school's values. Pupils care for each other, they feel safe and they know how to get help if they have a problem. 'Friendship stops' in the playground have played a very effective role in promoting a caring and supportive ethos throughout the school. Children are confident that if they stand on these spots when they are sad or have no

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Grade: 1

friends to play with, someone will help them. One boy said, 'We don't need them now because they have worked and we have lots of friends!' Older pupils are proud to be Baylon buddies and they take their responsibilities to support and help younger children 2 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006 very seriously. As a result this is a happy and friendly school and the school council cite this as its greatest strength. Healthy lifestyles and particularly pupils understanding of the importance of good diet are very well promoted throughout the school. Further attention is focussing on encouraging even more pupils, particularly those who bring packed lunches to school, to adopt healthier eating habits. The headteacher, staff and governors are not complacent and are continually looking ahead to improve the school further. They have an accurate view of the schools'

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Grade: 1

strengths and weaknesses. Attendance is good, but over the last three years a large number of days have been lost as pupils are taken out of school on family holidays in term time. Governors and the headteacher recognise the problem and are working together to develop strategies to tackle this. Teaching and learning are good, but the need to plan learning carefully to extend pupils' thinking and set challenging goals for each pupil is just beginning to be realised. Plans to improve the rigour of assessment in the Foundation Stage to firmly embed the new teaching and learning strategies, and to improve the quality of writing and provision for gifted and talented children, demonstrate the school's determination to maintain very high standards.

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Grade: 1

Children enter the school with above average skills for their age. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage and Year 1 so that by the end of Year 2 children's attainment is well above average. This provides a strong foundation and they continue to make very good progress. They meet challenging targets and achieve exceptionally well throughout the school. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 are very high and have been for a number of years.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual and cultural development are good. Their moral and social development are outstanding: pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong. They have many opportunities to contribute to the school and wider community and relish opportunities to do so. Service on the school council and collaborative work on special projects and fundraising activities enable them to exercise initiative and develop essential decision making skills.

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Grade: 2

Teachers' strong subject knowledge and use of a wide range of teaching and learning strategies are used effectively to make learning fun and interesting. As a result pupils 3 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006 are keen and enthusiastic, for example Year 2 pupils broke into spontaneous applause and excitement in geography at hearing they will study a mystery country, eager for the special envelope to be opened to find out what it would be. Children work hard in lessons and want to do well. They know how to improve their work because of the good advice and guidance and specific learning targets set by teachers.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum meets requirements and is rich in its breadth and opportunities. All children study Spanish and some also choose to learn French. Literacy and numeracy are firmly embedded and together with a very wide range of extra support and catch up programmes they underpin children's very good achievement. A well structured range of sporting and cultural enrichment activities are enthusiastically supported. Alongside the breakfast club they contribute to good wrap around care which is valued by parents and pupils alike. Younger children have good opportunities for outdoor play and all pupils participate in two hours of physical education each week.

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Grade: 1

Children feel safe and well cared for. They know who to turn to if they are anxious or upset and are confident any problems will be dealt with sensitively. Very good arrangements with the Nursery and local schools ensure most children make a good start to their education. Year 6 pupils are well prepared to move confidently to their new schools. Specialist support for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well planned and closely matched to their social and academic needs. It is extremely effective, enabling many children to make very good progress and to achieve their personal targets. Procedures for safeguarding pupils are good. Staff training in child protection is regularly updated and all policies are kept under close scrutiny by governors.

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Grade: 1

Responsibility for leadership of subjects and coordination of specific initiatives and areas of the school's work are widely distributed. Strategies to take the school forward are carefully chosen and are well integrated with training to enable staff to lead new developments and to support colleagues in developing new areas of expertise. The school can demonstrate through its good tracking procedures the positive impact such work is having in improving pupils' progress and attainment. A rigorous analysis of test results explores patterns of strengths and weaknesses in children's performance, and evaluation is used effectively by teachers to identify where further improvements in teaching and learning can be made. Governors are committed to improving the school and they fulfil their responsibilities effectively. Regular reports ensure they are well briefed about the implementation of 4 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006

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Grade: 1

teaching initiatives and curriculum developments. Evaluation about the impact they have on pupils' progress could be sharper to enable them to challenge and hold the school to account even more effectively. 5 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Paschal Baylon's Catholic Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 8 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming me to St Pascal Baylon. I would like to say a special thank you to all of you who spoke to me at lunchtime and playtimes. I enjoyed listening to your views about the school. I particularly enjoyed seeing everyone in the school performing the 'wake up and shake up' dancing and exercises in the playground on Thursday morning. What a fantastic way to start the day! These are some of the things I liked about your school. - You care for one another and you help to make your school a happy and special place to be. You are lucky to go to such an outstanding school and your school is very lucky to have you! - I enjoyed talking to the school council and hearing about how you use the 'friendship stops' in the playground when you want to make new friends or if you need someone to talk to when you are sad. - Some of the older children told me how proud they are to be a 'Baylon buddy' and about the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

important work they are doing to help the younger children settle into the school. - I think your behaviour is excellent. You keep the school rules very well. You show how you respect the staff and each other by listening carefully to each other and in sharing positive thoughts in circle time. - You have lots of interesting activities and clubs to take part in at lunchtime and after school. - I also saw you working very hard for your teachers and because of this nearly all of you are doing very well indeed. You can be proud of this. Mrs Aziz, the governors and staff do a very good job and have plans to improve the school even more. They are making lessons and 'golden time' exciting for you but they want to help you to do the very best you can. They need your help and support to become even better at two things: - attendance has fallen a little bit over the last few years. You and your parents can help to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

improve this by making sure you don't take holidays when you should be in school - to encourage even more of you to develop healthy eating habits while you are young. You can show your support by including more healthy snacks in your lunchboxes.

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