Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report Sacred Heart RC Primary School

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105243 Unique Reference Number Bolton LEA 277324 Inspection number 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005 Inspection dates Mr Mike Hewlett CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Central Drive School address Primary Type of school Westhoughton Voluntary aided School category Bolton, Lancashire BL5 3DU 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01942 634681 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01942 812063 Fax number 281 Number on roll Mr Father Quinlan Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr J Brierley Headteacher 12 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277324 14 November 2005 - 4 to 11 15 November 2005 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Sacred Heart is an average sized primary school where a small number, one in twenty five pupils, claim free school meals. A larger number, one in ten, have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Both of these figures are below national averages. The overwhelming majority of pupils are from white, British families. On entering Reception classes, pupils generally have skills that are average or above.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005

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Grade: 1

Sacred Heart is an outstanding school. This judgement matches the school's own view of its effectiveness and that of parents and pupils. Standards are high and well above those found in schools nationally and children make good progress. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good and they also make good progress. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. They enjoy school, have very positive attitudes and behave exceptionally well. There are strong links with parents and other agencies that contribute to the excellent care for pupils. The leadership and management of the headteacher and governors are outstanding. Self evaluation is spot on, recognising priorities as the need to challenge some higher attainers and raise the quality of the teaching to that of the very best. Strategies to make sure these happen are already in place. School leaders are committed to the safety and well-being of all the children.

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Grade: 1

They make excellent use of assessment information to plan future work. The school has made outstanding progress since the last inspection and school leaders have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to improve still further. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Continue to provide greater challenges for higher attainers, particularly in Key Stage 2. • Iron out some inconsistencies identified in the teaching.

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Grade: 2

The school judges achievement and standards as good and the inspection confirms that this is an accurate picture. Parents and children hold similar views on the performance of the school. Children make consistently good progress and they achieve well. They start school with skills that are average or above and they get off to a good start in the Reception classes, making good progress during their first year. This picture continues year on year so that by the time they leave in Year 6, results are well above average. The upward trend has continued with the 2005 test results. Targets set by the school are very challenging and are generally met. One of the reasons for its success is that children's results and overall performance are carefully analysed, with lessons learned used to make changes where necessary. For example, despite Year 6 pupils reaching standards that are well above average in most subjects, more emphasis has

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Grade: 2

been placed on stretching higher attainers to make sure they do even better. The school agrees there is room for these pupils to be challenged even further. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make similarly good rates of progress. This is because the work they are given is carefully tailored to their needs. 2 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005

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Grade: 1

The school judges this area of its work to be outstanding and inspectors agree. Children's attendance is above the national average for primary schools and their punctuality is good. They describe how much they enjoy coming to the school and their attitudes and behaviour in classrooms and around the school are outstanding. Children feel very safe and secure and are confident enough to approach any adult if they have any problems or difficulties. Children take full advantage of the wide range of opportunities provided for them to enhance personal development. A prime example of this outstanding provision is the school council, which is successfully run and managed by the children themselves. Children exude confidence when they speak and they are very keen to take on a wide range of available responsibilities such as peer mediation and being a playground pal. As a result, their independence and self esteem are high and many display a far greater

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Grade: 1

maturity than would be expected for their age. The outstanding ethos of the school is significantly underpinned by the school's excellent provision of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is demonstrated in practice by the exemplary way in which children show care and consideration for one another around the school.

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Grade: 2

The school judges this area of its work to be good and inspectors agree. Children enjoy learning new things and they are inspired and motivated by the good quality teaching. Clear established routines and high expectations help pupils' develop very good attitudes to learning. Their behaviour is excellent and staff value children's work and achievements. Praise and encouragement are strong features in all lessons and this helps raise pupils' self-esteem, feel successful and encourages them in their learning. "These questions are really hard but I can just about do them", said one girl in a Key Stage 2 class. Such an attitude goes some way to explaining why children do so well. In most lessons, children respond very well to a wide range of challenging work. They are keen to answer questions and can give detailed explanations of their working strategies. Work is matched well to individual needs with careful planning to ensure

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Grade: 2

that children of all abilities are given tasks at just the right level. Independent work is a feature across the school and children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. As a result, they have a good understanding of what they need to do to improve. Comprehensive monitoring and assessment systems check on how well each child is doing and pick up on any weaknesses. This is how the school found that there were some inconsistencies in teaching. Swift action was taken to put this right. 3 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005 Classroom support staff are effectively involved across the school and they make a good contribution to the teaching and learning provision.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding curriculum, which is exciting and well balanced, meeting the needs of all its pupils. The school underestimates the quality of what it delivers in this area describing it as good. The curriculum for personal development reflects the hard work and effort the school has invested resulting in a caring, calm community of faith. Close monitoring by key stage and subject leaders ensures that important skills in literacy and numeracy are effectively promoted across the curriculum. This provides children with an excellent grounding for their future development. Careful scrutiny of planning and monitoring systems ensure all children have full access to the National Curriculum. An exceptional range of extra-curricular activities and clubs significantly enriches the curriculum and includes a very strong focus on sport and the arts. This contributes to children's awareness of how they can remain fit and healthy. Their

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Grade: 1

understanding of cultures different to their own is well provided for through religious education and as well as in art and music. Provision for gifted and talented children is excellent.

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Grade: 1

This aspect is outstanding and better than the school's own evaluation. Child protection arrangements are in place and understood by staff. Very good attention is paid to health and safety as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle. Teachers are aware of the needs of individual pupils whilst children who are new to the school are offered sensitive help to settle quickly. In this safe, secure environment, pupils thrive. As one pupil noted, "I shine because I am loved". Pupils care for each other exceptionally well. Peer tutors are trained to help pupils achieve their targets and peer mediators and playground pals ensure that playtimes are happy occasions in keeping with the Catholic ethos of the school. The school works well with other agencies and with parents to enable pupils to make good progress. Teachers analyse pupils' work carefully. Through marking and the provision of targets, all pupils including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have a very clear

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Grade: 1

The school judges leadership and management to be outstanding and evidence gathered during the inspection confirms this is accurate. Parents share this view. They feel the school is approachable and that it listens to, and acts on, their suggestions. "This 4 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005 school wants the very best for my child and will always try to answer my concerns", said one parent. The school has successfully created an environment where raising standards is at its heart and in which teaching and learning continue to improve. The clarity of vision of the management team results in pupils making good progress whilst still promoting a caring school. All areas of leadership and management are regularly and rigorously monitored. The school's self evaluation is excellent, highlighting areas that need to be improved, such as ironing out some inconsistencies in the teaching, and then taking immediate action

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Grade: 1

to put them right. It also provides the school with a clear direction and allows for accurate and challenging targets to be set. Children feel valued and are afforded equal opportunities to access and be supported in the curriculum. All staff within the school are used very effectively. The governing body is well informed and knowledgeable and challenges and supports the leadership team very well. Individual members are fully involved in the life of the school and bring a wide range of expertise. Governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities and make an excellent contribution in moving the school forward by working in close harmony with the school's leadership team. 5 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005 .

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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: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, 14 November 2005 to 15 November 2005

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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 1 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 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 2 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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 1 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 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 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

As you know, a team of inspectors visited your school recently to find out if your school is giving you the education you should receive. Thank you very much for making us so welcome. We really enjoyed talking to you and finding out about what you enjoyed doing. You are really proud of your school and rightly so. Some of the things we really liked were: - the excellent way your headteacher and other adults look after you so well and help you to work hard - how keen you are to take on responsibilities, help to make decisions about your school and care about one another - your behaviour and attitude to work which was outstanding - the welcome everyone has given to children who are new to your school - they way in which your work is planned and made interesting for you. We were very impressed with what we saw. The adults in your school have already spotted what needs to be done to improve even further and we agree with them. These things include making

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

sure that all of the teaching in school is as good as the best teaching we saw and planning special work for those of you who learn more quickly. Thank you for helping us so much with the inspection of your school. We hope you will carry on enjoying learning and helping your teachers to improve Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School.

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