Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

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105536 Unique Reference Number Manchester LEA 277374 Inspection number 17 May 2006 to 18 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr Jim Alexander 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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Floatshall Road School address Primary Type of school Baguley Voluntary aided School category Manchester, Lancashire M23 1HP 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0161 9983419 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 9456507 Fax number 242 Number on roll Mrs A Noone Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Aelred Whelan Headteacher 22 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277374 17 May 2006 - 3 to 11 18 May 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Sacred Heart is a larger than average primary school, within the diocese of Shrewsbury. Most pupils attending the school are of white British heritage. There is a small minority of pupils from minority ethnic groups, some of whom are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below the national average. The school has recently achieved the national Healthy School Award.

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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 Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides good value for money; a judgement that matches the school's own view. Standards in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory and have improved since the last inspection. The school recognises that further action is required to ensure developments in the Nursery class are maintained. Children enter the school with below average expectations for their age and reach broadly average standards by the end of Year 6, which represents good progress. Provision for more able pupils has improved recently and the school has rightly identified that more capable mathematicians now need additional challenge. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance and punctuality are satisfactory and have improved over time. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and their behaviour is outstanding. Parents have a particularly high regard for the school and its work; every child matters at this school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy high levels of pastoral care, with a good emphasis placed on the well-being of the 'whole child'. Teaching is good overall, ranging from satisfactory to outstanding; pupils are encouraged to be active learners. The rich curriculum offers a range of exciting activities and pupils are equipped well to live in a diverse community. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language receive effective support and achieve as well as other pupils. Leadership and management are good and self-evaluation is accurate. The issues raised by the previous inspection have been successfully addressed and there is good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the provision in the Nursery class to ensure a learning environment where all children make good progress. • Improve the progress of more-able pupils in mathematics and ensure the quality of teaching is consistently good and provides a focused challenge for these pupils.

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Grade: 2

The school correctly judges achievement to be good. Children enter the Nursery with standards that are below expectations for their age. Progress through the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and by the time children start Year 1, most have reached the learning goals expected for their age. This represents an improvement since the last inspection. By the end of Year 2, pupils reach broadly average standards and make satisfactory progress. The number of pupils achieving higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics is also broadly in line with the national average. The 2005 assessment results demonstrate that standards in reading, writing and mathematics improved from the previous year. By the end of Year 6, pupils reach broadly average standards, representing good progress through the school, given the pupils' starting points. Targets for average ability pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

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Grade: 2

were met. More-able pupils, however, made less progress than others, particularly in 2 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 2006 mathematics. The work given to them was not consistently challenging. The school has worked hard to ensure the level of challenge for these pupils is now more appropriate and there is already evidence to show that they are making better progress.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being, including provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Pupils' self-esteem flourishes and their confidence grows because they celebrate their achievements together. The school council provides many chances for pupils to develop a good understanding of citizenship. The pupils' ability to relate to others and work together is outstanding. This was demonstrated in an excellent class assembly, which gave the Reception children an opportunity to work with their 'special friends' in Year 6. There are good opportunities for children to reflect on important matters and develop values such as care, compassion and respect. Children are polite and well mannered; they love learning, enjoy school and behaviour is excellent. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory. The school involves children in many worthwhile local activities such as visiting the elderly and fundraising

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Grade: 2

for charities. They have good attitudes towards healthy living and are well aware of the dangers of smoking and the misuse of drugs. The school has organised a range of professionals to visit the pupils and discuss their working life; this has done much to raise pupils' aspirations. Coupled with the many responsibilities and opportunities to learn about money and jobs, it ensures that pupils are well prepared for their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall, ranging from satisfactory to outstanding. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall, with pupils making better progress in Reception where teaching and the learning ethos is much improved since the last inspection. Where lessons are outstanding, for example, literacy in Year 6 and mathematics in Year 5, they are practical, stimulating and challenging and make the best use of information and communication technology (ICT). As a result, learners thrive and make exceptionally good progress. In good lessons, the teaching is tightly structured to match the pupils' understanding; teachers and their assistants work together well and make good use of ICT to demonstrate teaching points. This is a significant factor in the good progress made by pupils, especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, or those who have English as an additional language.

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Grade: 2

Where teaching lacks pace and challenge, the progress pupils make is limited to a satisfactory level. Rigorous assessment procedures are in place and in general teachers use this information well to plan their lessons. Planning does not always offer sufficient challenge for the more able mathematicians. Not all marking is detailed enough to ensure pupils know how to improve their work. The relationship that staff have with 3 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 2006 pupils is a particular strength of the school and ensures the pupils develop a very good attitude to learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good in Years 1 to 6 and satisfactory in the Foundation Stage. It meets statutory requirements. The needs of the majority of learners are met well. However, some of the higher attaining pupils are not sufficiently challenged in mathematics. The curriculum is enriched by many educational visits; for example, to art galleries, theatres, museums and environmental areas. A wide variety of visitors, including the parish priest, sports coaches and poets, also enrich the provision well. Extra-curricular activities are good and include various sports clubs, computers, literacy and a mathematics challenge club. Good links have been made with the Italian consulate and all pupils in Key Stage 2 now learn Italian. Specialist teachers provide violin and guitar lessons. There are good chances for pupils to think about their future and the world of work through personal and social education. Initiatives such as the Healthy

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Grade: 2

School and the Eco awards help the pupils look after themselves and their environment.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support for pupils are good. Adults nurture pupils well and help them to feel safe. A strong ethos of care permeates all aspects of school life and pupils become confident learners. Parents are highly supportive of the school and are of the opinion that extremely good care is taken of their children. They speak of 'the enthusiastic, caring and supportive atmosphere in school'. Arrangements for child protection are robust and known by staff. Close attention is paid to health and safety, and governors are diligent in their monitoring. The recent work to raise standards has caused the school to consider the quality of academic guidance they offer the pupils when marking their work. Although there has been improvement, the school is seeking to iron out inconsistencies when comments are not always clear enough to guide the pupils to improve. Induction arrangements into the Nursery are good and children are

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Grade: 2

well supported when they move on to secondary school.

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Grade: 2

The quality of leadership and management is good. The headteacher's vision to promote good academic standards and an enriched, enjoyable curriculum within a Christian ethos is shared by the staff. The headteacher, governors and staff have created a happy learning environment where pupils thrive. Views from pupils, parents and governors are regularly gathered and taken into account. Much has been done to improve the provision for children in the Foundation Stage since the last inspection and progress has been made, especially in the Reception class. Further improvement 4 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 2006 is required in the Nursery class to bring it up to the good standards seen in the rest of the school. The senior leadership team and subject leaders carry out their responsibilities well and receive good professional development. There are good systems in place to check on

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Grade: 2

how well the school is doing and to identify where further improvements can be made. For example, the need to improve the teaching of mathematics for more able pupils has been identified for improvement. The monitoring of teaching has increased in rigour, to the point that information is now effectively used to inform strategic developments. Parents appreciate the courses that the school provides to enable them to become actively involved in their children's learning. The governing body makes a good contribution to the school's success. They are knowledgeable of the school's strengths and weaknesses and work well as critical friends to help the school move forward. 5 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 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: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, 17 May 2006 to 18 May 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 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 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 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 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 2 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 2 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 3 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 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 very much for being so welcoming when we visited recently. You talked to us in such a friendly way about Sacred Heart School. We would like to let you know the things we thought were good about your school and those things we feel it could do better. What we most liked about your school: - that you behave so wonderfully, get on very well together and enjoy school - that you are well looked after and helped to be fit and healthy - that you use ICT well to help with your learning and like learning Italian - you obviously enjoy it! - that your headteacher leads the school well. We have asked the school to do the following things: - for your teachers to help those pupils who find learning easy to make better progress in mathematics - for staff to make sure lessons are lively and interesting for the youngest children in the nursery; this will help everyone to do their very best. Thank you for helping us with the inspection of your school. We hope that you continue to

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