St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale

Inspection Report St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale

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119586 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280603 Inspection number 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005 Inspection dates Kathleen McArthur Reporting inspector

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

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Flamstead School address Primary Type of school Birch Green Voluntary aided School category Skelmersdale, Lancashire 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01695 721323 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01695 727589 Fax number 197 Number on roll Mrs Cath Ainscow Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Angela Aspinwall-Livesey Headteacher 1 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280603 23 November 2005 - 3 to 11 24 November 2005 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005

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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

This average-sized primary school serves an area of considerable social and economic disadvantage, as is reflected in the large number of children who receive free school meals. The children come from a broad social mix of families, almost all of White British heritage. An unusually large number join or leave the school during the year. When pupils start in the nursery, their attainment is well below what is typical for their age. An above-average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties. The school has achieved the Basic Skills Quality Mark, Investors in People status and most of the Healthy Schools Award. As a full service-extended school, it provides before and after school care, holiday clubs and family support. Its facilities are used by the local community.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. Inspectors confirm the school’s own view of how effective it is, but also identify some features that are outstanding. Pupils’ personal development and the way the school cares for them are both outstanding. Inspirational leadership by the headteacher has created a vibrant environment at the heart of the community. She is ably supported by the strong senior leadership team. Excellent links with outside agencies provide extended services and guidance for pupils and their families. Governance is good, and the governors know the school well. Pupils and their families are welcomed as partners in the learning process, and are highly satisfied with the school. Children make a good start to school in the Foundation Stage. They progress well but few reach or exceed the standards expected by the end of reception. Although standards are below national averages, good teaching ensures pupils achieve well

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Grade: 2

throughout the school. The curriculum is good and pupils really enjoy learning. The school makes great efforts to involve them all in the wide variety of activities, and actively seeks their opinions and ideas on all aspects of school life. Attendance is below the national average. Previous weaknesses in information and communication technology (ICT), design technology and pupils’ knowledge of life in a multi-cultural society have been successfully overcome. Standards in English, mathematics and ICT still need to be improved, and the school has developed a range of rigorous strategies to acheive this. Staff, governors and pupils show a strong will and a good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Continue the drive to raise standards in mathematics and English, particularly in writing. • Extend the existing sytems to improve attendance.

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Grade: 2

Children start school with standards well below those typical for their age, particularly in the vital area of language. Good teaching and well-planned activities in the happy surroundings of the nursery and Reception class ensure they make good progress, but few reach or exceed the goals expected at the end of reception. All pupils achieve well throughout the school in relation to their different starting points and capabilities, because they are taught well and benefit from the wide range of curricular activities. However, they do not reach the standards expected in English and mathematics by the time they leave the school. In English, standards in writing are much lower than in reading. The decline in overall standards in recent years is due in part to the above-average number of pupils with learning difficulties and the increasingly high number of pupils who enter or leave the school during the year.

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005 The school has developed further initiatives to raise standards. Progress is rigorously monitored to set targets that challenge pupils, and to find out where to provide extra help to enable them to do better. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress, because carefully planned learning activities and knowledgeable teaching assistants support them well. The more able pupils also achieve consistently well. In ICT, standards are still below expected levels, but they have improved significantly since the previous inspection because of better provisions.

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Grade: 1

Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and attitudes to learning are outstanding. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are excited by their learning. Parents say, ‘There are lots of great and fun activities for the children to join in with.’ Pupils are polite and well mannered. They willingly take on responsibilities and are proud of their contribution to the school and wider community. They speak enthusiastically about the improvements made through the class and school councils. Pupils respond well to the needs of others and care for their environment through litter-picking and recycling activities. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Their learning about different religions and cultures is seen particularly well in the effective art displays. They show great respect for ideas and beliefs that are different from their own. Pupils have a well-developed understanding of safe and healthy lifestyles, and

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Grade: 1

the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise. Their excellent personal and social skills, together with improving basic skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT, prepare them adequately for the next stage of their education and the world of work. Attendance is below the national average because of the persistent non-attendance of a small number of families and holidays taken during the summer term. However, the majority of pupils attend regularly and on time.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Pupils say lessons are interesting and fun and their teachers are ‘brill’. They enjoy the good range of practical activities planned for them, for example during the health and multi-cultural weeks. Teachers’ clear explanations and effective questioning draw on pupils’ earlier learning and challenge them further. Good use of ICT supports learning by really engaging pupils’ interest so that they concentrate well in lessons. Teachers expect pupils to work hard and behave well. They use praise very effectively to motivate pupils and build up their self-esteem. As a result, they try their best at all times. Teaching is rigorously monitored and outcomes shared in the drive to improve learning. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported by knowledgeable teaching assistants and by carefully prepared individual education plans. They make good progress and achieve

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Grade: 2

to the best of their capabilities. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are 3 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005 good. Staff use the information gathered from observing and assessing pupils’ work to plan new learning that successfully builds on what they already know and can do. However, marking is not yet used consistently to tell pupils how to improve their work. Pupils are clear about their learning targets and are becoming increasingly involved in assessing their own learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and meets all statutory requirements. It is planned well to match learners’ different needs, and it provides a good range of interesting, practical learning activities. Work for the children in the Foundation Stage is planned effectively to link different subjects. For example, children count whilst acting the story of the three Billy Goats. Although provision for basic skills is good, and ICT is widely used as a tool for learning, standards are below average in these areas. Activities for pupils with learning difficulties are planned effectively so that they learn well. Able and talented pupils participate in special activities designed to give them greater challenges. Spanish is taught to one class, and some parents took lessons in order to help their children. Outside lessons, pupils say they enjoy the good range of sports clubs and visits, the residential visit and the themed weeks. Pupils asked for the ICT club. The

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Grade: 2

thriving brass band is also open to the local community. All these out-of-class activities contribute well to pupils’ achievement and personal development, including their ability to keep healthy and stay safe.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding level of care, support and guidance. Procedures for child protection and all other risk assessments are very securely in place. Excellent links with specialist staff and extended services ensure pupils’ particular needs are very well provided for. Staff know pupils and their families very well. Excellent relationships throughout the school and the very extensive programmes for personal development contribute strongly to pupils’ progress. They feel safe and secure and know who to turn to with problems or concerns. Consequently, they thrive within the calm, harmonious environment and say that one of the best things about their school is ‘the happiness within it’. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are fully involved in all that the school offers. Very good induction procedures for all pupils, including home visits by nursery staff, help them settle quickly into school routines

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Grade: 1

and move on. Pupils’ progress is very carefully tracked throughout the school to ensure that guidance enables them to aim as high and to work as well as they can. Parents rightly feel very happy with the school’s provision for care and welfare. 4 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005

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Grade: 2

Inspectors confirm the school’s view that leadership and management are good. The leadership of the headteacher is inspirational. She maintains a very clear vision for school improvement within a secure Christian ethos. Her skills are recognised beyond the school. She is the driving force in combining a wide range of initiatives and extended services to create a vibrant school community in which pupils and their families are welcome, safe and valued. The strong and effective team of senior leaders provide well-informed guidance for staff and pupils. Subject managers carry out their roles effectively. The Foundation Stage is led and managed well and children make good progress in its safe, happy environment. Governance is good. Governors know the school well, help plan for improvement and confidently challenge and question decisions. Staff and governors share the commitment to higher standards and they

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Grade: 2

work very effectively to promote equality of opportunity for all. Good evaluation procedures give an accurate picture of the school’s performance. Reliable information from monitoring and assessment is used effectively to establish priorities for development and to fine-tune the plans to raise standards. The opinions of parents and pupils are regularly sought and always acted on. All resources are used well. The budget is rigorously monitored and the school gives good value for money. It is well prepared for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 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: St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale, 23 November 2005 to 24 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 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 4 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 4 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 3 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 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 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 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

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale Flamstead Birch Green Skelmersdale Lancashire WN8 6PF 25 November 2005 Dear Children As you know, inspectors visited your school recently. Thank you very much for welcoming us in such a friendly way, and for being so helpful and polite when you talked to us. We would like you to know the main things that we found out: your headteacher is outstanding and has worked very well with you, the staff, your parents and the governors to create a good school your behaviour is excellent. You care for each other really well and told us that you enjoy learning because school is exciting and happy you have good teachers and teaching assistants your school has excellent arrangements to make sure you are safe and cared for very well. There are two things that would help make your school even better:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

it should find ways of helping you improve in English, especially in your writing, and in mathematics and ICT it should work with your families to make sure you all come to school every day. Thank you again for your help with the inspection. We hope you will continue working hard to help make your school an exciting place to learn. Yours sincerely Kathleen McArthur Lead inspector Annex B

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