St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe

Inspection Report St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe

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119622 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280614 Inspection number 29 June 2006 to 30 June 2006 Inspection dates Mr John Heap Reporting inspector

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

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Coniston Road School address Primary Type of school Morecambe Voluntary aided School category Lancashire, LA4 5PS 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01524 413032 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01524 425990 Fax number 207 Number on roll Mr Gary Norris Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Steven Thornton Headteacher 1 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280614 29 June 2006 - 4 to 11 30 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a broadly average sized primary school that serves a residential area with few signs of deprivation. The attainment of children starting in Reception is below that which is typical for their ages. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is broadly average. Although a broadly average proportion of pupils has learning difficulties and/or disabilities, the number with statements of special educational need is above average. There are small groups of looked after children and pupils learning English as an additional language. A higher than usual number of Year 6 pupils joined the school after Year 1. The school has basic skills teaching and Investor in People awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Inspectors judge the school to be satisfactory with strengths and providing sound value for money. The school judged overall effectiveness to be good. Standards and provision in the Foundation Stage (Reception) are good. In the 2005 national tests, standards were above average by the end of Year 6, but year by year these fluctuate according to numbers of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Overall, achievement and progress are satisfactory, but uneven across the school. The main reason for this is the uneven quality of teaching, which is satisfactory overall. Pupils' personal development is good and reflects the caring and supportive Catholic ethos of the school. Parents are rightly pleased with the way the school effectively cares for their children. Pupils enjoy their time in school and they are successfully encouraged to take a full part in all that is on offer. Pupils are appreciative of the good range of

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Grade: 3

activities that enrich the stimulating curriculum, though not enough opportunities are provided for pupils to use and develop their basic skills in other subjects to further consolidate and extend their learning. The school's links with other agencies are good. These provide opportunities that broaden pupils' experiences and the support they receive. Self-evaluation is mainly accurate and the school knows what it has to do to improve. The capacity to improve is satisfactory. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher leads the school well, but the management of change has been slower than it ought to be.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise the quality of teaching to that of the best. • Make the most of all opportunities to use and develop basic literacy, numeracy and ICT skills across the curriculum. • Make better use of information from monitoring to ensure that improvements take place promptly.

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Grade: 3

Standards are above average and achievement is satisfactory. On arrival in Reception, standards are below those that are typical of children of this age. Children make good progress and most achieve the nationally expected goals and many do even better. All available evidence shows that progress is satisfactory overall, from Years 1 to 6. Although pupils make good gains in their knowledge, skills and understanding in some classes, the school's good tracking procedures show that not all pupils make as much progress as they could because the teaching is not always as good as it could be. However, the good progress in Year 6 means that the school is usually close to meeting its challenging targets. A concern for the school has been English standards, particularly for the higher attaining pupils. Early indications from the 2006 national test results show that they have improved well and the proportion of pupils achieving the higher

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Grade: 3

Level 5 has increased. 2 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 June 2006 Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported well and make satisfactory progress towards their goals. The newly arrived pupils who are learning English as an additional language are progressing well. The school has been innovative and generous in providing these pupils with extra assistance. Grade: 3

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Pupils develop well as individuals because staff create an atmosphere of warmth, encouragement and trust. Pupils talk openly about feeling valued and the respect they receive. Their self-confidence and maturity prepare them well for future schooling and life. Good attendance demonstrates how much they like school. Pupils enjoy their lessons even when the pace slackens or activities are less challenging. They concentrate and behave well. Pupils take on responsible jobs sensibly, such as work on the school council, which contributes to the efficient running of the school. Life in the playground is lively and happy. Pupils play safely and a friendly face is rarely far away. Pupils have been convinced to eat more healthily and they know the value of exercise. Close links with the church, including regular visits by the priest, help pupils to develop

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Grade: 2

well spiritually. Pupils benefit from many cultural and multi-cultural activities, such as links with a school in Asia and visits from Zambian teachers. However, there is still room to improve their knowledge and understanding of the cultural diversity of today’s society.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The positive atmosphere in all classrooms gives pupils a healthy interest in their work. Overall, teachers are well organised, present new learning clearly and use resources adeptly, such as interactive whiteboards, and even blackboards, to reinforce and strengthen learning. They often ask searching questions that challenge pupils’ thinking and use praise well to raise their self-esteem. Teaching assistants do a good job in supporting pupils with specific needs. In lessons where the teaching is good, teachers have good subject knowledge and strong expectations of pupils based on their knowledge of their skills and abilities. There is a brisk pace to lessons that ensures good learning. In the Reception class, a clear emphasis on basic skills is reinforced by a good blend of learning through play. Where teaching is satisfactory overall, teachers monitor pupils’ progress well but,

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Grade: 3

sometimes, the subject matter is not inspiring because it is not matched well enough 3 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 June 2006 to individual pupils' needs. Part of the reason for this is the lack of consistency in marking and setting targets for learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and includes a variety of stimulating enrichment activities. Pupils have lots of opportunities to sing, learn musical instruments and perform in and out of school. These succeed in motivating pupils, broadening their horizons and putting their learning in context. The curriculum is also good in the Reception class. Throughout the school, the key basic skills of literacy and numeracy, and learning about health and safety are promoted well. Links between subjects are also developing well, but there is scope to develop even further the use of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in subjects like history and science to consolidate and extend the pupils’ learning. There is good provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and for pupils learning English as an additional language. Individual learning plans are detailed and specific, and support staff are sensitive and helpful in group work.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The school is good at ensuring the health and safety of pupils. Pupils rightly feel safe at school, and are comfortable about confiding in staff if the need arises. All the procedures for safeguarding pupils are regularly double-checked by the headteacher, staff and governors. The school has introduced good systems for recording how well pupils progress in their work. Teachers make satisfactory use of these data to set relevant targets for individual pupils to improve their basic skills and to provide extra close support. Pupils find the targets useful. Pupils also say that they benefit from teachers’ guidance through marking, but inspection findings show that marking is not consistently good in all classes.

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Grade: 3

Inspectors judge leadership and management to be satisfactory whereas the school evaluates it as good. The experienced and highly caring headteacher leads the school well, particularly in ensuring that barriers to learning are reduced. This is very important to the parents of pupils who have recently arrived at the school and are making good progress in learning English as an additional language. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school which is properly supported by senior staff and the governing body. Care and personal development are rightly judged to be strengths. However, the headteacher and subject coordinators are not satisfied with pupils’ satisfactory achievement and they are rightly disappointed when outcomes do not match some improving provision. The school’s realistic development plan identifies appropriate improvements, such as the use of assessment information to increase achievement

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Grade: 3

and improve teaching. Monitoring, although satisfactory, is not rigorous enough, so 4 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 June 2006 some changes do not happen as quickly as they could, for example, to further improve the quality of teaching. Financial management is prudent and the school has managed to use its funds well to ensure vulnerable pupils are equally well provided for. The governing body benefits from the good expertise of members, particularly in areas such as finance and education. However, their monitoring and evaluation of the school's work are at an early stage of development. 5 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Morecambe, 29 June 2006 to 30 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 2 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 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 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 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 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 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 To the pupils of: St Mary's Catholic Primary School Coniston Road Morecambe Lancashire LA4 5PS 29 June 2006 Dear pupils Mr Scott and I really enjoyed being in your school this week. We are most grateful for your warm welcome, courtesy and the help you provided. Please give a special thanks to those who talked with us. What we really liked about your school: the improvements that have been made in English this year your good behaviour, attitudes to school and the strong relationships you develop the way that you all contribute to a safe and caring ethos in the school the good range of activities that enrich your curriculum. We have asked Mr Thornton and the teachers to make sure that the school continues to improve, particularly to make sure that all your lessons are as good as the best. We have also suggested

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that you have even more opportunities to use your literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in other subjects. You can be a great help by always doing your best work and following the advice from your teachers. The inspection team wishes you well and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely John Heap Lead inspector

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