Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley

119670 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280630 Inspection number 16 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr Alastair Younger Reporting inspector

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

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Brooke Street School address Primary Type of school Chorley Voluntary aided School category Lancashire PR6 0LB 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01257 262659 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01257 271412 Fax number 174 Number on roll Mr James Tilston Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Lynda McLoughlin Headteacher 1 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280630 16 May 2006 - 3 to 11 17 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

This is an average-sized primary school with a strong Catholic ethos. In addition to the pupils of statutory school age, 17 children attend the nursery each morning. There are similar numbers of boys and girls. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic families. Numbers of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are about the same as the national average. Pupils come from a wide range of social backgrounds. Attainment on entry is slightly lower than the norm. The inspection took place in the week following statutory tests and assessments. The results of these are not yet known and therefore not referred to in this report.

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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, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 May 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with many outstanding features and this judgement agrees with the school’s own evaluation. Parents echo this view, as do pupils and many other parties involved in helping them to succeed. Many improvements have been made since the previous inspection and standards are rising. With outstanding leadership, management and governance the school is giving good value for money and has a good capacity to keep improving. Many children join the Nursery and Reception classes with lower than expected standards in communication, language and literacy, number, and personal, social and emotional development. They make good progress. The whole Foundation Stage is well managed and there is good teaching over the full range of areas of learning. By the time they enter Year 1, standards are about average in mathematics, reading and writing and there has been outstanding development in pupils’ computer skills.

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Grade: 2

Progress slows to satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 but picks up dramatically, especially in the later stages of Key Stage 2, where pupils make outstanding progress. Last year’s results in national tests showed that after all factors had been taken into consideration the school was in the top 5% of all schools nationally in terms of the value it was adding to pupils’ learning. Teaching is good overall and peaks in Years 4, 5 and 6, where it is often outstanding. From the nursery onwards, pupils’ personal development is excellent, largely as a result of an outstanding curriculum, which strongly promotes it, and the exceptional care support and guidance extended to all pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Focus on raising standards by improving teaching and learning in Key Stage 1.

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Grade: 2

Pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress. They achieve well and leave school having exceeded expectations. Parents are very happy with the progress their children make. Whole-school targets are challenging and nearly all are met. Within age groups, no group of pupils achieves significantly better or worse than any other. The rate of progress is, however, uneven. Having made good progress in the Foundation Stage, pupils join Key Stage 1 at about an average standard. They also leave it at about average, having made satisfactory progress. Scores in assessments have followed the national picture for each of the last five years in reading, writing and mathematics but with slightly fewer than average pupils attaining the higher Level 3. Following very carefully targeted initiatives to improve teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2 there are early indications that this year’s results,

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Grade: 2

particularly for mathematics, are better. With the exception of a downturn two years ago, standards in Key Stage 2 have been rising for the last five years. Test results from 2 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 2005 show that pupils had made outstanding progress in science, with the school attaining results that placed them in the top 2% of all schools, and in mathematics, where it is in the top 9%. Results were slightly lower in English but still showed that the school is in the top 16% of all schools nationally. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) are also exceptionally high.

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding feature of the school. Many pupils join the school with below average personal and social skills but by the time they leave they are charming young people with strong spiritual, moral and social values and a keen awareness of people from other parts of the world. They are well placed in society and have bright economic futures. Enthusiasm for learning gains pace throughout the school, with a marked leap in Years 4, 5 and 6 in response to teaching which strongly encourages independent thinking and learning. Relationships are outstanding and contribute enormously to a happy and harmonious atmosphere in which pupils enjoy their education and behave well. Nevertheless, a few pupils in Years 1 and 2 lose concentration when activities overrun. Calm, sensible movement around the school helps to reduce accidents and demonstrates pupils’ growing awareness of safety. Masses of high quality resources

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Grade: 1

encourage pupils to play energetically and the school’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles is abundantly clear in pupils’ awareness of healthy eating. Pupils contribute enormously to the community. Carol singing in the local supermarket and gifts of harvest baskets are greatly appreciated. Attendance has been higher than the national average for the last three years and is still improving.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good. Parents feel their children are well taught and the school’s own checks confirm this. Teaching is at its best in Years 4, 5 and 6, where it is frequently outstanding. It is good in the Foundation Stage but weaker in Key Stage 1, where it is more often satisfactory and pupils learn more slowly as a result. This is partly the result of teaching not sufficiently adapting enough to take into account the needs of younger pupils. • Computers are particularly well used throughout the school, often being used to help pupils to work with growing independence. Skilled use is made of interactive whiteboards to provide visual stimulation and arouse curiosity. In an outstanding lesson in Year 5, pupils worked in teams with intense concentration as they programmed a robot to negotiate obstacles. Teamwork is good. Teaching assistants are used well; they are given clear instructions and they offer excellent support to

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Grade: 2

individuals and small groups. Behaviour management is good but teachers, especially in Key Stage 1, occasionally allow pupils’ concentration to stray and this slows 3 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 learning. Lessons are usually well planned but at times work is not varied enough to ensure that all pupils are challenged equally whilst having equal opportunities to work independently.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. It is very careful planned to ensure that all pupils enjoy a rich range of subjects in a well balanced timetable. In the Foundation Stage, an exceptionally wide range of well resourced practical activities helps to encourage children to learn through experience, play and discovery. The personal, social and health curriculum is excellent, contributing hugely to pupils’ development and well-being. Enrichment is outstanding. Many exciting and well-attended activities take place out of class, bringing learning to life, providing a multitude of new learning experiences and adding to pupils’ enjoyment and achievement. Visitors from other cultures and visits to their places of worship contribute enormously to pupils’ cultural awareness, and involvement in local community activities gives pupils many insights into the society they live in. Residential visits help to promote independence and

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Grade: 1

Pupils benefit from outstanding care, guidance and support. Excellent assessment procedures underpin much of this, particularly at the top end of Key Stage 2. By keeping a particularly close check on pupils’ progress, staff are very quick to spot changes in individual progress. Extra help, often involving specialists from other agencies, is quickly arranged. This is particularly helpful for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and allows them to achieve equally with other pupils. Great care is taken to reduce anxiety, for instance when children are moving from Reception into Year 1 or preparing to move to another school. A comprehensive system is in place for reporting to parents. This is informative and greatly helps them to contribute to their children’s education. Potential risk in activities is always checked and safeguards put in place to prevent accidents. The school is a safe and secure place

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Grade: 1

where pupils are well protected and thrive in the company of adults whose suitability to work with children is always checked.

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Grade: 1

Leadership, management and governance are outstanding. Leaders and governors have been hugely instrumental, turning the school round from an all time low seven years ago, when the headteacher was appointed, to a position where it is now highly thought of in the community and is achieving academic standards that put it firmly in the higher echelons of all schools nationally. An excellent programme of staff training, mentoring and performance management have paid dividends. Excellent relationships 4 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 May 2006 with other bodies have been established. The school has become recognised as a particularly good and popular placement for student teachers and support workers, who bring new ideas and energy to enrich learning for pupils. The school demonstrates a good capacity for continuing improvement and this is embraced in an excellent

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Grade: 1

improvement plan, which is founded on extensive and accurate information gained from accurate, self-critical monitoring and evaluation. Relative weaknesses in Key Stage 1 have been identified and the actions taken to remedy them are showing signs of success. Parents are seen as a vital part in the process of raising standards. They, and all other interested parties including pupils, are regularly consulted and their views acted upon. Governors are questioning and supportive. They have an excellent awareness of where their input is useful and appreciated. They do not interfere in the day-to-day management of the school but listen intently, facilitate improvement through astute financial planning and help senior staff to focus on raising standards by relieving them of mundane duties. 5 Inspection Report: Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 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, Chorley, 16 May 2006 to 17 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 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 2 The behaviour of learners NA 1 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 2 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

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 The School Council Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Brooke Street Chorley Lancashire PR6 0LB 18 May 2006 Dear Pupils It was a pleasure to visit your school the other day. Thanks to those of you who spared a bit of time to talk to us and especially to those prefects who showed great maturity in telling us about your school. We take your views very seriously and it is very reassuring that your staff do too. As you’ve probably gathered, we liked your school. I hope your staff haven’t stopped smiling because we’ve said a lot of nice, richly deserved things about them, such as how they are good teachers, take great care of you and make sure that coming to school is something you enjoy. If anything, we are saying even nicer things about you. It was good to see you working so enthusiastically in most lessons and helping each other. Playtimes looked fun too.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

One of our jobs is to make suggestions about how your school could be even better. It’s a tough one that, because the staff seem to have it all in hand. We did notice though that you’re not doing as well in Years 1 and 2 as in the rest of the school so we’ve asked the staff to make an extra effort to put that right. Harder work for you I’m afraid. Anyway, keep up the good work. All the best Alastair Younger Lead inspector

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