St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls

Inspection Report St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls

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122040 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire LEA 281159 Inspection number 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 Inspection dates Rajinder Harrison AI Reporting inspector

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

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Aston-le-Walls School address Primary Type of school Daventry Voluntary aided School category Northamptonshire NN11 6UF 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01295 660258 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01295 660258 Fax number 80 Number on roll Mrs Deborah Thorneycroft Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Ann Allison Headteacher 27 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281159 4 July 2006 - 4 to 11 4 July 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

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School is smaller than most other primary schools. Because of its denominational status, it serves a relatively large area. Many children are transported into the school from other villages and small towns. Most pupils are from a White British background but there are a small number from minority ethnic origins, some of whom speak English as an additional language. Very few pupils are eligible for free school meals. An average proportion of pupils are identified as having learning difficulties or disabilities. Attainment on entry to the Reception Year is judged to be average.

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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, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006

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Grade: 1

This outstanding school gives excellent value for money. The school believes that ‘every child is a gift from God’ and this powerful belief underpins its high aspirations. Because a love of learning is effectively nurtured, the pupils do exceptionally well and attain very high standards. They experience a real ‘wow’ factor in the exciting and ‘magical’ way teachers set learning challenges. Excellent provision in the Foundation Stage results in children making very good progress, with most exceeding expected standards by the end of the Reception Year. Parents choose this school over others because children thrive here. One parent said, ‘I could not ask for anything more - the school is fantastic!’ Pupils love their school, work hard, form excellent relationships and behave impeccably. They feel secure and trust their teachers. They learn to become model young citizens, well prepared for the future. The school and its community are one extended ‘family’ that respects the

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Grade: 1

contributions of all its members. A warm, welcoming atmosphere prevails throughout. Procedures to care for the pupils are very effective. The process of setting targets and marking guide pupils very effectively in improving their work in English, mathematics and science, but this high quality guidance is not always as good in all subjects. The leadership and management of the school are outstanding. The school has a very strong focus on raising standards and operates in a very productive and purposeful way. Self-evaluation is rigorous and accurately identifies strengths and areas for development. Regular exchange of information keeps everyone in the picture, but a few parents would welcome even greater consultation when decisions are taken. The school is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the very effective practice of guiding pupils through setting and monitoring individual targets extends to all subjects. • Consult more extensively with parents when taking decisions that affect them.

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Grade: 1

The school makes excellent preparation for children entering the Reception Year so that they settle and develop confidence and independence quickly. Their progress is very good in all areas of learning because provision is stimulating and fun. Most children exceed the standards expected of them by the end of the Reception Year. In Years 1 and 2, pupils’ overall achievement is outstanding. Pupils attain exceptionally high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers’ improved understanding of how different pupils learn has helped them to match work to their needs more accurately. 2 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 Pupils continue to make very good progress in Years 3 to 6. By Year 6, they are working at well above average standards in English, mathematics and science and attain very high results in tests. Many start on work set by their secondary schools. Support for

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Grade: 1

individuals is identified early so that interventions are accurate and effective, enabling pupils of all backgrounds and abilities to make the same level of progress as their classmates. The school is very successful in meeting the challenging targets it sets itself.

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Grade: 1

The pupils’ personal development is outstanding. The school’s strong Christian ethos underpins every aspect of school life. Assemblies, where pupils share personal prayers, help them develop a robust spiritual and moral sense. In the Reception class, children have ‘cloudy and sunny’ pegs, to remind them of what is acceptable behaviour. Pupils respect the richness and diversity of other cultures and faiths through special ‘faith weeks’. International visits and visitors extend pupils’ awareness of the wider world and their place within it. Older pupils develop initiative and social responsibility by organising fund-raising stalls. They are involved in many community and church events. The school choir sings at the Church of England fete and local community homes. Pupils serve on the school council and make decisions that affect them, for example, designing playground facilities. Behaviour is excellent. The pupils are polite, eager to

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Grade: 1

please and happy in their work. Relationships are very strong. Pupils show the same level of care and kindness to others as is shown to them by adults who work with them in school. They have a love for life and learning that is highly praiseworthy. Their self-esteem is very high because the school celebrates the value of each individual. Pupils’ good attendance indicates that they enjoy school and see it as an important stage in their lives. The programme for personal and health education gives them a very intelligent understanding of living healthy and safe lifestyles. Their academic and personal skills are of high quality as they become mature young people ready to face the world.

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding and ensure pupils’ high achievement. Vibrant displays show pupils take pride in their work. Caring relationships between pupils and teachers demonstrate a strong sense of mutual respect. Teachers instil a love for learning and captivate pupils through challenging questions and fun activities. For example, in the Year 1/2 class, pupils sat spellbound watching penguins ‘slip-sliding’ in the Antarctic, making observations like ‘examine their sharp beady eyes’, ‘standing as straight as sticks’ and ‘oily feathers glittering in the snow’. The teacher inspired them to use ‘magical words’ as they explored vocabulary. In a Year 5/6 class, pupils 3 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 understood that traffic surveys help planners consider environmental and social issues and explained why young people should think about such matters. Excellent assessment

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Grade: 1

information allows teachers to plan work that matches individual needs. Because teachers understand that pupils learn in different ways, they modify activities accordingly and use whiteboards imaginatively to enrich learning. Skilled support staff provide excellent guidance to individual pupils. Investigative work takes high priority as pupils explore and research ideas and pose questions. Talk is a key feature in lessons as pupils solve problems and design activities that help them learn.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum, which is skilfully interwoven with high quality experiences that underpin exciting learning, is outstanding. A seamless knitting together of skills and knowledge from different subjects creatively builds on pupils’ previous work. Because of the different ways pupils learn, activities incorporate discussions, practical investigations and research opportunities that involve using books, computers, the environment and a range of museums and historical sites. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is very good, allowing them to participate fully. Learning targets are set and learning assistants work in partnership with parents to support individual needs. The curriculum for children in the Reception class combines work and play so imaginatively that learning is more of an adventure than work. Pupils have very good opportunities, for example, through science and physical exercise, to learn about eating

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Grade: 1

sensibly and taking exercise. Dangers from the misuse of drugs and learning to stay safe are highlighted through a well structured programme of personal, social and health education. The school offers an excellent range of enrichment activities that includes music, sport and French. Visits to places such as Rome and the Royal Opera House add to pupils’ experiences of the world beyond school.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are outstanding. The school believes that the welfare of every child is paramount. The staff are totally committed to serving the best interests of each child by ensuring their welfare and progress. Trusting relationships give pupils the confidence to approach any member of staff if they are worried or upset. Pupils feel very safe and valued in school. The arrangements for care, including pupils’ safety and child protection, are very good. Monitoring and assessment arrangements are very thorough and every effort is made to support individuals as the need arises. Pupils have long-term and weekly targets for learning, and are encouraged to set their own targets and evaluate their achievement. This high quality setting of targets does not extend to all subjects. Similarly, marking is very good in English, mathematics and science in helping pupils improve their work but it is not always as effective in other

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Grade: 1

subjects. Cooperation between the school and the parents is excellent. Parents receive written reports every half term, to indicate their children’s achievements in literacy 4 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 2006 and numeracy. This helps them appraise their children’s progress and ask for help and advice about supporting them at home.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher’s commitment to the school is exemplary. Through her inspirational practice, she has created a strong team. High aspirations for the success of every child permeate all aspects of the school’s work. As a result, standards are very high and continue to improve. The school sees the quality of its practice as ‘normal’ and so actively seeks to improve, and has the capacity to do so. Issues from the last inspection have been fully resolved, for example, provision for the Reception class is now exemplary. The rigorous and accurate monitoring of teaching highlights its strengths and areas for further improvement. The leadership team has a very considered approach to self-evaluation and has identified priorities that include improving library facilities and making greater use of whiteboards in everyday teaching. Their plans are very precisely formulated

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Grade: 1

and activities identified include regular checks to ensure plans are realised and have the expected impact. Parents are kept fully informed. A few seek more consultation when decisions are taken. Regular questionnaires and other effective communication channels capture their view and these help to shape school developments. Partnerships with other institutions are highly productive and the school is regarded as a centre of excellence. Financial management is very good and shared activities with other schools help to save costs. Governors are very supportive and extremely astute. They carry out their responsibilities in a very businesslike manner. They are frequent visitors in school, sit in on many lessons and offer staff a high level of critical challenge. They know what sort of school their community wants and pupils deserve, and so work with parents and staff to achieve this. 5 Inspection Report: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 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, Aston-le-Walls, 4 July 2006 to 4 July 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 1 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 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 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 1 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

I am writing to tell you what we found out when we visited your school recently. We came to look at the work that you do and to talk to you and your teachers. We really enjoyed meeting you, thought you were very friendly, sensible and very mature. Thank you for talking to us. We would also like to thank your parents for filling in a form that gave us their views about the school. It helped us to form a good picture in the short time we were there. We especially liked the way you made us feel part of the ‘family’, something we know your school feels really proud about. There are so many good things that we remember about your school it is hard to know where to start other than to say your school is Excellent! This is because: •You love school, always do your best and make excellent progress. •Your teachers do an excellent job in helping you learn, as do all the people who work there. •The teachers want

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you to do well and succeed, and they really care about you. •You are just so kind to each other, behave impeccably and know so much about staying fit and healthy. You also raise lots of money for charity and school with your clever ideas like running your own stalls at the summer BBQ! •The school provides you with exciting things to learn about and you go on interesting visits to places like Rome – wow, how fantastic! While your school has many excellent features, we think there are a few improvements that could be made. For example: •Your teachers set you targets and advise about how to improve your work further not just in English, Maths and Science, but in all other subjects too. •The school could discuss with your parents even more about their views on any decisions that might need to be made to improve the school. In such a great school, we are sure you will continue to enjoy your school days and do really

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