St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

Inspection Report St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

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104651 Unique Reference Number Liverpool Local Authority 287000 Inspection number 15 °16 November 2006 Inspection dates Clare Henderson Reporting inspector

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

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Margaret Road School address Primary Type of school Walton, Liverpool Voluntary aided School category Merseyside L4 3RX 3 °7 Age range of pupils 0151 5258489 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 5259345 Fax number 383 Number on roll (school) Fr John Thompson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Irlam Headteacher 9 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287000 15 °16 November 2006 3°7 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery school has more pupils than average and they come from a mixed socio-economic background. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average whilst those who are entitled to free school meals is above average. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The school has gained the Healthy Schools Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 3

St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery is a satisfactory school which provides satisfactory value for money. The absence of a permanent headteacher since December 2005 has slowed the school's progress. During this time, governors noted a slippage in the school's overall performance. This term they appointed the present acting headteacher, to stabilise the situation and halt a further decline. She has held the school steady, quickly identifying those steps needed within leadership and management at all levels, to enable the school to move forward. For example, staff have now been given time to review their areas of responsibility and, as a result, they are now using their skills to enable them to have a better understanding of standards in their subjects. These positive actions give the school a satisfactory capacity for improvement. The management team is beginning to have a better understanding of

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Grade: 3

the school's performance. But weak self-evaluation in the past has prevented the school from having an accurate picture of its progress. As a consequence, it judges itself to be better than it is in all aspects except personal development. Many children begin school with skills which are below average, particularly in their social, speaking and listening skills. As a result of the good teaching they receive, children in the Foundation Stage get off to a flying start making good progress, particularly in their communication and reading skills. By the time they start in Year 1, the vast majority of children reach the national expectations for their age, and a small proportion exceed these. Within Years 1 and 2, teachers do not always plan appropriately to meet the different needs of the pupils and the curriculum does not present enough challenge for higher attaining boys. Not enough effective checks are

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Grade: 3

in place to identify and support children who are not doing as well as they could, particularly higher attaining boys in writing. As a consequence, pupils progress is uneven and attainment is satisfactory. In 2006, standards in reading, writing and mathematics were slightly above the average. Girls, particularly higher attainers, did far better than boys, reaching above average levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Levels achieved by boys, particularly those higher attaining, remained below average in writing, having slipped back further than in 2005. The school provides good care which ensures that all pupils, including the most vulnerable, are supported and safeguarded well. Parents say all staff 'are caring and attentive' to the personal needs of their children. Within this positive ethos, pupils' personal development is good. Pupils develop an excellent understanding of the need to live a healthy lifestyle and have a good understanding of how to keep safe. They

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Grade: 3

respond sensitively to needs of the local and worldwide community. Pupils have a secure grounding for future life, although boys' basic literacy skills are not as well developed as they should be.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise the achievement of higher attaining boys, particularly in writing. • Ensure planning and assessment are used more effectively to meet the learning needs of all ability groups. 2 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006 • Put in place checking systems for managers, at all levels, which clearly focus on raising standards and on improving the quality of teaching.

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Grade: 3

Children in the Foundation Stage achieve well because of the good range of planned activities and early intervention by staff to support children's speaking, listening and literacy skills. For the past three years, pupils in Year 2 have attained above average standards in reading and mathematics. Writing standards have fluctuated but are usually broadly average. Because teachers in Years 1 and 2 do not always plan work precisely enough to meet the needs of all the pupils, girls' achievement is better than boys. This is particularly so in writing. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress as a result of the additional support they receive. But there is more to be done to enable these pupils to do even better.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good overall. Good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is reflected in pupils' excellent behaviour, relationships and good awareness and celebration of their own and other cultures. Pupils say they thoroughly enjoy school and are keen to learn and to be involved in school. They take very seriously the responsibilities given to them, for example, as members of the school council or as 'buddies' to younger pupils. Consequently, they contribute to decision making and learn to take care of one another. Achieving the Healthy Schools Award has ensured that pupils understand and put into practice the principles of healthy eating and living a healthy, safe lifestyle. Good links with parents keep them well informed about their pupils' personal development. Recently introduced incentives have brought about improvements and attendance, which in the past has been below

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers do not, in all cases, make sufficient use of information about pupils' progress to pinpoint their next learning steps. The inconsistencies in the quality of teachers' planning result in pupils making uneven progress within Years 1 and 2, particularly higher attaining boys who do not achieve as well as they could. However, where teaching is good, pupils respond well to the high expectations teachers have of them and they are actively engaged in 3 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006 challenging tasks. Teaching assistants provide satisfactory support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. However, they could be more fully used within lessons to enable these pupils to do even better. In the Foundation Stage, where teaching is good overall, children make good progress in their learning and in particular

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is well supported by a good range of after school activities, visitors to the school and visits to places of interest. These provide pupils with many opportunities to develop their personal qualities and add excitement to their learning. For example, the pupils enjoy the football sessions taken by personnel from Everton Football Club. Personal development is well supported through the very good personal, social and health programme, which gives pupils opportunities to express their own ideas and thoughts as well as learn about their own personal health and safety. The school has identified the need to raise achievement and is beginning to introduce ideas to make improvements. However, these strategies are not yet sufficiently well developed or embedded to have a real impact on raising standards.

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Grade: 3

Staff work well with other agencies and parents to enable vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to receive the help they need to make satisfactory progress. Child protection and health and safety procedures are in place, ensuring pupils are safe at all times. Pupils say they feel safe because the staff deal effectively with any problems, such as bullying. Despite the good level of care, pupils and, in particular higher attaining boys, are not given sufficient guidance and support in order to improve their work further.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The appointment of the acting headteacher by the governors has been a positive step. As a result, the school is now in a better position to move forward with a clear sense of purpose. Subject leaders are developing their skills, but they are not sufficiently involved in checking the standards of teaching and learning. Consequently, the school does not fully meet the needs of pupils of all abilities. The school development plan identifies areas for improvement, but there are too many and the key priorities are not given sufficient prominence. Governors support the school wholeheartedly and fulfil their responsibilities satisfactorily. However, they do not focus strongly enough on how well the school is doing to improve pupils' performance. The school has addressed the issues identified at the time of the last inspection. 4 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 6 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 7 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, three inspectors recently visited your school to find out how well your teachers are helping you with your learning. Thank you for being so friendly and welcoming to us. We really enjoyed being in your school and listening to what you had to say. The things we particularly liked were: • your excellent behaviour and attitudes to school • the way you look after and care for each other • how well your teachers have taught you about how important it is to keep fit and healthy. We think you have a happy, caring school but have asked your teachers to improve three things. We want them to: • help you all, especially the boys, to do better in your writing • to plan lessons which help you all to do your best work • to check on how well you are doing in lessons and to let you know how you can make your work better. Thank you for helping us so much with the inspection of your school. We hope that you will

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

carry on working hard in school and help the teachers so that St Francis Infants' and Nursery becomes a better school. 8 Inspection Report: St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School, 15 °16 November 2006

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