St Patrick Catholic Primary School

St Patrick Catholic Primary School Inspection report

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108036 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 288007 Inspection number 23 May 2007 Inspection date Dee Brigstock 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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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 5 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 206 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr DA Lawes Chair Mrs Susan Kneeshaw Headteacher 10 February 2003 Date of previous school inspection Torre Road School address Leeds West Yorkshire LS9 7QL

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0113 2480380 Telephone number 0113 2480380 Fax number

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5 °11 Age group 23 May 2007 Inspection date 288007 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

In this average sized school the majority of pupils are White British but a well above average proportion of pupils are from other ethnic backgrounds. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning to speak English. The proportion of pupils eligible for a free school meal is well above average, which reflects the significantly disadvantaged area the school serves. An above average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school holds the National Healthy School Standard and the ActiveMark Gold Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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Grade: 2

St Patrick's is a good school. Its pupils are confident, curious and caring young people with a zest for learning. Their personal development and well-being is outstanding. They have an excellent knowledge and understanding of how to stay fit and healthy, helped by their involvement in a wide range of physical activities in school. As older pupils said, 'We have targets for skipping.' Older pupils take on extra responsibilities very willingly and all children show great respect for each other in class and in the playground. The school is a harmonious community and pupils' behaviour is outstanding. Pupils enjoy school very much and this is confirmed by parents who overwhelmingly agree that their children are happy and achieve well. Teaching and learning are of good quality. Throughout the school, pupils have excellent relationships with their teachers. Pupils have confidence in them because they say they are

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Grade: 2

kind and help them to understand new things. Pupils get lots of extra help when they need it. Pupils' achievement is good overall. Children's attainment on entry into school varies from year to year. Currently it is average. In the Foundation Stage children achieve well particularly in developing their social and speaking skills. At Key Stage 1 pupils' achievement is satisfactory rather than good in reading, writing and mathematics because the work they are given is sometimes too easy for the most capable pupils. This is because some teachers expect the higher attainers to do the same work as other groups before they move on to work that is sufficiently challenging for them. In Key Stage 1 teachers are over reliant on worksheets and a published scheme of work for mathematics. This is limiting pupils' skills in conducting investigations. In Key Stage 2 the rate of pupils' learning quickly gathers pace and, by Year 6,

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Grade: 2

pupils have made significant leaps in their learning. The same pattern of achievement exists for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. By Year 6 standards are well above average in science and above average in English and mathematics. Pupils' care, guidance and support are good. The way the school cares for its pupils and supports them through any difficulties they may have is outstanding. Pupils' academic guidance on how they can improve further is inconsistent. Some teachers' marking is extremely helpful. It celebrates what pupils have achieved and tells them how to improve further, setting them new targets to attain. Where this style of marking is used pupils' progress accelerates rapidly. In other classes teachers' marking is congratulatory and does not inform pupils on how their work could be better. In these classes progress slips to satisfactory. For this reason pupils' care,

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Grade: 2

guidance and support is good rather than outstanding as the school suggests. The school's evaluation of all other aspects of its performance is accurate. Pupils' good achievement is enhanced by a very effective curriculum, which has a strong focus on teaching pupils how to stay fit and healthy. The visits and visitors pupils experience provide them with valuable first hand learning experiences. The school works in a very good partnership with the Church, parish and other external agencies and pupils are proud of their support for local and international charities. Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher, in partnership with the staff and governors, shares a clear vision to improve standards further. She involves senior staff in thoroughly monitoring the work of the school and quickly identified the school's strengths and where improvement was required. New procedures for teachers to discuss their assessments

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Grade: 2

of pupils' progress and a new tracking system are important steps forward. As a result teachers' assessments are more accurate and targets are challenging. Staff and parents appreciate the 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007 headteacher's style of management and staff work collaboratively as a team, providing a good example to pupils. The school has made good progress since the last inspection and is well placed to improve further. It provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• At Key Stage 1 increase pupils' achievement, including that of pupils who are capable of attaining high standards. • Develop a whole school planning format which clearly shows what each group of pupils is to learn. • Implement a consistent policy for marking pupils' work.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Reception Year achieve well and attain standards in personal, social and language skills that are above average because they have lots of opportunities to practise these through role play. For pupils' at Key Stage 1 achievement is satisfactory overall, although the most capable pupils are not making as much progress as they could because some of the work set for them is insufficiently demanding. In Key Stage 2, pupils' achievement is good. It is outstanding in Years 5 and 6 where teachers' target setting and marking is of the highest calibre. Standards are slightly lower this year than in 2006 in English and mathematics because of the make up of the year group, but importantly the pupils' achievement remains strong. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those at an early stage of learning English achieve as well as other pupils.

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Grade: 1

Pupils enjoy good food at lunchtimes and eagerly take part in, and enjoy, the well organised physical activities which include 'wake up and shake up' to 'keep us fit.' Older pupils are very thoughtful and kind to younger pupils and their exemplary behaviour plays a significant part in their good achievement and learning. Pupils take on an ever wider range of responsibilities. By Year 6 pupils are articulate and enthusiastic about their school, their own roles in its improvement and their work in the community. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Pupils' learning about other cultures is promoted particularly well through visitors, which include members of pupils' families who come into school and help pupils prepare presentations about their different cultures. Their understanding of the world of work is enhanced further by their participation in constructing the school

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Grade: 1

website. Pupils on the school council are proud of their teamwork and influence in school projects such as taking part in a Healthy School's Challenge. Attendance is satisfactory: some parents take their children on extended holidays during term time which means they have much to catch up on when they return. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Teachers plan interesting and practical learning activities in the Foundation Stage, which include very good opportunities for children to access role play and to learn about the sounds of letters. In Years 1 and 2 pupils enjoy their learning but there is an overuse of worksheets, particularly in mathematics. These do not sufficiently meet the needs of the most capable pupils in these year groups. Leaders have identified that teachers' planning needs to be more specific about exactly what pupils are to learn in each lesson and how the learning activities need to be different for each group of pupils from the onset of lessons. Currently, not all teachers are planning in this style. Older pupils explain their targets for improvement very clearly, accurately assess at what level they are working and take great pride in their work. Pupils agree that, 'Teachers talk things through with us if we don't understand.' Pupils quickly become busily

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Grade: 2

involved in their work and are very articulate, which promotes their learning well. In the best lessons teachers use their knowledge of how pupils learn very well to plan challenging work. Where teaching is satisfactory teachers do not plan well enough for the most capable pupils. As a result pupils complete undemanding exercises before getting onto work that is at the right level for them.

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Grade: 2

The well enriched curriculum is reflected in the pupils' view when they say that they have 'lots of after school clubs, like music, drama and athletics'. They really like the visits, such as to a Victorian museum, when they say they 'learn loads', or on the residential, when pupils say they are 'very independent.' The curriculum promotes pupils' knowledge about how to live healthily, and their basic skills, very well. It successfully helps pupils understand how they can apply skills from one subject to another, such as in the use of information and communication technology in mathematics. Teachers plan good opportunities for pupils to write in subjects other than English, which has helped to enrich and improve pupils' writing. Effective individual and group teaching plans ensure that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and those at an early stage of learning to speak English, progress well.

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Grade: 2

Parents are confident that their children are well cared for and supported. Every effort is made to ensure pupils are safe and secure and procedures are fully in place for child protection and for vetting staff. Pupils are confident that staff are concerned for their well-being. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and other groups of vulnerable children are well supported. Guidance on how individuals could improve their work is inconsistent. In some classes, teachers' marking is extremely effective in raising pupils' aspirations and standards because teachers tell pupils precisely how to improve. In other classes, teachers congratulate pupils for work that is ordinary and do not point out the next steps in their learning. Older pupils are guided successfully to take ownership of some aspects of their learning, for example, in marking some of their own work and assessing how well they are achieving their targets.

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Grade: 2

This further promotes their learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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Grade: 2

The school is well led and managed. Parents agree that, 'The headteacher and staff are very approachable.' The headteacher has built good relationships with parents and has engendered a strong team spirit among staff. This is having a beneficial impact on the quality of teaching. Observations of lessons are carried out rigorously and constructively and have resulted in additional staff training. For example, the headteacher found that staff did not always award the same levels for similar standards of work, so a new assessment and tracking system was put into place and now teachers have a set of guidelines to consult before awarding a level. They have also planned how to raise standards in mathematics and reading. The school development plan was written before the headteacher completed her monitoring and is out of date, as priorities have now changed. Governors use their expertise effectively to support the

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Grade: 2

school and are very well informed by the headteacher. They have a clear view of the school's strengths and where it needs to improve. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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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 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Leeds, LS9 7QL Thank you for making me feel so welcome in your school and for being so open with me when I asked you questions. I really enjoyed talking with you and looking at your work. St Patrick's is a good school. It is a very friendly, safe and pleasant place to be and you enjoy coming to school. Your parents are very happy with the school and your work. By Year 6 your work is very good in English, science and mathematics. Everyone seems to get on well with each other, your behaviour is excellent and you are growing up to be very articulate, healthy and fit young people. Your headteacher and teachers are doing a good job in always trying to make the school a little bit better and they know how to do it. I have asked your school to do three things to make it even better. Firstly, to help you learn more quickly in Years 1 and 2. Second, to make sure that teachers plan more challenging

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

activities for those of you who find the work a bit easy. Thirdly, to use the same way of marking your work throughout the school so that you all know how to improve your work. I hope you will carry on enjoying learning and helping your teachers to make your school a good place to be. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Patrick Catholic Primary School, 23 May 2007

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