Our Lady Catholic Primary School

Our Lady Catholic Primary School Inspection report

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117464 Unique Reference Number HERTFORDSHIRE Local Authority 290846 Inspection number 26 °27 March 2007 Inspection dates Paul Cosway 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 231 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Marcel Mester Chair Mrs Julie Ann Connolly Headteacher 12 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection Woodhall Lane School address Welwyn Garden City Hertfordshire AL7 3TF

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01707324408 Telephone number 01707391005 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 26 °27 March 2007 Inspection dates 290846 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Our Lady Roman Catholic Primary School is of average size. The school population represents a wide mix of social backgrounds, but there are areas of deprivation in the locality and attainment on entry is below average overall. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. There is a higher proportion of pupils than nationally whose first language is not English, but there are no pupils at the early stages of learning English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, including those with statements, is close to the national average.

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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: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007

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Grade: 3

The school judges itself to be satisfactory and improving, and the inspection confirms this. Almost all parents are pleased with the quality of education provided. One commented, 'It promotes Christian values and provides a safe and happy learning environment, enabling all children to succeed'. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. They behave well and have positive attitudes to school. They feel they are valued as individuals and that, when they have problems, they will receive the help they need to overcome them. Good provision for their care, welfare, health and safety ensures that pupils fully understand how to lead healthy lives and feel safe in school. This is appreciated by parents. One wrote, 'We are delighted with the care and social development provided for our daughter. She has not just joined a school: the family has joined a very welcoming community.' Consequently, links with parents are good and help them to

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Grade: 3

help their children to learn. Pupils are prepared satisfactorily for their future lives and contribute well to the school as a community. The school council is effective and all pupils learn to accept responsibility and to care for each other. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall within the Christian ethos of this school, but not enough is done to celebrate the multi-cultural nature of the school community or to prepare pupils for life in a culturally diverse society. The attainment of most children is below that normally expected when they enter the Reception class. They make satisfactory progress but at the end of Year 6 standards, though close to national expectations, remain below average overall. In 2006, standards fell in the national tests for Year 6 pupils, and results were significantly below average. This year group made inadequate progress from Year 2 to the end of Year 6 because it had suffered disruptions to

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Grade: 3

its teaching and a significant number of pupils had behavioural difficulties. However, staffing is now more stable and as a result of this and other measures to improve pupils' progress, there is an improved ethos throughout the school and teaching and learning are getting better. The curriculum is satisfactory, as is the range of clubs and educational visits. However, the amount of teaching time for the older pupils only just reaches the minimum recommended and it is not planned well. Relatively little time is given to academic subjects and this is restricting pupils' progress. Teaching is satisfactory. Teachers manage classes well and plan interesting lessons, but pupils do not always get enough advice on how to improve their work. The school measures pupils' academic progress termly. Detailed tracking began this academic year and teachers are becoming more accountable for the progress that their pupils make. These

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Grade: 3

procedures have already had a positive effect and pupils' achievement has risen. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school is improving because senior staff and governors monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school satisfactorily and have targeted the right areas for development. The school gives satisfactory value for money and demonstrates the capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards by restructuring the curriculum to increase the amount of time for academic subjects. • Raise achievement by ensuring all teachers use assessment and marking to make it clear to pupils how they can improve their work. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007 • Improve pupils understanding of living in a multi-cultural Britain by introducing topics that better reflect the multi-ethnic nature of the school population.

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Grade: 3

All pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities and the gifted and talented, achieve satisfactorily. Standards reached in the national tests have varied both at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, reflecting the numbers of pupils in each year group with learning difficulties. For example, standards fell to well below average in 2006, because a significant number in Year 6 had emotional and behavioural difficulties, which affected their own and others' progress. Since then, the school's systems for tracking pupils' progress and supporting those who need additional help have been strengthened and as a result, pupils' progress has improved. From below average starting points, children make satisfactory progress during the Reception Year in all areas of learning. However, few children reach the early learning goals and as a result start in Year 1 with below average skills and knowledge. Consequently, although pupils make

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Grade: 3

satisfactory progress in developing their numeracy and literacy skills, standards in Year 2 remain below average overall. In Year 6 standards are close to, but below average overall. Nevertheless, most attain the standards expected for their age in English, mathematics and science and around a quarter are working at an above-average level.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are responsible and enthusiastic learners. They settle into school well and quickly make new friends. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory, but a few pupils are persistently late despite the best efforts of the school. Pupils are generally courteous and polite, give of their best and take pride in their achievements. They enjoy school and are particularly enthusiastic about visits they make and clubs they join. They feel safe and confident that staff will help them if they feel upset or worried. Pupils grow in self-awareness and reflect upon their feelings and actions. As a result they have a clear understanding of right and wrong. Pupils have good knowledge of how to live healthy lifestyles. They develop a good understanding of personal safety and learn to look after one another well. Through the School Council and the 'buddy' system, they enjoy taking responsibility and contribute well to the school community, offering ideas to help improve the school and its

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Grade: 2

environment. Pupils are building a satisfactory foundation for later life by learning the skills they need and how to work together in a community. However, the curriculum does not include enough topics that give pupils an appreciation of the richness and diversity of modern society.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, though teaching varies from satisfactory to good across the school. In all lessons, teachers set a range of tasks to take account of the needs of different groups. Effective extra support for those who need it is given by the teaching assistants. However the overall pace of some lessons can be slow. This is because the length of time taken to explain the work at the start of the lesson is sometimes too long. In these cases, progress is 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007 satisfactory rather than good, particularly for the more able. Where pupils are moved into different class groups for literacy and numeracy, the more able pupils make good progress because they are effectively challenged and expected to work quickly. The management of pupils is good and relationships are often very good. All classrooms have a good learning ethos, with pupils concentrating and listening to the ideas of others. Improved

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Grade: 3

assessment procedures are giving teachers a better understanding of what pupils should be able to achieve but their marking of pupils' work does not concentrate enough on the steps that pupils need to make in order to progress to the next level.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum, including provision for developing pupils' basic skills, is satisfactory overall. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, offering a wide range of relevant and interesting learning opportunities that stimulate pupils' imagination. However, in Years 3 to 6 the balance of the curriculum is weighted too much away from academic subjects, especially for the older classes. On some days, after an hour of literacy and numeracy, pupils have a diet of less demanding subjects such as hymn practice, 'golden time', 'circle time' and story for the rest of the day. This has a negative effect on pupils' academic progress because opportunities to reinforce and extend key skills are lost. Overall enrichment of the curriculum, through visits and visitors, is satisfactory and the residential visits offer stimulating opportunities for personal challenge. The provision for personal, social and health education has a good impact on pupils'

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Grade: 3

personal development and themes such as 'World book Day' further stimulate interest and enthusiasm.

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Grade: 2

Staff know their pupils well. Good support and thorough induction systems ensure pupils settle quickly when they join. Older pupils are prepared well for their move to secondary school, so they look forward to it positively and confidently. Procedures to protect pupils and care for the vulnerable are good and fully meet current requirements. Pupils know what to do if they are worried and are confident staff will resolve issues. Parents agree that their children receive the support, guidance and care they need. Support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is good and allows them to make the same progress as others, because individual needs are accurately identified and well matched activities provided. Pupils for whom English is an additional language are equally well supported. Procedures for monitoring academic progress have improved and are now good. The whole-school focus on setting challenging but achievable targets that are shared with parents

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Grade: 2

and pupils is already leading to better progress and achievement. However, these procedures have not been in place for long enough to impact fully on overall standards.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has had to deal with a number of challenging staffing issues as well as a significant budget deficit. The fact that these problems have been successfully overcome shows that the school has the capacity to improve and is now 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007 ready to move forward. As a result of the school's satisfactory monitoring and analysis of data, the reasons for the fall in the performance in 2006 are fully understood and achievement has improved this year. There has been an effective focus on tracking pupils' progress and setting clearer expectations for teachers. All staff now understand what their pupils are capable of and where they must be by the end of the year. The governing body's support and monitoring of the school are satisfactory. The co-ordinators in English, mathematics and science have a clear understanding of how to take their subjects

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Grade: 3

forward and provide effective leadership. Parents value the leadership of the headteacher and both they and the pupils recognise that their opinions are taken account of in the running of the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 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? 3 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 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 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?

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: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 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: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 March 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Our Lady RC Primary School, Woodhall Lane, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL7 3TF Thank you for being so friendly and helpful to us when we visited your school. You all told us that you like your school. We liked it too. It gives a satisfactory education and there are some good things about it. For example, we were impressed with how helpful and kind you are to each other, so that the school feels like one large family. We enjoyed the lessons that we shared with you and saw how well you work, especially when the tasks are interesting and enjoyable. These are some of the good things about your school: • your behaviour is usually good • you work hard • teachers make lessons enjoyable • teachers, teaching assistants and all adults care for you well • you are helped to be healthy and safe. We have asked your school to try to make things even better. The most important things are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that: • more time is given in the school day for older children to work on their numeracy and literacy skills • there are more opportunities for you to learn about other cultures • when teachers mark your books, they make clear the things you need to do to improve your work. Keep working hard and make the most of your time at school. Paul Cosway Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Our Lady Catholic Primary School, 26 °27 March 2007

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