St Martin of Porres Catholic Primary School

St Martin of Porres RC Primary School Inspection report

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102150 Unique Reference Number Haringey Local Authority 307915 Inspection number 16 November 2007 Inspection date Barry Jones 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 251 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P Pugh Chair Miss I S Tyrrell Headteacher 16 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection Blake Road School address New Southgate London N11 2AF 020 8361 1445 Telephone number 020 8361 5849 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 16 November 2007 Inspection date 307915 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. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ aspects of care, guidance and support.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from performance data, external monitoring, observations of teaching, case files for pupils and the work produced by pupils. Parents' questionnaires and discussions with parents, children, the chair of governors and staff also contributed to the judgements. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

St Martin of Porres has a 52-place Nursery but the rest of the school has one class only in each year. It is oversubscribed. Pupils come from backgrounds that are a little more advantaged than in most schools. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and for whom English is an additional language are higher than in most schools. The school has been accredited with healthy schools status, activemark and is an Eco school.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 2007

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Grade: 2

Visitors to the school are immediately struck by the excellent quality of the relationships and the purposeful way in which pupils are engaged in their work. It is this very strong Christian ethos which underpins all that happens within the school. It is a very high achieving school but does not rest on its laurels and is constantly seeking ways to improve further. Most parents are very positive about this gem in the community. As one parent said, `There is a very welcoming atmosphere in the school. Big thank you for all staff and management.' This is a good school with several outstanding features. The principal reasons for its success are the excellent leadership of the headteacher and the support of the community. Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage as a result of the good provision. This strong base is built on very effectively in the rest of the school. The teaching is good and

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Grade: 2

sometimes outstanding. Teachers know the pupils really well and work very effectively with support staff to ensure that pupils' individual needs are met. Consequently, pupils attain standards by the end of Year 6 that are exceptionally high. A strength of the school is that standards are consistently high in both English and mathematics in national tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. In 2007, provisional results show that the proportion of pupils attaining the highest level was significantly higher than in most schools. It is this consistency in performance in everything that the school does that is testament to the effective monitoring and evaluation systems in the school. The headteacher is very `hands-on' and is instrumental in ensuring that high expectations are met. Where dips in performance are identified then robust action is taken. For instance, in one year group, extra staff were allocated for a significant

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Grade: 2

period of time so that pupils were taught in smaller groups. This enabled the class to accelerate their progress. Parents have high aspirations and are supportive of the school's efforts. This extra support and effective partnerships contribute to the excellent standards. The quality of care and support in the school is outstanding. It stems from the strong individual attention from class teachers. This is supplemented by excellent teamwork with other adults in the school and with external agencies. There is also very good provision for personal, social and health education through the curriculum. Consequently, pupils feel safe and develop into mature young people with a strong sense of right and wrong. Their behaviour is good and contributes to the harmonious relationships. There has been some disruption in a particular class by a small minority of pupils. The school has dealt with this effectively. All pupils are

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Grade: 2

positively encouraged to play a full part in school life. They accept these opportunities and feel that their views are valued by the school and acted upon. Valuing others is embedded in the school's ethos and through the pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in their studies. This is evident in the school's good work for charities. Pupils' excellent understanding of healthy-living issues is a strength of the school. Some pupils excel at sport. This is demonstrated by the school achieving healthy school status and the activemark. Provision for gifted and talented pupils generally is good. Overall, the combination of excellent basic skills, personal skills and good study skills means that the pupils are exceptionally well prepared for moving on to secondary school. Pupils enjoy their time in school. They say that that the teachers make lessons fun and interesting. Their positive attitudes are shown by their good attendance. There is very good

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Grade: 2

provision through the curriculum for numeracy and literacy. The curriculum is suitably adapted to meet the needs of the pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Pupils who are beginning to learn English are given extra help and, over time, their progress accelerates and 4 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 2007 they achieve well. The school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities including after-school clubs. Visitors to the school include the National Theatre for drama workshops. The school would like to do more but is restricted by the limitations of the accommodation. There are plans to remedy this. The school has just started French again in Key Stage 2 and plans to extend provision to all pupils in 2008. The school has identified the need to strengthen the creative aspects of the curriculum. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and she is supported well by effective governors.

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Grade: 2

Together they have nurtured a sense of community that is highly valued. The school has identified that the leadership needs to be shared more with other staff. Plans to do this were unavoidably delayed but implementation has begun recently. Middle managers now have a lead role in monitoring the progress of pupils. New computer software is being used that has the potential to collate the data more easily than previously in order to spot trends and progress over time. However, it is not yet used to maximum effect as it does not highlight all underperformance. The headteacher is a constant driving force and ensures that plans are implemented very effectively. In the last two years standards have risen to be exceptionally high. All staff are encouraged to take responsibility. In particular, the role of the subject coordinator has been strengthened considerably since the previous inspection. Given its track record the school has

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Grade: 2

About half of the children in the Nursery continue into the Reception class. Children settle quickly into both Nursery and Reception because of the strong induction procedures and the very close working partnership with parents. As one parent wrote, `Every day our son is so happy to go to Nursery. The environment is so stimulating, the welcome is so warm.' They start Reception with confidence and have good language and communication skills. There is a good balance in these classes between teacher-led activities and those they choose for themselves. This helps them to learn from the teacher and develop skills to work independently. The provision is well managed and procedures for checking the progress of pupils are secure. As a result, children are enthusiastic and eager to learn and develop positive attitudes that prepare them well for the main school. They achieve well, particularly in acquiring mathematical,

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Grade: 2

communication and literacy skills. Consequently, by the end of the Foundation Stage they reach very good standards.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Refine the analyses for tracking the progress of pupils using computers. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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?

1 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

27 November 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Martin of Porres RC Primary School,London,N11 2AF Thank you very much for your help and cooperation when I inspected your school. You told me that you enjoy school, feel safe there and that the teachers look after you well. Some of your school council members told me that their suggestions are acted upon by the school. I am sure you make sure that they spend their budget wisely. You told me that St Martin's is a good school. I agree and in several respects it is outstanding. These are the things that I liked about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You achieve excellent standards in your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ There is a very strong sense of community and you make visitors feel welcome.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school is very well led by the headteacher.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school provides interesting things for you to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ New children settle quickly in the Nursery and Reception and do well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have good teachers who look after you very well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your parents are very supportive of the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school is always striving to improve even further. There is one thing I have asked it to do that I think will help. It has started to use computers this term to record the assessments of your work that teachers make. There are more ways that the information can be used in order to check how well you are doing. You are rightly proud of your school and I wish you continuing success in the future. Barry Jones Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: St Martin of Porres RC Primary School, 16 November 2007

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