St Katharine's Church of England Primary School

St Katharine's Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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113841 Unique Reference Number Bournemouth Local Authority 311398 Inspection number 14 °15 May 2008 Inspection dates David Curtis 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 436 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mark Andrews Chair Carole Coomber Headteacher 13 June 2005 Date of previous school inspection Rolls Drive School address Southbourne Bournemouth BH6 4NA 01202 426663 Telephone number 01202 430047 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 14 °15 May 2008 Inspection dates 311398 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a large primary school. Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The majority of these have learning difficulties in speech, language and communication. Children start school with the standards expected for their age. The school is part of a Sports Pyramid led by Bournemouth School for Girls and the Bournemouth and Poole Cultural Hub.

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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 Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Central to the school's success is the excellent leadership and management of the headteacher. Together with a dedicated and committed team, she has created a dynamic and vibrant learning environment so that pupils thrive from their very first day at school. The school's leaders and managers show no complacency. For example, a minor drop in science standards in 2007 led to an immediate review of the causes, which identified weaknesses in scientific knowledge for more-able pupils. Action taken this year to address the issue has been successful and standards in science have improved to their previous high levels. The school is somewhat cautious in evaluating its own performance as good rather than outstanding. It has an excellent capacity to improve further. Outstanding teaching and learning, together with a rich and stimulating curriculum, have a significant impact on pupils' outstanding achievement. Highly effective provision in the

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Grade: 1

Foundation Stage means that children make excellent progress, especially in the key skills of reading, writing and number. From Year 1 onwards, pupils continue to make outstanding progress and reach exceptionally high standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Teachers have very high expectations of what pupils can achieve and provide work which challenges all of them. Girls and boys achieve equally well. Boys achieve significantly higher standards than boys do nationally because the curriculum is so well adapted to their needs. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding and underpinned by excellent care, guidance and support. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptional. The school's strong Christian ethos is reflected in pupils' day-to-day lives in the school, especially in the quality of their caring relationships with each other and adults. Pupils have an excellent

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Grade: 1

understanding of healthy lifestyles, with a significant proportion enjoying sporting activities in lessons, at lunchtimes and through after-school clubs. Pupils are safe in school, for example, when using equipment in art and design or design and technology. They show total confidence in adults as a source of help and guidance. Pupils say how much teachers' marking helps them to improve their work. They have a very detailed understanding of their challenging individual targets in literacy and numeracy. Recent changes to the staffing structure means that the school now has faculty teams rather than the more usual system of subject leaders. The teams for the foundation subjects ° that is, subjects other than the core of English, mathematics and science ° have made an impressive start to their work. However, they have not yet formalised assessment of these subjects or introduced pupil targets for them.

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Grade: 1

Most parents are highly supportive of the school, with many writing very positive comments in the questionnaires, such as: 'I am extremely pleased with my children's high achievements. A very happy school.' A minority expressed reservations about aspects of the school's work. These are not substantiated by inspection findings. However, the concerns were shared anonymously with the headteacher and chair of governors.

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Grade: 1

Children make a flying start to their education because of outstanding provision. Parents are delighted with the progress their children make. As one wrote, 'The progress made by my child 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008 in reading and writing is amazing ° especially her reading.' As a result of outstanding teaching and learning, children make excellent progress from day one in school. Their very good understanding of letters and sounds is a key feature in their reading development. Teachers and teaching assistants provide a stimulating curriculum which engages all children, but especially boys. As a result, boys achieve as well as girls by the time they start Year 1 and exceed the goals they are expected to achieve in all areas of learning. In mathematical development, boys' understanding of ordinal numbers from '1st to 100th' was remarkably good because they were

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Grade: 1

motivated by racing model cars as part of a topic on transport. Children benefit from an exciting and secure outdoor area, which has spaces dedicated to each area of learning. Leadership and management are excellent, with significant strengths in the assessment of children's progress and the use of this to plan new learning. The transition from Reception to Year 1 is seamless so that children build successfully on their super start to school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ ■ Embed the use of assessment and setting of pupils' targets in the foundation subjects.

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Grade: 1

Pupils in Years 1 to 6 build very successfully on their excellent start to school. Standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are consistently well above average in English, mathematics and science. A significant strength is the excellent achievement of boys, who are motivated by a curriculum that is so effectively adapted to their needs. Pupils make very good use of their literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills in other subjects. For example, letters written by Year 4 pupils as 'Evacuees' as part of their study of the Second World War are of a high standard. In Year 5, pupils produce very impressive multimedia presentations of life in a range of African countries, including Uganda and Kenya. Such work improves pupils' geographical awareness and their understanding of other cultures. Evidence from pupils' books and displays around the school show that pupils achieve high standards in

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Grade: 1

other subjects, including ICT, design and technology, history and physical education. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make very good progress, with many achieving the levels expected for pupils who do not have learning difficulties in national tests and assessments.

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Grade: 1

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and all that it offers them. Their attendance is good. Many are prepared to 'go the extra mile' for their teachers. For example, the inspectors received a multimedia presentation on 'Welcome to St Katharine's' which was made, at home, before school on the two days of the inspection. Through the school council, pupils understand the democratic process and contribute to the school's day-to-day life, for example, in improving playground facilities and starting a 'Fair Trade' tuck shop. In Year 6, pupils lead clubs at lunchtimes for younger pupils, such as nature club. They took great delight in saying, 'We use one lunchtime to prepare the activities and then run two clubs a week. It's cool that adults do not have to supervise us when we run them.' The way pupils are prepared for their future economic well-being is exceptional, both academically and socially. Pupils in Year 6 leave the

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Grade: 1

school as mature, responsible and well-rounded future citizens of tomorrow. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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Grade: 1

Across the whole school, the well-established positive climate for learning enables the pupils to make outstanding progress. Teachers and other staff have developed very good relationships between themselves and pupils. Expectations are high and pupils arrive at school ready to learn. Pupils enjoy their work as the lessons are full of pace and challenge, with tasks chosen to appeal to boys as well as girls. Teachers plan lessons carefully, adapting the work to enable all pupils to make the best possible progress. Pupils enjoy teachers using the interactive whiteboards to demonstrate and explain new learning. Resources are used well to cater for different learning styles. The progress of the pupils is assessed at the end of lessons. Pupils have the opportunity to evaluate their own work so as to establish what they need to do to improve. As pupils said, 'We like the teachers because they teach really well.'

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Grade: 1

The curriculum provides many exciting opportunities for interesting and creative work and meets pupils' needs and interest levels extremely well. The provision for literacy, numeracy, science and ICT is excellent and well targeted at meeting pupils' learning needs. The school has effectively introduced a range of initiatives, such as a commercial scheme to develop thinking skills. It makes very good use of the local outdoor education centre for teaching various subject areas. There is an impressive range of extra-curricular activities, especially in sport and music, which pupils support enthusiastically. Very good attention is given to teaching pupils about staying safe and keeping healthy. Opportunities to increase pupils' awareness of life in multicultural Britain continue to be developed well, for example, through developing links with an inner-city school.

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Grade: 1

The school has excellent systems for monitoring pupils' progress. Pupils know what they need to do to improve through targets for literacy and numeracy. Such targets are regularly reviewed and updated once pupils have achieved them. In addition, the marking of pupils' work includes constructive comments on how to improve. Excellent guidance in personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons and through 'Circle Time' enhances pupils' personal development. The staff's support in maintaining pupils' good behaviour, attendance and positive attitudes to school life contributes strongly to their enjoyment of school. The arrangements for health and safety are good and child protection procedures are secure. Essential checks to ensure pupils are safeguarded are in place. The support given to pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities enables them to make progress similar to their classmates.

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Grade: 1

The headteacher receives excellent support from the deputy headteacher and the recently revised leadership team, consisting of phase leaders and faculty teams. Together, they are 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008 committed to giving pupils a high-quality education, which focuses both on academic achievement and on all-round personal development. Through the new staffing structure, there is a much greater sense of teamwork and shared understanding of pupils' achievement and standards. Leaders constantly analyse performance and seek ways to ensure that the focus on maintaining high standards is rigorous and highly effective. The work of the governing body has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. It is much more challenging and evaluative of the school's performance. Very strong links with the church and partner institutions

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Grade: 1

contribute significantly to pupils' high academic achievement and to their outstanding personal development. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

16 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Katharine's CE VA Primary School, Southbourne BH6 4NA Thank you for the wonderful welcome we received when we inspected your school. We enjoyed meeting many of you, especially the school council and those from Year 4 and Year 6 who gave up part of your lunchtime to meet us. I am delighted to tell you that you go to an outstanding school, but I think that many of you know that already. There are so many excellent things about your school that are too numerous to mention, but these really stand out.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The standards you achieve are very high and much better than for many children of your age. ■ You really enjoy everything that your school offers you, including lessons and after-school activities. ■ Teaching is excellent and helps you to make outstanding progress in your learning; you appreciate how well teachers mark your work. ■ Your curriculum is very exciting and you really enjoy learning so many different things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All the staff care for you exceptionally well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Those who lead and manage your school want you to do your very best at all times.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There is just one thing that we have asked your headteacher, teachers and governors to do in order to make your school even better than it already is.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your progress is already assessed well in English, mathematics and science, so we have asked the school to do this in your other subjects, and to give you targets for these subjects too. On behalf of Ms Simms and Mr Elam, I wish you every success in the future. Keep up the excellent work in lessons and being such sensible, mature and delightful people. Yours sincerely David Curtis Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Katharine's Church of England Primary School, 14 °15 May 2008

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