St Edward's Catholic First School

St Edward's Catholic First School Inspection report

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110031 Unique Reference Number Windsor and Maidenhead Local Authority 325084 Inspection number 26 February 2009 Inspection date Juliet Ward Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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First Type of school Voluntary aided School category 5–9 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 192 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs K Horler Chair Mrs P Chudziak Headteacher 23 January 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Parsonage Lane School address Windsor SL4 5EN 01753 860 607 Telephone number 01753 869 107 Fax number

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5–9 Age group 26 February 2009 Inspection date 325084 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. 2 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: how well the school had continued to ensure all the teaching is of the highest quality, and how well sharing the best practice in giving pupils sufficient opportunities to discuss their ideas had deepened their understanding. The inspectors gathered evidence by jointly observing lessons with senior managers, by having discussions with staff, governors and pupils, scrutinising pupils' work, monitoring of parental questionnaires and the school's records of checks on the quality of its work, and by tracking pupils' progress. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given by its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this

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Description of the school

St Edward's is a popular and oversubscribed Catholic first school in Windsor. The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises one Reception class; pupils join this class in the term they are five. Three quarters of pupils are from White British heritage with a few from other White backgrounds. A minority of pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. A small number of pupils speak English as an additional language. Very few are at the early stages of learning English. Considerably fewer pupils than usual have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The range of difficulties is wide and includes pupils diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and specific learning needs. The school draws pupils from a wide area and very few are entitled to free school meals.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school that continues to provide an excellent standard of education and care for its pupils. At its heart lies a clear commitment to Catholic values. Pupils develop very well as individuals because of the school's very strong ethos of respect and care for others. Their personal development and well-being, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are outstanding. Pupils feel safe, welcomed and cared for. Their behaviour is exemplary. They quickly develop in confidence and are eager to learn. As one pupil commented over lunch, 'school is fabulous, we learn so much and have fun with our friends.' Lunchtime is an enjoyable social occasion where pupils chat to their friends over their meal, and discuss whether the food they are eating is healthy or 'healthy plus'! Pupils thoroughly enjoy lessons and other activities, and this is reflected in their very good attendance.

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Grade: 1

The contribution pupils make to the community is wide-ranging, including raising funds for a number of charities, taking part in local music festivals and hosting events for the elderly. The high level of skills pupils attain, together with their fundraising at fun days and Lenten sales, prepares them well for their future economic well-being. Parents support this preparation very well; Mums and Dads come into school to talk about their jobs, as do other visitors. Parents are overwhelmingly pleased with the school. One parent echoed the written comments made by many in saying, 'This is a superb school which supports my child both educationally and spiritually.' Outstanding teaching and high-quality support mean that pupils, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity or ability, make excellent progress throughout the school. Standards are considerably above average overall. Pupils do particularly well in reading with an impressive number achieving

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Grade: 1

the higher levels. The school acted swiftly to tackle slightly lower standards in writing by introducing a range of initiatives to improve pupils' performance, with a particular focus on helping pupils to become more confident by making writing more enjoyable. These initiatives are already bearing fruit and standards in writing are rising. The school is well on its way to meeting its challenging targets and prepares its pupils very well for the next stage of their education. This excellent preparation for middle school is endorsed by parents, one of whom wrote, 'This lovely school has prepared my eldest son, who left last year, wonderfully for the next stage of schooling.' Strong features in the teaching include a wide range of interesting activities, the fast pace of lessons, excellent relationships and very good use of relevant resources such as everyday objects to practise weighing in Year 1, and interactive white boards throughout the school. Because

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Grade: 1

the pupils are given many opportunities to learn through practical activities and discussion with each other, the progress they make accelerates as they move through the school. The excellent focus on developing pupils' skills in articulating the methods they use to set up investigations and solve problems in mathematics and science, has resulted in even higher-quality learning and higher standards since the last inspection. Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to pupils' learning, by supporting individuals and small groups. Another parent commented, 'My children have been attending the school for the past four years and I have always been impressed with the standard of teaching and the values and behaviours that are taught.' Vulnerable pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, are very well supported so that they play a full part in lessons

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Grade: 1

and other activities. Although the school has very good, detailed information on the progress 4 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009 made by pupils, there is not a unified record of the progress made by the pupils who are receiving additional support for their special needs. The role of the Inclusion Manager in monitoring the provision is well established, but her role in monitoring the impact of the provision in addressing the pupils' needs is less well developed. There are excellent procedures for child protection. Academic guidance is very good. Pupils' progress is tracked closely and they are set challenging learning targets, which they fully understand. These are shared with their parents. The outstanding curriculum offers an exciting range of experiences to make learning interesting and relevant. Pupils learn to swim, to speak Spanish and have lots of opportunities to learn to

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Grade: 1

play a musical instrument. Links between subjects are well planned. The school continues to take this work forward by planning an even richer and more imaginative curriculum with an increased focus on subjects other than English, mathematics and science, without losing sight on the basic skills. The wealth of extra-curricular clubs and activities are very well attended and pupils find them most enjoyable, learning new skills such as knitting and playing additional team sports together. The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, provides outstanding leadership. She knows the school's strengths and weaknesses very well and this is evident in the high quality of the school's self-evaluation. The school has very good systems for checking how well it is doing and uses them effectively. Together, senior leaders, governors and all staff form a very effective team who go the extra mile to make sure all pupils, whatever their starting points,

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Grade: 1

are given the best possible start to their education. One parent, of many, wrote, 'This is a superb school with great leadership from the headteacher and her team; we love it here.' The school has an excellent capacity to improve. This is because there is a common sense of purpose and a lack of complacency. The impact of the highly effective leadership is seen in the excellent progress made since the last inspection.

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Grade: 1

Parents rightly recognise that provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is excellent. A typical comment was, 'My son started school in January and has come home smiling every day.' Children arrive with skills that are slightly above expectations for their ages. Because of the excellent induction systems and the very strong links with parents, the children grow rapidly in confidence and make very good progress, particularly in their personal and social development and communication and speaking and listening skills. Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is lively and interesting and provides children with very good opportunities to acquire essential skills. The staff make excellent use of role play and drama to develop the children's confidence and extend their vocabulary in an exciting way. As a result, progress in reading, writing and communication is outstanding and they gain a firm basis in the early skills of literacy

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Grade: 1

that prepares them well for more formal learning when they enter Year 1. The Foundation Stage curriculum is lively and interesting and provides children with an exciting range of activities to support the different areas of learning, both indoors and out. Outdoor areas are well used, but require constant supervision as there is no direct access from the classroom. This limits the children's ability to 'free-flow' between indoor and outdoor activities when making independent choices. The school has appropriate plans to improve this provision within the near future. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the progress the pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make and, in particular, the impact of support programmes, are monitored and evaluated by the Inclusion Manager in addition to monitoring by the senior managers. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009 .

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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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 1 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

09 March 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Edward's Catholic First School,Windsor,SL4 5EN Your school is an outstanding school with so many really special features. Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to your school. We really enjoyed visiting all of your classes, looking at your work and talking with you. We are especially pleased some of you came to talk to Mr Moxley about your work, and showed him lots of it. All of the adults working with you care very much about you and want you to do well. Your headteacher leads and manages your school brilliantly. From Reception onwards, you make outstanding progress during your time at St Edward's Catholic First School and are ready to manage even harder work when you move to the middle school. Your teachers make lessons exciting. Your behaviour is excellent, you listen very well in lessons and work hard. Your parents said how much they like the school and they told us, as did many of you, how well you get on

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

together and how helpful the teachers are. It was good to see how kind you are and how willingly you help each other. We have asked your headteacher and teachers to put together a list of all the super things they do to support those of you who find some parts of learning difficult, so that they can make quite sure you are all doing as well as you can. Please thank your parents for kindly sending in the letters and responses to the questionnaire. These helped us to understand how well the school is doing. Yours faithfully, Juliet Ward Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: St Edward's Catholic First School, 26 February 2009

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