Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders' expectations for what all pupils should learn have not been consistently high. Across the curriculum, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

New leaders are starting to make improvements to pupils' learning. They are revising the school's curriculum so that pupils are beginning to build up knowledge and understanding across a wider range of subjects.

Holy Family is a small school where pupils are cared for by their trusted adults in a safe learning environment.

Staff have warm and nurturing professional relationships with pupils.

Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour and conduct. Pupils attend school regularly and enjoy l...earning.

They are respectful, polite and courteous. Pupils behave well in lessons and during playtimes. Pupils feel happy and are safe.

Bullying is rare but when it happens, staff are quick at sorting it out.

Staff prioritise pupils' well-being and promote the school's values of respect, service and love. Pupils learn about the diversity of modern Britain.

They use a range of resources such as reading books and artwork to understand and represent different backgrounds and experiences.

Pupils participate in a range of extra-curricular activities, including football, taekwondo, gymnastics, a gospel choir and British sign language. They are proud to contribute to their community through charitable events such as making donations to local food banks.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

New leaders are ambitious and have started to make improvements to the quality of education in the school. They are redesigning the school's curriculum and checking that it meets the breadth and ambition of the national curriculum. The leadership team is also raising expectations about the essential knowledge and skills that pupils will learn over time, including in the early years.

Leaders' work has the full support of the school community

Where leaders' revised plans are beginning to work well, there is a clearly sequenced order in which pupils are expected to learn and build on new knowledge and skills. Staff have received training to support the delivery of the curriculum using leaders' carefully chosen programmes of learning, for example in mathematics and reading.

Leaders have made a start on ensuring that pupils learning to read is a priority.

For example, they have put in place a new system of teaching phonics from early years to Year 2. Emphasis is now placed on ensuring that pupils read books that match the sounds they know in order to develop fluency and accuracy. In the early years, adults support children to build their language and communication skills.

Teachers are developing their confidence and expertise in teaching phonics. Nevertheless, inconsistencies remain, including in the early years.

Leaders' curriculum thinking is at the earlier stages of development in some subjects.

In these subjects, leaders are developing their expertise and knowledge. They have not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember, including in the early years. Some teachers have not been provided with the support they need to improve their own subject knowledge.

Across the curriculum, pupils are not developing and deepening their learning well and struggle to understand some concepts.

Leaders' revised assessment systems are not embedded across all subjects. There is variation in how well teachers check pupils' recall of prior learning, including in early reading.

This means that in some subjects, gaps in pupils' knowledge are not picked up swiftly and routinely addressed.

Leaders work well with parents and external professionals to accurately identify and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are well trained to support pupils with SEND so that they access the same curriculum as others.

However, because leaders' revised curriculum thinking is in the early stages, pupils with SEND are not learning as well as they should.

Leaders support and promote pupils' personal development through the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum, assemblies and special events. Pupils and children in the early years behave well, are polite and have positive relationships with staff.

The atmosphere in classrooms is purposeful and orderly and allows learning to move on without disruptions.

There is a wide range of opportunities for trips and visits. These aim to develop pupils' interests and help them learn about the world.

Pupils attend extra-curricular clubs, including music, theatre, art, cooking and sports. They learn about citizenship and take part in fundraising events, for example to support children affected by the Ukraine–Russia conflict.

Governors are knowledgeable and have an accurate view of the school.

They are clear about the actions needed to improve the standard of education for pupils. Leaders keep an eye on staff's workload and well-being. Staff are appreciative of the support they receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have provided staff with regular, up-to-date training. They make sure that staff understand the training by regularly checking their safeguarding knowledge.

Staff know what to do when a pupil is at risk. Leaders work with external agencies to provide appropriate support to vulnerable pupils and their families.

Leaders have developed a culture of vigilance, so staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities in keeping pupils safe.

The pre-employment checks and processes are robust. Pupils said they feel safe in school. Through the curriculum, they learn how to keep themselves safe, including the potential dangers they may encounter online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not clearly identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils need to know. Consequently, pupils do not learn and remember detailed knowledge in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that there is well-sequenced and clearly defined curriculum content in all subjects, including in the early years, to enable pupils' progression of knowledge and skills over time.

• In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment effectively. Gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding are not picked up swiftly enough. Leaders should ensure that their assessment strategies are used in all subjects, including early reading, so that gaps in pupils' learning are identified and addressed so all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

• In some subjects, leaders do not have strong subject expertise. This affects how effectively some subject leaders are able to support teachers to deliver the curriculum. Leaders should ensure subject leaders and teachers receive the support and development they need to enable them to provide confident and knowledgeable curriculum delivery across all subjects, including early reading and phonics.