St George and St Teresa Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

St George and St Teresa Catholic Primary is a caring and friendly school, where everyone is welcoming.

Pupils talk with pride about the school values. They told inspectors that 'we live it, love it and learn it' is at the heart of everything they do. Pupils said that they feel safe at school and that they have learned how to keep themselves safe, including on the internet.

Parents and carers who share their views spoke positively about the care and support their children receive from the school.Pupils told us that bullying does not happen often, and if it does, it is quickly sorted out by staff. Pupils play well together at playtimes.

However, expectations fo...r how pupils behave in class are not high enough and sometimes they are not courteous and respectful to adults. Pupils feel that, at times, other pupils' behaviour disrupts their learning.

Many pupils read well.

However, leaders do not ensure that the weakest readers catch up quickly enough. Staff are not trained well to deliver the school's phonics programme effectively. This means that some pupils do not learn new sounds and words quickly enough.

The school's wide range of clubs focus on encouraging pupils to be physically active. At breaktime, staff encourage pupils to play energetic games to promote social skills and physical fitness.

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

Leaders have identified the need to improve the mathematics and reading curriculum.

Clear, structured plans are now in place. However, these plans are at an early stage of being implemented. Leaders do not check on how well this planning is being used by teachers.

Some pupils do not develop knowledge and skills as well as they should in these subjects.

Pupils told us that they enjoy listening to the teachers read to them. They take books home to read with their parents, and they were excited about being able to use the new library.

Leaders are clear about the sounds and words pupils should be able to read by the end of each term. However, the teaching of early reading is not effective enough. Leaders do not ensure that all staff are well-skilled and up to date in teaching phonics.

Pupils who are not confident readers do not receive effective help, and therefore struggle when reading. The books they are given to read are too difficult. This hinders their learning.

Although there are now clear curriculum plans in place for reading and mathematics, leaders have not made sure that the curriculum is ambitious enough in some of the other subjects. Planning is not comprehensive enough to guide teachers' work. For example, in art and design and technology, leaders have not identified enough of the knowledge and skills that pupils will learn, so teachers do not plan learning in a logical order.

In lessons they do not help pupils make links between past learning and future learning well enough. This means that sometimes pupils do not remember well what they have been taught.

Where curriculum planning and delivery is well thought out, pupils learn well.

Physical education (PE), for example, is planned so that pupils can improve the skills that they have already learned. Pupils told us that they enjoyed PE. They talked about how they balance on different body parts and how this learning got more complicated as they got older.

They know the rules they need to think about when playing netball and hockey.

Teachers and teaching assistants do not consistently follow the school's agreed behaviour procedures. At times, they allow pupils' behaviour to interrupt others' learning.

Children settle well into the early years. Many children come into school already knowing some numbers, letters and sounds. For example, children in nursery enjoyed singing 'five little speckled frogs' and when asked by the teacher how many were left, most of the children knew the correct number straight away.

However, children do not build on the knowledge they already have quickly enough. Leaders are not clear enough about what children should learn and when, or how to deepen and broaden their learning when they progress quickly through the planned curriculum.Leaders do not always take the effective steps to ensure that those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are taught an ambitious curriculum.

This is because they do not clearly identify the difference between pupils who are not working at age-related expectations and pupils with additional needs.Pupils learn about the different religions and cultures that exist within and beyond their own locality. Pupils understand the importance of tolerance and clearly respect others' differences.

Local governors are committed to the school and its pupils. They know what the school does well and where improvements need to be made.The Multi-Academy Company is aware of the areas that need to be improved and are putting in place structures to support school improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that children are safe in school. They have robust systems in place for safeguarding pupils.

Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding. This helps them to be aware of any potential risks and provide appropriate support for vulnerable pupils. Governors make sure that the school meets the latest requirements.

They ensure that all those working in the school have undergone checks on their suitability to work with children.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all staff have a good enough understanding of how to teach early reading. They do not know how to help pupils get better at reading sounds and words.

Staff need to improve their subject knowledge so that they know how to teach phonics correctly. Leaders need to ensure that teachers make regular checks on what pupils know. They should ensure that teachers use this information to work more closely with those pupils who struggle to read.

Leaders should also ensure that those pupils who struggle to read are not given books that are too difficult. ? Leaders need to ensure that all subjects are planned and sequenced appropriately so that teachers know what they are teaching. Leaders need to check that teachers use these plans effectively in their teaching to help pupils build on their learning.

• Pupils' behaviour is not consistently well managed. The subsequent disruption limits some pupils' learning. Leaders should take action to ensure that all staff consistently and effectively follow the school's agreed procedures for dealing with behaviour, so that lessons can flow without interruption.

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