St Paul’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

St.

Paul's has improved since the previous inspection and is now providing a good standard of education for all pupils. The headteacher and his newly appointed leadership team are realising their objective of substantially improving the school, and their vision for doing so is strongly supported by the governing body and all staff. Parents and carers hold the school in high regard.

One expressed the views of many, commenting, 'I am extremely happy with this school, and my child goes to bed excited about coming straight back to school the next day.' Children get off to a strong start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where all aspects are good and some outstanding practice is emerging. Desp...ite their good progress, children enter Year 1 with below average attainment because their starting points are low as they enter Reception.

By the end of Year 6, the attainment of the majority of pupils is broadly average, and this represents good achievement as a result of the good learning and progress fostered by the school. The school has worked very hard to improve pupils' outcomes, which dipped significantly in previous years. In the recent past, too many groups, particularly boys and pupils who find learning difficult, were not making the progress they were capable of.

All groups are currently making better than expected progress. The development of writing skills has also been a success story for the school. The school has implemented a series of targeted interventions, which have successfully moved pupils' attainment in writing from well-below average in 2008 to above that expected nationally in 2010.

Teaching is good, with many fast-paced, purposeful lessons. However, there is a tendency for pupils to be over-directed without enough opportunity to work independently. While much improved, assessment is not used consistently enough.

Occasionally, teachers do not assess what different groups of pupils have learned in lessons with enough precision. Consequently, activities sometimes do not provide enough challenge and interventions to support pupils are not always swift enough. The curriculum provides pupils with good opportunities to develop the necessary skills and knowledge for their age.

Although attainment is steadily improving, school leaders recognise that the better development of pupils' initiative and the encouragement of responsibility for their own learning is a key improvement area. The school has begun the process designed to develop links between subjects to make learning more relevant to pupils' future lives. It rightly recognises the need to accelerate improvement through this further development of the curriculum and, in doing so, give pupils greater opportunity to use information and communication technology (ICT) to provide stimulating learning experiences.

The senior leadership team leads the school well. It is supported and challenged by a well-informed governing body and through effective partnerships with outside organisations. Although the school has a clear picture of the challenging but achievable aspirations for the school's future, the contribution of all staff to monitoring the school's performance is underdeveloped, especially in terms of monitoring attainment, and teaching and learning.

The actions taken to address underachievement identified in the previous inspection have secured improvements in a number of important areas, such as the Early Years Foundation Stage. The resulting improvement in provision and progress indicates that the school is well able to sustain improvement in the future.

Information about the school

The school is an average-sized primary school.

An above-average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals. A very large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The largest of these groups are of Black African and Polish heritage.

Although the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average, only a few are at an early stage of learning to speak English. The proportion of pupils who need support for their behavioural, language or physical needs is well above that typically found. The proportion of those with a statement of special educational needs is in line with that found nationally.

Early Years Foundation Stage provision is in the Reception class. The school holds a number of awards, including recognition of its work to promote healthy lifestyles. The deputy headteacher was appointed in September 2010.