Inspection Report St Gregory's Catholic Primary
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INSPECTION REPORT ST GREGORY’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL Preston LEA area: Lancashire Unique reference number: 119609 Headteacher: Mrs Evelyn Scanlan Reporting inspector: Mr Alan Fullwood 21184 Dates of inspection: 30th June – 3rd July 2003 Inspection number: 248039 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2003 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Type of school: Infant and junior School category: Voluntary aided Age range of pupils: 4 to 11 years Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Blackpool Road Deepdale Preston Postcode: PR1 6HQ Telephone number: 01772 795415 Fax number: 01772 798455 Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr Chris Smith Date of previous inspection: November 1997 St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities Team members 21184 Mr Alan Registered English What sort of school is Fullwood inspector Information and it? communication The school’s results and technology pupils’ achievements Music How well are pupils Physical education taught? How well is the school led and managed? 11392 Dr Terry Lay Pupils’ attitudes, values Heppenstall inspector and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 2433 Mr Ian Bennett Team Science inspector Design and technology Geography History Special educational needs English as an additional language Educational inclusion 20815 Mrs Pat Team Foundation Stage How good are the curricular English inspector Mathematics and other opportunities Art offered to pupils? The inspection contractor was: Full Circle division of Parkman The Brow 35 Trewartha Park Weston-Super-Mare North Somerset BS23 2RT Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to: St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 4 The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division The Office for Standards in Education Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 5 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7 Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 12 The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT? 15 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS? 16 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 18 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS? 20 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 21 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 22 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 24 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 29 St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 6 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL St Gregory’s, situated in the Deepdale area of Preston, is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The number of pupils on roll has declined in recent years and currently there are 173 boys and girls on roll, taught in seven single-aged classes. There are at present 29 Foundation Stage children in the reception class. The school mainly serves the surrounding area, but a small number of pupils come from further afield. The percentage of pupils identified as having special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is above the national average. Twenty-one pupils have English as an additional language, but none are at an early stage in the acquisition of English. The attainment of children on entry to the school, although wide ranging, is below average. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS St Gregory’s is an effective school where pupils achieve well in English and mathematics by the time they leave. It provides a satisfactory education for its pupils and is led and managed satisfactorily. The school provides satisfactory value for money. What the school does well · It enables pupils to achieve good standards in English and mathematics by the time they leave the school. · The provision and teaching in the Foundation Stage. · It makes good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in a caring Christian ethos. · It successfully encourages pupils to develop good attitudes to learning and to behave well. What could be improved · Curriculum planning and the time given to art, design and technology, history and geography. · The quality of marking of pupils’ work. · Systems for monitoring teaching and learning and the effectiveness of self-evaluation procedures. · The effectiveness and quality of the individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION The school has made satisfactory improvement since it was last inspected in November 1997. Progress has been slowed by a significant number of staff changes as a result. However, standards in English and mathematics have improved since the last inspection, as have standards and curriculum provision in information and communication technology and design and technology. Pupils are taught a range of strategies for reading and writing, and support for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. Close monitoring of teaching and learning has improved in English and mathematics but is not systematic enough in other subjects to improve their quality or effectiveness. Procedures for tracking pupils’ attainment St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 7 have been improved in English, mathematics, science, and information and communication technology, but are underdeveloped in other subjects. Curriculum planning has been improved by the adoption of national guidelines in most subjects, but in some subjects they have not been sufficiently adapted to ensure that knowledge, skills and understanding are developed systematically as pupils move through the school. There is still much to do, but the school knows the areas that need attention and is well placed to make further improvement. STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6, based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests. compared with similar Performance in: all schools Key schools 2000 2001 2002 2002 well above average A English E D C B above average B average C Mathematics E C B A below average D well below average E Science E E C B The above table shows that in the 2002 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, pupils’ standards of attainment in English and science were in line with national averages for all schools, and above the average for similar schools. Pupils’ attainment in mathematics was above the national average and well above the average for similar schools. Inspection evidence indicates that the attainment of the current group of pupils in Year 6 in English and mathematics is above national expectations and that pupils are making good progress and achieving well in relation to their attainment at the end of Year 2. Pupils’ attainment in science is in line with national expectations and they make satisfactory progress in relation to their prior attainment. Standards in other National Curriculum subjects are also in line with national expectations and pupils make satisfactory progress and achieve as well as they should. However, too little time is given to the teaching of art, design and technology, history and geography and this has a negative impact on standards. Standards in English, mathematics, design and technology, and information and communication technology have improved since the time of the last inspection and been maintained in other National Curriculum subjects. National Curriculum test results at the end of Year 2 in 2002 showed standards of attainment in reading and mathematics to be well below both the national average and that for similar schools. In writing, standards were below the national average but in line with the average for similar schools. Teacher assessments in science showed pupils’ attainment to be below average. Evidence from the inspection indicates that the attainment of the current group of Year 2 pupils is in line with national expectations in all National Curriculum subjects. Pupils make satisfactory progress and achieve appropriately in relation to their capabilities and their attainment on entry to the school. Standards have been maintained since the time of the last inspection, except in English, mathematics, design and technology, and information and communication technology, where they have improved. St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School - 8 Children make good progress in the reception class. Most are on track to achieve the Early Learning Goals in all areas by the end of the Foundation Stage and to achieve well in relation to their attainment on entry to the school and their capabilities. Pupils with special educational needs are given appropriate support and make satisfactory progress in relation to the targets set for them in their individual education plans.