Moving forward

The pupils of St Augustine‘s Catholic Primary School display ‘good behaviour and kindness towards others’.

They were praised for the understanding of what is important to lead a healthy lifestyle and trying ‘to do your best for your teachers’.

These are some of the positive aspects of school life at St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School following their Ofsted inspection in June.

Ofsted have given the school a ‘Notice to Improve’, after the inspectors concluded that at the time of the review the school ‘requires significant improvement’.

Since the inspection, the school has received their provisional SATs results and they have achieved their best results yet, meeting most of its targets. The school will continue to focus on further improvements in the standards that pupils achieve by improving the curriculum and the quality of teaching.

The inspectors praised the headteacher, Lisa Wigglesworth for her ‘strenuous efforts to reverse the school’s decline’ since her appointment in September 2007. The school has made improvements with assessments and ‘catch up’ plans for pupils.

The report noted that the school, senior staff and governors ‘are united in their relentless drive and determination to raise standards and pupils’ achievement’.

The inspectors singled out the work that has been done to improve the quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The work with these pupils has been praised throughout the report as a significant step in taking the school forward on its path to improvement.
 
Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was described as ‘satisfactory’ in the report; it was considered that this was ‘a sound basis for improving their academic achievement’.

The children enjoy learning and have good relationships with their teachers, which was displayed through ‘good behaviour and enthusiastic attitudes’.

The school has gained Healthy School and Activemark status, and pupils showed a ‘satisfactory understanding of healthy lifestyles’. They enjoy the after school activities and embrace a healthy lifestyle by drinking water and eating fruit regularly.

The school has already started making improvements in the following areas as highlighted in the report:

• Raise standards and improve pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics throughout the school, particularly for more able pupils.
• Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning, eradicating inadequate teaching.
  Improve the effectiveness of the Foundation Stage so that children make at least satisfactory progress in their learning.
• Improve the quality of the curriculum so that pupils can build on prior learning more effectively.

Mrs Lisa Wigglesworth, headteacher said “We have taken on board all the recommendations in the report and we have already started to look at ways in which we can improve. We are sure that we can make St Augustine’s an effective school and so the journey begins.

“This is a fabulous school with loads of potential. All of the staff here are committed, hardworking and determined to make these changes happen and we have already made great strides forward in such a short space of time. With the support of pupils, parents, Governors and the LA, all of the staff are determined to address all of the issues raised by the inspection team.”

Miss Elizabeth Bailey, Chair of Governors said, “We have already begun to work hard to address the issues raised in this report and we are absolutely determined that, by working in partnership with staff, parents and pupils, we can bring about the dramatic and rapid improvements necessary to take our school forward. The development of our pupils is paramount and we will be working very hard over the coming weeks and months to make radical changes to the way we operate and the education we provide.”

Issued by:  Gina Coldrick, Press Officer
Date:   Monday 21 July, 2008
Release: Immediate