Attendance 'significantly above national averages' at this Leeds primary school - Ofsted report

A primary school in Leeds has been praised by Ofsted inspectors for its attendance numbers.

Holy Family Catholic Primary School, located on Parliament Road, Armley, received a ‘Strong standard’ rating in the category of attendance and behaviour - during an Ofsted visit on April 21.

The school received an ‘Expected standard’ rating in the other six inspected areas - achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing.

It was the school’s first full Ofsted inspection since it received a ‘Good’ under the old scoring system in November 2012.

“Pupils enjoy coming to Holy Family Catholic Primary school. It serves a diverse community,” the education watchdog said. “Everybody is welcome here. The school’s ethos underpins pupils' clear understanding of equality and solidarity.

“As a result of the school's very effective approach to review and support attendance, almost all pupils attend school when they should. Attendance for all groups, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are disadvantaged, is significantly above national averages.”

Typically, from low starting points pupils achieve well at the school, according to the report.

Disadvantaged pupils achieve “particularly well.” Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 show that disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with their non-disadvantaged peers nationally.

Leaders have a “clear vision” for providing high-quality education in the early years. They have devised a well-thought-out curriculum that cover all the areas of learning.

Generally, staff teach the curriculum, particularly in reading and mathematics. However, on occasion, teaching and the activities pupils complete do not enable them to learn important knowledge and skills as well as they could.

Focusing on next steps, inspectors added: “Leaders should ensure that the curriculum and teaching, and the quality of work that pupils produce, are of a consistently high quality across subjects and year groups. They should continue their work to ensure that pupils and children in early years secure the foundational skills they need, particularly in writing.

“Leaders should ensure that safeguarding records provide a full picture of the actions taken by the school to promote pupils' wellbeing.”

Pupils of all backgrounds, beliefs and/or disabilities are welcome at the school, according to the report. Leaders quickly and accurately identify pupils who may have any additional needs, such as for some of the pupils at the school who are new to speaking English.

Holy Family Catholic have implemented a well-considered programme of personal development. The taught elements of the personal development programme ensure that pupils build their knowledge of key themes over time.

Leaders, including those responsible for governance, understand the school's context, strengths and priorities. They “correctly identify the actions that they will take” to ensure the school's continued improvement.