Please find below our inspection reports and correspondences from Ofsted and the Diocese of Salford.
Diocese of Salford Inspection March 2023
Following our Ofsted in December we received a visit from the Catholic School’s Inspection team for a full two day inspection on 22nd and 23rd March. We are delighted that they judged the school to be good in every category. The inspection team looked at the Catholic life and mission of the whole school. This includes how we teach young people to behave in a way that lives out the Gospel values. They also looked at Religious Education and the quality of the planned and taught curriculum, including outcomes. In addition, they inspected Collective Worship, including the quality and range of experiences provided by the school for young people to engage in liturgy and prayer. We are pleased that the report notes, “The school’s distinctive Catholic mission helps create a happy and inclusive environment in which each individual student is highly valued by committed staff. Through good leadership and focused teaching, students achieve well in religious education. The school offers a wide variety of enrichment opportunities to develop students’ moral and spiritual formation.”
We know that living a good Christian life sometimes feels countercultural and the challenge is that the values our young people are exposed to in the wider world often appear more appealing to young people in the short term. The inspection team identified three development areas that are consistent with our vision for improving the school. More than ever before we know we need to demonstrate to each young person that they are of value and accepted by God. We will do this by developing the consistency of the variety of prayer and worship in form time and show how this can support positive mental health. We believe that every subject area in our school is a ‘search for truth.’ We will be intentional in making sure staff are explicit in reflecting and teaching the values that are important to parents and carers (and the reason they chose St Joseph’s for their child.) We will do this by working to increase the confidence of staff in naturally delivering social, moral, cultural and spiritual education across all subjects. We have been developing our student leadership in school. We have a vision for our students to co-lead the Catholic life of our school so that they take ownership for our mission to the poor, passion for justice and a desire to speak up on eco issues to look after our environment for generations to come.
This is an exciting time for our community at St Joseph’s as we celebrate the journey we have travelled and the success we have experienced along the way. We look forward to an even brighter future as we work together to further strengthen the life changing opportunities we envisage for each child. May I take the opportunity to thank you for your support and role in this achievement. You can read the report in full here
Ofsted Inspections
Ofsted visited St Joseph’s on 6th and 7th December 2022. Ofsted noted our much improved curriculum, judging the quality of education as Good, Personal development as Good and Leadership and Management as Good.
The report highlights improvements in behaviour in classrooms and in the way that young people access their learning as evidenced in the best outcomes St Joseph’s has ever seen in 2022. Ofsted pointed out that “Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are clear of what is expected. Typically, classrooms are calm and orderly places. Pupils settle to their work and behave well in their lessons.” They also note that “Pupils are keen to do well in class. Their concentration in lessons helps them to learn and remember more” and that “Staff resolve any bullying incidents quickly.”
We are glad that Ofsted noticed our ambition for the academic achievement of the pupils that attend our school and that they note young people benefit from the improvements that we have made to the quality of education. We were particularly pleased that our inclusive approach is judged to be helping “the majority of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to experience and enjoy academic success.” I thank staff and parent/carers who have worked with us to get to this point.
As you know, we will never be complacent and our drive to further improve our school is as strong as ever. We know that we need to do more to encourage our students to read more and we are taking action to improve the behaviour of the minority of learners who were most profoundly affected by the impact of recent lockdowns.
We shared with the Ofsted team that we are completing a piece of work around building a stronger culture at St Joseph’s so that young people feel such a strong allegiance to our school family and such a strong sense of empathy for each other and the world around them that they show improved attitudes and behaviour to each other. We know that we can’t do this alone. The old proverb states “It takes a village to raise a child” and we are asking for your support.
We are positive about the exciting journey ahead and we look forward to one day seeing our young people take up their place in the world and feeling very proud that we have been partners in their lives. Thanks for all your support.
