Ofsted
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2 February 2017
Janet Tuck
Executive Headteacher
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
High Street
Carisbrooke
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 1NR
Dear Ms Tuck
Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to St Thomas of
Canterbury Catholic Primary School
Following my visit to your school on 24 January 2017, I write on behalf of Her
Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the
inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made
available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most
recent section 5 inspection.
The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require
improvement following the section 5 inspection in December 2015. It was carried
out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.
Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas
requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to
become a good school.
The school should take further action to:
 ensure that improvements to teaching, learning and assessment are precisely
linked to, and measured by, their impact on outcomes for pupils
 strengthen pupils’ resilience and confidence as learners, particularly in
mathematics.

 Evidence
During the inspection, meetings were held with the federation executive
headteacher, federation deputy headteacher, members of the governing body,
leaders for literacy and mathematics, and representatives of the local authority to
discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. Her Majesty’s Inspector reviewed
the school’s improvement plans, information about pupils’ progress, curriculum
planning and documentation related to the work of governors. Her Majesty’s
Inspector visited all classes to observe teaching and learning and spoke to a group
of pupils about their work and their views of the school. An additional sample of
work was scrutinised.
Context
There have been no significant changes since the previous inspection.
Main findings
There has been rapid improvement over the last year following the last inspection.
School leaders have systematically prioritised the key areas to improve in the school
and focused precisely on groups of pupils who need to catch up, including the most
able and those eligible for the pupil premium. As a result, current pupils are making
more progress and results for reading and writing at the end of key stage 1 and key
stage 2 have improved, and in many cases compare well with national figures.
Leaders are far from complacent and have identified that pupils’ progress in
mathematics throughout the school is not strong enough. End of key stage 2 results
in 2016 were below national expectations. In characteristic fashion, leaders and
teachers have closely scrutinised pupils’ results and mathematics progress overall.
They have shrewdly identified that pupils in all year groups need to develop greater
confidence with mathematical reasoning and completing test questions more
efficiently.
The school’s work to improve pupils’ mathematical thinking was clearly evident
during the inspection. Her Majesty’s Inspector observed pupils explaining their
reasoning in a variety of ways when working with decimals and fractions. Some
pupils were able to say exactly why they preferred one method over another. In
another class, younger pupils told the inspector some fascinating facts about adding
odd and even numbers. Pupils’ mathematics books clearly demonstrate that pupils
are thinking about numbers and calculations at a deep and analytical level.
The school’s approach to tackling weaknesses in mathematics is typical and
demonstrates its ambition and determination. Leaders have a completely accurate
view of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment because they monitor
closely and frequently and know the pupils individually extremely well. Leaders
carefully review what works and what does not work, followed up by precise
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 planning to tackle difficulties, support staff and maintain the focus on pupils. School
leaders’ plans are rightly focused on improving teaching and learning. However, it is
not clear how actions to improve teaching will be judged because they are not
linked closely enough to pupils’ progress.
Middle leaders are now taking on more monitoring work. They have reviewed the
curriculum in both mathematics and English to ensure that pupils understand more
clearly the point of topics and know what they are aiming for. Pupils have more
stimulating topics and also challenging reading which captures their imagination and
fosters their emotional involvement. Middle leaders are reviewing pupils’ work, what
happens in lessons and information about progress. In this way, leadership has
been strengthened and held to account more strictly.
School leaders have improved the curriculum and range of subjects on offer.
French, art and technology now feature prominently in timetables. Pupils appreciate
more stretch and challenge and the opportunity to learn about the world around
them. Religious education covers a full range of faiths and cultures and Her
Majesty’s Inspector saw some moving and extremely thoughtful and empathetic
writing from the point of view of different religious beliefs.
Pupils told the inspector that teaching had improved, that learning was more
interesting and presented in a fun way. However, there is more to what pupils are
learning than just fun. Pupils showed the inspector the pieces of work they are most
proud of. These assignments were not gimmicky or superficial, but practical and
useful tasks that helped pupils to learn and make good progress
Teachers’ expectations are higher than previously and there is clear evidence that
the most able pupils are being pushed more. But there are no ceilings or foregone
conclusions based on what pupils may have attained previously. For those pupils
who may have gaps in their learning as a result of a legacy of weaker teaching, but
who actually may have more potential, there is careful attention to making sure that
they are supported and challenged to reach higher targets.
The staff work as a team. They support each other and share practice, adhering to
the sensible common principles promoted by leaders. Strong teamwork between
teachers and teaching assistants enhances pupils’ learning and progress in lessons
and in their books. Leaders and governors have benefited from visiting other
schools and sharing practice. There are regular opportunities for all staff, including
teaching assistants, to reflect on and consider what is working well and what could
be even better.
More confident staff means more confident management of pupils’ behaviour. As
teaching has improved, pupils’ behaviour overall has improved. During the
inspection, no disruptive behaviour was observed. However, school leaders have
identified that there are some pupils in some year groups who find settling down to
learning and concentrating difficult, partly from poor habits and partly because they
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 have particular needs. Pupils told the inspector that there are some pupils who are
sometimes silly. However, there are very few serious incidents of poor behaviour
that disrupt learning. Pupils generally get along well and have good relationships
with their teachers. They want to learn and, when pushed, will try hard.
Nevertheless, some pupils lack confidence and sit back rather than allow themselves
to be noticed, for example when they have finished a task. Some pupils wait for
direction from the teacher when they could work things out for themselves or
sustain their concentration even more. Leaders have rightly identified this as a next
step in improving pupils’ attitudes to learning.
Governance has improved since the previous inspection. The structure of the
governing body has been amended to enable more governors to be actively
involved in monitoring the school. Governors are now able to see the bigger picture
and take in a full view of the school, including challenging leaders and holding them
to account.
Governors have had useful training. They visit the school regularly as part of their
systematic monitoring, and their roles and responsibilities are defined. New
members have joined the governing body and bring different professional skills,
knowledge and experience. Decisions about the future of the school and its
leadership model are debated honestly, strategically and with sensible use of
background knowledge.
External support
The school has benefited over time from the strong support from Hampshire local
authority, including helpful and detailed guidance from the mathematics and English
advisers. In addition, the leadership learning partner has provided useful advice for
the senior leadership team and carried out regular objective reviews of the school’s
performance. As a result, the current senior leaders have become more assured in
their vision, planning and professional development. Middle leaders have developed
confidence and expertise. The local authority is rightly scaling down its level of
support as the school becomes less reliant on external guidance. Increasingly,
leaders and governors can draw upon their own expertise within the school, the
federation and other schools.
I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education
for the Diocese of Portsmouth, the regional schools commissioner and the director
of children’s services for the Isle of Wight. This letter will be published on the
Ofsted website.
Yours sincerely
Janet Pearce
Her Majesty’s Inspector

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