St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Leaders, managers and governors have ensured that teaching is good and pupils achieve well during a time of change. The promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and permeates the work of the school.

Pupils behave well and attendance is above average. Pupils say they feel safe and they get on well together. All are welcome and relationships are good.

Leaders make sure teachers receive the training they need to improve their work and successfully unite staff in understanding the school's aims. Teaching is good. Teachers often make learning interesting.

They make sure pupils understand what to ...do and encourage them to express their views. Pupils make good progress. By the end of Year 6, they reach standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are well above average.

Children get off to an excellent start in the Reception classes and make very good progress. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers do not always motivate pupils to do their very best or help them to understand how to improve. Sometimes, pupils do not have enough time to use new skills.

The teaching of spelling is not consistent. Leaders do not always focus on pupils' learning when they check the quality of teaching.

Information about this school

The school opened in September 2013 as a result of the amalgamation between St.

John's Catholic Infant School and St. Thomas More Catholic Junior School. It operates from the former junior school site.

When the former two schools were last inspected in 2008, the infant school was judged to be outstanding and the junior school was judged to be good. The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The large majority of pupils are of White British and other White background.

Just under a half of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups, which is well above the national average. About a third of the pupils speak English as an additional language. This is well above average.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average and accounts for about a tenth of the school population. The pupil premium funding, which provides support for disadvantaged pupils, supports just over a tenth of pupils. This is well below the national average.

Early Years Foundation Stage provision is in the Reception classes which, children attend full time. The school meets the government's current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. There is a breakfast club and after-school care which are both managed by the school's governing body.

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