St Helen’s Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key findings

This is a good school.

Pupils, parents and carers are very positive about the school and its inclusive ethos. They welcome the way it develops pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness, keeps pupils safe, and encourages outstanding behaviour. The school is not outstanding because : progress in mathematics is slower than in English, and teaching is not outstanding.

Pupils make good progress and achieve well, reaching average attainment by the end of Year 6. Attainment is higher in English than in mathematics, where progress is slower because there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to investigate and solve number problems. Teachers do not often tell pupils where t...hey are going wrong in mathematics.

Pupils say they feel very safe in school. Their behaviour is excellent in lessons. This is particularly the case where they are fully engaged by their learning.

They enjoy school, evidenced by their above-average attendance rate, and say that misbehaviour and bullying is very rare and is effectively dealt with by their teachers. Teaching is good. There is much teaching which enthuses pupils and helps them make rapid progress.

However, in some lessons, there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to complete tasks independently and work is not always well matched to the needs of individual pupils. This is especially so in the provision for higher attaining pupils in Key Stage 1. The very effective headteacher works well with senior colleagues and the governing body.

Together, they provide good leadership and management, promote a strong sense of community and sustain a good breadth of curricular activity that effectively supports the development of pupils' academic skills and personal qualities. The headteacher's detailed and accurate evaluation of teachers' performance gives a strong foundation for improving the quality of teaching and accelerating pupils' progress further.

Information about the school

This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.

About half of the pupils are White British, with the rest coming from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds. About a third of pupils speak English as an additional language, and this proportion is increasing. A high proportion of these pupils, particularly those who have started school recently, are at the early stages of learning English.

The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. The school meets the current floor standard set by the government, which determines the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.

It has gained numerous awards including the Healthy School award and the Activemark. The headteacher has been in post for a year. There is a before-school and after-school club, managed by the governing body.