St Joseph’s R.C. Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School is an inclusive and caring school that supports success for all pupils, and service to others, exceptionally well. All pupils love belonging to the school.

They speak warmly about their friends and teachers and look forward to coming every day. Pupils are kind and respectful towards each other and the relationship between the oldest and youngest pupils is very strong. The positive and nurturing relationships that exist between pupils, and between staff and pupils, contribute well to the inclusive and welcoming nature of the school and community.

Pupils' positive attitudes to learning and willingness to support one another in their work and play are notable. They are confident and i...nquisitive learners and enjoy finding out about things that interest them. Nearly all pupils develop good speaking and listening skills and use these well to build on, or challenge, each other's ideas Across the school, most pupils develop good mathematical and digital skills.

Pupils build their musical and artistic skills well and enjoy performing to a range of audiences. However, pupils do not make enough progress in their writing during their time in the school. Many teachers plan and deliver a knowledge rich curriculum effectively, through a comprehensive range of engaging learning experiences.

Outside learning areas are stimulating and enable pupils to develop knowledge and skills effectively. Teachers offer many opportunities to learn about the history and culture of Wales and the local area. Provision for physical development is strong, as is the teaching of mathematics where learning happens at a suitably brisk pace.

Overall, the quality of teaching across the school is variable, particularly in younger year groups where many activities are over-directed by adults and opportunities to develop independence are limited. The headteacher has created a clear vision for the education and well-being of learners, and shared it effectively with all stakeholders. The headteacher takes the lead in ensuring that the school provides an inclusive and caring environment for all.

There is a strong team ethos across the school, where pupils and staff feel supported and valued. Members of the governing body are supportive and well-informed. Leaders have identified many of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.

However, self-evaluation and improvement processes are overly complex and leaders identify too many priorities. This makes it difficult for the school to focus well enough on the most important aspects of its work. Recommendations R1 Sharpen self-evaluation and improvement processes to ensure that they focus on the most important areas of school improvement R2 Improve the consistency of teaching and provision to ensure that it is appropriate to pupils' stage and age of development and successfully develops pupils' independence R3 Improve pupils' writing skills What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.