St Katherine’s School & Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are joyful and proud of their aspirational and welcoming school. From Nursery to Year 6, everyone learns to live the school's values of respect, resilience, responsibility, community, compassion and excellence.

These values have inspired excellent behaviour, which helps most pupils to meet the school's high expectations for all. Some pupils find it hard to manage their emotions. The school offers extensive pastoral care to help them, including therapeutic support in the wonderful nurture room.

The school has high ambitions for all pupils' achievement. Everyone is united in the vision to continually improve the quality of education provided. As a result, pupils ...are supported to achieve consistently well.

Pupils thrive and enjoy an extensive range of leadership roles, including 'well-being warriors' and 'community ambassadors'. They make a tangible difference to the life of the school. Pupils learn about the wider world by welcoming visitors such as drummers from Ghana.'

Aspiration Alley' showcases the impressive personal development in the school. Pupils understand healthy relationships and learn about a wide range of faiths and cultures. They study modern Britain through well-designed lesson and assembly activities.

Pupils celebrate diversity and are keen to challenge prejudice or inequality. Pupils feel safe, special and valued. They appreciate how leaders and staff always help them.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and trustees share a vision for this school to be aspirational and inclusive. These aims are fulfilled with impressive consistency across this thriving school. Parents say that behaviour and learning have dramatically improved since the new headteacher started in their post.

Leaders are highly inspirational, compassionate and effective. Staff are happy and proud to work here. They are well supported.

Trustees and governors meet their duties with tenacity and diligence. Harnessing the shared expertise across the trust, the school is outward-facing, reflective and continually seeking ways to improve pupils' experiences.

Staff ensure that pupils who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities are strongly supported.

The school uses expert knowledge to diagnose any concerns. Everyone works together to put effective support in place, such as targeted help for groups or individuals. Parents appreciate how well the school keeps them informed about this extra support.

Partnership work with a local special school reflects the inclusive culture, benefiting pupils in both settings.

Phonics is taught effectively from early years, and the love of reading is blossoming across the school. Pupils learn to read fluently and with expression.

Support for catch up, individually and in small groups, targets the sounds which pupils are struggling with. Books are matched to sounds that pupils know, ensuring appropriate practice. Pupils love the diverse range of texts in the impressive school library.

Teachers read books which enlighten pupils' imaginations. The charitable 'book nooks' ensure that everyone accesses high-quality books, and reading ambassadors promote reading wonderfully.

The curriculum is well designed with high ambition.

As a result of effective professional development across the school and trust, staff's subject knowledge is strong. The consistent approach to teaching begins impressively in early years. In both Nursery and Reception, staff provide opportunities to enrich vocabulary, communication and emotional development.

Pupils achieve well in key stage 1 and are being well prepared to succeed as they move through the school and beyond. The school's high expectations were not reflected by published test outcomes in 2023, which were lower than national averages in key stage 2. However, inspirational leaders are driving standards higher, with all staff engaged and working tenaciously to help pupils achieve consistently well.

Recall activities help pupils to recall and connect their knowledge. Staff's checks of pupils' understanding involve instant feedback. This often works well, but sometimes teachers do not sharply identify pupils' misconceptions.

This means that pupils may not learn key content accurately. Leaders know this and have plans in place to ensure that checks of pupils' understanding are more precise and effective.

Everyone plays their part to ensure impressive behaviour.

Relationships are supportive and positive. The school's environment is calm, happy and orderly. Learning time is never lost, as pupils consistently rise to meet the high expectations of staff.

Pupils love their school. Nurture spaces, pastoral experiences and outdoor learning provide valuable well-being boosts to help everyone manage their feelings.

The provision for personal development is first class.

Talents are nurtured through trust-wide sports events and musical performances in settings from a local care home to a national arena. Support for families is exceptional. Leaders are passionate in their ambition to ensure equity of opportunity.

Their actions ensure that nobody misses out. Pupils love the trips, visits and experiences that widen their world experience through the school's 'See Beyond Snodland' approach.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers do not consistently identify and address pupils' misconceptions precisely. This means that pupils may not learn and remember key knowledge long term. The school must continue to strengthen its approach to assessment so that staff make effective use of information to inform future teaching and help all pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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