St Mary’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

St Mary's is a place where pupils feel safe and are well cared for. Kind interactions between pupils and staff influence the positive relationships pupils form with each other.

Pupils are knowledgeable about the risks they face in the real and online world and understand the importance of reporting concerns to a trusted adult.

Most pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and recognise their responsibility in ensuring that they do well at school. They listen attentively to their teachers and answer questions thoughtfully when asked.

Pupils who arrive new to the country are well supported to settle and become active members of the school community. Pup...ils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get equal access to all the school offers and feel well cared for.

Pupils enjoy the wider opportunities they are provided.

Cooking and attending a range of sports clubs are just a few of the ways they develop their talents and interests. Pupils recognise the importance of making their school an inclusive and welcoming place for all. They greet visitors with an eagerness to share their experiences and with smiles on their faces.

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

The school promotes its Catholic ethos clearly and with pride. Staff demonstrate the school values by doing their best for the community they serve. Leaders show integrity and an openness to challenge and accept support when required.

More recently, lower than expected outcomes in key stages 1 and 2 have led the school to make necessary changes to the curriculum to improve pupils' learning. These changes have happened at speed. The rapid pace of such developments has meant that the school has not measured precisely enough how well the changes are being delivered or how they are improving provision.

Staff often hold several areas of responsibility. Despite the impact this has on workload, many feel well supported in doing so. Recent changes in staffing have presented new opportunities for staff to lead in key areas.

Many are enjoying this challenge. Changes to the curriculum in some subjects have been received well by pupils, who enjoy their learning across subjects such as history, reading, computing and mathematics. In some subject areas, however, staff have not received the necessary subject-specific training to deliver learning sequences as intended.

A newly appointed special educational needs and disabilities coordinator has made improvements to how the school delivers support to pupils with SEND. The school ensures that parents and external support agencies are involved in reviewing pupils' support plans. Staff make the necessary adaptations for pupils with SEND to support them to access the curriculum.

However, the school has not established fully robust assessment processes and some identification of SEND needs is not as timely as it could be.Pupils share a love of reading. They enjoy being read stories by teachers, and many practise their reading at home regularly.

Those at the early stages of reading are increasingly well supported to do so. Staff deliver phonics lessons in line with agreed approaches. Where staff require additional support, they are offered coaching sessions to improve their teaching.

Most pupils are able to read by the time they arrive in key stage 2, with those who still require support receiving this from well-trained adults.

Children in the early years enjoy their time in school. Adults are kind and nurturing and provide opportunities for children to explore and develop their understanding of the world around them.

Many children show sustained concentration during activities for prolonged periods, helping to prepare them for more formal learning. Carefully selected books underpin the early years curriculum, with provision often linked to the stories being read. Children enjoy role play and using new words to describe the feelings that characters might experience.

Most pupils behave well and understand that the school rules are in place to support their learning. Those who require additional support with their emotions are provided with strategies to help to manage them. Pupils demonstrate resilience when faced with challenges in their learning and seek ways to improve their performance.

An increasing number of pupils are attending school more regularly with the school finding new ways to support parents to understand the importance of regular school attendance.

Pupils develop their leadership skills when being elected as school councillors or house captains. Many see this as an opportunity to make a difference in their school.

Older pupils see their responsibility to act as mentors to younger children as important. Pupils develop a sense of social responsibility by collecting donations for a local food bank and raising money for local and global charities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not ensured that there is effective monitoring of school improvement actions. As a result, it does not have a precise enough view of how well such actions are being delivered and are improving provision. The school should ensure that effective monitoring systems are in place to ensure that the school continues to improve.

• Recent work to improve the early identification of the needs of pupils with SEND is at an early stage. As a result, some pupils do not receive support early enough.The school should ensure that all pupils with SEND have their needs identified quickly and that robust evidence is gathered to support assessment processes.

• In some subjects, the school has not ensured that staff receive the necessary support to deliver the disciplinary aspects of the curriculum. This has an impact on how well pupils develop subject-specific skills and knowledge in these subjects. The school should ensure that all staff receive the necessary support to deliver the curriculum as intended.

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