The Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are exceptionally proud to be a part of this vibrant school community.

They benefit hugely from the school's diversity and celebrate the many languages that they and their friends speak. Pupils are quick to welcome new classmates from all over the world. Those who join the school from other countries settle in quickly.

Pupils referred to the school as their place of sanctuary. They know that they are safe in school. Relationships between staff and pupils are highly positive.

Staff care about pupils and understand their needs well. Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to school.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement.

Ma...ny pupils spoke of the recent changes that have taken place in school. They know that these improvements are helping them to learn more across the curriculum. However, many pupils struggled to talk about what they had learned prior to this academic year.

This hinders their progress through the curriculum. It means that they do not achieve as well as they should.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are included fully in all aspects of school life.

They enjoy attending many of the enrichment opportunities on offer. For example, pupils are keen to join in with gardening, singing and journalism clubs.

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

The school has been on a considerable journey in recent years.

It is a place of warmth and high ambition. The school has focused its attention on improving the behaviour and attendance of pupils. The impact of this work is extensive.

Pupils' behaviour is much improved. Their attendance rates are high.

The school has been swift to address the weaknesses that were highlighted in the previous inspection.

It has achieved much in a relatively short period of time. Staff are highly positive about the open culture that now exists. They appreciate how their well-being and workload has been considered at every moment of the school's improvement journey.

Staff have benefited greatly from comprehensive training. They spoke of feeling empowered to fulfil their roles well. Staff are confident and competent to lead many aspects of the school's work.

The school's approach to developing staff's expertise extends to the identification of pupils with SEND. Staff understand pupils' additional needs well. They adapt resources skilfully so that pupils with SEND can learn alongside their peers.

The school involves parents and carers in any decisions about provision for their children. It ensures that parents' opinions are included so that pupils with SEND receive well-tailored support.

The curriculum in most subjects has been completely overhauled this academic year.

It is ambitious and has been carefully designed. Through well-chosen visits, the curriculum enriches pupils' experiences and broadens their cultural capital. For instance, there are many opportunities for pupils to visit the theatre, local museums and art galleries.

In key stages 1 and 2, the precise knowledge that pupils need to know is broken down. However, the school has not determined the important knowledge that children should learn in the early years with the same clarity. Consequently, staff are unsure how to prepare children fully for Year 1 and beyond.

In many subjects, staff are skilled at identifying and addressing any potential misconceptions that pupils have in their current learning. However, staff are not as effective in checking on pupils' knowledge over time. It has not identified or addressed the gaps that pupils have from the previous weak curriculum.

This means that pupils do not have firm foundations on which to successfully build new learning.

Staff have received training on the content of the recently developed curriculum. Most staff are confident in the exact knowledge that pupils need to know.

Staff deliver this knowledge effectively using well-considered resources. As a result, pupils remember their current learning well. However, staff do not regularly revisit previous learning, nor do they support pupils to make connections between units of work.

This makes it difficult for pupils to know and remember more over time. This impacts negatively on their achievement.

Children in the Nursery class enjoy sharing nursery rhymes, poems and stories with staff and with each other.

The school ensures that staff deliver the phonics programme well. Staff select books that are carefully matched to the sounds that children in the early years, and pupils in key stage 1 already know. Many pupils speak English as an additional language.

The school provides supplementary reading sessions that complement the phonics programme. Despite this well-chosen and targeted support, many pupils struggle to meet the expected standards in the phonics screening check and in key stage 1 reading assessments. Nevertheless, attainment at the end of key stage 2 shows that pupils leave Year 6 as confident, fluent readers.

Much of the literature selected by the school helps to broaden pupils' personal development. These books include current and important topics, including diversity, inclusion and democracy. Pupils take on many leadership roles within school.

Some pupils have started their own clubs and businesses. Through these clubs, pupils make a highly tangible contribution to their school. Furthermore, staff encourage pupils to spread their talents and interests to the wider community.

The governing body shares the high ambition and vision of the school. It wants nothing but the very best for pupils and their families. Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

They are knowledgeable about the school and have been instrumental in its ongoing improvement journey. Governors have the necessary skills to support and challenge the school well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum in the early years lacks clarity about what children should learn and when they will learn it. This means that staff are unclear on the knowledge and skills that should be delivered across each of the areas of learning. The school should refine the curriculum in the early years, so that children develop the knowledge needed to be ready for the next stage of their education.

• The school has not ensured that gaps in pupils' knowledge, due to weaker subject curriculums in the past, are identified and addressed sufficiently well. This means that pupils' knowledge in some subjects is insecure, which hinders how well they build new learning. The school should make sure that gaps in pupils' knowledge are addressed swiftly, so that they learn all that they should.

• In many subject curriculums, teachers do not regularly revisit previous content that pupils should have already learned. This means that pupils struggle to make connections between prior learning and new content, which hinders the depth of their subject knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers connect new content to previous learning, so that pupils know and remember more over time.