Caton Primary School

Overview

Caton Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” This ungraded inspection confirms that the school continues to provide a high-quality education, with pupils described as “happy,” “kind and thoughtful,” and “positive about their school and their learning.” The report highlights a “small and friendly” environment where staff effectively support pupil well-being and academic progress.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and know they can talk to adults about worries, while acting as positive role models in roles such as “prefects, librarians and play leaders.”
• The curriculum is “ambitious and well-thought-out” in most subjects, with staff carefully checking knowledge and addressing gaps to ensure logical progression.
• Reading is a clear priority; staff are “well trained” to support early readers and quickly identify those not keeping pace with phonics, ensuring pupils read with “increasing fluency and confidence.”
• The school effectively identifies and supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) through “well-tailored teaching.”
• Staff workload and well-being are supported positively, with staff appreciating “additional time to carry out their curriculum responsibilities.”

Areas to improve

• In a small number of subjects, the school must clarify the “precise knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should happen” to help pupils connect new learning with prior knowledge.
• Staff should be supported in selecting activities that help pupils “acquire and remember knowledge securely overtime,” as current activities occasionally fail to deepen learning effectively.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”