Our Lady and St Swithin's Catholic Primary School

Overview: Our Lady and St Swithin's Catholic Primary School is a good school where pupils are happy and safe. The school has a positive and welcoming environment, with a focus on pupils' well-being and achievement.

Strengths:

• Pupils are happy and safe, with a positive and welcoming school environment.
• Leaders have high expectations for pupils' achievement and behaviour.
• Pupils typically achieve well in many subjects.
• Teachers have good knowledge of the subjects they teach and deliver curriculums as intended.
• Leaders promote reading through various initiatives, such as book vending machines.
• Children in the early years get off to a positive start, with teachers supporting them to develop positive behaviours for learning.
• Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND have their needs identified effectively and arrange external support where appropriate.

Areas to improve:

• Leaders do not ensure an appropriately ambitious curriculum experience for some pupils with SEND, meaning they do not achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Sometimes, teachers do not use assessment strategies well to recognise when they might need to modify their teaching or to identify when pupils need further help during a lesson.
• Some parents and staff who shared their views do not feel that leaders take sufficient account of their views, leading to some members of the school community feeling disaffected and some staff not feeling their well-being is appropriately considered.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders and governors knowledgeable about the additional risks within the local community and ensuring that all staff are highly alert to these dangers.