Saint Edmund's Roman Catholic Primary School

Overview

The report describes the school as “happy, welcoming and inclusive,” with “strong” pastoral support and effective safeguarding. However, it states that the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and early years provision all “Require improvement.” Inspectors note that while the curriculum is now more ambitious, “disruptions to staffing have hindered the pace of improvement,” and outcomes are not yet consistently strong.

Strengths

• The school’s “Catholic values are at the heart of all that it provides,” fostering a safe environment where pupils “feel safe” and staff form “trusting and supportive relationships.”
• Phonics teaching is “effective,” with pupils achieving well in early reading; those finding it difficult receive “effective extra teaching” to catch up.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is well-focused, enabling them to “learn the same curriculum as others” with a “positive impact on their achievement.”
• The school’s support for pupils’ “mental health and well-being is highly effective,” helping pupils manage emotions and reduce anxieties.
• Pupils enjoy extra-curricular opportunities and take pride in roles such as “chaplains and house captains.”

Areas to improve

• Teachers’ subject knowledge is “not sufficiently strong,” hindering pupils’ ability to deepen knowledge and recall concepts.
• Assessment does not consistently identify what pupils know, meaning tasks do not challenge pupils to “achieve their potential.”
• Leaders do not evaluate the impact of their work thoroughly enough, failing to “swiftly identify when they need to make improvements.”
• Attendance is irregular for some pupils, and the behaviour policy is applied inconsistently, leading to disruption.

Safeguarding

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