St Catherine's School and College

Overview

St Catherine’s School and College continues to be a good school, providing a caring community where pupils feel safe and supported. The report highlights the school’s success in preparing pupils for adult life through a broad curriculum and strong focus on communication skills, noting the "transformational impact" on many children.

Strengths

• Pupils "flourish" due to the strong emphasis on developing communication skills and positive interactions with others.
• Staff are "ambitious for each pupil," refusing to place barriers on achievement, with a curriculum that progresses coherently from primary phase to sixth form.
• Teachers and therapeutic staff work together seamlessly to understand individual needs, using assessments and education, health and care plans effectively.
• The new approach to phonics is "very effective," enabling pupils to become increasingly confident readers with targeted interventions where needed.
• Behaviour is described as "exemplary," with pupils highly motivated by a system rewarding kindness, respect, and teamwork.

Areas to improve

• The school’s approach to developing written outcomes is not consistently effective across all subjects.
• Teachers should implement plans to introduce a more coherent strategy for the teaching of writing to better prepare pupils for extended written outcomes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.