St Edward's Catholic First School

Overview

The report describes a school where pupils are “very happy,” “confident” and “eager to talk about their school.” Leaders foster a “strong sense of community,” resulting in a “calm and friendly” atmosphere where behaviour is “calm and considerate.” The school is judged ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, maintaining high standards in education, behaviour, and leadership.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate strong relationships with staff, trusting teachers to “look after them,” and take pride in roles such as “reading ambassadors” and “well-being champions.”
• The curriculum in reading and mathematics is “carefully considered and organised,” with focused training ensuring pupils become “confident and fluent readers.”
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is thorough, with teaching assistants ensuring independence is “sensitively balanced” with support.
• Early years staff effectively prioritise developing children’s “language and communication,” helping them interact well with peers and adults.

Areas to improve

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not always support pupils in “building knowledge over time,” making it difficult to link topics together.
• Teachers do not always regularly track what pupils have learned, meaning pupils “do not always learn as much as they could.”
• Subject leaders have not always received the necessary support and monitoring to ensure curriculum planning is secure across all subjects.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that leaders can “quickly spot any concerns” and staff are regularly trained to identify signs of risk.