St Helen's Catholic Primary School

Overview

St Helen’s Catholic Primary School continues to be a good school, described as a “welcoming and inclusive” community where pupils are “eagerly” attending with high aspirations. The report highlights that pupils achieve highly in core subjects and are “well prepared for secondary education,” supported by a broad curriculum and effective safeguarding arrangements.

Strengths

• The school has designed a “broad and ambitious curriculum” with well-sequenced learning, particularly in core subjects like mathematics and science, where assessment is used effectively to identify and remedy gaps.
• Reading is a clear priority, with effective phonics teaching and targeted interventions ensuring pupils become “confident, accurate and fluent readers.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are “swiftly identified” and receive “carefully tailored support,” allowing them to be fully included and achieve well from their starting points.
• Behaviour is mostly positive, with pupils showing “kindness and respect,” while attendance is high due to effective school action.
• Governors provide “effective challenge and support,” and staff appreciate professional development and manageable workloads.

Areas to improve

• In a few subjects, the precise knowledge and skills are not clearly defined, meaning lesson activities do not consistently help pupils build knowledge securely; the school must ensure content and sequencing are clearly defined.
• Some curriculum areas are at an earlier stage of implementation, leading to variability in learning; the school should embed these subjects and ensure middle leaders receive necessary training for oversight.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.