ST HELEN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL

Overview

St Helen’s Primary School is described as “vibrant, welcoming and highly inclusive,” where pupils “enjoy coming to school” and feel “safe, well cared for and valued.” The inspection highlights “highly effective” leadership and a “strong culture of collaboration” among staff, resulting in good progress in learning and well-being.

Strengths

• Leadership is “determined and compassionate,” ensuring the school is “well staffed and resourced” through effective budget planning.
• Staff are “skilled at providing effective support” to pupils with additional learning needs and those speaking English as an additional language.
• Teachers are “highly effective at helping pupils to improve their reading and oracy skills.”
• The school embraces diverse faiths and cultures, with staff and pupils treating each other with “friendliness, empathy and respect.”
• Valuable community links and after-school clubs provide “excellent opportunities” for pupils to develop new skills and aspirations.

Areas to improve

• Broaden teaching approaches to provide more opportunities for pupils to “apply their numeracy and writing skills independently.”
• Ensure more able pupils receive increased challenge to “meet their full potential,” as staff do not always have high enough expectations for them.

Safeguarding

The report states that pupils “feel safe, well cared for and valued,” indicating that safeguarding measures are effective in supporting their well-being.