St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The school continues to provide a high-quality education where pupils are “happy and enjoy their learning” within a community grounded in Catholic virtues. Leaders and governors effectively oversee the school, ensuring that expectations for behaviour and attendance remain high.

Strengths

• The curriculum is described as “ambitious and well thought through,” with staff breaking learning into “small, precise steps” to ensure pupils achieve success.
• Reading is strongly prioritised; most pupils become “fluent readers in key stage 1,” and those needing support are identified quickly.
• Pupils display “positive attitudes to school,” with attendance regularly above national and local averages.
• Relationships are strong, with staff keen to engage with pupils, and older pupils supporting younger ones through a buddy system.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are “fully integrated into school life” and involved in the wider curriculum.

Areas to improve

• Handwriting instruction lacks consistency, with “variability in how handwriting is taught across the school.”
• Staff expectations for handwriting and presentation are not high enough, meaning some pupils do not learn to form letters accurately or join them.
• Early writers do not receive sufficient practice to master basics like letter formation, causing them to struggle with writing phonics sounds.

Safeguarding

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