St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Nursery School

Overview

Pupils at St Joseph’s are encouraged to be “lifelong learners” who “fulfil their potential” within a caring environment characterised by “warm relationships with staff”. The school maintains “high expectations” for achievement and behaviour, fostering a “strong sense of togetherness” through community-focused initiatives and leadership roles. Inspectors found that the school has taken “decisive action” to strengthen curriculum sequencing and teaching, resulting in pupils who are “confident readers” and well-prepared for their next stage.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “broad and ambitious”, with clear knowledge sequencing in most subjects allowing pupils to “remember their learning well over time”.
• Reading is a “top priority”, supported by a “well-designed reading comprehension curriculum” and staff who are “well-trained” in teaching younger pupils.
• Pupils develop “active and responsible citizenship” through charity fundraising, eco-ambassador roles, and serving the local community.
• The school “accurately and promptly identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)”, adapting teaching to help them access the same curriculum as peers.
• Attendance is strong, as the school has “worked meticulously to remove barriers to attendance”.

Areas to improve

• In some wider curriculum subjects, essential knowledge has not been “well defined”, meaning the curriculum is “not as progressive” and checks on learning are “not as exact”.
• Some pupils with SEND lack “sufficiently precise academic targets” that identify “small measurable steps”, hindering their ability to make “all the progress they are capable of”.
• In the early years, “less established routines” impact engagement and hinder staff’s ability to accurately check learning, leading to “gaps in their learning” for some children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.