St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School

Overview

The report describes an “inclusive, friendly school” where pupils feel “secure and valued” within a strong community atmosphere. Leaders have successfully addressed learning gaps from the pandemic, ensuring pupils are “well placed to achieve ongoing success” by the end of Year 6. The school is praised for its “exceptional” contribution to personal development and its highly effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Strengths

• Pupils “behave exceptionally well” and demonstrate a “strong sense of right and wrong,” with bullying being “unacceptable” and promptly addressed.
• Support for pupils with SEND is “exceptional,” with these pupils making “consistently strong progress” and participating fully in school life.
• The “well-established phonics programme” equips pupils with “confidence and reliable reading skills,” supported by knowledgeable staff.
• The curriculum is “broad and balanced,” helping pupils develop a “keen sense of justice and personal responsibility.”
• Leaders and staff share “high aspirations” for all pupils, regardless of ability or background, creating a culture where everyone is “highly valued.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure clarity about how the early years curriculum builds into subsequent learning in subjects such as mathematics and science, where sequencing is currently less clear than in phonics, PE, and history.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with staff being “alert to pupils’ safety and well-being” and reporting concerns quickly through well-established recruitment and training procedures.