St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn

Overview

The inspection confirms that St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn “continues to be a good school.” Pupils are described as “very happy” and “excited and ready to learn,” benefiting from strong staff relationships and a culture where they feel “listened to and safe.” Leaders maintain high expectations, resulting in most pupils achieving well and demonstrating positive attitudes towards their education.

Strengths

• Leaders have constructed a “broad and ambitious curriculum” that carefully meets the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Teachers possess “secure knowledge” of their subjects and use consistent approaches to revisit knowledge, helping pupils “know and remember more.”
• Reading is effectively prioritised, with a phonics curriculum designed to enable pupils to become “accurate readers,” resulting in most becoming “confident and fluent.”
• Pupils behave well, with incidents of disruption being “rare,” and they actively engage in community initiatives and roles of responsibility.
• The school is “well led and managed,” with governors providing “effective challenge and support” and staff feeling “extremely well supported.”

Areas to improve

• In a minority of subjects, teachers are “less skilled in using assessment strategies” to check learning, which at times hinders pupils from building secure knowledge over time. Leaders should ensure teachers make effective use of these strategies.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting a strong culture where staff are alert to risks and leaders act quickly to secure help for vulnerable pupils.