St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Overview

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School provides a high-quality education where pupils are “enthusiastic about their learning” and feel “safe and happy.” The school’s personal development provision is rated at a “strong standard,” underpinned by “highly effective” pastoral support and a “rich, well structured” curriculum. While most areas meet the expected standard, leaders are focused on refining teaching practices to ensure all pupils, particularly those with barriers to learning, secure foundational skills.

Strengths

• Personal development is a strength, with a “comprehensive” PSHE curriculum that equips pupils to “understand the world around them.”
• Pupils benefit from “warm and trusting relationships” with staff, creating a “friendly, warm and supportive” environment where bullying is rare.
• The curriculum is “ambitious and broad,” enabling pupils to build on prior knowledge and prepare well for their next stage of education.
• Leaders have established “clear and high expectations” for behaviour, resulting in a “calm, respectful and orderly environment.”
• Staff receive targeted training to improve subject knowledge, particularly in teaching “reasoning and problem solving within mathematics.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure staff consistently teach pupils how to improve their handwriting and develop spoken language to secure basics before complex work.
• Teachers must check pupil understanding more rigorously to identify and address misconceptions as they arise, preventing repeated errors.
• Leaders recognise the need to continue strengthening attendance systems so that “all pupils benefit from regular attendance.”

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns are actively identified and managed.