St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that St Mary’s Catholic Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The school provides a “calm and orderly” environment where pupils feel “valued, listened to and safe.” Leaders have successfully refined the curriculum, which is now described as “ambitious, engaging and well structured,” ensuring pupils make strong progress in their learning.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “ambitious, engaging and well structured,” allowing pupils to “make connections across different subjects” and talk “confidently about their learning.”
• Staff provide “strong pastoral support,” helping pupils to be “happy and enjoy school” while fostering a culture of respect and diversity.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively, with staff identifying needs “precisely” and adapting tasks appropriately.
• Early years provision offers a “strong start” in a “well-organised and highly caring environment.”
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” with an “open and positive culture” that puts pupils’ interests first.

Areas to improve

• The provision for pupils who struggle to read is “not as precise as it needs to be,” meaning gaps in reading knowledge are not always addressed swiftly.
• Too many pupils miss vital learning due to persistent absence or lateness, as current measures are “not having enough impact to reduce persistent absence rapidly.”

Safeguarding

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