St Paul's CofE Primary School

Overview

St Paul’s CofE Primary School provides a high-quality education where pupils are “well prepared for the next stage in their education.” Leaders have established a “culture of kindness and respect,” ensuring that disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs make strong progress. While safeguarding standards are met and behaviour is positive, attendance remains an area requiring focused improvement.

Strengths

• Leaders “prioritise support” for pupils with barriers to learning, using funding effectively to help them “close gaps in their understanding quickly.”
• The curriculum is “broad” and “reflects the pupils’ local area,” with enrichment activities built into the school day so “every child takes part.”
• Staff teach phonics “consistently well” and embed handwriting skills, ensuring pupils “read with increasing confidence and accuracy.”
• Pupils enjoy school, showing “tolerance of others” and engaging well in lessons within a supportive environment.
• Leaders provide “protected time” for staff professional learning and maintain “long-standing, positive relationships” with parents.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should “continue to work with families to raise attendance, particularly for those taking holidays in term time.”
• Leaders should ensure staff “consistently maximise opportunities for high-quality interactions with children” to deepen language and vocabulary development in the early years.

Safeguarding

The report states that “safeguarding standards are met,” noting that leaders have established an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns are actively managed.