St Philip Howard Catholic School

Overview

The report describes a school where pupils achieve very well, with progress remaining above the national average across all groups, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders provide clear strategic direction, fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging where pupils feel "known and loved" and behave with "maturity and courtesy."

Strengths

• Pupils develop "secure knowledge across subjects" supported by a curriculum that builds understanding in a "logical and connected way."
• Attendance is strong, with leaders acting quickly to address barriers and providing "enhanced pastoral support" for vulnerable pupils.
• Staff know pupils "extremely well," using rigorous checks to ensure timely help and effective use of additional funding to remove barriers to learning.
• The sixth form offers an "inclusive approach" with vocational pathways, resulting in outcomes above national figures and high progression to ambitious destinations.
• Governance is "cohesive, knowledgeable and ambitious," with trustees offering constructive challenge and scrutinising resource use carefully.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should analyse more precisely how well pupils in key stage 4 learn and remember the personal, social and health education and careers curriculum.
• The programme for personal development must be reviewed to ensure learning is revisited often enough in key stage 4, as some pupils do not secure long-term knowledge around concepts such as democracy.

Safeguarding

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