St Philip's School

Overview

Pupils thrive at this “warm, welcoming and supportive” independent school, where they feel “extremely happy and safe” within a highly positive ethos. The school delivers an “outstanding” quality of education with a “highly ambitious curriculum” that exceeds national expectations, ensuring pupils are “exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education.”

Strengths

• The curriculum is carefully sequenced to build deep knowledge, with reading as a “high priority” supported by a “well-taught phonics programme” and a “strong culture of reading.”
• Teachers possess “excellent subject knowledge,” check understanding carefully, and address misconceptions swiftly, resulting in work of a “very high standard.”
• Early years provision is outstanding, with children developing strong skills and learning to “manage their emotions appropriately” through a curriculum framed around “understanding me, others and my surroundings.”
• Behaviour is described as “almost immaculate but not robotic,” with pupils demonstrating “excellent attitudes to their learning” and high attendance.
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of clubs, sporting opportunities, and trips, fostering resilience and independence.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure that the “workload and wellbeing of all staff, including leaders, is prioritised and monitored effectively,” as some staff feel concerns are “not listened to well enough.”
• Governors should acquire the necessary “skills and expertise to fulfil their roles successfully” and provide sharper oversight to ensure all key aspects of the school’s work are addressed.

Safeguarding

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