St Stephen's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, A Voluntary Academy

Overview

The report describes St Stephen's as a "calm, nurturing environment" where staff build strong relationships with families and pupils demonstrate high standards of behaviour. However, it notes that "some aspects of the school's work have declined" since the last inspection, resulting in an "uneven quality of education" and inconsistent achievement across subjects.

Strengths

• Leaders have established a "highly inclusive school culture" with positive relationships between staff and families.
• Pupils’ behaviour is "calm and respectful," with bullying being rare and staff implementing policies consistently.
• The personal, social and health education curriculum is "well designed and sequenced," helping pupils understand respect for different beliefs and online safety.
• Staff provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring they access learning alongside peers.
• The school fosters a strong sense of belonging, particularly for pupils new to the country, through community engagement and extra-curricular activities.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure staff teach the curriculum consistently well so that more pupils achieve highly and are better prepared for secondary school.
• Staff need to swiftly identify and address gaps in foundational skills, particularly in writing and mathematics, to prevent persistent errors.
• Leaders should further develop their approach to attendance to reduce persistent absence, which remains above the national average.
• The early years curriculum must set out precisely what children should learn and when to ensure better preparation for the next stage.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed, ensuring pupils feel safe.