St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Devon Street

Overview

The report describes a school where pupils are “proud to attend” and feel “safe and ready to learn” due to warm staff relationships and a calm environment. While most pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2, the inspection identifies that some disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not make secure progress in writing and mathematics because staff do not check learning precisely enough or correct errors consistently.

Strengths

• Leaders have created a “calm, orderly and respectful environment” where pupils behave well and bullying is not tolerated.
• The early years curriculum is “well designed,” with reading as a priority; children learn phonics immediately and develop independence through purposeful play.
• Personal development is “well-structured and coherent,” offering enrichment opportunities like sports and charity work that build character and resilience.
• Staff greet families warmly, fostering strong home-school partnerships that support attendance and help pupils feel “included and valued.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure staff check pupils’ learning precisely to identify gaps and misconceptions, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, so that errors in writing and mathematics are addressed quickly.
• Leaders should ensure staff are trained effectively to adapt tasks for pupils with barriers to learning, ensuring all pupils can access the curriculum and catch up on missed knowledge.
• Leaders need to more closely analyse progress data to identify priorities for improvement, as current checks are not robust enough to ensure timely support for those falling behind.

Safeguarding

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