St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School

Overview

The report judges the school as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, noting that the motto ‘serving with love, striving for excellence’ permeates school life. Pupils are described as ‘friendly and polite’, contributing to a ‘calm and purposeful’ environment where they feel well cared for and are ‘very proud of their school’.

Strengths

• The school provides an ‘ambitious curriculum’ in key stages 1 and 2, setting out the ‘most important knowledge’ pupils need to gain.
• Reading is prioritised effectively, with staff selecting books ‘carefully matched to the sounds that pupils already know’, resulting in older pupils reading with ‘accuracy and expression’.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified accurately and ‘achieve well’ as staff adapt curriculum delivery so they can learn alongside peers.
• Staff benefit from training that develops their ‘strong subject knowledge’, and governors provide ‘support and challenge which enables the school to improve’.
• Pupils demonstrate a ‘positive mindset’ in lessons, listening intently and ‘relishing learning new knowledge and skills’.

Areas to improve

• The school should ensure that ‘gaps in learning are identified’ in a small number of subjects where previous curriculum weaknesses have left pupils’ prior knowledge insecure.
• The early years curriculum must ‘clearly identify what staff should deliver and children should learn’ to ensure children are fully prepared for Year 1, as current guidance is ‘not as helpful’.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.