Cathcart Street Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 March 2024

Pupils are happy to attend this school and know that staff care about them. They like the way that their teachers are kind and friendly. Pupils enjoy contributing to school life. For example, the eco-committee recently won an award which provided funding to improve the playground for other pupils. The school has not maintained a good quality of education over time. This means that many groups of pupils have underachieved. Previous turbulence in leadership contributed to this decline. However, the school is now more settled following changes in leadership. New subject curriculums are beginning to show promise. Pupils' attainment is beginning to improve. Nevertheless, there is still some work to do to improve pupils' experience at the school. Until recently, rules, routines and expectations were not well established. In some classes, the school's expectations for behaviour are now higher. In these classes, pupils' attitudes to learning are more positive. This is particularly evident in the early years foundation stage (EYFS). However, expectations for pupils' behaviour are not consistently high across the school. This means that, occasionally, pupils cannot concentrate on their learning due to the behaviour of others.

What the school should improve

• Governors do not have robust systems in place to evaluate the impact of the school's work on pupils' achievement. This has meant that many pupils have underachieved over time. Governors should ensure that they improve their oversight of the school so that they can hold leaders to account for pupils' achievement.
• The school has not finalised its curriculum thinking in some subjects. This means that teachers are sometimes unclear about how to implement the curriculum as the school intends. In these subjects, teachers, at times, choose inappropriate activities that do not help pupils to learn well. The school should finalise its curriculum thinking in these subjects and ensure that teachers receive well- designed guidance to deliver the curriculum more consistently.
• The assessment strategies used in a handful of subjects are underdeveloped. Teachers do not accurately check on pupils' learning in these subjects. This means that gaps in pupils' learning are not addressed well enough. The school should develop its assessment approaches to ensure that teachers can identify how well pupils have learned and remembered the curriculum in all subjects.
• The school's expectations for pupils' behaviour are not consistently high enough. In some lessons and subjects, pupils do not display positive attitudes towards their learning. Now and then, this can interrupt other pupils' learning. The school should raise its expectations for pupils' behaviour and help them to develop more positive attitudes towards school.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)