Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 February 2023

Leaders have high expectations for pupils at this school. Pupils are supported to believe in themselves and to become resilient and curious learners. They enjoy their lessons and take pride in their work. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. They particularly enjoy reading and listening to their teachers read to them from the wide range of books in the 'Cottesmore Reading Spine'. Relationships across the school are positive and caring. All staff take responsibility for developing a culture of support, respect and positivity. Pupils help each other in class. They feel safe. Pupils are happy and behave well. Playtimes are sociable and harmonious occasions, with pupils from all year groups playing well together. Bullying is rare and, if it does occur, pupils are confident that it will be dealt with swiftly and effectively. Pupils have extensive opportunities to learn above and beyond the curriculum in a broad and meaningful way. They have access to a wide, rich set of experiences, including forest school and beach school. Pupils are offered a substantial range of opportunities through clubs and trips, including choir, computing, drama and a variety of sports. These enable pupils to develop many skills and talents.

What the school should improve

• In a few foundation subjects, subject leaders have not yet ensured that there are enough opportunities for pupils to revisit gaps in their learning. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could in these subjects. Senior leaders should continue to refine the curriculum to enable pupils to remember their learning across the curriculum and achieve well in all subjects.

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