Notre Dame RC School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 February 2026

Leaders have not taken sufficient action to resolve weaknesses in safeguarding, particularly around the management of allegations against staff. As a result, pupils are at significant risk of harm. Many pupils describe not having trusted adults they can confide in. Some pupils are reluctant to report concerns they may have about adults, or incidents of bullying, as they fear they may not be believed or that action will not be taken. For some pupils, this means they do not feel safe in school. Variability in how the curriculum is taught means that some do not achieve as well as they could. Despite this, many pupils enjoy their learning. For some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those that are disadvantaged, barriers to their learning are well understood and adaptations successfully made. This enables them to make suitable progress from their starting points. However, this is not the experience for all pupils. Many pupils behave well and meet the expectations of the school's recently strengthened behaviour policy. However, this is not consistent across the school. Some poor behaviour in lessons and at social times persists. This is most common where there is staff absence, and pupils have teachers they do not know as well. Bullying incidents do occur, though not frequently, but some pupils, parents and carers feel that these are not managed quickly and effectively enough. Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Pupils benefit from a range of broader experiences. For example, there are trips to places such as a theme park in Paris and the opportunity for students in the sixth form to visit a local care home and engage with the residents. Some pupils take on roles, such as being form and year group representatives, which gives them a voice for change at the school. Pupils who have sadly experienced bereavement are well supported through the school's 'Kaleidoscope' group, which has achieved national recognition. Even so, the school's provision for pupils' personal development does not equip them well enough for life in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• Leaders and those responsible for governance must implement clear and effective processes to review safeguarding practices and reflect on incidents, so that leaders are able to learn and swiftly strengthen practices where required, thus ensuring that pupils are safe.
• Leaders must urgently take steps to reassure pupils that all concerns that they raise to adults are listened to and appropriate action is taken, so that pupils feel safe.
• Leaders and those responsible for governance must urgently review their policies and practices about responding to allegations against adults. This is required so that all staff are clear of their responsibilities and act according to policy. Leaders should also ensure that their response to allegations, including when working with other appropriate authorities, is timely, comprehensive and prioritises the safety of pupils.
• Leaders should ensure that the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding are consistently identified so that the curriculum can be well matched to their starting points and pupils are able to achieve highly.
• Leaders should ensure that pupils understand and remember the important content within the personal development curriculum, so that pupils are well prepared for adult life in modern Britain.
• Leaders should strengthen their monitoring of the impact of their work to improve the educational experiences of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are disadvantaged or have other barriers to learning.
• Leaders should carefully analyse and evaluate the impact that their attendance strategy is having on reducing the absence of pupils. They should take swift action to adjust strategies where needed to raise the attendance of pupils.
• Leaders should ensure that the actions taken to improve the quality of the post-16 provision are embedded to swiftly and effectively raise the attainment of pupils.

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