Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 22 November 2023

Sacred Heart is a close-knit, caring and vibrant school. Staff have built a community with kindness and compassion at its core. Pupils beam with pride when they talk about their school and share everything that makes it a happy place to be. They are polite and considerate to each other, staff and visitors. Pupils live the school's values through their actions. Everyone is welcome. Staff expect pupils to behave well, work hard and achieve academically. Pupils rise to this challenge. They concentrate in lessons and talk about their learning with each other keenly. Classrooms buzz with lively and purposeful chatter. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and have a trusted adult they can speak to about any concerns or worries. Pupils enjoy the many different experiences that the school provides. They fundraise, volunteer and compete in sporting, debating and public speaking competitions. These activities foster pupils' interests and talents and help them grow into active local and global citizens. For example, a trip to the Houses of Parliament inspired pupils to set up their own 'Pupil Parliament' in school. Pupils have learned that their opinions matter. They believe in themselves and their capacity to change the world for the better.

What the school should improve

• The school does not use the information it gathers about gaps in pupils' knowledge when they join the school partway through key stage 2 effectively. This means that some pupils do not catch up as quickly as they might and do not gain the knowledge and skills they need for their next steps in education. The school should ensure that staff use the information they collect about pupils when they join the school effectively so that they catch up, keep up and achieve well.
• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not identify the prior knowledge that pupils should have learned and the important foundational knowledge that they will need for future learning. This means that, sometimes, teachers do not know exactly what pupils should have learned before, the exact detail of what they are learning now and how this will prepare them for future success. The school should ensure that the precise knowledge in all subjects is set out so that teachers know the key knowledge that pupils should learn and remember at each stage of their learning.

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