Sacred Heart RC Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 February 2025

This is a school where pupils are treasured. Their academic achievement and well-being lie at the heart of the decisions that the school makes. Pupils feel happy and secure. They know that they are listened to as highly valued members of the school. Pupils are charismatic and vibrant. They talk confidently about the positive relationships that they have with adults and each other. Pupils are extremely proud of their school. They show empathy and kindness in their approach to working and playing together. This is also evident in their warmth towards visitors and pupils who are new to school. Pupils are highly engaged in their education. They strive to achieve well during their time in school. Around school, they are focused and work hard to meet the school's high expectations for their achievement. Many pupils do achieve well. They leave the school ready for the next stage of their education. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities to help them to be positive citizens. They enjoy raising money for charities. Pupils learn about staying safe in their local area and when online. They enjoy learning the curriculum through first-hand experiences, such as listening to visitors and participating in trips and visits. This brings their learning to life.

What the school should improve

• Over time, in a small number of subjects, the school has not made sure that staff have the specialist knowledge that they need to adapt learning for pupils with SEND. This hinders the achievement of a small number of pupils with SEND in some areas of the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff develop the requisite expertise in adaptive practice, so that appropriate adjustments are made to support pupils to fully access the ambitious curriculum and to achieve well.
• In a small number of subjects, the school is still developing its approaches to evaluating the impact of the curriculum on outcomes for pupils. This means that, sometimes, the school does not know how effectively pupils are learning the curriculum content over time. In turn, this makes it difficult for the school to make informed decisions when deciding on relevant actions and next steps for these subjects. The school should ensure that it strengthens subject leadership expertise to effectively and swiftly bring about improvements where they are required.

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