St Anselm's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 January 2025

Pupils are enormously proud of their friendly and vibrant school. They are consistently caring and kind towards each other and show remarkable resilience in their learning. Pupils grow in confidence through the trusting relationships they build with caring staff. 'Bubble-time' provides an opportunity for pupils to talk openly about their worries. This means pupils feel safe, knowing adults will help them overcome challenges. Pupils exude the attributes that the school has identified within its 'Rainbow Curriculum'. They are proud of the numerous 'pins' awarded to them for completing 'Rainbow Challenges' linked to learning qualities such as 'leadership and confidence'. Many pupils lead clubs at breaktimes so pupils always have a place to make friends. Abundant leadership opportunities mean that pupils have multiple ways to make a tangible contribution to school life. They carry out these roles with impressive responsibility and maturity. Pupils eagerly look forward to regular assemblies where they celebrate each other's successes and achievement. Staff have high expectations of what pupils will achieve. Pupils are enthusiastic learners and strive to try their best. They enjoy a rich and broad curriculum designed to 'inspire to aspire'. They are proud to talk about their learning and, for the most, they achieve well.

What the school should improve

• There is variability in how effectively some teachers design learning to help pupils make connections between linked concepts. In addition, assessment approaches in some subjects do not ensure pupils' misconceptions are identified and acted upon. As a result, some pupils do not have the secure knowledge they need when exploring new learning. The school should support all teachers to further refine assessment processes and the design of lesson activities to achieve the ambitious aims of the curriculum in all subjects.
• Sometimes teachers do not make appropriate adjustments that enable pupils with complex SEND to access learning successfully. This means some of these pupils do not always learn as well as they could. The school must ensure that staff have the skills they need so they know how to design learning that enables these pupils to achieve well.

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