St Catherine's CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 July 2026

St Catherine's CE Primary School is a welcoming and caring church school at the heart of its local community. Pupils benefit from positive relationships with staff. The school's Christian vision, 'life in all its fullness', is woven through daily life. Pupils speak confidently about the school's values and understand how these help them to be kind and respectful. Pupils enjoy coming to school. Attendance is high. Pupils feel included and valued. Routines are calm and well established. Pupils move sensibly around the school, hold doors open for one another and settle quickly to learning. Pupils feel safe and know who to turn to if they have a concern. They understand how to keep themselves safe online and know what to do if they have any worries. Pupils benefit from a broad range of opportunities beyond the classroom. They enjoy educational visits, residential experiences, music and leadership roles. Older pupils value opportunities to contribute to school life through responsibilities, such as prefect roles and community projects. Most pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to learning. They are polite, respectful and contribute to the calm atmosphere around the school. Pupils understand the school's expectations and typically respond well to staff's guidance. A small number of pupils find it more difficult to manage their behaviour, particularly in some older year groups. When this happens, it can occasionally affect the learning and wellbeing of others. Bullying is rare and staff deal with any concerns quickly. Pupils are generally well prepared for the next stage of their education. By the time they leave the school, their attainment is broadly in line with national averages, with strengths in grammar, punctuation and spelling. However, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and some higher-attaining pupils do not consistently achieve as well as they could from their starting points.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should make sure that assessment, target-setting and review processes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are precise and reliable so that they can identify pupils' needs accurately and evaluate the impact of support.
• Leaders should ensure that learning is consistently matched to pupils' needs and prior attainment, including through providing appropriate challenge for higher-attaining pupils, to enable more pupils to deepen their understanding and achieve highly across the curriculum.

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