St Columba's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 November 2024

This is a very happy school. Pupils thrive in a safe oasis of calm, away from their busy lives outside of school. They have the time to laugh, sing and make friends. Pupils say that this is a school where staff listen to them. Pupils enjoy gaining new knowledge. They rise to the school's high expectations for their education and achieve well. Pupils are very cooperative with staff and one another. They learn to be considerate, such as through 'kindness week'. In lessons, and when elsewhere around the school, pupils are self-disciplined and self-aware. Pupils benefit from an excellent range of opportunities that develop their personal skills. For instance, the school provides pupils with a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. Pupils hold an array of different roles to help the school, such as acting as librarians. The school helps pupils to gain many new skills, such as in gardening and first aid. From Nursery to Year 6, the school supports pupils' feelings and emotions very successfully, helping pupils to be ready to learn the curriculum. Pupils learn to respect other people's experiences, ideas and opinions. They gain a rich knowledge of important topics such as crime, equality and careers. The school prepares pupils exceptionally well to be responsible, respectful British citizens.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes, the school does not make sure that pupils remember essential information from their previous learning. This means that some of pupils' learning of new knowledge is less secure than it should be. The school should make certain that it helps pupils to keep essential information in their long-term memory.
• Some pupils do not attend school when they should. This has a negative effect on their learning. The school should build on its recently strengthened work with parents so that all pupils have good attendance. And

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