St Cuthbert Mayne School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2025

The school has high aspirations for its pupils. Many areas of the curriculum have been successfully redesigned in recent years to increase ambition. As a result, pupils now benefit from a better quality of education than before, allowing them to achieve more highly. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Across the school, pupils behave with respect, kindness and empathy towards each other. Staff nurture and support pupils so that they are able to learn effectively. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive bespoke pastoral and academic support. This enables them to access the curriculum with confidence. However, actions to improve attendance are not reaching some pupils who are missing out on the improved educations that the school offers. Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities offered by the school. For example, pupils recently performed a musical production with skill and enthusiasm. Well-planned visits to places of cultural and historical importance enrich the curriculum. For instance, pupils relish the opportunities to visit London and Paris. Sixth-form students describe the sixth form provision as a 'family-style setting' where each student is valued. They are positive about the education, opportunities and guidance they receive, which enables them to move on to appropriate next steps.

What the school should improve

• The school's attendance strategies are not reaching some pupils as well as others. Pupils with high levels of absence develop gaps in their learning which are not sufficiently identified or addressed when they return. Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should intensify its actions to improve attendance for some pupils and better address the knowledge gaps that pupils experience, particularly when this is as a result of absence.
• On occasions, teaching does not enable some pupils to develop their writing skills as well as others. Where this is the case, some pupils find it difficult to express their knowledge in more complex extended writing tasks. The school should ensure that staff better support pupils' writing skills so that pupils can communicate their knowledge in depth and with complexity.

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