St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, North Shields

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 January 2025

St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School is a happy place filled with kindness. Pupils' conversations create a palpable buzz around the building. Outdoor learning enhances every part of the curriculum. From early years to Year 6, pupils become increasingly skilled in cycling. They progress from balance bikes to competent cycling in the local area. Pupils also relish learning that takes place in and around the school's grounds. This includes cooking pancakes and bread on the campfire. Pupils achieve well and this is reflected in published outcomes. The broad and ambitious curriculum prepares them well for the future. Books and reading are at the heart of this community school. Staff and pupils share a passion for stories and the discussion they promote. In the early years, children love to share their current books with staff and visitors. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They are kind to one another. Pupils display empathy for others that is exceptionally mature. They enjoy their 'compassion matters' lessons. Here, they learn about personal development. This includes managing their emotions and understanding challenges others might face. Parents and carers recognise the many strengths of the school. They comment on the consistently welcoming and nurturing environment that the school provides.

What the school should improve

• While safeguarding is effective, there is variation in how well the school records the actions taken to look after pupils. This means it is not always clear what has already been done with families and external agencies. The school should make sure that records clearly reflect the actions that staff have taken to safeguard pupils.
• Over time, teaching has not helped pupils confidently apply mathematical learning to more complex problems. Some pupils' achievement in mathematics is not as high as it is in other areas of the curriculum. The school should build on its current success by further strengthening the mathematics curriculum so that pupils have the skills and knowledge to apply learning in increasingly complex ways.
• In some foundation subjects, the school has not identified the most important knowledge pupils should know and remember. This limits pupils' progress in these subjects and makes it harder to check what pupils know. The school should identify the important knowledge in these subject areas and check pupils have learned it successfully.

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