St Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 May 2025

Pupils love, and feel loved by, the school. Pupils speak passionately about the wide range of opportunities available to them. The school works well with parents and community leaders. As a result, pupils' welfare is at the heart of every decision and action. Pupils recognise this and describe school as a safe place where, 'We can be the best we can be.' The school perceives the high level of local deprivation as a motivation and not an excuse. Pupils' aspirations reflect this. They speak of possible future careers as professionals with passion and demonstrate a detailed understanding of these roles. Pupils strive to achieve their best. Staff have high expectations of their achievement. Pupils recognise this and work towards these goals. Pupils are impeccably polite. They are confident that if a conflict arises, adults will resolve it. In lessons and across the school, behaviour is calm and settled. The school's inclusive culture is demonstrated in how well all pupils are welcomed and cared for by peers. Pupils recognise and welcome diversity. The school's increasing diversity is a source of pride to pupils. They are well informed and open-minded about the pupils who join the school with different needs and experiences.

What the school should improve

• Pupils do not recall some key knowledge with enough accuracy over time. As a result, some pupils cannot always make effective connections between topics and prior learning. The school has begun to address this but should ensure that pupils have opportunities to remember and apply learning sufficiently well to improve their future learning.

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