St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 November 2024

Pupils love coming to school. Staff greet them every day with a friendly morning welcome. Pupils learn and play happily with friends from many different cultures. They understand that everyone is treated equally. Pupils feel safe in school. They know that the staff understand them and their families and that they always have their best interests at heart. Right from when they start school in the early years, children understand that the school has high aspirations for their learning. They rise to these expectations and are supported to do their very best in lessons. Typically, pupils achieve well. Pupils are kind to each other. They are respectful and welcoming towards visitors. The school environment is calm and nurturing. Playtimes are positive times where pupils have fun. Many pupils enjoy attending extra-curricular clubs, such as football and choir. They gain new experiences through going on a wide range of trips and visits. Some pupils take positions of responsibility, for example, representing their class on the school council. Pupils also learn about being active citizens through activities such as visiting a local home for older people, litter picking and raising money for charities.

What the school should improve

• In a minority of subjects, the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn has not been identified precisely enough. In these subjects, teachers are sometimes unclear about what pupils should learn. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their learning and do not build their understanding securely. The school should ensure that the key curriculum content is identified in these subjects so that pupils are well supported to know more and remember more.
• The support provided for pupils who are finding learning to read difficult does not focus sufficiently on strengthening pupils' knowledge of how to blend sounds together. This means that these pupils struggle to develop fluent reading skills. The school should ensure that all pupils are given well-planned opportunities to focus on blending the sounds that they know into words. This will enable them to swiftly make progress through the phonics curriculum and become fluent, confident readers.

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