St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 February 2025

Pupils are polite and courteous. Corridors ring with the friendly greetings they offer each other and adults. All staff develop warm and positive relationships with pupils. As a result, pupils are happy, and they feel safe. The school has clear routines and expectations that start in the early years. They are consistently applied by all staff. This helps pupils to behave well. Pupils' positive conduct is evident in the purposeful classrooms. Pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds do well because the expectations of what they can achieve are high. They work hard in lessons to meet these ambitions. Pupils' work shows they learn the important skills and knowledge they need over time. Pupils love learning and discuss the subjects they learn excitedly. Pupils become active and empowered citizens in school and the wider community. They hold a range of important roles. These include house captains, ambassadors or as part of the school chaplaincy team. Pupils take these positions seriously and work hard to support others. For example, pupils raise funds and resources to contribute to local hospitals and foodbanks. In school, ambassadors act as role models for younger pupils. Pupils have selfless attitudes to helping others and understand the importance of this work.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, staff's subject knowledge is not always as secure as it could be. As a result, teachers are not always clear about the content they want pupils to learn and, consequently, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school must ensure that they develop the expertise of teachers in these subjects.
• Some younger pupils have not historically had enough opportunities to practise their writing frequently and consistently. The school has begun to address this, but the approach is not yet fully embedded. As a result, some pupils in the early stages of writing do not have age-appropriate skills of letter formation or stamina for longer writing. The school should ensure that they continue to embed the programme and develop consistency so that all pupils can write accurately and at length.
• Persistent absence at the school is too high for too many pupils, particularly those who are more disadvantaged. This means that these most vulnerable pupils are missing out on too much of their vital education. The school should refine their work to support these pupils in attending more frequently and learning more over time.

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