St Helen's Church of England Primary School, Cliffe

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 October 2024

Pupils love school and are passionate ambassadors of it. The school gives its pupils a strong voice in school life and teaches them how to use it well. For example, pupils aspire to join the pupil parliament or to roles like eco-warrior or librarian. Pupils thrive personally, socially and emotionally. Pupils live out the school values by being kind, caring and inclusive with one another. They behave well and their manners are impeccable. The school seeks the best for all pupils. Through these high expectations, pupils develop a keen interest in the world around them. Most gain a rich range of knowledge and skills. They take joy and pride in making links in their learning, digging deep into their memories to retrieve useful things they have sometimes learned years before. Pupils throw themselves with equal enthusiasm into the school's wide-ranging opportunities. The school nurtures and celebrates diverse talents from horse-riding and other sports to learning the flute or violin. It checks carefully that all pupils benefit from optional activities, guiding and encouraging those who would benefit most. Unfortunately, for some, this undoubted enjoyment in school is not always reflected in how often they attend, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

What the school should improve

• Support for pupils who have fallen behind in learning to read is not as rigorous or timely as it could be. This means that pupils who need to are not afforded the best possible opportunities to catch up as quickly as they might. The school should increase the urgency of this intervention and ensure that all staff who support struggling readers are sufficiently expert. It should also make sure that the books pupils read more closely match the sounds they know and need to practise.
• Teachers are not consistently adept at checking that all pupils' understanding is secure. This leaves some pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, with misconceptions or gaps in their learning that could be more promptly addressed. The school should ensure that teachers routinely and effectively check that all pupils have secured the necessary learning to successfully move on and adapt their approach accordingly.
• Overall, disadvantaged pupils miss too much school. This means it is difficult for them to keep up with the demands of the school's curriculum and, if they fall behind, makes it much harder for them to catch up. The school should continue to build on the work it has recently started to tighten the strategy around improving attendance to ensure all pupils benefit from all of the educational and social experiences on offer.

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