St John Evangelist Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2024

Pupils are proud of their school and offer a warm welcome to visitors. They are very courteous to each other and to the adults who look after them. Pupils are taught how to be 'ready, respectful and safe'. They know how to raise concerns with trusted adults if needed and are confident in doing so. As a result, pupils are kept safe at school. Pupils have the opportunity to develop their talents through a range of clubs on offer, including Irish dancing, chess and sewing. They can showcase their skills at the annual 'St John's Got Talent' event. Pupils take on responsibilities around the school as classroom monitors and faith leaders. They are encouraged to serve in their community, for example through collecting for local homeless shelters. The curriculum is ambitious and typically well designed. Leaders have high expectations of pupils and, in turn, they take pride in their learning. Pupils produce work of high quality and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum has not been broken down into the small steps that pupils need to secure. In these cases, assessment is not used as effectively to check that pupils have the prior knowledge and skills they need before moving on to more complex learning. This means that pupils are not sufficiently connecting their existing ideas to new ones nor deepening their understanding in these subjects. The school should ensure that the important knowledge pupils need to learn and remember is clearly identified across the curriculum. The school should also ensure that assessment is focused on checking that pupils have secured the most important ideas.

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