St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

Pupils feel happy and safe at this inclusive and welcoming school. They work hard to meet the high expectations of teachers. Pupils demonstrate this through their positive behaviour and love for learning. As a result, the school is calm and purposeful. Pupils know the school's well-designed routines and follow them carefully. This starts in early years where children show high levels of concentration from the beginning of their school life. Teachers are ambitious for pupils to achieve well. Pupils enjoy learning and contribute eagerly to lessons. Historically, pupils do not always achieve well in national tests. However, recent refinements to the curriculum mean that most pupils secure the knowledge and skills they require. Pupils become active citizens in the school and the wider community. All Year 6 pupils have leadership roles that contribute positively to the school. For example, members of the school Eco-Crew lead a range of projects to improve the school environment. Their work has reduced food waste and encourages pupils to cycle and walk to school. Pupils can also join the school council or act as playground buddies. They are proud of these responsibilities. Pupils also make a positive contribution through fundraising for local and international charities.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the activities that teachers design do not always reflect the ambition and scope of the curriculum. As a result, pupils do not always deepen the full range of skills and knowledge as well as they could. The school must ensure that teachers have the knowledge to select the most appropriate activities that allow pupils to develop their skills and knowledge in line with the goals of the curriculum.
• Some staff have not been given the expertise and knowledge to implement the interventions necessary to help pupils catch up gaps in their knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not catch up swiftly enough. The school must ensure that all staff carrying out interventions have the skills, knowledge and training that enable them to support pupils in catching up with learning.
• Leaders do not precisely evaluate the impact of their strategies to improve attendance. As a result, they cannot identify which activities have the strongest impact. The school must ensure that it has systems for clearly identifying the impact of its work to better inform the school's improvement priorities.

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