St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 February 2023

Pupils' thoughtful and kind attitudes at St Joseph's School reflect its positive ethos. They do their best to live out the school's value of treating each other the way they would like to be treated. Pupils are safe and very happy at school. They know that if they have any worries or concerns, they can go to a trusted adult to help them. Pupils feel that their views are heard and considered by adults in school. On rare occasions when bullying occurs, staff deal with it promptly and effectively. Pupils behave well. Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils. They want every pupil to be gentle and fair, and to always do their best in their learning. The curriculum is ambitious, and pupils learn well in a wide range of subjects, especially English and mathematics. Pupils often refer to themselves as being a part of a community. Leaders and teachers encourage pupils to work collaboratively with each other, in and out of lessons, which they do sensibly. In addition, pupils get many opportunities to work with the local community. For example, Year 5 pupils visit the local pre-school every half term, where they get to read and play with younger children. Leaders aim to develop pupils' leadership skills. Pupils readily take on roles as play leaders, school council representatives, faith leaders and house captains. In some of these roles, they get a first-hand experience of democracy as their peers get to vote for them.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes, teaching gives pupils too much new information at the same time. This can confuse pupils and decreases how well they are able to understand and remember important subject content. Leaders should strengthen the delivery of the curriculum by supporting teachers to identify and focus on the essential subject content that pupils need to know, recall and retain.
• In a few subjects, pupils learn subject-specific vocabulary but teaching does not make sure that pupils understand these words accurately and securely. This makes it hard for pupils to use what they know to understand the subject content that is being taught next in the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that teaching checks that pupils have mastered the required vocabulary before they move on to new learning.

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