St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 June 2024

St Joseph's is a calm and nurturing place to learn. Pupils are happy and enjoy school. However, they experience an inconsistent curriculum. Pupils, including children in the early years, do not always receive the teaching and support they need to achieve as well as they should. Pupils are courteous and respectful towards their peers and adults. They have strong relationships with adults, which helps them to feel safe. Pupils know what it means to be a good friend and to look after one another. They are proud of their friendships. Pupils focus well in lessons. They follow the school's learning behaviours that include curious crocodile, resilient rhino, teamwork tiger and the newest addition, which is the focused fox. Pupils are keen to learn and share what they have learned with others. Pupils enjoy the range of extra-curricular activities on offer. The well-organised playtime activities help them to stay physically active. Pupils enjoy the visits that deepen their understanding of the local area. Pupils benefit from the leadership opportunities available, such as through the school council and being mental health champions. This helps them to play an important part in their school community.

What the school should improve

• The reading curriculum for older pupils is not well established. The school has not set out precisely what pupils will learn in the reading curriculum or been clear with staff about how it will be taught. This means that some pupils do not develop the skills to become confident readers. The school should ensure that staff in key stage 2 receive the support they need to teach the reading curriculum effectively.
• In many areas, including early years, the curriculum is at an early stage of implementation. Staff are developing their expertise in teaching the intended curriculum. This has led to inconsistency. As a result, pupils, including pupils with SEND, have work that is not well matched to their learning needs and do not do as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff have the skills needed to adapt the curriculum for all pupils.
• The monitoring of the curriculum is not fully effective. The school does not always know how well subjects are implemented and so is not aware of inconsistency in the delivery of the curriculum. The school should ensure that subject leaders can carry out their roles effectively and check that the curriculum is enabling pupils to learn more and remember more over time.
• The school has been through a period of staff instability. This has hindered the school's ability to secure consistency in the quality of education. The school and the trust need to stabilise and develop the staff body so that pupils have teachers that can deliver the curriculum as leaders intend and pupils can make good progress in their learning.

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