St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, SWF

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 June 2024

Pupils love coming to school. They are attentive and resilient learners. Pupils talk excitedly about what they have learned and remembered. Pupils rise to the high expectations of achievement set by the school. Therefore, most pupils achieve highly. The school is a calm and orderly environment. This includes when pupils are learning in class and playing with their friends at social times. There are clear expectations and routines. Pupils are motivated to learn and have positive attitudes to their work. They enjoy each other's company. They are polite and respectful to adults and their peers. Pupils are extremely respectful. They embody the school ethos, 'as we learn together, we love, value and welcome everyone'. Pupils adopt roles to nurture younger children, such as play leaders. They are active in their roles as head pupils and as eco-councillors within the school and community. Pupils are confident that they are safe and well cared for by adults. To enhance classroom learning, pupils enjoy various visits, theatres trips and residentials. Regular visitors to the school, such as virtual reality science workshops, bring pupils' learning to life. Pupils attend a range of clubs, including choir, chess, netball and art.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils' writing. They do not insist that pupils apply the grammar, punctuation and structural skills they already know. This means that pupils do not always get the practice they need to consolidate their writing skills. Leaders must ensure that teachers set high expectations of writing and that pupils always apply the skills that they have learned when writing across the curriculum.
• The pre-school curriculum covers the key aspects of early learning through oracy and mathematics. However, this does not precisely align to children's learning in the Reception Year. This means that children are not as prepared as they could be. The school must ensure that the curriculum in the pre-school is much more aligned to the early mathematics and phonics programmes that children will be learning in the Reception Year.

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