St Marie's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 October 2024

Pupils enjoy attending their welcoming, friendly school. They thrive in the nurturing atmosphere. They come in every day with a smile on their face, right from when they start school in the early years. Pupils feel that they are part of a loving family where everyone knows them well. They know that adults always have their best interests at heart. The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. However, too many pupils do not reach these aspirations because the newly designed curriculum is not delivered effectively across all subjects. The school encourages pupils to become responsible citizens. Pupils show tolerance and respect for other people. Many pupils attend the wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities, including sporting competitions and festivals. Pupils benefit from the school's focus on making sure they are always ready to learn. This includes an emphasis on eating well and engaging in physical activity at lunchtimes. Pupils understand the school rules and strive to adhere to the principle 'ready, respectful, safe'. The atmosphere in school is calm. Pupils also behave well at less structured times, such as breaktimes. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong.

What the school should improve

• Some of the revised subject curriculums are not well established and there is variability in how well they are implemented. As a result, pupils do not consistently learn as well as they should in those subjects. The school should ensure that the revised curriculum is securely embedded and consistently implemented to enable all pupils to know and remember more over time and achieve as highly as possible.
• The school's revised approach to assessment is not consistently understood and implemented across the school. This means that gaps in pupils' learning that have developed over time are not identified and addressed as urgently as they should be. The school should ensure that assessment systems are securely embedded and consistently applied so that pupils catch up quickly and develop increasingly secure knowledge and skills across the curriculum.
• The school's revised reading curriculum beyond early reading and phonics is in the very early stages of being implemented. Pupils do not build successfully on their phonics knowledge to develop strong higher-order reading skills such as comprehension. Until very recently, there was limited access to a wide range of texts to encourage pupils to read for pleasure. The school should ensure that the revised reading curriculum effectively supports pupils across the school to read widely, frequently and with understanding.

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