St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 January 2023

Every pupil receives a very warm and positive welcome at the start of each day. Pupils thrive at this friendly, vibrant school. They love learning alongside their friends. Pupils feel part of a family fully focused on helping them succeed and feel safe. There are high levels of pastoral support in place. Leaders have high expectations and pupils work hard to meet these. Their determination is for all pupils to be the best that they can be. Pupils behave well around the school. At breaktimes, pupils play well together, keeping active by using outdoor equipment and playing games that adults organise for them. On the very rare occasions that bullying happens, pupils are confident that it will be dealt with quickly. The development of the whole child is kept at the heart of leaders' work. Leaders are keen for pupils to learn about life in their own community and beyond it. Parents value the broad range of activities their children get to experience. Pupils engage in clubs and trips that link to their learning and interests. Many of them take part in creative, sporting or cultural activities the school offers. These events support their spiritual and character development really well.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of foundation subjects, the curriculum is not yet designed and sequenced sufficiently well. Consequently, pupils do not consistently achieve as well as they could in these subjects. Leaders need to refine the curriculum so that it identifies the precise sequenced, foundational knowledge that pupils must know and remember.

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