St Mary's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 January 2026

The school’s ethos is rooted in the values of love, forgiveness, respect, resilience, curiosity and stewardship. Pupils develop a deep understanding of these values through their contributions to the school community and beyond. These prepare pupils well to play an active part in society as adults. For example, pupils support disadvantaged communities in other countries by funding animals for farming. Pupils develop resilience and curiosity through their many leadership roles. School councillors organise whole-school events, and reading leaders promote younger pupils’ love of reading. All pupils participate in enrichment activities. They value participating in music concerts including ‘St Mary’s got talent’, as well as theatre visits, dodgeball and debating clubs. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps and progress well from their starting points. Many pupils join the school throughout the year, and some join towards the end of their time at primary school. Staff get to know these pupils and any barriers they face quickly. They put effective support in place to enable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to build their knowledge in line with the school’s curriculum. However, because of varying cohort sizes and context year-on-year, this is not reflected in the national key stage 2 test results. Pupils call St Mary’s a ‘kind school’. They benefit from warm and trusting relationships with each other and with staff. This helps pupils feel safe and happy. Pupils rise to the high expectations of behaviour that staff have. They are eager to learn and attend well. Rates of attendance are above the national average. Pupils say everyone is treated respectfully and that bullying is rare. Pupils are confident that incidents are addressed quickly if they occur. They have a firm understanding of discrimination and why it is wrong.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that staff consistently teach pupils how to improve their handwriting and develop their spoken language to ensure pupils secure the basics before moving on to more complex work. • Leaders should ensure that teachers check how well pupils understand new learning so that they can identify and address any misconceptions as they arise.

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