St Mary's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 November 2022

St Mary's is an inclusive school with a strong family feel. It is a welcoming, supportive and caring place to be. One parent summed up the views of many by saying: 'St. Mary's is an inclusive, welcoming family. My children have thrived at the school in terms of academic, emotional and spiritual learning.' Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are encouraged to do their best because staff expectations for pupils' learning are high. Pupils are proud of their achievements. They work hard and build their resilience to 'stick at it' if they find something tricky. Pupils are polite and friendly and interested in each other's views. They value the friendships they make at school. There is a calm, orderly and purposeful atmosphere. Pupils behave very well. This starts in the early years where children learn to share, take turns and behave positively. There is a strong culture of respect, tolerance and kindness. Pupils feel safe. Bullying or unkind behaviour is rare. Pupils are confident to raise any worries they might have and staff deal with any issues well. Pupils are encouraged to be leaders and they take their roles and responsibilities seriously.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have a clear, shared, consistent view of how the ambitious and inspiring curriculum should be taught, but this is not consistently applied. This means that, sometimes, pupils' understanding of key concepts and their ability to remember what they have been taught are not as secure as they could be. Leaders need to develop and manage teachers' pedagogical knowledge. This is to ensure that it reflects the school's ambitious curriculum. Leaders need to establish clear expectations so that the delivery of the curriculum is consistently highly effective and pupils achieve highly.

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