St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Maltby)

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 July 2022

Pupils at St. Mary's Catholic Primary School benefit from a much-improved educational offer. The curriculum in place is ambitious. It meets the learning needs of pupils and helps pupils to develop into considerate young people. This ambition shines through in the lessons pupils receive. It is evident in the extremely positive attitudes that pupils show to their learning. They work collaboratively, listening to each other's mature points of view and adding valuable contributions to lessons. Pupils are happy to attend St Mary's Catholic Primary School. During the inspection, they said that they enjoy spending time with their friends. Pupils said that they feel safe in school. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils explained that leaders deal effectively with poor behaviour and any bullying so that incidents are managed promptly. Inspectors agree and confirm that this is the case. Staff have high expectations of what pupils can and should achieve. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Most pupils leave St Mary's Primary School well prepared for the challenges of secondary school. Leaders have thought carefully about how to build a strong staff team at St. Mary's Catholic Primary School. They have considered the organisation of staff so that the school can continue to develop at pace. Pupil absence is declining. This is because leaders have worked closely with parents to ensure pupils are on time and at school every day.

What the school should improve

• Assessment in a minority of foundation subjects is not fully developed. This means that in these subjects, teachers do not have precise information about how well pupils have remembered important knowledge. Leaders should ensure that assessment is further refined in these subjects to provide teachers with the information they need to plan learning that builds on what pupils already know and can do and ensure that pupils' learning is secure.
• In some subjects, subject leaders do not have a clear understanding of the impact of the curriculum in their subjects on pupils' learning. This is because they are new to the role and have had limited opportunities to make sure that pupils know more and remember more over time. Leaders must ensure that all subject leaders have the time that they need to check the impact of the curriculum.

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