St Mary's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 November 2024

This is a warm, welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils describe it as a place that 'feels like home'. They understand how the school's values help them to be trusting, kind and understanding of others. The school has high expectations of all pupils. Pupils work hard and achieve highly, including in national assessments. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. This starts in Nursery. Children respond well to the routines that are in place and show increasing levels of independence. Across the school, pupils are exceptionally polite and well mannered. They routinely follow the school rules and understand how this helps them to be respectful and ready to learn. Pupils enjoy warm and supportive relationships with adults. The school knows its pupils well. As a result, pupils trust adults to listen and help them with any worries or concerns they may have. Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer to them such as art, sewing and football. They are proud to represent the school in sporting competitions. Pupils have many opportunities to develop their leadership skills which include house captains, e-safety champions and buddies. They say these roles make them feel trusted and give them the confidence to try new things.

What the school should improve

• In some wider curriculum subjects, staff do not check pupils' prior learning well enough. As a result, new learning does not build securely on what pupils already know. This prevents some pupils from building a depth of knowledge over time. The school needs to ensure that staff check what pupils know and remember and then use this to inform future learning.

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