St Monica's Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 June 2024

This is a school where pupils like learning and teachers enjoy teaching. Every pupil receives a warm welcome at this happy, friendly school. Pupils get on well together and any disagreements are quickly sorted out. They value the friendships they forge and that everyone is included. Pupils behave well and try their best in lessons. The school's mission to 'let trust, respect and love live here' is reflected in pupils' lived experiences. Pupils benefit from many extra activities and clubs. From choir to multi-sports, there is something to spark every interest. Many pupils take on additional responsibilities, such as being a 'restorative friend' or a 'well-being ambassador'. They love having their achievements celebrated in the weekly assemblies. As one pupil commented, 'This gives you a great feeling inside.' The school has high aspirations for pupils. Everyone wants pupils to enjoy school and to leave the school well prepared for the next steps in their education. Most pupils achieve well overall across a broad range of subjects, reflected in published outcomes in 2023. However, some pupils with the most complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) at the school are currently not progressing well enough. This is because the curriculum and support for these pupils is not shaped carefully enough around their needs.

What the school should improve

• The curriculum and teaching approaches for pupils with more complex SEND is not effective enough. Provision for these pupils is not tailored precisely enough around their individual needs, particularly with respect to communication and language. As a result, these pupils are not achieving well enough and gaining the knowledge they need to communicate their needs or express themselves. The school needs to ensure that the curriculum for these pupils meets their individual needs fully. The school must ensure that staff working with these pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to implement the curriculum effectively.
• In some foundation subjects, aspects of the school's curriculum and assessment processes are not as effective as they could be. Sometimes the curriculum has too much content for staff to meaningfully cover and staff do not always check what pupils have learned and remembered before introducing new knowledge. This means pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should refine the curriculum in the foundation subjects. They should ensure that staff check what pupils have learned and remembered and use this information to plan future learning effectively.
• A number of younger pupils are well behind the expected stage in the school's phonics programme and are still at an early stage of learning to read. The school needs to continue its sharp focus on helping these pupils so that they catch up as quickly as possible.

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