St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 March 2025

Pupils enjoy being at school. They are proud to belong to the school's welcoming community. Pupils willingly follow the school's well-established routines. Their behaviour is impeccable in class and as they move around the school. Pupils focus on their learning exceptionally well. Children settle quickly in the early years. They grow in confidence and independence. Pupils benefit from the effective support of caring staff, who know them well as they progress through the school. Pupils enjoy the many opportunities that the school provides to make a positive contribution to their school and wider community. For example, playground leaders support other pupils skilfully to play together at social times. Pupils learn how to value and preserve the natural world through activities such as planting trees, exploring the school's outdoor areas and recycling materials. They recognise how pursuits such as these also contribute to their own physical and mental well-being. The school has high ambition for pupils' academic success. It encourages pupils to dream big and provides many positive role models for them. Pupils make the most of the high- quality opportunities on offer. Most pupils achieve well. Pupils are well prepared for their secondary phase of education by the end of Year 6.

What the school should improve

• At times, the school has not ensured that teachers are as clear as they could be about what knowledge they need to focus on with pupils of different ages within their class, including in the mathematics curriculum. This makes it more difficult for teachers to design the most appropriate learning for their pupils. It also sometimes results in pupils not learning what they need to be ready for their next stages of learning. The school should ensure that it provides teachers with the information about what it expects pupils to know and the order that learning should occur.
• The school has not ensured that teachers use assessment information consistently and effectively to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge or misconceptions. This sometimes includes pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read. When this happens, pupils struggle to make sense of new information and their achievement across the curriculum is uneven as a result. The school should ensure that there is greater consistency in how thoroughly teachers check pupils' understanding before deciding what they need to learn next.

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