St Paul's Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 July 2023

This school is summed up well by a parent when they said, 'Staff make every effort so that my child can learn and develop little by little on her own.' Staff care about helping their pupils; they know them well and adapt their teaching to meet their needs effectively. Leaders have high expectations for pupils. This can be seen, for example, in pupils' good behaviour and high attendance. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They get on well with each other. Leaders' focus on helping pupils to become resilient and confident can be seen in all sorts of ways. Pupils, including those in the early years, readily came up to inspectors to introduce themselves and to say hello, for example. Leaders place a strong emphasis on reading. In the words of a pupil: 'They are obsessed with it.' Leaders make sure that what is taught and practised in Nursery prepares children well for early reading in later years, for example through repetition of songs and rhymes. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported in becoming fluent readers. Staff all work together to keep pupils safe and well. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe at school and that adults would help them if they ever needed it.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects and areas of learning, the key knowledge and skills that leaders want pupils to learn are not as precisely identified and well sequenced as they should be. This makes it harder for adults working with pupils to know what content to explicitly teach and then check that pupils have understood. As a result, some important knowledge is not sticking in pupils' long- term memories. Leaders should review their curriculum thinking in these subjects, ensuring that what they want pupils to know and remember is identified, taught and assessed by staff.
• The school's overall offer to nurture pupils' different talents and interests is not as well developed as it should be. As a result, some pupils miss out on opportunities for their broader development. Leaders should review their offer and ensure that more pupils are able to nurture and stretch their individual talents and interests.

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