St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 July 2022

Pupils and staff are proud of the school. There is a shared understanding of, and belief in, the school's values, including, 'Let all that you do be done in love.' Pupils are kind and considerate. This starts with the children in the Reception Year. Pupils strive to help and learn from each other, to make the day enjoyable for all. Pupils enjoy coming to school. There is a happy and harmonious feel to the day. Pupils interact well together. At the odd time when pupils fall out, particularly over football at breaktimes, staff intervene and take effective action to help settle disputes or prevent boisterous behaviour. Pupils appreciate this. They have confidence in staff. There are positive and trusting relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils understand what bullying is. They say it is rare. If any bullying happens, pupils are confident that teachers will deal with it. Bullying is not tolerated. Staff have high expectations of pupils. Pupils are encouraged to think about their behaviour and the consequences of their actions. As a result, pupils behave well throughout the school day, including in lessons. The curriculum is effective and enables pupils to learn well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

What the school should improve

• Leaders have implemented an ambitious and coherent curriculum, although there are a few subjects which still need further development. As a result, pupils do not gain the key knowledge they need in readiness for the next stage of their education. Leaders must ensure that every subject is taught with the same clear intent and quality.
• Leaders ensure pupils with SEND have an IEP in place. However, these do not always precisely match the identified letters and sounds that pupils need to learn with what is being taught or pupils' reading books. This limits the progress and enjoyment of some pupils. Leaders must make sure that IEPs consistently target phonemes with well- matched activities and books to help pupils catch up further in reading.
• The administration and record keeping for staff recruitment and vetting checks, including maintenance of the SCR, are not good enough. There are some inconsistencies in how records or information is held. Although this does not endanger pupils, it causes unnecessary discord in the school's safeguarding arrangements. Leaders must ensure that pre-employment checks and other related information is recorded and maintained in an orderly and effective manner.

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