St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 April 2026

Pupils enjoy coming to St Richard’s Catholic Primary School. Some, however, are not as well prepared for their next stage of education as they could be. In some classes, teaching does not consistently help pupils to connect new learning to what they already know. This means that gaps in some pupils’ knowledge do not close as quickly as they could. Some children in the early years are not developing the secure phonics knowledge they need. As a result, some are not as ready for Year 1 as they could be. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not consistently receive the support they need. For example, in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND, some pupils do not receive the help that would make the most difference to their learning. This means that some of the most vulnerable pupils do not make the progress that they could. Staff know pupils well and build caring relationships with them. The school’s values of faith, kindness and respect run through daily life. Most pupils enjoy learning and feel a real sense of belonging. They generally behave well and treat each other with care. However, in some lessons, pupils do not consistently meet the school’s expectations and some lose focus. They feel safe at school. Bullying is rare. Any incidents are dealt with effectively. Pupils attend school regularly. The number of pupils who are absent regularly has reduced over time. Pupils enjoy a wide range of enrichment activities, including visits to places of interest. These help pupils to broaden their experiences and take pride in their school community. Leaders make sure that disadvantaged pupils can take full advantage of these opportunities. Pupils generally develop the confidence they need for life in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• Governors should make sure that they understand how well pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, learn and achieve so that they can hold leaders to account effectively for improving outcomes for all pupils.
• Leaders should make sure that their quality assurance of the curriculum and teaching is more sharply focused on the impact of teaching on pupils, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that teaching improves consistently across the school.
• Leaders should make sure that they identify pupils' barriers to learning more precisely so that effective support is quickly put in place and helps pupils to achieve well.
• Leaders should make sure that teachers consistently identify and rectify errors and gaps in pupils' knowledge of spelling, grammar and mathematics so that pupils build secure foundational knowledge in these subjects.
• Leaders should make sure that staff apply the behaviour policy consistently and provide effective support for pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour so that all pupils meet the school's high expectations throughout the school day.
• Leaders should make sure that activities in the early years provision support children to learn well and that staff engage children in high-quality interactions to develop and extend children's knowledge and prepare them for learning in Year 1.

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