St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 September 2023

Pupils thrive at this delightful school. It is at the heart of the community. Happiness fills classrooms and the school playground. Pupils show kindness and caring towards each other and to adults. They behave exceptionally well throughout the school day. Treating each other fairly is a golden rule that pupils live by. Pupils relish the opportunities to learn how to be responsible. 'Buddies' in Year 5 help children in the Reception class to settle quickly into school life. These relationships create friendships between pupils that last as they move into the next year group. House captains, eco-club members, prefects and school councillors take their positions of responsibility seriously. Pupils are grateful for the opportunity to elect their school councillors, as they trust them to 'make the school even better even though it is already amazing'. Staff are passionate about pupils achieving the very best they possibly can across all areas of the curriculum. These high expectations are clearly understood by pupils. Pupils rise to the many challenges the school sets them. They are determined to be the best they can be in whatever they do. They work hard in lessons and achieve well in many areas of school life.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, there is not an embedded approach to assessment. There are occasions where checks on learning do not provide teachers or leaders with precise enough information on how well pupils have remembered important knowledge and vocabulary. The school should complete its ongoing work to ensure it establishes a clear approach to checking pupils' understanding of the key content and vocabulary they want pupils to know and remember in all subjects. Teachers and subject leaders must then use these checks to adapt the curriculum appropriately.

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