St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 February 2023

At St Thomas the Martyr Primary School, pupils, and children in the early years, are well cared for by staff. Teachers warmly welcome the pupils each morning on the playground. This helps pupils to feel settled and safe in school. The school's motto of 'May all that we do be done with love' is lived out through the strong relationships between staff, pupils, parents and carers. Pupils are happy to be in school. Leaders have high expectations of pupils' achievement and behaviour. Pupils behave well. They are keen to learn. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well across all subjects. Pupils enjoy having their achievements recognised on the superstar board. Pupils enjoy being with their friends at playtimes and act kindly towards one another. They are keen to chat to visitors and they talk positively about their school. When any incidents of bullying or name calling happen, staff are quick to address them. There is a plethora of additional activities that extend pupils' learning and experiences. For example, they thoroughly enjoyed recent trips to a theatre and the Lake District. Pupils are keen to attend the clubs on offer such as dodgeball, chess and tennis. There are also competitions that pupils relish, such as 'university challenge', 'mastermind' and 'maths challenge'.

What the school should improve

• Some staff are still getting to grips with delivering the new phonics programme. On occasion, they move on to teaching new sounds before some pupils are ready. This prevents a small number of pupils from securing the knowledge that they need and becoming fluent readers as quickly as they should. Leaders should ensure that staff are equipped well to deliver the phonics programme as leaders intend.
• In a small number of subjects, leaders are not clear enough about the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and when this content should be delivered. This prevents pupils from building logically on what they know already. Leaders should ensure that they finalise curriculum thinking in these subjects so that teachers are clear about what they should be teaching and when this knowledge should be taught.

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