The Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 22 May 2024

Pupils are exceptionally proud to be a part of this vibrant school community. They benefit hugely from the school's diversity and celebrate the many languages that they and their friends speak. Pupils are quick to welcome new classmates from all over the world. Those who join the school from other countries settle in quickly. Pupils referred to the school as their place of sanctuary. They know that they are safe in school. Relationships between staff and pupils are highly positive. Staff care about pupils and understand their needs well. Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to school. The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. Many pupils spoke of the recent changes that have taken place in school. They know that these improvements are helping them to learn more across the curriculum. However, many pupils struggled to talk about what they had learned prior to this academic year. This hinders their progress through the curriculum. It means that they do not achieve as well as they should. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are included fully in all aspects of school life. They enjoy attending many of the enrichment opportunities on offer. For example, pupils are keen to join in with gardening, singing and journalism clubs.

What the school should improve

• The curriculum in the early years lacks clarity about what children should learn and when they will learn it. This means that staff are unclear on the knowledge and skills that should be delivered across each of the areas of learning. The school should refine the curriculum in the early years, so that children develop the knowledge needed to be ready for the next stage of their education.
• The school has not ensured that gaps in pupils' knowledge, due to weaker subject curriculums in the past, are identified and addressed sufficiently well. This means that pupils' knowledge in some subjects is insecure, which hinders how well they build new learning. The school should make sure that gaps in pupils' knowledge are addressed swiftly, so that they learn all that they should.
• In many subject curriculums, teachers do not regularly revisit previous content that pupils should have already learned. This means that pupils struggle to make connections between prior learning and new content, which hinders the depth of their subject knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers connect new content to previous learning, so that pupils know and remember more over time.

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