Thomas More Catholic School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 October 2024

Pupils are courteous and respectful here. Teachers provide support and guidance to help pupils to succeed in their studies and wider personal development. Trusting professional relationships encourage pupils to report any concerns they may have and staff act swiftly to resolve them. The school provides a broad and interesting curriculum that enables pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well in a range of qualifications. Pupils' starting points are well identified, and the curriculum typically builds securely on what pupils know. Pupils are routinely taught about the importance of respect and tolerance of other people. They are made aware of people's different characteristics and what the law says about treating all people with fairness. In turn, pupils typically treat one another with kindness and respect. Bullying is rare and pupils report that they are safe and feel comfortable here. The school encourages pupils to extend their learning and develop their wider interests. For example, all pupils in Year 10 who study French visit Paris and those studying Spanish visit Madrid to practise speaking the language and experience local culture first hand. The school organises a range of clubs that are generally well attended by pupils, including book club, chess, swimming and sports clubs. The school helps pupils to take up responsibility, including as members of the student-voice group, for example.

What the school should improve

• The school does not systematically check how well the planned support for pupils with SEND helps them to learn the planned curriculum. Occasionally, teachers are less confident than they might be about which approaches might best support pupils with SEND to be successful. As a result, pupils with SEND are occasionally not provided with all the support that is intended. The school should ensure that planned support is in place across the curriculum and check how well this is working for pupils with SEND.
• In some instances, teachers do not check pupils' understanding systematically. Where this is the case, misconceptions and gaps in pupils' knowledge are not identified and addressed before they move on to new content. As a result, pupils do not secure some key knowledge well enough to apply it to new learning and to recall it confidently later. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding systematically so as to identify and address misconceptions swiftly.

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