This page refers to the findings of the last OFSTED inspection.
It details what the school does well and
what could be improved.
The School was last inspected by OFSTED on 15th March 2010.
This is a good school which has some exceptional features. Pupils thrive and feel very safe in the warm, nurturing and family atmosphere. Pupils' behaviour is outstanding. They do well academically and have strong opportunities for developing their creative, practical and sporting skills. The outstanding curriculum encourages them to love school and learning. Music is an important feature and pupils' singing is excellent. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and behaviour are exemplary as a result of the school's strong Catholic ethos and outstanding care, support and guidance. Pupils work hard and their positive and welcoming attitudes contribute to the great sense of purpose throughout the school. They contribute exceedingly well to the community of which the school is very much a part. Central to the school's success is the very good leadership of the headteacher, who is ably supported by senior staff and the governing body.
Children enjoy learning in Reception where they make good progress from their starting points. Their good progress continues across the rest of the school so that their attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science by Year 6. Actions taken to improve the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics are having a good impact on raising attainment in this subject. Exciting learning experiences, where subjects are linked, bring learning to life and enhance pupils' skills in literacy. There is excellent enrichment of the curriculum through outside visits, visitors and after-school clubs. Pupils write well for different purposes and there are many striking examples of creative and factual writing. However, occasional spelling, punctuation and handwriting mistakes limit pupils' written work to an extent. Now the new curriculum is established, the school has stepped up the teaching of these basics but is aware that teaching approaches are not yet fully consistent in each class.
The quality of teaching is good overall. Relationships are excellent and teachers manage their pupils well. They carefully match pupils' work to their range of abilities during group work. However, occasionally, lesson introductions are too long and do not enable pupils to take an active enough part. There are also instances when the whole class is taught together, when teachers' explanations and questions are too easy for the most able pupils or too hard for those who do not find learning as easy.
New leadership roles are developing well and everyone shares the headteacher's ambitions for pupils. Through honest and accurate self-evaluation, leaders have brought about good improvements since the last inspection with the new curriculum leading to more inspiring teaching and learning and broader writing opportunities. The improved systems for checking pupils' progress are rigorous and school leaders are vigilant about the use of assessment data to see where pupils can be moved on more quickly. The good range of catch-up programmes help pupils who are in danger of falling behind. The school's systematic self-evaluation helps to set clear and achievable priorities for the future and, together with recent improvements, this shows it has a good capacity for further improvement.
TopImprove pupils' spelling, handwriting and punctuation by:
Improve the consistency of good teaching during lesson introductions by:
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