St Brigid’s School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Many pupils at St Brigid's School make secure progress in learning and skills, particularly in their oracy.

Most pupils develop valuable personal qualities over time and grow into conscientious, well-mannered and sociable individuals. They are proud of the school's Catholic ethos and the 'Brigidine' values it promotes. The respectful and polite nature of most pupils is a notable feature of the school.

Overall, staff and pupils enjoy strong and productive working relationships and this creates a happy learning environment. Many teachers prepare their lessons carefully to ensure that pupils acquire knowledge and skills through interesting and engaging learning experiences. However, in a few cases, leaders and teachers do not... plan carefully enough to ensure that pupils make enough progress in skills, particularly numeracy, Welsh language and digital skills.

Provision for personal and social education in the lower and middle schools is well planned but there are fewer opportunities for pupils to build on their knowledge and understanding of important issues in the upper school and in the sixth form. Care and support for all pupils, particularly the vulnerable and those with additional learning needs, is a particular strength of the school. Leaders and staff have cultivated a close, nurturing bond with their pupils over time.

Together, they profess the school's strong Catholic and 'Brigidine' values and demonstrate a strong sense of mutual respect and appreciation. The headteacher is a motivating leader who works tirelessly to inspire staff and pupils and ensure that the school continues to improve, despite significant financial challenges and the poor state of the premises. She has a well-defined vision that is shared by most of the staff.

Although leaders regularly monitor the quality of the school's work, evaluations do not focus enough on the impact of provision on pupils' learning. Governors support the school but, together with senior leaders, do not always consider the needs of current pupils when planning the curriculum for the upper school. Recommendations R1 Improve the planning for the progressive development of pupils' skills, including their Welsh language skills, so that the provision meets the needs of all pupils R2 Strengthen self-evaluation and improvement planning processes to ensure that monitoring activities focus on the impact of provision on pupils' learning R3 Ensure that strategic decisions reflect the current and future needs of the school and work with the local authority to address the deficit budget What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.