Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to live up to the school's vision of 'being the best you can be'.

Older pupils enjoy taking on leadership roles in school. They act as sports leaders in the 'wake up, shake up' club. They are also 'buddies' to younger children in the early years.

Pupils are safe in this inclusive school. They are kind to one another. Instances of poor behaviour are rare.

Pupils understand the expectations the school has. They relish the focus the school places on celebrating their success. Children in the early years develop their social interaction in a well-designed provision.

They are confident and enthusiastic when talking to others.

The... school has high expectations for the quality of education. Pupils achieve well.

They benefit from the well-designed curriculum the trust has helped to put in place. Pupils look forward to their lessons and enjoy positive relationships with staff.

Pupils increasingly benefit from a curriculum that extends beyond the academic.

They have a sound understanding of how to stay safe on- and offline. Pupils are proud to support a range of charities. They also enjoy being house captains and joining the school council.

This enables them to develop life skills and help others.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Sacred Heart Primary School has recently undergone significant change. Leaders have improved the quality of education for pupils.

The curriculum is ambitious. The school has identified the important knowledge they want pupils to learn. There is also a strong focus on vocabulary.

For example, in physical education (PE), pupils are carefully taught subject-specific words. These include sportsmanship, dedication and resilience. Teachers break learning down into small chunks effectively.

They highlight the steps and sequence of shooting a basketball. These clear explanations support pupils' achievement in the subject.

Focused professional development supports staff to teach the curriculum well.

However, this is not consistent across all subjects. In mathematics, some teaching does not match the school's ambitious intentions. For some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learning is not well matched to their needs.

In addition, gaps in pupils' mathematical knowledge or progress are not identified and addressed reliably. In the early years, children develop their mathematical understanding well. They are enthusiastic while counting their magic beans.

This links to their learning about 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.

A positive reading culture underpins the curriculum. The foundations of reading begin in Nursery.

Here, stories are a significant feature of the curriculum. Children also learn effective listening skills in readiness for phonics lessons. Well-trained staff teach daily phonics lessons from the beginning of Reception.

Children benefit from clear routines as they begin to develop their reading skills. If pupils fall behind, they quickly catch up through focused extra phonics sessions. Pupils in key stage 2 enjoy a range of well-planned reading activities linked to thoughtfully chosen texts.

Pupils flourish personally and socially in an environment where bullying is not tolerated. Pupils understand what bullying is and the different forms it can take. The broader curriculum supports pupils' understanding of British values such as tolerance.

They embrace the importance of friendship and equality. Staff in the early years focus on developing relationships between children. Children play well together.

They share resources and include one another in their games.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. However, the attendance of some pupils is below national and local figures.

Leaders place a high priority on improving attendance. The school work closely with families. They identify any barriers that prevent children coming to school.

This focused approach is starting to have an impact for several individuals. The school's pre-school club helps families to make sure pupils arrive in school on time.

In recent years, the school has joined a new multi-academy trust.

The school is now run by an executive team. They also have responsibility for another trust school in North Yorkshire. This leadership model has supported rapid improvement.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the current provision in the school. Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate how leaders listen to feedback.

Governors and trustees know the school's strengths and areas for development well. Executive leaders are aware that many aspects of the school's curriculum and wider offer are new. At the time of the inspection, the school's impact is not fully realised or understood.

However, trust and executive leaders' focus on building leadership capacity is supporting their improvement journey.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The mathematics curriculum is not implemented consistently well across the school.

Learning is not well matched to some pupils' needs, including those with SEND. Furthermore, assessment does not identify gaps in learning as effectively as it should. The school should further intensify actions to improve the mathematics curriculum for all pupil groups.

• Many aspects of the school's curriculum and wider provision are new. The impact of these changes is not fully understood or realised. The school should continue its work to build leadership capacity so that their ambitious vision is implemented, evaluated and refined consistently well.